---
name: create_or_update-onboarding-file
description: "Create and maintain onboarding artifacts including file-level onboarding MDs and repo-level entity catalogs. Covers template, folder organization, section conventions, and metadata. Enforces strict 1-to-1 mapping for source files and one entity catalog per repo. Use this whenever creating new onboarding files, repo entity catalogs, or auditing existing onboarding artifacts for format compliance."
---

# C-05 Create Or Update Onboarding Files

This package owns durable onboarding maintenance for two artifact types:

1. file-level onboarding markdown files for concrete source files
2. repo-level entity catalogs for load-bearing cross-layer entities

Planning stays in task artifacts. This package defines how onboarding itself is created, updated, and kept structurally consistent.

It must use the `Domain Documentation` category declared in `<AR_MANAGEMENT_ROOT>/system/sources.md` for the onboarding slice being maintained, rather than assuming that adjacent onboarding alone is sufficient or hard-coding one particular documentation system into the skill.

## Routing

Choose the artifact type first, then use the matching workflow and template.

| Artifact type             | Use when                                                                              | Workflow                                      | Template                                      |
| ------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------- |
| File-level onboarding     | You are creating or updating onboarding for one source file mirrored under `<onboarding-root>/` | `workflows/file-level-onboarding-workflow.md` | `templates/file-level-onboarding-template.md` |
| Repo-level entity catalog | You are creating or updating `<onboarding-root>/<repo>/entities.md`                          | `workflows/repo-entity-catalog-workflow.md`   | `templates/repo-entity-catalog-template.md`   |

## Shared Placement Rules

```text
<onboarding-root>/
  index.md
  <repo>/
    overview.md
    entities.md
    <component>/
      overview.md
      src/<mirrored-source-tree>.md
```

1. File-level onboarding keeps strict 1-to-1 mirroring with source files.
2. Repo-level entity catalogs exist once per repo at `<onboarding-root>/<repo>/entities.md`.
3. Use `mcp_time_get_current_time` for onboarding timestamps; never guess.
4. Keep durable onboarding commentary separate from task-local planning and output docs.

## Quick Rules

1. Prefer updating an existing onboarding artifact over creating parallel duplicates.
2. File-level onboarding explains one concrete source file.
3. Repo-level entity catalogs document real entities and cross-layer projections, not generic glossary content.
4. If both a file-level onboarding document and a repo entity catalog need updates, handle both in the same pass when the task materially affects both.
5. This package may be invoked immediately from `C-01-findings-capture` when a verified factual current-state clarification qualifies for onboarding propagation.
6. When updating `Docs References` or `Cross-Repo References`, do not optimize by deleting existing explanation. Investigate the existing prose, correct it if needed, and back it with citations.
7. Start reference discovery from `<AR_MANAGEMENT_ROOT>/system/sources.md`, then use its `Domain Documentation` category as the required domain-evidence input for the file or entity being documented.
8. Treat onboarding as supporting context, not as a substitute for the `Domain Documentation` category.

## Source Discovery Rule

Before writing or revising onboarding content, read `<AR_MANAGEMENT_ROOT>/system/sources.md` and use its `Domain Documentation` category as the required discovery path for technical and behavioral documentation.

1. Use the `Domain Documentation` category from `<AR_MANAGEMENT_ROOT>/system/sources.md` as the discovery plan for `Docs References`, `Cross-Repo References`, and any load-bearing explanatory prose.
2. Preserve useful adjacent onboarding context, but do not let it replace the required `Domain Documentation` pass.
3. Do not hard-code one external documentation system into this package. The operative rule is to use whatever sources are listed under `Domain Documentation` in `<AR_MANAGEMENT_ROOT>/system/sources.md`.
4. If `Domain Documentation` includes both a local mirror and a live retrieval path, use the local material first for direct access and line citations, but emit onboarding links to the canonical live reference. Never emit filesystem paths to local documentation mirrors in onboarding output.
5. If no relevant material is found in the `Domain Documentation` sources, record what was checked instead of pretending the search space was limited to onboarding only.

## Reference Section Rule

`Docs References` and `Cross-Repo References` are explanation-first sections.

1. Explain domain behavior, system boundaries, or cross-repo interactions in prose.
2. Correct outdated or unsupported prose instead of deleting it reflexively.
3. Add citation-backed tables so the explanation is auditable.
4. Do not treat the citation table as a replacement for the explanation when the section is carrying real behavioral context.
5. In `Docs References`, link the last-column cell to the canonical online document URL even when the cited lines were read from a local mirror.
6. In `Cross-Repo References`, link code or onboarding evidence with workspace-relative markdown paths. Never emit absolute filesystem paths.

## Lifecycle Rules

### When code changes

1. update the relevant onboarding sections that no longer match the code
2. refresh verification metadata after the content update

### When code is deleted or moved

1. delete or move the mirrored onboarding file to match the real source tree
2. update overview indexes and cross-references that point at the old location
3. check whether repo-level entity catalogs or related onboarding now need cleanup