documentation Skill (Anthropic) for Claude: What It Does and How to Install It

Makes Claude write technical documentation: READMEs, API docs, runbooks, architecture docs and onboarding guides.

Installs: 10.4K; on skills.sh
Stars: 34.4K; on GitHub
Updated: Nov 2026; last repo commit

This is a writing guide from Anthropic's knowledge-work-plugins repo, where it sits in the engineering plugin. It names five document types and what each should contain: README, API documentation, runbook, architecture doc and onboarding guide.

SKILL.md also lists five principles, such as writing for the reader and putting the most useful information first. It triggers on phrases like "write docs for", "document this", "create a README", "write a runbook" and "onboarding guide". The skill folder is one file with no scripts.

Good for

Developers writing a README or quick start
Teams documenting an API with request and response examples
On-call engineers who need a runbook with rollback steps
Leads writing an onboarding guide for new hires

Install documentation

Claude Code

Copy this prompt.

Install the documentation skill in Claude Code. Run this command:

claude plugin marketplace add anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins
claude plugin install engineering@knowledge-work-plugins

Then check that it loaded and tell me how to use it.

2
Paste it into Claude Code. It shows the change and asks before running it.

Pick one route. The engineering plugin installs 10 skills (counted from the plugin folder in the repo tree) and a .mcp.json that lists 10 connector entries (Slack, Linear, Asana, Atlassian, Notion, GitHub, PagerDuty, Datadog, Google Calendar and Gmail). The skills CLI route installs just this skill. This skill bundles one file, SKILL.md.

From the project README. Source.

What's in the skill

When it loads

Write and maintain technical documentation. Trigger with "write docs for", "document this", "create a README", "write a runbook", "onboarding guide", or when the user needs help with any form of technical writing — API docs, architecture docs, or operational runbooks.

Sections in SKILL.md

Document Types
README
API Documentation
Runbook
Architecture Doc
Onboarding Guide
Principles

Key facts

Author: Anthropic (vendor's own repo; named in the engineering plugin manifest)
License: Apache-2.0
Installs on skills.sh: 10,407 (Nov 2, 2026)
GitHub stars: 34,361 for the whole anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins repo (Nov 2, 2026)
Last repo commit: Nov 1, 2026
What it includes: 1 file: SKILL.md. No scripts
skills.sh audits: Gen Agent Trust Hub: pass; Socket: pass; Snyk: pass (Nov 2, 2026)
Part of: The engineering plugin (version 1.2.0) in anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins. Counted from the plugin folder: 10 skills and a .mcp.json with 10 connector entries
Works in: Cowork and Claude Code, per the engineering plugin README

What it includes

What it is and why, a quick start under 5 minutes, configuration, contributing
README
Endpoint reference with examples, auth and error codes, rate limits, SDK examples
API documentation
When to use it, prerequisites, step-by-step procedure, rollback steps, escalation path
Runbook
Context and goals, high-level design, key decisions and trade-offs, data flow
Architecture doc
Environment setup, key systems, common tasks with walkthroughs, who to ask
Onboarding guide
Write for the reader, lead with what matters, show not tell, keep current, link
Five principles

From the official docs

Permissions

Low risk

What it can do

Read your data
Create and change things
Delete things
Read-only mode

Watch out for

The plugin route adds connector entries
Its .mcp.json lists HTTP MCP servers for Slack, GitHub, Gmail and others, and two entries have empty URLs. Install only this skill with the skills CLI if you want no connectors. github.com

Security advisories

No published security advisories as of Nov 2, 2026.

Technical details

Turning on read-only	No read-only mode. Use version control.
Talks to	mcp.slack.com, mcp.linear.app, mcp.asana.com, mcp.atlassian.com, mcp.notion.com, api.githubcopilot.com, mcp.pagerduty.com and mcp.datadoghq.com (the eight entries in the plugin's .mcp.json that have a URL), if you enable the plugin. The Google Calendar and Gmail entries have empty URLs
Sign-in and keys	SKILL.md does not mention any account or key. The Slack entry in .mcp.json carries an OAuth client ID and callback port.
Scopes	The skill can make Claude write documentation files in your project when you ask for docs The plugin route adds a .mcp.json with 10 connector entries: Slack, Linear, Asana, Atlassian, Notion, GitHub, PagerDuty, Datadog, Google Calendar and Gmail

Questions

How do I install the documentation skill?

Use the install box at the top of this page. The plugin route installs the whole engineering plugin, and the skills CLI command installs only this skill.

What does the documentation skill do?

It gives Claude a structure for technical writing. Claude uses it to draft READMEs, API docs, runbooks, architecture docs and onboarding guides for a chosen reader.

Is this the Anthropic documentation skill?

Yes, it is in the vendor's own repo: Anthropic's anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins, and the engineering plugin manifest names Anthropic as author. Other skills called documentation exist elsewhere, so check the repo in the install command.

What else comes with the engineering plugin?

The plugin folder holds 10 skills: architecture, code-review, debug, deploy-checklist, documentation, incident-response, standup, system-design, tech-debt and testing-strategy. It also has a .mcp.json that lists 10 connector entries. The skills CLI route installs none of the others.

Does it work in the Claude app, Cowork or Claude Code?

The plugin README says the engineering plugin is designed for Cowork and also works in Claude Code. The install box also shows a zip upload for the Claude app.

Is it safe?

The skill itself is one SKILL.md file with no scripts and no tool list. The plugin route also adds a .mcp.json that lists connector servers such as Slack, GitHub and Gmail, so read it before you enable the plugin. Install only the skill if you do not want connectors.

Information

updated Nov 2, 2026

Repository: anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins
Folder: engineering/skills/documentation

anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins skills.sh

Sources

Docs, issue trackers and discussions this page is built from.

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