Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.
AI coding agents working on CHT configuration projects frequently make mistakes because they lack accurate, documentation about cht-conf actions, project structure, form conventions, and CHT app building patterns.
These are common agent mistakes:
- Putting forms in wrong directories (e.g., contact forms in
forms/app/ instead of forms/contact/)
- Missing or malformed
.properties.json companion files for forms
- Using outdated or non-existent cht-conf flags and action names
- Generating invalid
tasks.js / targets.js schemas (wrong event properties, missing required fields)
- Deploying changes blindly with no way to verify the instance state or diagnose errors
- Missing CHT-specific XLSForm patterns (
db-doc references, xml-external itemsets, contact-summary field access)
Describe the solution you'd like
2 phases of work to make cht-conf AI-agent friendly:
Phase 1: Bundled Documentation + AGENTS.md + llms.txt
Why: Always-available local documentation outperforms on-demand retrieval. Agents with bundled docs achieve 100% accuracy vs 79% with skill-based retrieval and 53% with no docs (Vercel research).
| Change |
Repo |
Reason |
Hugo Markdown output format using .RenderShortcodes |
medic/cht-docs |
CHT docs use Hugo shortcodes (read-content, figure, callout) that make raw Markdown incomplete for AI consumption. A custom output format produces clean .md files with all shortcodes resolved and partials inlined. |
llms.txt site index |
medic/cht-docs |
Standard adopted by 844K+ sites that gives AI tools a structured index of all available documentation pages. Near-zero effort addition to the Hugo config. |
| Bundle curated CHT docs in npm package |
medic/cht-conf |
Ship ~10-15 key CHT doc pages (forms, tasks, targets, contact-summary, app_settings) in dist/docs/cht/ so agents have offline, version-matched docs after npm install. |
| Write cht-conf-specific docs |
medic/cht-conf |
3 Markdown files covering: action reference (all 42+ actions), project directory structure, and form conventions. These document what agents get wrong most often. |
cht update-docs action |
medic/cht-conf |
Since CHT docs live in a separate repo, they may update between cht-conf releases. This action fetches fresh docs to ~/.cht-conf/docs/ with a staleness notice when bundled docs are >30 days old. |
initialise-project-layout generates AGENTS.md + CLAUDE.md |
medic/cht-conf |
New projects get agent instructions pointing to the bundled docs out of the box, following the AGENTS.md standard supported by 25+ AI coding tools. |
cht agents-md codemod |
medic/cht-conf |
One command for existing projects to generate AGENTS.md + CLAUDE.md, documented in README. |
Phase 2: cht inspect Commands
Why: Agents currently deploy changes blindly — they can't verify what's actually on the instance. The purpose is to turn the running instance into something an agent can reason about from the terminal.
| Command |
Reason |
cht inspect-forms |
List all deployed forms — agents need to verify uploads succeeded |
cht inspect-form <id> |
Show fields, calculations, media — agents need to diagnose form issues |
cht inspect-settings-diff |
Compare local vs deployed app_settings — agents need to know what's out of sync |
cht inspect-transitions |
Show transitions + deprecation warnings — currently only visible during upload |
cht inspect-hierarchy |
Show contact hierarchy tree — agents need to understand the data structure |
cht inspect-targets |
Show target definitions from deployed settings |
cht inspect-tasks |
Show task definitions and schedules from deployed settings |
cht inspect-replication |
Show replication status and pending changes |
cht inspect-errors |
Show recent Sentinel + API errors — currently requires manual log inspection |
All commands output human-readable text by default with a --json flag for machine-parseable output (following the pattern used by Terraform, Docker, and the agent-friendly CLI conventions).
Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.
AI coding agents working on CHT configuration projects frequently make mistakes because they lack accurate, documentation about cht-conf actions, project structure, form conventions, and CHT app building patterns.
These are common agent mistakes:
forms/app/instead offorms/contact/).properties.jsoncompanion files for formstasks.js/targets.jsschemas (wrong event properties, missing required fields)db-docreferences,xml-externalitemsets,contact-summaryfield access)Describe the solution you'd like
2 phases of work to make cht-conf AI-agent friendly:
Phase 1: Bundled Documentation + AGENTS.md + llms.txt
Why: Always-available local documentation outperforms on-demand retrieval. Agents with bundled docs achieve 100% accuracy vs 79% with skill-based retrieval and 53% with no docs (Vercel research).
.RenderShortcodesmedic/cht-docsread-content,figure,callout) that make raw Markdown incomplete for AI consumption. A custom output format produces clean.mdfiles with all shortcodes resolved and partials inlined.llms.txtsite indexmedic/cht-docsmedic/cht-confdist/docs/cht/so agents have offline, version-matched docs afternpm install.medic/cht-confcht update-docsactionmedic/cht-conf~/.cht-conf/docs/with a staleness notice when bundled docs are >30 days old.initialise-project-layoutgenerates AGENTS.md + CLAUDE.mdmedic/cht-confcht agents-mdcodemodmedic/cht-confPhase 2:
cht inspectCommandsWhy: Agents currently deploy changes blindly — they can't verify what's actually on the instance. The purpose is to turn the running instance into something an agent can reason about from the terminal.
cht inspect-formscht inspect-form <id>cht inspect-settings-diffcht inspect-transitionscht inspect-hierarchycht inspect-targetscht inspect-taskscht inspect-replicationcht inspect-errorsAll commands output human-readable text by default with a
--jsonflag for machine-parseable output (following the pattern used by Terraform, Docker, and the agent-friendly CLI conventions).