Living Documentation Generator

An intelligent MCP server for Kiro that automatically generates, maintains, and updates project documentation in real-time.

Features

• Real-time Documentation: Updates within 5 seconds of code changes
• Zero Configuration: Works out-of-the-box with intelligent project detection
• Multi-language Support: TypeScript, JavaScript, Python, and Go
• Beautiful Web UI: Modern, responsive interface with search and navigation
• Kiro Integration: Leverages steering files, hooks, and contextual awareness

Installation

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18.0.0 or higher
• Kiro IDE with MCP support

Setup

1. Clone and build the project:

git clone https://github.com/sgharlow/kiro-living-docs-devpost.git
cd kiro-living-docs-devpost
npm install
npm run build

2. Configure Kiro MCP settings by adding to ~/.kiro/settings/mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "living-docs": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["./dist/server.js"],
      "cwd": "/absolute/path/to/kiro-living-docs-devpost"
    }
  }
}

Replace /absolute/path/to/kiro-living-docs-devpost with the actual path where you cloned the repository.

3. Restart Kiro to load the MCP server

## Usage

### Basic Documentation Generation

Use the MCP tools in Kiro:

- `generate_docs`: Generate documentation for a project
- `watch_project`: Start real-time documentation updates
- `stop_watching`: Stop watching for changes

### Configuration

Create a `living-docs.config.json` file in your project root:

```json
{
  "outputPath": "docs",
  "includePatterns": ["**/*.ts", "**/*.js"],
  "excludePatterns": ["node_modules/**", "dist/**"],
  "outputFormats": ["markdown", "html"],
  "webServerPort": 3000
}

Development

Running Tests

npm test
npm run test:integration

Development Mode

npm run dev

Linting

npm run lint

Architecture

The system uses a multi-layered architecture:

• MCP Server: Handles Kiro integration and tool requests
• File Watcher: Monitors code changes using chokidar
• Code Analyzers: Extract semantic information from source code
• Documentation Generators: Create beautiful, structured documentation
• Web Server: Serves interactive documentation with real-time updates

Performance Targets

• Documentation updates: < 5 seconds
• Memory usage: < 100MB for typical projects
• Supports projects with 1000+ files

Platform-Specific Notes

Go Language Support on Windows

The Go analyzer uses a native Go parser for optimal performance and accuracy. On Windows systems, if you encounter Go parser errors, the system will automatically fall back to regex-based parsing (which still works but with reduced accuracy).

Troubleshooting Go Parser Issues

If you see errors like "The system cannot find the path specified" when analyzing Go files:

1. Check if Go is installed:

   go version

   If not installed, download from https://golang.org/dl/

2. Verify the system is using regex fallback: Look for console messages like "Go parser failed, falling back to regex parsing" This means the system is working correctly with reduced accuracy.

3. For full AST parsing (optional): The system expects a Go parser executable at dist/analyzers/go-parser/go-parser.exe

   If building from source and the Go parser source is available:

   # Navigate to the Go parser directory (if available)
   cd src/analyzers/go-parser
   go build -o ../../../dist/analyzers/go-parser/go-parser.exe main.go

What Works Without Native Parser

The regex fallback provides functional Go documentation generation including:

• ✅ Function and method detection
• ✅ Struct and interface identification
• ✅ Package-level documentation
• ✅ Basic type information
• ❌ Advanced AST analysis (reduced accuracy)

Bottom Line: The system remains fully operational for Go projects even without the native parser.

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

"The system cannot find the path specified" (Windows + Go)

This is expected behavior on Windows when the Go parser binary is not available. The system automatically falls back to regex parsing. See Go Language Support above.

Documentation generation is slow

• Check if you're analyzing very large files (>1MB)
• Verify include/exclude patterns in your config are optimized
• Use the performance benchmark: npm run test:performance

MCP server not responding in Kiro

1. Verify the server builds successfully: npm run build
2. Check your Kiro MCP configuration path is correct
3. Restart Kiro after configuration changes

Empty or missing documentation

• Ensure your project has supported file types (.ts, .js, .py, .go)
• Check that files aren't excluded by your patterns
• Verify the output directory exists and is writable

Contributing

We welcome contributions! Please see our Contributing Guide for details on:

• Setting up the development environment
• Code style guidelines
• Testing requirements
• Pull request process

Security

For security vulnerabilities, please see our Security Policy.

Changelog

See CHANGELOG.md for a detailed history of changes.

Links

• Repository: GitHub
• Issues: Bug Reports & Feature Requests
• Discussions: Community Discussions
• Demo: Live Demo Guide

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.