Reference Skill

Look up any AI documentation concept instantly from the plugin's comprehensive knowledge base. Returns a focused answer with code examples.

Step 1: Parse the Question

Read $ARGUMENTS to understand what the user is asking. Identify:

1. Which agent is the question about?

   • Keywords: "claude", "claude code", "CLAUDE.md", "skill", "hook", "agent", "settings.json" → Claude Code
   • Keywords: "cursor", "mdc", ".mdc", "cursor rules", "cursorignore" → Cursor
   • Keywords: "codex", "AGENTS.md", "config.toml", "sandbox" → Codex CLI
   • No agent mentioned → probably cross-tool or general

2. What category is being asked about?

   • Frontmatter fields → frontmatter-reference.md
   • "What should I use" / "which is better" / "when to use" → decision-guide.md
   • Same concept across multiple tools → cross-tool-mapping.md
   • Best practices / quality / structure → best-practices.md
   • Specific Claude Code concept → claude-code-complete.md
   • Specific Cursor concept → cursor-complete.md
   • Specific Codex concept → codex-complete.md

Step 2: Read Relevant Reference Files

Based on the question category, read the appropriate file(s) from the reference directory.

The reference directory is located at:
/plugins/docsmith/reference/

Reference files and their contents:

File	Use When
claude-code-complete.md	Questions about CLAUDE.md format, skills, hooks, agents, commands, settings, MCP, plugin system
cursor-complete.md	Questions about MDC format, frontmatter fields, @ symbols, cursor modes, cursor hooks, cursor agents, cursor skills
codex-complete.md	Questions about AGENTS.md format, config.toml, sandbox policy, exec policy, Codex skills, codexignore
frontmatter-reference.md	Questions about specific frontmatter fields (description, alwaysApply, globs, allowed-tools, argument-hint, paths, name)
decision-guide.md	Questions about when to use rule vs skill vs command vs agent vs hook
cross-tool-mapping.md	Questions about equivalents across tools (CLAUDE.md ↔ general.mdc ↔ AGENTS.md, etc.)
best-practices.md	Questions about quality, length guidelines, structure, DO/DON'T patterns

If the reference directory or specific file does not yet exist, answer from built-in knowledge about the topic.

For broad questions, read multiple files. For narrow questions, target the single most relevant file.

Step 3: Search for Specific Concept

If the question is about a very specific term, field name, or syntax element, use Grep to find it in the reference files:

Search pattern: the keyword or field name from $ARGUMENTS
Path: /plugins/docsmith/reference/

This surfaces the most relevant section without reading the entire file.

Step 4: Return a Focused Answer

Structure the answer as:

## [Concept Name]

[1-2 sentence direct answer to the question]

### Syntax / Format

\`\`\`[language or format]
[code or configuration example]
\`\`\`

### Key Points

- [Most important detail]
- [Second most important detail]
- [Any common mistake to avoid]

### Cross-Tool Equivalents (if applicable)

| Claude Code | Cursor | Codex CLI |
|-------------|--------|-----------|
| [equivalent] | [equivalent] | [equivalent] |

See: reference/[filename].md § [Section] for complete documentation.

Keep answers concise. If the user needs deeper information, point them to the relevant reference section rather than reproducing everything inline.

Common Question Patterns

"What frontmatter fields does [X] support?"
→ Read frontmatter-reference.md, filter to the relevant tool section

"What's the difference between a skill and a command?"
→ Read decision-guide.md

"How do I write a hook for [tool]?"
→ Read claude-code-complete.md or cursor-complete.md, hook section

"What's the Cursor equivalent of Claude's [X]?"
→ Read cross-tool-mapping.md

"How long should my CLAUDE.md be?"
→ Read best-practices.md, length guidelines section

"How do I make a rule auto-attach to TypeScript files?"
→ Read cursor-complete.md, globs section

"What tools can I allow in settings.json?"
→ Read claude-code-complete.md, settings section

"How does AGENTS.md hierarchy work?"
→ Read codex-complete.md, hierarchy section