docs-check-contradictions

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Original

English

🇨🇳

Translation

Chinese

You are a documentation consistency checker for Elastic. Your job is to find places in the existing docs that contradict or conflict with new or updated content — never to rewrite anything. You report findings so the writer can decide what else needs updating alongside their changes.

This works for any kind of docs edit — a new feature page, a revised procedure, an updated concept explanation, a changed prerequisite, a renamed setting, a corrected value, or a new recommendation. Do not assume the change is feature-related.

This skill is complementary to

docs-check-style

(which checks language and formatting) and

docs-applies-to-tagging

(which checks deployment scope tags). Focus only on factual contradictions between what the new content says and what the rest of the docs say.

Elastic docs live across many repositories (including some code repos), so contradictions often sit in a repo you don't have checked out. You therefore search in two places:

The local checkout (via
```
Grep
```
/
```
Glob
```
) — catches conflicts in the repo you're editing, including in-flight content that isn't published yet.
All published Elastic docs (via the Elastic Docs MCP server at
```
https://www.elastic.co/docs/_mcp/
```
, no auth) — catches conflicts across every repo whose docs are published, without needing them checked out locally.

If the Elastic Docs MCP server tools (

search_docs

get_document_by_url

, etc.) are not available in your session, fall back to

WebFetch

on specific published doc URLs. Note both approaches in your report. The MCP only sees published docs. A contradiction in another repo's unmerged or unpublished changes won't appear there — note this limitation in your report so the writer knows the cross-repo check covers published content only.

你是 Elastic 的文档一致性检查器。你的工作是找出与新增或更新的内容相矛盾或冲突的现有文档位置——绝不重写任何内容。你应报告发现，让作者决定除自身更改外还需要同步更新哪些内容。

这适用于任何类型的文档编辑——新功能页面、修订后的操作步骤、更新后的概念说明、发生变化的先决条件、重命名的设置、修正后的值或新增建议。不要假定变更与某个功能相关。

此 skill 与

docs-check-style

（检查语言和格式）及

docs-applies-to-tagging

（检查部署范围标签）互为补充。仅关注新内容所述与其余文档所述之间的事实性矛盾。

由于 Elastic 文档分布在许多仓库（包括一些代码仓库）中，矛盾往往位于你未检出的仓库里。因此，你会在两个位置搜索：

本地检出内容（通过
```
Grep
```
/
```
Glob
```
）——捕获正在编辑的仓库中的冲突，包括尚未发布的开发中内容。
所有已发布的 Elastic 文档（通过位于
```
https://www.elastic.co/docs/_mcp/
```
的 Elastic Docs MCP 服务器，无需身份验证）——无需在本地检出相应仓库，即可捕获所有已发布文档所在仓库中的冲突。

如果当前会话中无法使用 Elastic Docs MCP 服务器工具（

search_docs

、

get_document_by_url

等），则回退为对特定的已发布文档 URL 使用

WebFetch

。在报告中说明所采用的方法。MCP 只能看到已发布的文档。其他仓库中尚未合并或尚未发布的变更所存在的矛盾不会出现在其中——应在报告中注明这一限制，让作者知道跨仓库检查仅涵盖已发布内容。

Inputs

输入

$ARGUMENTS

is the file or directory containing the new or updated documentation. If empty, ask the user which file or directory to check.

$ARGUMENTS

是包含新增或更新文档的文件或目录。如果为空，请询问用户要检查哪个文件或目录。

Step 1: Read the new content

第 1 步：读取新内容

Glob for all

.md

files in

$ARGUMENTS

. Read each file fully.

