IDL Documentation Generator

Automatically generates comprehensive API documentation from Anchor IDL files with instruction signatures, account layouts, error codes, and usage examples

v1.3.0

by parity-teamUpdated 2026-02-11

toolinganchor

CursorClaude CodeWindsurfCopilot

curl -s https://parity.cx/api/skills/idl-docs | shcopy

SKILL.md

IDL Documentation Generator Skill

You are generating comprehensive API documentation from an Anchor program's IDL (Interface Description Language). The IDL is the canonical interface contract between the on-chain program and its clients. The documentation must be complete enough for a frontend developer to integrate with the program without reading the Rust source.

Context Sources

| Source | Path | Contains |

|--------|------|----------|

| Framework Patterns | programs/parity/src/context_engine.rs > ANCHOR_PATTERNS | Anchor account patterns to explain in documentation context |

| Best Practices Skill | skills/best-practices/SKILL.md | Convention checks including error message quality and event documentation |

GitHub base URL: https://github.com/paritydotcx/Skills/blob/main/

Step 1: IDL Parsing

If the input is a .json IDL file, parse it directly. If the input is a .rs source file, extract the interface by analyzing:

#[program] module — instruction handler signatures

#[derive(Accounts)] structs — account inputs per instruction

#[account] structs — stored account layouts with field types and sizes

#[error_code] enum — error codes with messages

#[event] structs — emitted events with field types

Build a structured representation of the program interface.

Step 2: Program Overview

Generate a header section:

markdown

# Program Name

**Program ID:** `YOUR_PROGRAM_ID`
**Framework:** Anchor vX.X.X
**Instructions:** N
**Account Types:** N
**Events:** N
**Errors:** N

Include a table of contents linking to each instruction, account type, event, and error.

Step 3: Instruction Documentation

For each instruction, generate:

Instruction Name

Description: Inferred from handler logic and parameter names.

Parameters:

| Name | Type | Description |

|------|------|-------------|

| amount | u64 | Amount of tokens to deposit |

Accounts:

|------|------|---------|--------|-------------|

PDA Seeds (if any accounts are PDA-derived):

vault: ["vault", authority.key()]

Errors that may be thrown:

InvalidAmount — Amount must be greater than zero

Overflow — Arithmetic overflow in balance calculation

Events emitted:

DepositEvent — Emitted on successful deposit with amount and new balance

TypeScript Example (if include_examples is true):

typescript

await program.methods
  .deposit(new anchor.BN(1_000_000))
  .accounts({
    vault: vaultPda,
    authority: wallet.publicKey,
    systemProgram: SystemProgram.programId,
  })
  .rpc();

Step 4: Account Type Documentation

For each #[account] type:

Account Name

Space: 8 (discriminator) + N bytes

|-------|------|------|-------------|

| balance | u64 | 8 | Current token balance |

| bump | u8 | 1 | PDA canonical bump |

Fetch Example:

typescript

const vault = await program.account.vault.fetch(vaultPda);
console.log("Balance:", vault.balance.toNumber());

Derivation (if PDA):

typescript

const [vaultPda] = PublicKey.findProgramAddressSync(
  [Buffer.from("vault"), authority.toBuffer()],
  programId
);

Step 5: Event Documentation

For each #[event]:

Event Name

| Field | Type | Description |

|-------|------|-------------|

| authority | Pubkey | Signer who initiated the action |

| amount | u64 | Amount transferred |

Listener Example:

typescript

const listener = program.addEventListener("DepositEvent", (event, slot) => {
  console.log("Deposit:", event.amount.toNumber(), "at slot", slot);
});

Step 6: Error Code Documentation

Table of all error codes:

| Code | Name | Message |

|------|------|---------|

| 6000 | InvalidAmount | Amount must be greater than zero |

| 6001 | Overflow | Arithmetic overflow in balance calculation |

| 6002 | InsufficientBalance | Withdrawal exceeds available balance |

Error Handling Example:

typescript

try {
  await program.methods.deposit(new anchor.BN(0)).accounts({...}).rpc();
} catch (err) {
  if (err.error.errorCode.code === "InvalidAmount") {
    console.error("Deposit amount must be positive");
  }
}

Step 7: TypeScript Type Definitions

Generate TypeScript interfaces matching the IDL:

typescript

export interface Vault {
  authority: PublicKey;
  balance: BN;
  isActive: boolean;
  bump: number;
}

export interface DepositEvent {
  authority: PublicKey;
  vault: PublicKey;
  amount: BN;
  newBalance: BN;
}

Output Format

Return the complete documentation as a single markdown document (or HTML/JSON depending on format input). The document must be self-contained and include all examples, type definitions, and integration guidance.

json

{
  "documentation": "# Program Name\n\n...",
  "type_definitions": "export interface Vault { ... }"
}