ngit-grasp/docs/reference

Reference

Information-oriented documentation - Technical details and specifications.

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What Is Reference Documentation?

Reference documentation provides factual, technical information that you look up when needed.

Characteristics:

• ✅ Information-oriented (facts and data)
• ✅ Comprehensive and accurate
• ✅ Structured for lookup
• ✅ Dry and to-the-point
• ✅ Maintained as code changes

Not reference:

• ❌ Learning materials (those are Tutorials)
• ❌ Problem-solving guides (those are How-To)
• ❌ Conceptual explanations (those are Explanation)

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Available Reference Documentation

Configuration

Complete reference for all configuration options

Contents:

• Environment variables
• Configuration file format
• Validation rules
• Examples for development/production/testing

Use when: You need to know what a config option does or what values are valid

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Git Protocol

Git Smart HTTP protocol specification

Contents:

• Protocol overview
• Pkt-line format
• Request/response structure
• Reference updates format
• Parsing examples

Use when: You need to understand Git HTTP internals

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Test Strategy

Testing approach and compliance framework

Contents:

• Test categories (unit, integration, compliance)
• GRASP compliance requirements
• Test isolation strategy
• Running tests
• Coverage requirements

Use when: You're writing tests or need to understand test structure

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Planned Reference Documentation

GRASP Protocol

Status: 🔜 Planned

Contents:

• GRASP-01 requirements
• GRASP-02 (Proactive Sync)
• GRASP-05 (Archive)
• Event formats
• Validation rules

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API Reference

Status: 🔜 Planned (waiting for main server)

Contents:

• HTTP endpoints
• Request/response formats
• Error codes
• Authentication
• Rate limiting

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nostr-sdk Upgrade Guide

Status: 🔜 Planned

Contents:

• Version compatibility matrix
• Breaking changes by version
• Migration examples
• Common patterns

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Event Formats

Status: 🔜 Planned

Contents:

• NIP-34 repository announcements (kind 30317)
• NIP-34 state events (kind 30318)
• Custom tags
• Validation rules

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CLI Reference

Status: 🔜 Planned

Contents:

• Command-line arguments
• Subcommands
• Environment variables
• Exit codes

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How to Use Reference Documentation

1. Know what you're looking for - Reference is for lookup, not learning
2. Use search or table of contents - Find the specific detail you need
3. Check version - Ensure docs match your version
4. Verify with code - Reference should match implementation

Not sure if this is what you need?

• New to the topic? → Tutorials
• Trying to solve a problem? → How-To Guides
• Want to understand concepts? → Explanation

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Contributing Reference Documentation

When writing reference documentation:

DO:

• ✅ Be accurate and complete
• ✅ Use consistent structure
• ✅ Include all options/parameters
• ✅ Provide examples
• ✅ Update when code changes
• ✅ Use tables for structured data

DON'T:

• ❌ Explain concepts (link to Explanation)
• ❌ Provide tutorials (link to Tutorials)
• ❌ Solve problems (link to How-To)
• ❌ Include opinions or recommendations

Template:

# Reference: [Topic]

**Purpose:** [What this reference covers]  
**Audience:** [Who needs this information]

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## Overview

[Brief description of what's being documented]

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## [Section 1]

### [Item]

**Description:** [What it is/does]  
**Type:** [Data type]  
**Default:** [Default value]  
**Required:** [Yes/No]

**Examples:**
\`\`\`
[Example usage]
\`\`\`

**Notes:**
- [Important details]

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## Related Documentation
- [Links to relevant docs]

See Diátaxis: Reference for detailed guidance.

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Part of the ngit-grasp documentation using the Diátaxis framework.