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Improve documentation coverage and clarity #19

@slifty

Description

@slifty

Problem

Documentation is incomplete and doesn't cover many important aspects of the dotfiles system.

Specific Gaps

1. README.md Issues

  • Line 1 still says "slifty's dotfiles" (not generic/reusable language)
  • No documentation about re-running bootstrap safely
  • No troubleshooting guide
  • No explanation of AGENTS.md/CLAUDE.md purpose
  • Missing information about what happens during bootstrap

2. Topic Documentation

Only 4 topics have READMEs (python, local, ots, thunderbird). Most topics lack documentation:

  • What does each topic configure?
  • What applications/tools are affected?
  • Any manual steps after install?
  • Configuration locations

3. Missing Guides

  • No troubleshooting section
  • No guide for selective installation
  • No explanation of the bootstrap process flow
  • No documentation of common issues and solutions

Impact

  • New users don't understand what the dotfiles will do
  • Hard to debug when things go wrong
  • Contributors don't know where to add features
  • Maintenance burden when knowledge is only in code

Recommended Improvements

1. Update README.md

  • Make title and intro more generic
  • Add section explaining AGENTS.md purpose
  • Document that bootstrap.sh can be safely re-run (once idempotency is fixed)
  • Add troubleshooting section with common issues
  • Document bootstrap process flow more clearly

2. Add Topic READMEs

Create README.md in major topics explaining:

  • What the topic configures
  • What applications are involved
  • Any manual steps required
  • Where configurations are stored

Priority topics:

  • git/ - Explain aliases, signing, custom config
  • zsh/ - Explain Oh My ZSH setup, themes, plugins
  • macos/ - Explain what system preferences are changed
  • docker/ - Explain Docker setup
  • node/, python/, ruby/ - Explain version management

3. Add Troubleshooting Guide

Common issues to document:

  • Bootstrap fails midway
  • Permission errors
  • Missing environment variables
  • Brew install failures
  • GPG key setup issues

4. Document AGENTS.md

Add a section in README explaining what AGENTS.md is for and how AI assistants use it.

Success Criteria

  • New users understand what will happen before running bootstrap
  • Each major topic has a README
  • Common issues have documented solutions
  • README is welcoming to potential forkers

Priority

MEDIUM - Important for usability and maintainability

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