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Girish Kotte
Documentation Mastery Kit

DocKit

Complete guide to Markdown documentation files. Learn what each file does, why it's important, and get ready-to-use templates for any project.

16 Doc Templates

Essential Docs

7

Must-have documentation for every project

Recommended

8

Professional documentation for teams

Categories

7

Organized by purpose and use case

README

README.mdessential

Front door of your project. First thing visitors see. Explains what, why, and how.

Best Practices:

  • Keep it concise but comprehensive
  • Use badges for quick status indicators
  • Include screenshots or GIFs for visual projects
  • Always include installation and usage instructions
  • Link to other important docs

LICENSE

LICENSE.mdessential

Legal terms for using your code. Protects you and clarifies usage rights.

Best Practices:

  • Choose the right license for your needs (MIT, Apache 2.0, GPL, etc.)
  • Use choosealicense.com to help decide
  • Include the year and your name/organization
  • Don't modify standard license text

CONTRIBUTING

CONTRIBUTING.mdessential

Guidelines for contributors. Sets expectations and processes for collaboration.

Best Practices:

  • Be welcoming and inclusive
  • Set clear expectations
  • Provide detailed setup instructions
  • Include coding standards and commit conventions
  • Make it easy for newcomers to contribute

CHANGELOG

CHANGELOG.mdessential

Track all notable changes to the project. Helps users understand what's new.

Best Practices:

  • Follow Keep a Changelog format
  • Group changes by type (Added, Changed, Deprecated, Removed, Fixed, Security)
  • Include release dates
  • Link to version comparisons on GitHub
  • Keep most recent version at the top

CODE_OF_CONDUCT

CODE_OF_CONDUCT.mdessential

Community standards and behavior expectations. Creates a welcoming environment.

Best Practices:

  • Use Contributor Covenant as a standard
  • Include clear contact information
  • Be specific about enforcement
  • Make it visible and accessible
  • Translate for international communities

SECURITY

SECURITY.mdessential

Security policy and vulnerability reporting process. Protects users and maintainers.

Best Practices:

  • Provide clear reporting instructions
  • Never ask reporters to use public channels
  • Include response timeline commitments
  • List supported versions clearly
  • Acknowledge security researchers

DEVELOPMENT

DEVELOPMENT.mdrecommended

Detailed development setup and guidelines. Onboards developers quickly.

Best Practices:

  • Include architecture diagrams
  • Provide multiple setup options
  • Document all environment variables
  • Include debugging configurations
  • Add troubleshooting section

ARCHITECTURE

ARCHITECTURE.mdrecommended

System design and technical decisions. Documents the 'why' behind architectural choices.

Best Practices:

  • Use diagrams to visualize architecture
  • Document design decisions and trade-offs
  • Include technology choices rationale
  • Keep it updated as architecture evolves
  • Link to ADRs (Architecture Decision Records)

DEPLOYMENT

DEPLOYMENT.mdrecommended

Deployment procedures and configurations. Ensures consistent, reliable deployments.

Best Practices:

  • Include rollback procedures
  • Document all environments
  • Provide deployment scripts
  • Include monitoring and health checks
  • Document incident response procedures

API

API.mdrecommended

API reference documentation. Essential for API consumers and integrators.

Best Practices:

  • Include authentication details
  • Provide request/response examples
  • Document all error codes
  • Include rate limiting information
  • Provide SDK examples in multiple languages

TESTING

TESTING.mdrecommended

Testing strategies and guidelines. Ensures code quality and reliability.

Best Practices:

  • Include different types of tests
  • Provide real-world examples
  • Document coverage requirements
  • Include debugging configurations
  • Explain mocking strategies

.env.example

.env.exampleessential

Template for environment variables. Shows required configuration without exposing secrets.

Best Practices:

  • Never commit actual values
  • Include all required variables
  • Add helpful comments
  • Group related variables
  • Provide example formats

ROADMAP

ROADMAP.mdnice-to-have

Future plans and vision. Helps community understand project direction.

