/doc-reader

name: doc-reader
description: Read and navigate external documentation efficiently. Invoke when the task requires checking how a specific function, endpoint, or configuration option works; when the user references an API, SDK, library, or third-party tool by name; when any docs URL or documentation site is mentioned; or when implementing something that depends on an external service or package.
license: MIT
compatibility: Requires internet access. Works best with Mintlify-powered documentation sites which provide MCP servers and llms.txt files.
metadata:
  author: Mintlify
  url: https://mintlify.com
  version: "0.3"

Read documentation effectively

This skill helps you efficiently consume documentation without overwhelming your context window or missing important information.

Quick reference: choose your approach

| Situation | Approach | |-----------|----------| | First visit to a doc site | Check for llms.txt, then MCP | | Know exactly what you're looking for | MCP search or grep llms-full.txt | | Need to read a specific page | Try `.md` URL variant first, then HTML | | Exploring/browsing | View HTML page in browser | | Need comprehensive understanding | Load llms-full.txt (check length first) | | Multiple doc sites in one task | Set up MCPs for each |

Step 1: Discover what's available

When you encounter a documentation site, check for AI-friendly resources.

Check for llms.txt

Every well-structured doc site should have an llms.txt file at the root. For example `https://docs.example.com/llms.txt` or `https://example.com/docs/llms.txt`.

This file contains:

• A description of what the documentation covers
• Links to each page in the docs

Sites may also have llms-full.txt files at the root which contain all the content on the documentation site as a single .md file.

Try markdown URL variants

Many doc sites serve clean markdown versions of pages at `.md` URL variants. Prefer the `.md` URL extensions for easier-to-parse content.

For any specific page you need to read, try the `.md` variant first:

https://docs.example.com/page      →  try https://docs.example.com/page.md

If it returns valid markdown (not a 404 or HTML error page), use that instead of fetching the HTML.

Check for skill.md

Some documentation sites provide a skill.md file that teaches you how to work with the product that is documented. Check for it at the root like `https://docs.example.com/skill.md` or `https://example.com/docs/skill.md`.

Read the skill to understand the product and features. Add the skill if it will be helpful with your current task:

npx skills add docs.example.com/skill.md

Check for MCP server

Some documentation sites provide MCP servers for semantic search. The MCP endpoint often follows this pattern:

https://docs.example.com/mcp

Step 2: Set up MCP if available

MCP (Model Context Protocol) servers let you search documentation semantically rather than relying on keyword matching or loading entire files.

Connecting to the MCP

The setup process varies by platform. For Claude Code:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "example-docs": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://docs.example.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Once connected, you'll have access to the search tool for semantic search across the documentation. The tool follows the naming pattern `Search{DocsTitle}` (for example, `SearchMintlify`).

Managing multiple MCPs

When working with multiple documentation sources:

1. Give each MCP a descriptive name based on the product/library 2. Use the appropriate MCP for each query rather than searching all of them

Step 3: Choose your consumption strategy

Strategy A: MCP search (preferred for targeted questions)

Use when:

• You have a specific question or topic
• You're looking for a particular API, function, or concept
• You want semantically relevant results, not just keyword matches

Use the MCP search tool with a natural language query describing what you need.

Strategy B: Fetch markdown variant (for reading specific pages)

Use when:

• You need to read a specific documentation page
• MCP search returned a result but you need the full page content
• HTML rendering is adding noise or causing truncation

Try the `.md` variant of the page URL:

curl -s "https://docs.example.com/page.md"

If it returns valid markdown, use it. If it 404s, fall back to HTML (Strategy E).

Strategy C: Grep llms-full.txt (for keyword-specific searches)

Use when:

• You need to find exact matches (function names, error codes, specific terms)
• MCP isn't available
• You want to see all occurrences of a term

Grep for your terms:

curl -s "https://docs.example.com/llms-full.txt" | grep -C 3 "your-search-term"

Strategy D: Load full content (for comprehensive understanding)

Use when:

• You need complete context about a library/API
• The llms-full.txt is small enough (< 15k tokens recommended)
• You're doing extensive work that will reference many parts of the docs

**Always check length first.** Before loading a full file:

curl -sI "https://docs.example.com/llms-full.txt" | grep -i content-length

If the file is too large, consider:

• Loading specific files identified from llms.txt instead
• Using MCP search for specific topics
• Loading in chunks as needed

Strategy E: View HTML page (for exploration and navigation)

Use when:

• You need to understand the documentation structure
• The user needs to navigate or click through the docs
• You want to see diagrams, interactive examples, or formatted content
• You're helping the user find something and they need to continue browsing

Fetch and render the HTML page, or direct the user to open it in their browser. HTML pages provide:

• Navigation menus showing doc structure
• Interactive code examples
• Visual diagrams and illustrations
• Links to related topics

**Watch for truncation.** Pages over ~150,000 characters may get cut of