# Project Documentation Template > **Back to [Markdown Style Guide](../markdown_style_guide.md)** — Read the style guide first for formatting, citation, and emoji rules. **Use this template for:** Software projects, open-source libraries, internal tools, APIs, platforms, or any product that needs documentation for users and contributors. Designed to take someone from "what is this?" to "I'm contributing" in a single read. **Key features:** Quick start that gets people running in under 5 minutes, architecture overview with Mermaid diagrams, API reference structure, troubleshooting section that addresses real problems, and contribution guidelines. **Philosophy:** The best project docs eliminate the need to read the source code to understand the system. A new team member should be productive in hours, not weeks. Every "how does this work?" question should have an answer in this document or be one click away. --- ## How to Use 1. Copy this file as your project's main `README.md` or `docs/index.md` 2. Replace all `[bracketed placeholders]` with your content 3. Delete sections that don't apply (a CLI tool might skip API reference; a library might skip deployment) 4. Add [Mermaid diagrams](../mermaid_style_guide.md) — especially for architecture, data flow, and request lifecycle 5. Keep the Quick Start brutally simple — if setup takes more than 5 commands, simplify it --- ## The Template Everything below the line is the template. Copy from here: --- # [Project Name] [One sentence: what this does and why someone would use it.] [One sentence: the key differentiator or value proposition.] []() []() --- ## 📋 Table of contents - [Quick start](#-quick-start) - [Architecture](#-architecture) - [Configuration](#-configuration) - [API reference](#-api-reference) - [Deployment](#-deployment) - [Troubleshooting](#-troubleshooting) - [Contributing](#-contributing) - [References](#-references) --- ## 🚀 Quick start ### Prerequisites | Requirement | Version | Check command | | ------------------ | ----------- | --------------------- | | [Runtime/Language] | ≥ [version] | `[command] --version` | | [Database/Service] | ≥ [version] | `[command] --version` | | [Tool] | ≥ [version] | `[command] --version` | ### Install and run ```bash # Clone the repository git clone https://github.com/[org]/[repo].git cd [repo] # Install dependencies [package-manager] install # Configure environment cp .env.example .env # Edit .env with your values # Start the application [package-manager] run dev ``` **Verify it works:** ```bash curl http://localhost:[port]/health # Expected: {"status": "ok", "version": "[version]"} ``` > 💡 **First-time setup issues?** See [Troubleshooting](#-troubleshooting) for common problems. --- ## 🏗️ Architecture ### System overview [2–3 sentences explaining the high-level architecture — what the major components are and how they interact.] ```mermaid flowchart TB accTitle: System Architecture Overview accDescr: High-level architecture showing client, API, services, and data layers with primary data flow paths client([👤 Client]) --> api[🌐 API Gateway] subgraph services ["⚙️ Services"] svc_a[📋 Service A] svc_b[📦 Service B] svc_c[🔐 Auth Service] end subgraph data ["💾 Data"] db[(💾 Primary DB)] cache[⚡ Cache] queue[📥 Message Queue] end api --> svc_c api --> svc_a api --> svc_b svc_a --> db svc_a --> cache svc_b --> queue svc_b --> db classDef svc fill:#dbeafe,stroke:#2563eb,stroke-width:2px,color:#1e3a5f classDef data fill:#dcfce7,stroke:#16a34a,stroke-width:2px,color:#14532d class svc_a,svc_b,svc_c svc class db,cache,queue data ``` ### Key components | Component | Purpose | Technology | | ------------- | -------------- | ------------ | | [Component 1] | [What it does] | [Tech stack] | | [Component 2] | [What it does] | [Tech stack] | | [Component 3] | [What it does] | [Tech stack] | ### Data flow [Describe the primary request lifecycle — what happens when a user makes a typical request.] ```mermaid sequenceDiagram accTitle: Primary Request Lifecycle accDescr: Sequence showing how a typical request flows through the API gateway, service layer, and data stores participant C as 👤 Client participant A as 🌐 API Gateway participant S as ⚙️ Service participant D as 💾 Database C->>A: 📤 Request A->>A: 🔐 Authenticate A->>S: ⚙️ Process S->>D: 🔍 Query D-->>S: 📥 Results S-->>A: 📤 Response A-->>C: ✅ 200 OK ```

📋 Detailed Architecture Notes

### Directory structure ``` [repo]/ ├── src/ │ ├── api/ # Route handlers and middleware │ ├── services/ # Business logic │ ├── models/ # Data models and schemas │ ├── config/ # Configuration and environment │ └── utils/ # Shared utilities ├── tests/ │ ├── unit/ │ └── integration/ ├── docs/ # Additional documentation └── scripts/ # Build, deploy, and maintenance scripts ``` ### Design decisions - **[Decision 1]:** [Why this approach was chosen over alternatives. Link to ADR if one exists.] - **[Decision 2]:** [Why this approach was chosen.]

