AI for Code Documentation: Auto-Generating Docs That Do Not Suck

The Documentation Problem

Documentation is universally neglected -- writing it is tedious, it goes stale after refactoring, and there is no feedback loop rewarding good docs. AI changes this equation.

import anthropic
client = anthropic.Anthropic()

def document_function(code: str, language: str) -> str:
    return client.messages.create(
        model='claude-sonnet-4-6',
        max_tokens=1024,
        system=f'Generate {language} documentation. Include: purpose, parameters, return value, exceptions, usage example.',
        messages=[{'role': 'user', 'content': f'Document this:\n{code}'}]
    ).content[0].text

CI/CD Integration

Hook documentation generation into your PR pipeline. When a function signature changes, automatically regenerate its documentation and include updated docs in the PR diff.

What Makes AI Docs Good

Provide Claude with the function signature, broader module context, test examples, and known edge cases. With rich context, Claude generates documentation indistinguishable from expert human writing.