docs-cleaner_skill

Overview

This skill consolidates redundant documentation while preserving all valuable content. It reduces documentation sprawl by merging overlapping files into a single authoritative document and producing a clear justification for every change. Use it to shrink doc volume without losing essential procedures, constraints, or troubleshooting guidance.

How this skill works

The skill scans a set of documentation files, counts lines, and maps overlap to identify redundancy. It produces a section-by-section value analysis (Keep, Condense, Delete), a consolidation plan with before/after metrics, and a consolidated document that retains 100% of valuable information. Finally, it updates references and verifies no broken links remain.

When to use it

• When documentation exceeds ~500 lines across multiple files on the same topic
• When you hear triggers like “clean up docs”, “consolidate documentation”, or “merge these docs”
• When multiple files create conflicting or duplicate guidance
• When onboarding or maintenance is slowed by doc sprawl
• When you need a single source of truth for a component or feature

Best practices

• Perform a section-by-section value analysis before any deletion
• Categorize content as Keep, Condense, or Delete with explicit reasons
• Preserve all essential procedures, constraints, and troubleshooting items
• Create clear before/after metrics and store the value analysis alongside the consolidated doc
• Update all references and verify links to avoid orphaned pointers
• Keep one authoritative file and add short pointers for historical records

Example use cases

• Merge three overlapping setup guides into one concise setup & troubleshooting document
• Condense verbose API reference files into a compact reference with preserved examples
• Remove one-time test reports while preserving test patterns and expected outputs
• Consolidate multiple HOWTOs into a single workflow with per-step rationale and gotchas
• Reduce onboarding docs from many files into a single quickstart plus deeper reference