docs-search — Claude Code skill for AEM docs lookup

---
name: docs-search
description: "Use this when you need more information about an AEM Edge Delivery Services (EDS, Franklin, Helix) feature or guidance on how to implement one, and your existing web-search tools are not turning up relevant results. Searches the aem.live documentation, ranks matching pages by relevance, fetches full articles, and surfaces code examples and deprecation warnings."
license: Apache-2.0
metadata:
  version: "1.0.1"
---

# Searching AEM Documentation

## Overview

This skill helps you efficiently search the complete aem.live documentation (docs and blog posts) without wasting context on irrelevant pages. Use the provided search script to find relevant documentation pages, then fetch and read the full content of the most relevant results.

## When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when:
- You need information about an aem.live feature or concept
- You've already looked at the project codebase for context
- You've tried a basic web search but didn't find relevant aem.live documentation
- You need technical guidance on implementing aem.live features
- You're looking for best practices or examples from the official docs

**Do NOT use this skill when:**
- You need reusable code snippets or block examples (use `block-collection-and-party` instead)
- You already know the specific documentation URL
- You're looking for general web development information (not aem.live specific)

## How to Use This Skill

### Step 1: Identify Keywords

Determine 1-3 specific keywords related to what you're searching for. Be specific rather than general.

**Good keywords:**
- "block decoration"
- "metadata"
- "universal editor"
- "sidekick plugin"

**Poor keywords:**
- "aem" (too generic, filtered as stop word)
- "how to build website" (too broad)
- "the" (stop word)

### Step 2: Run the Search Script

Execute the search script from the project root:

```bash
node .claude/skills/docs-search/scripts/search.js [--all] <keyword1> [keyword2] [...]
```

**Options:**
- `--all`: Return all matching results (default: limit to 10 most relevant)
- Without `--all`: Returns top 10 results

**Examples:**
```bash
# Search for block decoration info
node .claude/skills/docs-search/scripts/search.js block decoration

# Search for metadata with all results
node .claude/skills/docs-search/scripts/search.js --all metadata

# Multi-word search
node .claude/skills/docs-search/scripts/search.js universal editor blocks
```

### Step 3: Review Search Results

The script returns JSON with the following structure:

```json
[
  {
    "path": "/developer/markup-sections-blocks",
    "title": "Markup, Sections, Blocks, and Auto Blocking",
    "description": "To design websites and create functionality, developers use the markup and DOM...",
    "snippet": "Markup, Sections, Blocks, and Auto Blocking\n\nTo design websites...",
    "type": "doc",
    "deprecation": null,
    "relevanceScore": 141
  }
]
```

**Field Explanations:**
- `path`: URL path to the documentation page
- `title`: Page title
- `description`: Brief summary (usually ~150 chars) - **use this for quick context**
- `snippet`: Relevant excerpt from the page content showing keyword context
- `type`: "doc" or "blog"
- `deprecation`: Warning message if feature is deprecated (or null)
- `relevanceScore`: Relevance score (higher = more relevant)

**Important Notes:**
- Results are sorted by relevance (highest first)
- Deprecated pages have reduced relevance scores but still appear in results
- The `description` field provides the best quick summary of the page
- The `snippet` shows keyword context but may not be comprehensive

### Step 4: Fetch and Read Full Documentation

The search results give you an overview. To get detailed information, you must fetch and read the complete page content.

**Target URL format:**
```
https://www.aem.live{path}
```

**How to retrieve:** Use whatever method you have available to fetch the full HTML/text content:
- Dedicated web fetching tools
- Terminal commands (curl, wget, etc.)
- Web browsing/scraping capabilities

**Best Practice:** Start with the top 2-3 most relevant results, read them fully, then decide if you need more. You may also follow links referenced in the documentation or conduct additional searches based on what you learn.

### Step 5: Alert User to Deprecations

If any results have a `deprecation` field with content, **inform the user** that the feature is deprecated and include the deprecation message. Suggest they look at higher-ranked (non-deprecated) alternatives.

## What Gets Searched

The search script searches documentation first (150+ pages). Blog posts are only searched if fewer than 5 doc results are found. If you need comprehensive coverage including blogs, use the `--all` flag.

## Examples

### Example 1: Finding Block Documentation

**User Request:** "How do I decorate blocks in aem.live?"

**Good Approach:**
1. Search: `node .claude/skills/docs-search/scripts/search.js block decoration`
2. Review top 3 results
3. Fetch the most relevant: `https://www.aem.live/developer/markup-sections-blocks`
4. Read full content and provide answer

**Poor Approach:**
- Using general web search instead (wastes time on irrelevant results)
- Not using the search script (might miss the best documentation page)

### Example 2: Learning About Metadata

**User Request:** "I need to add metadata to my pages"

**Good Approach:**
1. Search: `node .claude/skills/docs-search/scripts/search.js metadata`
2. Notice top result is "/docs/bulk-metadata" (score: 63)
3. Also see "/docs/metadata" (score: 30)
4. Fetch and read both to understand page-level vs bulk metadata
5. Provide comprehensive answer with both approaches

**Poor Approach:**
- Only reading the first result and missing bulk metadata option
- Not using `--all` when you need comprehensive coverage

### Example 3: Deprecated Feature Warning

**User Request:** "How do I use folder mapping?"

**Search Results:**
```json
[
  {
    "path": "/developer/authoring-path-mapping",
    "title": "Path mapping for AEM authoring",
    "relevanceScore": 51,
    "deprecation": null
  },
  {
    "path": "/developer/folder-mapping",
    "title": "Folder Mapping",
    "relevanceScore": 34.5,
    "deprecation": "Please contact us if you have a use case for folder mapping..."
  }
]
```

**Good Response:**
"I found information about folder mapping, but **this feature is deprecated**. The deprecation notice says: 'Please contact us if you have a use case for folder mapping...'. The current recommended approach is **Path mapping for AEM authoring** (the top result). Let me read that documentation for you instead."

**Poor Response:**
- Ignoring the deprecation warning and implementing the deprecated feature
- Not mentioning the better alternative

## Related Skills

- **block-collection-and-party**: Use when you need reusable code examples or block implementations
- **building-blocks**: Use when creating new blocks from scratch
- **content-modeling**: Use when designing content models for blocks

## Important Reminders

1. **Always check for deprecation warnings** and alert the user
2. **Fetch and read full pages** - search results are just for finding the right pages
3. **Start with top 2-3 results** before expanding search
4. **The description field is your friend** - it's usually well-written and concise
5. **Don't rely solely on snippets** - they're for context, not comprehensive information