# Quick format catalog

Pick one format before drafting. Use the intent phrase, then follow that file. Do not hop between templates.
Every file here is a **ready-to-fill skeleton** (structure + section prompts) — copy it and replace the angle-bracket
placeholders; don't start a doc from a blank page.

Start from **Diátaxis**: most docs are one of four modes — a **tutorial** (learning by doing), a **how-to**
(completing one task), **reference** (looking up facts), or **explanation** (understanding why). Mixing modes in
one page is the most common way docs sprawl and the section-reader sidebar turns incoherent. The rows below
extend those four to common work products; pick the single closest one.

| Intent phrase | Format file | Renderer move |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Teach a newcomer through one learning path | [tutorial.md](tutorial.md) | md doc reader sections plus anchored code blocks |
| Help an operator complete a known task | [how-to.md](how-to.md) | md doc reader anchors on numbered steps |
| Describe an API, parameter set, or command surface | [reference.md](reference.md) | md doc reader plus table cell anchors |
| Publish an HTTP API reference (per-endpoint, try-it) | [http-api-reference.md](http-api-reference.md) | md doc reader sections per endpoint; param/body/status table anchors |
| Synthesize qualitative user interviews (PM) | [interview-research.md](interview-research.md) | md doc reader plus blockquote quote and severity table anchors |
| Explain why a system works this way | [explanation.md](explanation.md) | md doc reader plus mermaid region anchors |
| Guide a reviewer through a pull request | [pr-review.md](pr-review.md) | folder browser plus code line anchors |
| Record a decision with options and tradeoffs | [decision-memo.md](decision-memo.md) | md doc reader sections plus table cell anchors |
| Coordinate a launch | [launch-brief.md](launch-brief.md) | md doc reader plus mermaid rollout and owner table anchors |
| Learn from an incident | [postmortem.md](postmortem.md) | md doc reader plus table timeline and action anchors |
| Make a data-backed one-page argument | [one-pager.md](one-pager.md) | md doc reader plus sibling csv grid |
| Report research with method and limits | [research-report.md](research-report.md) | md doc reader sections plus findings table anchors |
| Specify a technical design | [spec-trd.md](spec-trd.md) | md doc reader plus mermaid architecture and anchored code blocks |
| Align a team on what to build and why (PM) | [prd.md](prd.md) | md doc reader sections plus requirement and metric table anchors |
| Propose and pressure-test a technical change (eng) | [design-doc.md](design-doc.md) | md doc reader plus mermaid architecture and alternatives table anchors |
| Send a weekly status update | [weekly-update.md](weekly-update.md) | md doc reader plus metrics table anchors |
| Turn meeting notes into decisions and actions | [meeting-notes.md](meeting-notes.md) | md doc reader plus list-item anchors |