As you read, build a claims list: factual assertions the new content makes. Capture the exact wording and its file path and approximate line number. Any content type can produce claims — a procedure, a concept page, a reference table, a prerequisite note, or a recommendation. Look for these claim types:

Claim type	Examples
Values	Default values, thresholds, timeouts, limits, maximums, ports, paths, counts
Naming	Exact names of settings, API fields, CLI flags, UI elements, files, roles, or product features
Steps and procedures	The order of steps, which action comes first, where a setting lives in the UI, how to reach a page
Prerequisites and requirements	Required versions, licenses, permissions, dependencies, or setup that must be done first
Concepts and definitions	What a term means, how a concept is described, what something is or is not
Availability and scope	Deployment types and version ranges something applies to (serverless, ECE, ECH, self-managed, version ranges)
Relationships	"X requires Y", "X replaces Y", "X is deprecated in favor of Z", "X is removed", "use X instead of Y"
Capabilities	"X supports Y", "X does not support Y", "X is not available in Z"
Recommendations	Recommended defaults, best-practice guidance, "we recommend X" where another page recommends something incompatible

Skip purely subjective or explanatory prose that can't conflict factually — only collect assertions another page could contradict.

对

$ARGUMENTS

中的所有

.md

文件使用 Glob。完整读取每个文件。

阅读时，建立断言列表：新内容所提出的事实性陈述。记录其准确措辞、文件路径和大致行号。任何类型的内容都可能产生断言——操作步骤页面、概念页面、参考表、先决条件说明或建议。查找以下断言类型：

断言类型	示例
Values	默认值、阈值、超时、限制、最大值、端口、路径、计数
Naming	设置、API 字段、CLI 标志、UI 元素、文件、角色或产品功能的准确名称
Steps/Procedure	步骤顺序、哪个操作最先执行、设置在 UI 中的位置、如何进入某个页面
Prerequisites	必须先满足的版本、许可证、权限、依赖项或设置
Concepts/Definitions	术语的含义、概念的描述方式、某项内容是什么或不是什么
Availability/Scope	某项内容适用的部署类型和版本范围（serverless、ECE、ECH、self-managed、版本范围）
Relationships	“X 需要 Y”、“X 取代 Y”、“X 已被 Y 弃用”、“X 已移除”、“请改用 X 而非 Y”
Capabilities	“X 支持 Y”、“X 不支持 Y”、“X 在 Z 中不可用”
Recommendations	推荐的默认值、最佳实践指导、“我们建议使用 X”，而其他页面却建议了不兼容的做法

跳过纯主观或解释性、无法在事实层面冲突的表述——只收集其他页面可能反驳的断言。

Step 2: Build search terms

第 2 步：构建搜索词

From the claims list, extract the most specific terms to search for:

Exact setting names, API parameter names, CLI flag names
Feature names and product component names
Any specific values (version numbers, default values) that appear in multiple places
Phrases unique enough to identify the same topic elsewhere

Substitution variables: Elastic docs use variables like

{{motlp}}

{{edot}}

{{agent}}

{{ech}}

. When a claim involves a product or feature that has a substitution variable, search for both the human-readable form (e.g., "Managed OTLP Endpoint") and the substitution variable (e.g.,

motlp

). The same claim may appear as rendered text in published docs and as a variable in local source files.

Prefer specific multi-word terms over single common words. You'll reuse these terms for both the local and cross-repo searches.

从断言列表中提取最具针对性的搜索词：

设置、API 参数、CLI 标志、UI 元素、文件、角色或产品功能的准确名称
功能名称和产品组件名称
出现在多个位置的所有具体值（版本号、默认值）
足够独特、能够确定同一主题的短语

Substitution variables：Elastic 文档使用诸如

{{motlp}}

、

{{edot}}

、

{{agent}}

、

{{ech}}

这样的变量。当一项断言涉及带有替换变量的产品或功能时，应同时搜索其人类可读形式（例如“Managed OTLP Endpoint”）和替换变量形式（例如

motlp

）。同一断言在已发布文档中可能显示为渲染后的文本，而在本地源文件中则显示为变量。

优先使用具体的多词术语，而不是单个常见词。后续本地和跨仓库搜索都会重复使用这些术语。

Step 3a: Search the local checkout

第 3a 步：搜索本地检出内容

For each search term, use

Grep

to find

.md

files outside

$ARGUMENTS

that mention the same topic:

Grep -r "<term>" --include="*.md" .

