Thematic Technical Documentation Generator

Generate publication-quality technical manuals with thematic storytelling through multi-agent orchestration.

What This Does

Transform dry technical topics into engaging, memorable documentation using:

•Multi-agent parallel workflow - 2 research + N chapter + 3 assembly agents
•Thematic metaphor system - Complex concepts through memorable metaphors
•AI-generated illustrations - Custom artwork matching theme (optional)
•Professional structure - Front matter, back matter, index, glossary
•Publication pipeline - Pandoc conversion to PDF/HTML/EPUB (optional)
•Quality enforcement - 95%+ QA score requirement

When to Use

Invoke this skill when creating:

•Technical documentation with personality and narrative
•Training materials that need to be memorable
•Onboarding guides that people actually want to read
•Comprehensive technical manuals (20K+ words)
•Documentation that stands out from typical reference material

How It Works

6-Phase Workflow

Phase 1: Adversarial Research (15-30 min)

•Theme Designer proposes visual identity and metaphor system
•Structure Architect critiques and designs chapter structure
•Output: THEME_PROPOSAL.md (synthesized specification)

Phase 2: Parallel Content Generation (30-60 min)

•N chapter agents write simultaneously (self-contained chapters)
•Each follows theme proposal for consistency
•Output: CHAPTER_01_*.md through CHAPTER_N_*.md

Phase 3: Publisher Assembly (15-30 min)

•Synthesizes chapters into complete manual
•Adds front matter (foreword, TOC, usage guide)
•Adds back matter (appendices, index, glossary, statistics)
•Output: THE_COMPLETE_MANUAL.md

Phase 4: Illustration Generation (15-30 min, optional)

•Generates 6-8 AI images via fal-text-to-image
•Maintains theme consistency
•Gracefully skips if fal unavailable
•Output: images/*.png + integration guides

Phase 5: Builder Pipeline (5-10 min, optional)

•Generates theme-specific CSS from THEME_PROPOSAL.md
•Converts MD → PDF/HTML/EPUB using pandoc
•Optional: GitHub Pages deployment, Algolia search
•Output: build/ directory with all formats

Phase 6: QA Validation (15-30 min)

•Validates structural integrity, theme consistency, technical accuracy
•Scores deliverables (minimum 95% required)
•Output: QA_FINAL_REPORT.md with APPROVED/REJECTED

Parameters

Configure the manual generation:

yaml

topic: "Technical subject to document"
theme: "Thematic metaphor/aesthetic (Victorian, pharmaceutical, etc.)"
audience: "beginner|intermediate|expert practitioners"
chapters: 8  # 5-12 range
word_count: {min: 2500, max: 3500}  # per chapter
include_illustrations: true  # requires fal-text-to-image
illustration_count: 6  # 3-10 range
character_guide: true  # mascot narrator
output_dir: "./docs/manual"
output_format: ["markdown", "pdf", "html", "epub"]

Examples

Example 1: Nyquil Cat ComfyUI Manual

code

topic: "ComfyUI for absolute beginners"
theme: "Nyquil Cat - drowsy pharmaceutical guide"
chapters: 8
include_illustrations: true

Output: 47,633 words, 8 chapters, 8 AI illustrations, 97.8% QA score

Example 2: Victorian Railway Git Manual

code

topic: "git worktree safety and best practices"
theme: "Victorian railway operations (1880s-1920s)"
chapters: 6
character: "Cornelius Worktree, Chief Railway Dispatcher"

Output: 30,606 words, 6 chapters, 6 illustrations, 98.4% QA score

Execution

When user requests themed manual:

•Validate fal availability (if illustrations requested)
•Create output directory
•Launch Phase 1 - Theme Designer + Structure Architect agents in parallel
•Launch Phase 2 - N chapter agents in parallel
•Launch Phase 3 - Publisher agent (sequential)
•Launch Phase 4 - Illustrator agent (optional, sequential)
•Launch Phase 5 - Builder agent (optional, sequential)
•Launch Phase 6 - QA agent (sequential, final gate)

Do NOT skip illustrator phase - validate fal availability, prompt user if missing.

Total execution: ~90-180 minutes for 8-chapter manual with illustrations.

Quality Standards

Enforce these minimums:

•Overall QA score ≥ 95%
•Zero critical issues
•Zero major issues
•Theme consistency: 100%
•Technical accuracy: 100%
•Chapter delivery: ≥75%

Output Structure

code

output_dir/
├── THEME_PROPOSAL.md
├── THE_COMPLETE_MANUAL.md (primary deliverable)
├── CHAPTER_01_*.md through CHAPTER_N_*.md
├── images/
│   ├── 01_cover_hero.png
│   ├── 02_character_portrait.png
│   └── ...
├── build/ (if builder enabled)
│   ├── THE_COMPLETE_MANUAL.pdf
│   ├── THE_COMPLETE_MANUAL.html
│   ├── THE_COMPLETE_MANUAL.epub
│   └── manual.css
├── IMAGE_INTEGRATION_GUIDE.md
├── ILLUSTRATION_SUMMARY.md
├── QA_FINAL_REPORT.md
└── MANUAL_README.md

Dependencies

Required:

•Task tool (for agent orchestration)
•Read, Write, Edit tools
•Glob, Grep tools

Optional:

•fal-text-to-image skill (for illustrations)
•pandoc (for PDF/HTML/EPUB)
•xelatex or pdflatex (for PDF generation)

Agent References

All agent prompts in prompts/ directory:

•research-theme.md - Theme Designer
•research-structure.md - Structure Architect
•chapter-orchestrator.md - Chapter Writer (generic)
•publisher.md - Publisher
•illustrator.md - Illustrator
•builder.md - Builder (pandoc pipeline)
•qa-orchestrator.md - QA Validator

Templates

Pandoc templates in templates/ directory:

•dummies-book.css - Theme-specific CSS generation template
•pandoc-template.tex - LaTeX template for PDF
•metadata-template.yaml - Pandoc metadata
•cover-template.svg - Editable cover design

Success Criteria

Manual is complete when:

•QA score ≥ 95%
•All planned chapters delivered (or gracefully noted as missing)
•Theme consistency validated
•Technical accuracy verified
•No placeholders or TODOs
•Ready for publication or distribution