Best Practices:

  • Be realistic about timelines
  • Include completed milestones
  • Allow community input
  • Update regularly
  • Link to discussion channels

.cursorrules

.cursorrulesrecommended

Configure Cursor AI IDE behavior. Defines coding standards, project context, and AI assistant guidelines.

Best Practices:

  • Be specific about your tech stack
  • Include coding standards and conventions
  • Define clear do's and don'ts
  • Provide code examples and patterns
  • Update as your project evolves

CLAUDE

CLAUDE.mdrecommended

Configure Claude AI assistant for your project. Provides context, guidelines, and specific instructions.

Best Practices:

  • Provide comprehensive project context
  • Include specific code examples
  • Define clear guidelines and patterns
  • Keep it updated with project changes
  • Include both do's and don'ts

WINDSURF

WINDSURF.mdrecommended

Configure Windsurf AI editor. Define project rules, patterns, and AI behavior for optimal assistance.

Best Practices:

  • Configure AI behavior settings
  • Define clear code patterns
  • Include debugging configurations
  • Set up custom commands and snippets
  • Specify environment requirements

Quick Setup Guide

🚀 Minimal Setup (OSS Projects)

  1. 1.Create README.md with project overview
  2. 2.Add LICENSE.md (MIT, Apache, GPL)
  3. 3.Include CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines
  4. 4.Add CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md
  5. 5.Create CHANGELOG.md for releases

💼 Professional Setup (Teams)

  1. +DEVELOPMENT.md for onboarding
  2. +ARCHITECTURE.md for system design
  3. +DEPLOYMENT.md for DevOps
  4. +API.md for endpoints
  5. +TESTING.md for QA processes

Pro Tip: Start with essential docs and add others as your project grows. Quality over quantity - a well-maintained README is better than 20 outdated docs.

Additional Resources

Choose a License

Simple guide to choosing the right open source license for your project

Keep a Changelog

Standard format for maintaining a changelog that's useful for users

Contributor Covenant

A code of conduct for open source communities and other digital commons

Frequently Asked Questions

Learn how to create professional documentation for your projects with DocKit templates

DocKit provides templates for all essential project documentation including README files, LICENSE documents, CONTRIBUTING guides, CHANGELOG files, CODE_OF_CONDUCT, SECURITY policies, and more. Each template is professionally crafted and follows industry best practices for open source and enterprise projects.

Yes, our templates are language and framework agnostic. While examples may reference specific technologies, the structure and content work for any project - whether you're building with JavaScript, Python, Go, Rust, or any other language. Simply customize the technical details to match your stack.

Each template includes placeholder text clearly marked for replacement. Simply copy the template, replace [Project Name], [Your Name], and other bracketed placeholders with your actual information. Tips are provided with each template to guide you on what content works best.

Quality documentation serves as the front door to your project. It helps new users understand what your project does, guides contributors on how to participate, protects you legally with proper licensing, and builds trust with potential users and employers. Well-documented projects see 3-5x more contributions than poorly documented ones.

The right license depends on your goals. MIT License is the most permissive and popular for open source. Apache 2.0 provides patent protection. GPL requires derivative works to be open source. For proprietary projects, you may want a custom license. We recommend using choosealicense.com to help decide based on your specific needs.

Update your CHANGELOG with every release or significant change. Follow semantic versioning (MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH) and categorize changes as Added, Changed, Deprecated, Removed, Fixed, or Security. This helps users understand what's new and whether they should upgrade.

A great README includes: a clear project title and description, badges for quick status indicators, installation instructions, usage examples, configuration options, contribution guidelines link, license information, and contact details. For visual projects, include screenshots or GIFs. Keep it comprehensive but scannable.

Absolutely. All DocKit templates are free to use for any purpose - personal, open source, or commercial projects. Simply customize them for your needs. However, we recommend reviewing any legal templates (like LICENSE) with legal counsel for commercial applications to ensure they meet your specific requirements.