--- ## ⚙️ Configuration ### Environment variables | Variable | Required | Default | Description | | -------------- | -------- | ---------------- | --------------------------------------------------- | | `DATABASE_URL` | Yes | — | PostgreSQL connection string | | `REDIS_URL` | No | `localhost:6379` | Redis cache connection | | `LOG_LEVEL` | No | `info` | Logging verbosity: `debug`, `info`, `warn`, `error` | | `PORT` | No | `3000` | HTTP server port | | `[VAR_NAME]` | [Yes/No] | [default] | [Description] | ### Configuration files | File | Purpose | | ------------------------ | --------------------------------------------- | | `.env` | Local environment variables (never committed) | | `config/default.json` | Default settings for all environments | | `config/production.json` | Production overrides | --- ## 📡 API Reference ### Authentication All API requests require a bearer token in the `Authorization` header: ``` Authorization: Bearer ``` Obtain a token via `POST /auth/login`. Tokens expire after [duration]. ### Endpoints #### `GET /api/[resource]` **Description:** [What this endpoint returns] **Parameters:** | Parameter | Type | Required | Description | | --------- | ------- | -------- | ----------------------------------- | | `limit` | integer | No | Max results (default: 20, max: 100) | | `offset` | integer | No | Pagination offset | | `[param]` | [type] | [Yes/No] | [Description] | **Response:** ```json { "data": [ { "id": "uuid", "name": "Example", "created_at": "2026-01-15T10:30:00Z" } ], "meta": { "total": 42, "limit": 20, "offset": 0 } } ``` **Error responses:** | Status | Meaning | When | | ------ | ------------ | ---------------------------- | | `401` | Unauthorized | Missing or invalid token | | `403` | Forbidden | Insufficient permissions | | `404` | Not found | Resource doesn't exist | | `429` | Rate limited | Exceeded [N] requests/minute |

📡 Additional Endpoints

#### `POST /api/[resource]` [Request body, parameters, response format] #### `PUT /api/[resource]/:id` [Request body, parameters, response format] #### `DELETE /api/[resource]/:id` [Parameters, response format]

--- ## 🚀 Deployment ### Production deployment ```bash # Build [package-manager] run build # Run database migrations [package-manager] run migrate # Start production server [package-manager] run start ``` ### Environment requirements | Requirement | Production | Staging | | ----------- | ---------- | ------- | | CPU | [spec] | [spec] | | Memory | [spec] | [spec] | | Storage | [spec] | [spec] | | Database | [spec] | [spec] | ### Health checks | Endpoint | Expected | Purpose | | ------------------- | -------- | ---------------------------------------- | | `GET /health` | `200 OK` | Basic liveness | | `GET /health/ready` | `200 OK` | Full readiness (DB, cache, dependencies) |

🔧 CI/CD Pipeline Details

[Describe the deployment pipeline — build steps, test stages, deployment targets, rollback procedures.]

--- ## 🔧 Troubleshooting ### Common issues #### "Connection refused" on startup **Cause:** Database is not running or connection string is incorrect. **Fix:** 1. Verify database is running: `[check-command]` 2. Check `DATABASE_URL` in `.env` 3. Test connection: `[test-command]` #### "[Specific error message]" **Cause:** [What triggers this error] **Fix:** 1. [Step 1] 2. [Step 2] #### Slow response times **Cause:** [Common causes — missing indexes, cache cold start, etc.] **Fix:** 1. Check cache connectivity: `[command]` 2. Verify database indexes: `[command]` 3. Review recent changes to query patterns ### Getting help - **Bug reports:** [Link to issue template or process] - **Questions:** [Link to discussions, Slack channel, or forum] - **Security issues:** [Email or private disclosure process] --- ## 🤝 Contributing ### Development setup ```bash # Fork and clone git clone https://github.com/[your-fork]/[repo].git # Install with dev dependencies [package-manager] install --dev # Run tests [package-manager] test # Run linter [package-manager] run lint ``` ### Workflow 1. Create a branch from `main`: `git checkout -b feature/your-feature` 2. Make changes following the code style (enforced by linter) 3. Write tests for new functionality 4. Run the full test suite: `[package-manager] test` 5. Open a pull request with a clear description ### Code standards - [Language/framework style guide or linter config] - [Test coverage expectations] - [PR review process] - [Documentation expectations for new features] --- ## 🔗 References - [Official framework docs](https://example.com) — [What version and which sections are most relevant] - [API specification](https://example.com) — [OpenAPI/Swagger link if applicable] - [Architecture Decision Records](../adr/) — [Why key decisions were made] --- _Last updated: [Date] · Maintained by [Team/Owner]_