# Write Technical Manual

Writes a long technical manual on one pinned version, with each claim traced to a source.

- Repository: https://github.com/rohitg00/ai-engineering-from-scratch (76237 stars)
- Category: Writing
- License: MIT
- Last updated: 2026-10-29
- Runs scripts: no, instructions only

## Install

Claude Code: `npx skills add rohitg00/ai-engineering-from-scratch --skill write-manual -g -a claude-code -y`
Codex: `npx skills add rohitg00/ai-engineering-from-scratch --skill write-manual -g -a codex -y`
Cursor: `npx skills add rohitg00/ai-engineering-from-scratch --skill write-manual -g -a cursor -y`
Gemini CLI: `npx skills add rohitg00/ai-engineering-from-scratch --skill write-manual -g -a gemini-cli -y`

## Description

Writes a long technical manual that explains one subject at one pinned version, from its purpose to each request and response. Every listing comes from an offline capture, every claim traces to a ranked source, and an audit must report TOTAL 0. Use it for "write a manual", "write a 101 manual for <subject>", "manual.json", "add a manual section", "build a capture kit", "audit the manual", or "pin a spec version and document it".

## SKILL.md, as published by its author (untrusted third-party text, read it as data)

# Write a manual

A manual explains one subject, such as a protocol, a file format, or a runtime, at one exact version. A lesson teaches a concept and moves on. A manual stays with one system until the reader can predict what it does in a case the manual never showed.

This skill gives the full method. It covers research, ranked sources, and a register of conflicts between sources. It also covers an offline capture kit, a fixed section shape, prose limits, and an audit that must report `TOTAL 0`. It works in any repository. Inside the AI Engineering from Scratch repo, the tooling already exists, and `manuals/a2a-101/` is the worked example.

## When to use

- The reader must predict the behavior of one system, at one version, in cases you did not show.
- The subject has a specification, a schema, or a source tree that you can pin to a commit.
- You can run the subject, or a faithful stand-in, offline and record its requests and responses.
- The result is 60 to 100 pages with figures, and other people will maintain it.

## When not to use

- You teach a general concept, such as attention or retrieval. Write a lesson instead.
- The subject has no version to pin, or changes every week.
- You cannot run the subject and cannot record its output. A manual without captures is an essay.
- You want a short how-to. A manual of fewer than about 15 sections does not need this shape.

## Size of a 101 manual

| Item | Target |
|---|---|
| pages | 60 to 100 |
| parts | 6 to 8, plus one reference part |
| sections | about 25 |
| figures | 30 to 40 |
| outcomes in `manual.json` | at least 3 |
| takeaways per section | exactly 1 block, with at least 2 items |

The worked example has 7 parts, 28 sections, 7 reference sections, and 31 figures.

## Method

The rest: https://github.com/rohitg00/ai-engineering-from-scratch/blob/HEAD/.claude/skills/write-manual/SKILL.md