10. Documentation

Documentation determines whether users can successfully use your product. This chapter covers writing documentation for local AI products, including installation guides, user manuals, API references, and troubleshooting guides.

Documentation Structure

Organize documentation into tiers based on user needs:

1. Quick start — Get users running in under 5 minutes
2. User guide — Complete reference for all features
3. API reference — Technical details for developers
4. Troubleshooting — Common problems and solutions

Each tier serves different needs. Users who just installed the product need the quick start. Users with specific questions need searchable reference material. Users stuck on problems need troubleshooting guides.

Quick Start Guide

The quick start is your most important documentation. It must work reliably and complete within minutes. Test it with someone who has never seen your product before.

# Quick Start Guide

## Installation

1. Download the latest release for your platform:
   - [Windows (64-bit)](https://releases.example.com/v1.0/win64)
   - [macOS (Apple Silicon)](https://releases.example.com/v1.0/macos-arm64)
   - [Linux](https://releases.example.com/v1.0/linux)

2. Extract the archive to a location in your PATH

3. Verify installation:
   ```bash
   my-product --version

Basic Usage

Index your documents:

my-product index /path/to/documents

Search your documents:

my-product search "your query here"

Next Steps

• Read the User Guide for advanced features
• Check Troubleshooting if you encounter issues

### User Guide

The user guide explains features in depth. Use concrete examples for each feature. Include screenshots or diagrams where visual context helps. Maintain consistent terminology throughout.

Organize by user task, not by product component. Users want to know how to accomplish X, not how component Y works.

### Troubleshooting Guide

Collect common problems during development and testing. Write problems as user-facing questions: "How do I fix slow performance?" not "Performance optimization."

```markdown
# Troubleshooting

## Installation Problems

### "Permission denied" errors on Linux/macOS

The installation directory may not be writable. Either:
- Run the installer with sudo (Linux)
- Move the application to a writable location (macOS)

### Model download fails

Check your internet connection. If behind a firewall, configure proxy settings:
```bash
export HTTP_PROXY=http://proxy:8080
export HTTPS_PROXY=http://proxy:8080

Usage Problems

Search returns no results

1. Verify documents are indexed: my-product status
2. Re-index if needed: my-product index /path/to/documents
3. Try broader search terms

### Documentation Maintenance

Documentation becomes outdated without maintenance. Review and update documentation with each release. Assign ownership so someone is responsible for keeping docs current.