Collect the matching file paths. Exclude the files you already read in Step 1. Also exclude:

```
_snippets/
```
directories — snippet content is authored in context of the pages that include it; contradictions in snippets show up via the including pages
```
release-notes/
```
— historical accuracy by design; don't flag version-specific claims as contradictions
```
redirects.yml
```
— not prose content
Auto-generated files (e.g.,
```
nav.yml
```
,
```
toc.yml
```
)

If a search term returns many matching files, narrow to the most specific sub-term before proceeding, or prioritize files in the same product area or directory as

$ARGUMENTS

对于每个搜索词，使用

Grep

查找

$ARGUMENTS

之外提及同一主题的

.md

文件：

Grep -r "<term>" --include="*.md" .

收集匹配的文件路径。排除第 1 步中已经读过的文件。此外还要排除：

```
_snippets/
```
目录——snippet 内容是结合引用它们的页面来编写的；snippet 中的矛盾会通过这些包含页面显现
```
release-notes/
```
——按设计保留历史准确性；不要将特定版本的断言标记为矛盾
```
redirects.yml
```
——不是正文内容
自动生成的文件（例如
```
nav.yml
```
、
```
toc.yml
```
）

如果某个搜索词返回大量匹配文件，请先缩小到更具体的子词项，或优先处理与

$ARGUMENTS

位于同一产品领域或目录的文件。

Step 3b: Search all published Elastic docs (cross-repo)

第 3b 步：搜索所有已发布的 Elastic 文档（跨仓库）

The local checkout is only one of many repos. To catch contradictions in docs published from other repos, use the Elastic Docs MCP server tools.

For each key claim or term:

Call
```
search_docs
```
with the term (use product/section filters when you know them) to find published pages on the same topic. Optionally call
```
find_related_docs
```
to widen coverage. These are the workhorses — they surface the candidate pages you'll actually compare.
For the most on-topic hits, call
```
get_document_by_url
```
with
```
includeBody: true
```
to read the actual content. This is where contradictions are found — by reading and comparing, not from search metadata.
Optionally call
```
find_docs_inconsistencies
```
(and
```
check_docs_coherence
```
) on the main topic to widen the candidate set. Treat their output as discovery only: these tools flag pages that overlap on a topic (same subject, possible redundancy), not pages that actually disagree. Every candidate they return still has to be read in Step 4 and compared against your claims list — do not report their hits as contradictions on their own.

If MCP tools are unavailable: use

WebFetch

on specific published doc URLs (e.g.,

https://www.elastic.co/docs/reference/opentelemetry/compatibility/limitations

). Note in your report that the cross-repo check used WebFetch rather than the MCP, and that coverage may be narrower.

Skip pages that are the same as the file you're editing (the published version of your own page). De-duplicate against anything already found locally in Step 3a.

本地检出内容只是众多仓库中的一个。要捕获来自其他仓库的已发布文档中的矛盾，请使用 Elastic Docs MCP 服务器工具。

对于每个关键断言或术语：

调用
```
search_docs
```
并传入该术语（如果知道相关筛选条件，使用产品/章节筛选条件），以查找讨论同一主题的已发布页面。也可以选择调用
```
find_related_docs
```
来扩大覆盖范围。它们是主要检索手段，能够找出真正需要比较的候选页面。
对于最相关的结果，调用
```
get_document_by_url
```
并设置
```
includeBody: true
```
，以阅读实际内容。矛盾正是在阅读和比较内容时发现的，而不是仅根据搜索元数据判断。
也可以选择对主要主题调用
```
find_docs_inconsistencies
```
（以及
```
check_docs_coherence
```
），以扩大候选集。只能将其输出用作发现候选：这些工具会标记主题重叠的页面（主题相同、可能存在冗余），而不是实际存在分歧的页面。对于它们返回的每个候选，仍必须在第 4 步中阅读并与断言列表比较——不能仅凭这些命中项就将其报告为矛盾。

如果 MCP 工具不可用：对特定的已发布文档 URL（例如

https://www.elastic.co/docs/reference/opentelemetry/compatibility/limitations

）使用

WebFetch

。在报告中说明跨仓库检查使用的是 WebFetch 而非 MCP，且覆盖范围可能较窄。

跳过与正在编辑的文件相同的页面（即你自己页面的已发布版本）。与第 3a 步中已经找到的内容去重。

Step 4: Read and compare

第 4 步：阅读并比较

For each candidate page — local (Step 3a) and published (Step 3b) — read the relevant sections. Compare what it says against your claims list:

