docs

Overview

This skill provides AI-powered search and access to a locally mirrored copy of Anthropic's official documentation. The documentation lives at ~/.claude-code-docs and covers 573 paths across 6 categories, totaling 571 markdown files.

When a user asks about Anthropic documentation, use the search tools and reference files described below to find the relevant content, read it, and synthesize an answer. Do not guess — always read the actual documentation before answering.

Domain Concept Map

Documentation sources: Two Anthropic domains are mirrored:

• code.claude.com — Claude Code CLI documentation (46 pages)
• platform.claude.com — Everything else: API, Agent SDK, guides, prompt library (527 pages)

Six categories organize all 573 paths:

Category	User Label	Paths	Covers
claude_code	Claude Code CLI	46	CLI setup, hooks, skills, MCP, memory, plugins, settings, sub-agents
api_reference	Claude API	377	Messages API, models, batches, files, admin, multi-language SDKs (Python/TS/Go/Java/Kotlin/Ruby)
core_documentation	Claude Documentation	82	Prompt engineering, tool use, vision, streaming, extended thinking, evaluation
prompt_library	Prompt Library	65	Ready-to-use prompt templates
release_notes	Release Notes	2	Version history and system prompts
resources	Resources	1	Additional resources

Agent SDK paths live within api_reference but are labeled "Claude Agent SDK" for users. They cover: overview, Python/TypeScript SDKs, sessions, skills, subagents, MCP, plugins, structured outputs, and more.

File naming convention: Documentation files use double underscores for path separators:

• docs__en__hooks.md — Claude Code CLI page /docs/en/hooks
• en__docs__claude-code__hooks.md — Alternate format for the same page
• en__api__messages__create.md — API reference page /en/api/messages/create

How to Search

Follow this workflow when handling documentation queries:

Step 1: Analyze Intent

Extract from the user's query:

• Keywords — the specific concepts they want (e.g., "hooks", "extended thinking", "batch API")
• Product context — if they specify one (e.g., "in the agent sdk", "cli hooks", "api rate limits")
• Query type — how-to, reference lookup, comparison, discovery

Step 2: Run Search

Use the upstream helper script at ~/.claude-code-docs/claude-docs-helper.sh:

# Content search (best for questions and concepts)
~/.claude-code-docs/claude-docs-helper.sh --search-content "<keywords>"

# Path search (best for finding specific docs)
~/.claude-code-docs/claude-docs-helper.sh --search "<keywords>"

# Direct topic lookup (fastest for known topics)
~/.claude-code-docs/claude-docs-helper.sh <topic>

If the helper script is unavailable, fall back to Grep:

grep -ril "<keyword>" ~/.claude-code-docs/docs/ | head -20

See references/search-guide.md for detailed search tool usage.

Step 3: Decide — Synthesize or Ask

Check which product categories the results span:

• Same category (e.g., all Claude Code CLI) → Read all matching docs silently, synthesize a unified answer. Never ask "which doc do you want?" when results are in the same product context.
• Multiple categories (e.g., CLI + API + Agent SDK) → Ask the user which product context using AskUserQuestion with user-friendly product labels.

See references/category-map.md for the full category-to-label mapping and disambiguation rules.

Step 4: Read and Present

1. Read the matching documentation files using their file paths from the search results
2. Extract sections relevant to the user's question
3. Synthesize a unified answer combining insights from all sources
4. Cite all sources at the end with official documentation URLs

Reference Navigation

Load the reference file matching the topic before answering detailed questions about search mechanics or category routing.

Topic	Reference File	Key Contents
How to use search tools, filename conventions, Python fallback, direct doc reading	references/search-guide.md	Search commands, output formats, file naming patterns, graceful degradation
Product categories, user-facing labels, disambiguation rules, when to ask vs synthesize	references/category-map.md	Category-to-label map, path patterns, cross-context resolution strategy

Cross-Reference Guide

Some queries span multiple reference files or require special handling:

Question Pattern	Action
"How do I use X in agent sdk?"	Filter search to agent-sdk paths, read all matches, synthesize
"What's the difference between X and Y?"	Search for both terms, read docs for each, present comparison
"Show me all docs about X"	Run path search, present grouped by product category
"hooks" (ambiguous — CLI hooks vs Agent SDK hooks)	Search content, check categories — if split across products, ask user
Direct topic name (e.g., "mcp", "memory")	Try direct file read first: ~/.claude-code-docs/docs/docs__en__<topic>.md
Freshness check (-t)	Run: ~/.claude-code-docs/claude-docs-helper.sh -t
"what's new"	Run: ~/.claude-code-docs/claude-docs-helper.sh "what's new"

Key Commands Quick Reference

# Content search (returns JSON with product context)
~/.claude-code-docs/claude-docs-helper.sh --search-content "extended thinking"

# Path search (returns ranked path matches)
~/.claude-code-docs/claude-docs-helper.sh --search "hooks"

# Direct topic lookup
~/.claude-code-docs/claude-docs-helper.sh hooks

# List all available docs
ls ~/.claude-code-docs/docs/*.md | sed 's/.*\///' | sed 's/\.md$//'

# Check freshness and sync
~/.claude-code-docs/claude-docs-helper.sh -t

# What's new
~/.claude-code-docs/claude-docs-helper.sh "what's new"

# Installation status
~/.claude-code-docs/claude-docs-helper.sh --status

# Fallback search (no helper script)
grep -ril "keyword" ~/.claude-code-docs/docs/ | head -20

Important Caveats

• Documentation is a mirror, not the source. Always note that content comes from Anthropic's official documentation. Include official URLs when citing.
• Two base URLs: Claude Code CLI pages are at code.claude.com/docs/en/<page>. Everything else is at platform.claude.com/<path>.
• Search index required for content search. If ~/.claude-code-docs/docs/.search_index.json is missing, content search won't work. Rebuild with: cd ~/.claude-code-docs && python3 scripts/build_search_index.py
• Helper script requires Python 3.9+ for enhanced features. Basic topic lookup and freshness checks work without Python. Content and path search need Python.
• 571 files, 573 manifest paths. Two paths in the manifest may not have corresponding files (expected — they are tracked but not downloadable).