Atlas / Skills / builderio / /read-the-damn-docs

/read-the-damn-docsSAFE

skills/builderio/read-the-damn-docs

Skills for agents

Verdict
SAFE
Grade
B
Trust score
89 /100
Version
—
Hosts
1 documented
License
MIT
Stars
4,607
01

Overview

From the repository's own README, as read at the audited commit. Badges and raw HTML are left out.

Make agents web-search for the docs before they guess.

/read-the-damn-docs is a docs-first discipline skill for implementation, debugging, and technical answers that depend on versioned or external behavior. It tells the agent when docs are mandatory, why web search is usually the right way to find them, which sources count as authoritative, and how to report the evidence it used.

What It Does

  • Forces a docs pass for third-party APIs, libraries, frameworks, CLIs, cloud

services, model SDKs, and provider integrations.

  • Directs the agent to web-search for current official docs unless the relevant

docs are already local or supplied by the user.

  • Requires current version checks before adding packages or writing install,

import, config, or CLI commands.

  • Prioritizes local repo docs, specs, schemas, generated types, and tests for

internal contracts.

  • Treats auth, security, billing, data, migrations, deploys, quotas, caching,

and compliance as docs-required surfaces.

  • Makes the agent name the docs or files it relied on when that evidence affects

the implementation.

When To Use It

Use it when an agent might otherwise rely on stale model memory. Most of the time, that means it should search the web for official docs first: latest/current behavior, package setup, SDK usage, platform limits, provider APIs, upgrade guides, framework config, OAuth, payments, webhooks, migrations, CI/CD, browser APIs, and repo-specific contracts.

Skip it for trivial typo fixes, formatting, self-contained local code, or cases where nearby tests and types fully answer the question.

Examples

These should trigger docs before code:

  • Adding Tailwind, Next.js, React, Vite, Nitro, Drizzle, Prisma, or an AI SDK.
  • Streaming model responses with OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, or a provider SDK.
  • Wiring Stripe webhooks, OAuth, GitHub Actions, Slack apps, or Notion APIs.
  • Debugging deprecations, unknown config fields, missing exports, or changed

f

Read from source at commit fb822f174542OBSERVED · 2026-10-22
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02

Host compatibility

What the documentation claims. We have not run a compatibility test.

HostStatusNotes
codexmentioned
03

What it tells the agent

The instruction file, verbatim from the audited commit — this is the text the model reads, and the surface the audit's instruction layer examines. Quoted here so you can judge it without cloning anything.

---
name: read-the-damn-docs
description: >-
  Use when implementing, integrating, upgrading, debugging, or answering
  anything involving third-party APIs, libraries, frameworks, CLIs, cloud
  services, model/provider SDKs, fast-moving product behavior, user requests for
  latest/current/official behavior, unfamiliar repo docs/specs, errors that may
  indicate API drift, or high-stakes auth, security, billing, data, migration,
  deployment, compliance, or privacy behavior. Forces Codex to web-search for
  current official docs and read primary docs before assuming from memory.
---

# Read The Damn Docs

Do not guess where authoritative docs can answer the question. The most common
right move is to web-search for the current official docs, open the relevant
pages, and read them before coding. For APIs, versions, provider behavior,
config, limits, lifecycle hooks, or security-sensitive flows, ground the answer
in what the docs actually say.

## Docs-First Triggers

Read docs before proceeding when any of these are true:

- The user asks for "latest", "current", "official", "supported", "best
  practice", "recommended", "today", "now", or "look it up".
- The needed docs are not already in the repo or supplied by the user. Search
  the web for the official docs rather than hoping model memory is current.
- The task adds, upgrades, configures, or imports a package, SDK, framework,
  plugin, CLI, model, cloud resource, or provider integration.
- The API is fast-moving or version-sensitive: AI SDKs, OpenAI/Anthropic/Google
  APIs, Next.js, React, Tailwind, Vite, Nitro, Drizzle, Prisma, Stripe, GitHub,
  Slack, Notion, browser APIs, deployment platforms, auth libraries, and similar.
- The implementation depends on auth, OAuth scopes, permissions, secrets,
  webhooks, billing, payments, PII, encryption, data retention, migrations,
  retries, rate limits, quotas, caching, deploys, or compliance.
- An error mentions deprecation, unknown options, missing exports, invalid
  config, unsupported fields, changed defaults, or version mismatch.
- A repo has local docs, ADRs, generated schemas, OpenAPI specs, route/action
  registries, design-system docs, or package-level READMEs that could define the
  contract.
- The choice is expensive to reverse: public wire formats, database schema,
  migration strategy, persistent IDs, event names, customer-visible behavior, or
  external automation contracts.
- You catch yourself about to write "usually", "probably", "I think", "from
  memory", or code copied from model memory for an external API.

