This looks neat, but I don't see any examples of the format on the webpage (And no, I am not going to install Node.js just to see examples of the format).
I looked at the format. I think you're mostly on the right track, but I also think that a better candidate might be to simply use (and augment, where necessary, such as for styles) the org mode format: It can do all the stuff you have, but also things like checkboxes, calendars, and more.
As a bonus, both people and agents already know the format so there is no need to have a skills file. For example, the following prompt on Gemini WebChat (hardly a good model):
Give me an org mode file to show a PERT (Project evaluation and Review Technique) diagram, with a calendar below the diagram allowing me to see the current year. Create a hierarchy of tasks that have to be done using checkboxes and collapsible sections to mark tasks/subtasks as done. Below that, give me a table of all the terminal tasks that need to be completed with task/subtask name, starting date, estimated ending date and the resource assigned to it.
Finally, at the end, produce a gantt chart as a mermaid diagram for the sample project.
Produced a working file with tables[1], diagrams, calendar, checkboxes in a single file that Emacs rendered properly. Org mode can export to every format I ever needed (LaTeX, html, pdf). I once even had the resulting HTML conversion contain animations written in Javascript :-)
Maybe all you need to code for agents to write is a web-based viewer for Org Mode syntax?
Look at it this way: right now if I wanted what smalldocs does (i.e. ask the agent to generate any of your examples), I can ask the agent "do $FOO, generate org mode", and without a single additional skill/claude.md/agents.md file, get exactly the result you got from smalldocs.
I think maybe testdrive Emacs daily for a month; it would open your mind to the possibilities available[2]. If anything more is needed (like I wanted to put in JS in the HTML output), it can do it. If Emacs cannot do it, my agent can write an EmacsLisp function that will do it.
At the end of the day, when even a poor LLM can do what smalldocs does but without any additional .md files or context, I think maybe your solution might be over-engineered.
----------
[1] Org mode tables work exactly like spreadsheets, in that they can contain formulas.
[2] Think of it this way - when I needed multimodal documents, because I already knew Emacs, I just used that. When you needed multimodal documents, you vibed a whole new product into existence.
If you don't need interactive/animated features, I can absolutely recommend to have the agent build slides in HTML and convert it to PDF. Has been a game changer for me.
I’m having trouble having it take reference PowerPoint slides and converting them to html, chart and labels misplaced, the charts don’t look drawn properly, etc. how did you solve this?
> OfficeCLI is the first and best Office suite purpose-built for AI agents to read, edit, and automate Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files. Free, open-source, single binary, no Office installation required.
1. Calling Microsoft Office simply "Office" without qualification treats it like a trademark, rather than a generic term that was in use for this class of product before MS appropriated it.
2. If you're going to treat it like a trademark, don't violate it in the same sentence.
Oh, and you're not the first, I started this a year ago. :)
I say it’s as if “Claude Code & Microsoft Office had a baby...”
Code available: https://github.com/espressoplease/smalldocs
Discord: https://discord.gg/txjATTsDaq
Sample document: https://smalldocs.org/blogs/what-is-a-smalldoc
Invoked via Claude Code by saying stuff like: “sdoc me the plan for this feature”, or “dig into our logs and sdoc me a report on our latency”
If you’re talking about the README, you are right, but I think the homepage has a lot of examples you can click: https://smalldocs.org/#learn
What does a human write to (for example) create the diagram mentioned in "A diagram, drawn from a description rather than dragged into place."?
To me this looks like AI-writes-everything and human-reads-everything.
I looked at the format. I think you're mostly on the right track, but I also think that a better candidate might be to simply use (and augment, where necessary, such as for styles) the org mode format: It can do all the stuff you have, but also things like checkboxes, calendars, and more.
As a bonus, both people and agents already know the format so there is no need to have a skills file. For example, the following prompt on Gemini WebChat (hardly a good model):
Produced a working file with tables[1], diagrams, calendar, checkboxes in a single file that Emacs rendered properly. Org mode can export to every format I ever needed (LaTeX, html, pdf). I once even had the resulting HTML conversion contain animations written in Javascript :-)Maybe all you need to code for agents to write is a web-based viewer for Org Mode syntax?
Look at it this way: right now if I wanted what smalldocs does (i.e. ask the agent to generate any of your examples), I can ask the agent "do $FOO, generate org mode", and without a single additional skill/claude.md/agents.md file, get exactly the result you got from smalldocs.
I think maybe testdrive Emacs daily for a month; it would open your mind to the possibilities available[2]. If anything more is needed (like I wanted to put in JS in the HTML output), it can do it. If Emacs cannot do it, my agent can write an EmacsLisp function that will do it.
At the end of the day, when even a poor LLM can do what smalldocs does but without any additional .md files or context, I think maybe your solution might be over-engineered.
----------
[1] Org mode tables work exactly like spreadsheets, in that they can contain formulas.
[2] Think of it this way - when I needed multimodal documents, because I already knew Emacs, I just used that. When you needed multimodal documents, you vibed a whole new product into existence.
It’s also nice to get out of the command line for doing deep reading.
I have had a few developers try it, and some small number of them use it week after week (as do I): https://smalldocs.org/analytics
1. Calling Microsoft Office simply "Office" without qualification treats it like a trademark, rather than a generic term that was in use for this class of product before MS appropriated it.
2. If you're going to treat it like a trademark, don't violate it in the same sentence.