Documentation is critical for team productivity. After building documentation systems, here’s how to create effective documentation.

Documentation Types

API Documentation

# User API

## Get User

GET /api/users/:id

### Parameters
- `id` (string, required) - User ID

### Response
```json
{
  "id": "123",
  "name": "John Doe",
  "email": "john@example.com"
}

Example

```bash curl https://api.example.com/users/123 ```


### Architecture Documentation

```markdown
# System Architecture

## Overview
High-level system description

## Components
- API Gateway
- User Service
- Order Service

## Data Flow
User → API Gateway → Services → Database

Tools

Documentation Generators

  • Swagger/OpenAPI - API documentation
  • JSDoc - Code documentation
  • Sphinx - Python documentation
  • Docusaurus - Documentation sites

Documentation Platforms

  • Confluence - Team wiki
  • Notion - Collaborative docs
  • GitBook - Technical docs
  • MkDocs - Markdown docs

Best Practices

  1. Write as you go - Don’t defer
  2. Keep updated - Regular reviews
  3. Use examples - Code samples
  4. Structure clearly - Logical organization
  5. Searchable - Good navigation
  6. Version control - Track changes
  7. Review process - Peer review
  8. Accessible - Easy to find

Conclusion

Documentation systems enable:

  • Knowledge sharing
  • Onboarding
  • Maintenance
  • Team productivity

Start with basics, then expand. The practices shown here create maintainable documentation.

Building documentation systems from October 2022, covering tools and best practices.