## What Counts As Docs

Use the most authoritative source available:

- Local repo docs, specs, ADRs, schemas, generated types, package READMEs, and
  tests for project-specific behavior.
- Official product docs, API references, migration guides, changelogs, release
  notes, and SDK source/types for third-party behavior. Find these with web
  search when you do not already have the exact URL.
- Package registry metadata for versions. Before adding a dependency, run
  `npm view <pkg> version`, `pnpm view <pkg> version`, or the ecosystem
  equivalent, then read the docs for that major version.
- Source code or type definitions when official docs are incomplete. Treat this
  as evidence, not folklore.

Avoid Stack Overflow, old blog posts, random snippets, and memory as the primary
source when official docs exist. Use community sources only to debug symptoms
after the authoritative contract is known.

## Required Workflow

1. Identify the exact surface: package name, installed version, target version,
   provider endpoint, CLI command, config file, local helper, schema, or product
   feature.
2. Search the web for the current official docs unless the relevant docs are
   already local or the user supplied a URL. Use targeted searches such as
   `<product> <feature> official docs`, `<package> migration guide`, or
   `<provider> API reference`.
3. Open and read the docs closest to that surface. Prefer local docs first for
   internal code, then official upstream docs. For new packages, verify the
   latest version before writing imports, config, or install commands.
4. Extract the few facts needed for the task: option names, imports, lifecycle
   rules, default behavior, breaking changes, limits, permissions, and examples
   for the current major version.
5. Implement or answer using those facts. If the docs conflict with existing
   code, inspect the local code path and call out the discrepancy.
6. Verify with the smallest useful check: typecheck, tests, build, CLI dry run,
   API schema validation, or a local reproduction.
7. In the final answer, name the docs or local files consulted when that
   evidence affects the recommendation or implementation.

## Examples That Must Trigger Docs

- "Add Tailwind to this app." Check the current Tailwind major and its install
  docs from the web before creating config files or assuming old PostCSS setup.
- "Use the AI SDK to stream responses." Verify the current AI SDK major,
  imports, provider package names, streaming helpers, and server/runtime
  examples from official docs.
- "Wire up Stripe webhooks." Read Stripe's current signature verification,
  event retry, endpoint secret, and framework body-parsing docs before coding.
- "Fix this Next.js caching bug." Read the docs for the installed Next.js major
  and router mode before assuming cache invalidation semantics.
- "Add Drizzle migrations." Read the current Drizzle kit docs and existing repo
  migration conventions before generating files.
- "Create a GitHub Action." Read official Actions syntax and permissions docs,
  especially for `pull_request`, `workflow_run`, OIDC, tokens, and artifacts.
- "Why does this OAuth flow fail?" Read the provider's scopes, redirect URI,
  PKCE, token refresh, and app verification docs before changing code.
- "Use this repo's plan/comment/action system." Read local docs, route/action
  registries, schemas, and tests before inventing endpoints or 
04

Trust audit

SAFEgrade B · trust 89/100 Nothing in the source contradicts what it says it does. Grade A is reserved for packages that have also passed the behavioural sandbox.

LayerWhat it checksResult
L0Provenance & inventoryPASS
L1Static analysis of the codeNA
L2Instruction surface (what it tells the agent)PASS
L3Class-specific surfacePASS
L4Behavioural (sandbox)SKIPPED

What the source does

Filesystem
none-observed
Network
none-observed
Shell
none-observed
Dependencies
pinned
Secrets in source
none-found

Findings (0)

No findings outside the package's declared scope.

Gates applied: no_behavioural_pass.

Audited 2026-10-22 · audit v0.4.1 · source sha fb822f174542full audit observations/trust-audit/skill/builderio__read-the-damn-docs.json · Report an issue / request a re-scan
05

Audit history

Every audit this skill has had.

DateSourceVerdictGradeScoreChange
2026-10-22fb822f174542SAFEB89first audit
06

Questions

What does the read-the-damn-docs — builderio/skills skill do?

Skills for agents

Is read-the-damn-docs — builderio/skills safe to install?

The audit found nothing in the source that contradicts what it says it does, and graded it B (89/100). Grade A is held back for packages that have also passed a sandboxed behavioural run, which is why a clean skill reads B.

What can read-the-damn-docs — builderio/skills access on my machine?

The audit observed no filesystem, network or shell use at all in its source.

Which assistants does read-the-damn-docs — builderio/skills work with?

Its documentation mentions codex. That is what the text claims, not a compatibility test we ran.

How current is this page?

The grade is for one exact copy of the source (fb822f174542), read on 2026-10-22. The repository is watched, and a new audit runs when it changes — this is the first audit.

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