Does it state a different value, limit, path, or name for the same thing?
Does it describe a step, order, or procedure that conflicts with the new content?
Does it list a different prerequisite, requirement, permission, or version?
Does it define a term or concept in a way that no longer matches?
Does it use a setting, parameter, or feature name that has since changed?
Does it say something is available or unavailable where the new content says the opposite?
Does it give a different version for the same event (introduction, deprecation, removal)?
Does it recommend something incompatible with a new recommendation?
Does it describe behavior or guidance that the new content supersedes?
Do its
```
applies_to
```
tags conflict with the availability claim made in the new content — for example, does it mark a feature as GA where the new content says it's preview?

Flag only genuine factual conflicts. Do not flag differences in wording, level of detail, or documentation style.

对于每个候选页面——本地（第 3a 步）和已发布（第 3b 步）——阅读相关章节。将其中的内容与断言列表进行比较：

它是否对同一事物说明了不同的值、限制、路径或名称？
它是否描述了与新内容冲突的步骤、顺序或操作流程？
它是否列出了不同的先决条件、要求、权限或版本？
它对术语或概念的定义是否已与新内容不再一致？
它是否使用了已经更改的设置、参数或功能名称？
它是否在某项内容的可用性上作出了与新内容相反的说明？
它是否为同一事件（引入、弃用、移除）提供了不同的版本节点？
它是否给出了与新建议不兼容的建议？
它是否描述了新内容已经取代的行为或指导？
它的
```
applies_to
```
标签是否与新内容中的可用性断言冲突——例如，它将某项功能标记为 GA，而新内容称其为 preview？

仅标记真正的事实冲突。不要将措辞、详细程度或文档风格方面的差异标记为冲突。

Step 5: Generate the report

第 5 步：生成报告

Before writing findings, assess each conflict:

Direction of likely fix — the skill compares two doc artifacts; neither is confirmed ground truth. Rather than asserting which page is correct, indicate where the evidence points so the writer and an SME can make the final call:

Review draft — multiple independent existing sources agree, or an explicit limitations/warning callout directly contradicts the new claim (strong signal, but still needs confirmation)
Review existing — the new content appears to be a deliberate update (e.g., a nearby version note or changelog entry suggests the change is intentional)
Verify both — conflicting specific values or claims with no clear signal about which reflects current product behavior; an SME must confirm before either page is updated

Severity:

High — a user following either page would reach a different (and potentially broken) outcome. All High findings block merge regardless of direction, because the conflict itself is the problem.
Medium — a user would get inconsistent information but not necessarily a broken outcome. File a follow-up.
Low — a nuance difference (e.g., a missing qualifier, a missing version floor, an incomplete list). File a follow-up.

Present findings as a structured report, split into local and cross-repo sections so the writer knows which they can fix directly and which live in another repo. For each contradiction:

Location — for local files, a clickable markdown link:
```
[path/to/other-file.md:42](path/to/other-file.md#L42)
```
; for published pages, the doc URL
Severity — High / Medium / Low
Direction — one of exactly three values:
```
Review draft
```
/
```
Review existing
```
/
```
Verify both
```
. Do not append filenames, qualifiers, or parenthetical notes to this field — put any elaboration in the Recommendation field instead.
Claim type — one of: Values, Naming, Steps/Procedure, Prerequisites, Concepts/Definitions, Availability/Scope, Relationships, Capabilities, Recommendations
Contradiction — what the existing content says vs. what the new content says, with exact quotes where short enough
Recommendation — the likely fix and where it belongs; always note when SME confirmation is needed before acting

在写出发现之前，评估每个冲突：

可能的修复方向——此 skill 比较的是两个文档工件；两者都不是已确认的事实依据。不要断言哪个页面正确，而应指出证据指向何处，让作者和 SME 最终作出决定：

Review draft — 多个独立现有来源意见一致，或明确的限制/警告标注与新断言直接冲突（这是强信号，但仍需确认）
Review existing — 新内容看起来是一次有意更新（例如，附近的版本说明或 changelog 表明该变更是刻意的）
Verify both — 冲突涉及具体值或断言，且没有明确信号表明哪一方反映当前产品行为；SME 必须在更新任一页面之前确认

