doc-search

name: doc-search description: "Tools for gathering documentation details"

Documentation Search Skill

Metadata

• Skill Name: doc-search
• Trigger Tag: #ref
• MCP Server: ref (documentation search MCP server)
• Category: Information Retrieval

Note: This skill is activated with #ref, not #doc-search. The directory name is doc-search but the trigger tag is #ref.

Description

Search through public documentation, GitHub repositories, and private resources (internal repos, PDFs) before providing code recommendations. Ensures answers are grounded in official documentation and real usage patterns rather than training data alone.

Capabilities

• Search public documentation (official docs, GitHub repos, Stack Overflow, MDN, etc.)
• Search private/internal documentation (internal repos, PDFs) using ref_src=private
• Retrieve code examples and API references from documentation
• Read full content of a specific URL as markdown (ref_read_url)
• Cross-reference multiple documentation sources

Activation

Include #ref tag in your prompt to activate this skill.

Usage Examples

Library or Framework Usage

#ref How to implement OAuth2 PKCE flow in Express.js?

Private Internal Docs

#ref ref_src=private Our internal API authentication guide

Combined with Web Search

#fetch #ref Latest TypeScript 5.x features and migration guide

API Reference

#ref Grafana HTTP API dashboard provisioning endpoints

Read a Specific URL

#ref Read https://docs.example.com/api/auth and summarize authentication options

Configuration

MCP server is configured in the .copilot/mcp-config.json.

Environment Variables

Use environment variables defined in .copilot/.env.

Connectivity Check

Before taking any action, verify the documentation search (ref) MCP server is reachable:

1. Call ref_search_documentation with a short minimal query as a probe.
2. If the call fails or returns an error, immediately stop and report: "Documentation search MCP server is unavailable. Cannot proceed."
3. Only proceed with the user's request after a successful probe response.

Best Practices

• Use before providing framework-specific or library-specific code
• Combine with #fetch when you also need the latest web results
• Add ref_src=private to search internal/private documentation
• Use ref_read_url with an exact URL from search results for full page content

Limitations

• Private docs require proper authentication and indexing
• Search quality depends on how well documentation is structured and indexed
• Does not replace #fetch for real-time/current events

GitHub Copilot & LLM Optimization Context

• Environment Indicator: You are operating within the GitHub Copilot CLI context. Always leverage native GitHub Copilot capabilities when interacting with codebases.
• Model Optimization: This prompt is optimized specifically for Claude Opus 4.5.
  • Leverage Claude Opus 4.5's deep comprehension and superior coding accuracy for complex architectural and logical tasks.
  • Ensure responses are direct, code-focused, and minimize conversational filler to optimize for developer workflows.