Documentation Sync Audit
Audit project docs against codebase reality. Report drift or fix it.
NEVER
- Never update a doc based on what the code should look like — only sync to what it actually is now.
- Never fix docs for a section you didn't audit — partial fixes create false confidence.
- Never mark a roadmap item complete based on code presence alone — check git log for the deliberate completion commit.
- Never skip auditing CLAUDE.md / agent instructions — stale agent instructions cause cascading errors in future sessions.
Drift Classification: What Actually Goes Stale
Most doc-code drift falls into four categories with different detection approaches:
| Drift Type | Detection Signal | False Positive Risk |
|---|---|---|
| Structural drift | Directory tree, plugin/middleware chain order | Low — filesystem is ground truth |
| Path rot | File paths in docs that no longer exist | Low — use check-doc-paths.js |
| Count drift | Test counts, permission counts, route counts | Medium — recount from actual files |
| Roadmap lag | Completed work not reflected in docs | High — confirm git log intent |
Decision: Audit vs Fix
$ARGUMENTS= empty oraudit→ report only, no edits$ARGUMENTS=fix→ report then apply targeted edits, commit
When fixing: edit the minimum to correct drift. Don't rewrite prose, restructure sections, or add new content — this is sync, not authoring.
What to Audit
Architecture docs — plugin/middleware chain order, route module list, monorepo package list, directory structure tree.
Security docs — security plugins listed vs what's registered, permission counts, any security-related commits since last doc update (git log --oneline --since="$(git log -1 --format=%ai docs/SECURITY.md)" -- src/).
Test docs — actual test file count vs documented count, pass/fail counts (run suite to get current numbers).
Roadmap/changelog — git log for completed work not reflected in any phase. Flag commits with feat: or fix: prefixes that postdate the last roadmap update.
CLAUDE.md / agent instructions — naming conventions match actual patterns, documented file paths exist, anti-patterns section is current.
Scripts
bash scripts/list-doc-targets.sh
node scripts/check-doc-paths.js README.md docs/ARCHITECTURE.md
Report Format
| Doc | Section | Issue | Severity |
|-----|---------|-------|----------|
Severity: Critical (broken paths, missing security docs), Warning (stale counts, missing routes), Info (minor wording drift, outdated roadmap phases).
Commit (fix mode only)
docs: sync documentation with codebase [doc-sync]