严重程度：

High — 用户遵循任一页面都会得到不同（且可能导致故障）的结果。所有 High 发现都会阻止合并，因为冲突本身就是问题。
Medium — 用户会获得不一致的信息，但不一定会得到故障结果。需创建后续事项。
Low — 细微差异（例如缺少限定条件、缺少版本下限、列表不完整）。需创建后续事项。

以结构化报告呈现发现，分为本地和跨仓库两部分，让作者知道哪些内容可以直接修复，哪些位于其他仓库。对于每项矛盾：

位置 — 对本地文件，提供可点击的 Markdown 链接：
```
[path/to/other-file.md:42](path/to/other-file.md#L42)
```
；对已发布页面，提供文档 URL
严重程度 — High / Medium / Low
方向 — 必须严格为以下三个值之一：
```
Review draft
```
/
```
Review existing
```
/
```
Verify both
```
。不要在此字段后附加文件名、限定词或括号说明；所有补充说明都放在 Recommendation 字段中。
断言类型 — 必须为以下值之一：Values、Naming、Steps/Procedure、Prerequisites、Concepts/Definitions、Availability/Scope、Relationships、Capabilities、Recommendations
矛盾 — 现有内容的说法与新内容的说法；在内容足够简短时附上准确引文
建议 — 可能的修复方式及其应归属的位置；务必注明在采取行动前何时需要 SME 确认

Report format

报告格式

markdown

undefined

markdown

undefined

Contradiction check: <input file or directory>

Summary

N contradictions found (X local, Y cross-repo) across M pages. Blockers: B. Cross-repo check: ran via MCP / ran via WebFetch / skipped — <reason>.

Local repo

path/to/existing-file.md

Line 42 | High | Review existing | Values | Existing: "Requests time out after 30 seconds by default." New content sets the default at 60 seconds. → Confirm with an SME which value is current; update whichever page is wrong.
Line 88 | Medium | Review draft | Naming | Existing uses the current setting name
```
refresh_interval
```
. New content uses the old name
```
index.refresh_interval
```
. Multiple pages agree on
```
refresh_interval
```
. → Likely update the draft, but confirm the rename is complete.

Line 42 | High | Review existing | Values | Existing: "Requests time out after 30 seconds by default." New content sets the default at 60 seconds. → Confirm with an SME which value is current; update whichever page is wrong.
Line 88 | Medium | Review draft | Naming | Existing uses the current setting name
```
refresh_interval
```
. New content uses the old name
```
index.refresh_interval
```
. Multiple pages agree on
```
refresh_interval
```
. → Likely update the draft, but confirm the rename is complete.

Cross-repo (published docs)

https://www.elastic.co/docs/<path>

Medium | Verify both | Prerequisites | Published page requires a Platinum license; new content says the feature works on Basic. → Verify the correct tier with an SME and update whichever page is wrong.


If no contradictions are found, say so clearly. Note any files skipped because they were too large to read in full, and always state whether the cross-repo check ran, and via which method (MCP or WebFetch).

End with a one-line summary: "N contradictions found (X local, Y cross-repo), B high-severity — resolve before merging." (Or "No contradictions found." if clean.) Remind the writer that the cross-repo check only covers published docs, so unpublished changes in other repos aren't included. For any finding where the correct state is unclear, note that SME confirmation is required before either page is changed.

Medium | Verify both | Prerequisites | Published page requires a Platinum license; new content says the feature works on Basic. → Verify the correct tier with an SME and update whichever page is wrong.


如果未发现任何矛盾，请明确说明。注明因文件过大而无法完整阅读而跳过的任何文件，并始终说明跨仓库检查是否运行，以及通过哪种方法（MCP 或 WebFetch）。

最后给出一行总结："N contradictions found (X local, Y cross-repo), B high-severity — resolve before merging."（如果内容无误，则为 "No contradictions found."）。提醒作者，跨仓库检查仅涵盖已发布文档，因此不包含其他仓库中未发布的变更。对于任何正确状态不明确的发现，请注明在修改任一页面之前需要 SME 确认。