matlab-read-doc
Guides the agent to reference official MathWorks Documentation and Help. Determine correct function syntax and workflows from user guides when deeper context is needed. Minimize iterations and repetitive trial and error. Use this skill to: Identify correct syntax and configuration details. Retrieve relevant, version-specific (or release-specific) information from official documentation. Consult user guides when conceptual or workflow context is needed. Apply best practices.
npx skills add matlab/matlab-agentic-toolkit --skill matlab-read-doc --agent claude-code
Same command for any agent — swap --agent for codex, cursor, copilot.
Weekly change comes from our own snapshots, not the repository page — it measures attention, not adoption.
What it does
Guides the agent to reference official MathWorks Documentation and Help. Determine correct function syntax and workflows from user guides when deeper context is needed. Minimize iterations and repetitive trial and error. Use this skill to: Identify correct syntax and configuration details. Retrieve relevant, version-specific (or release-specific) information from official documentation. Consult user guides when conceptual or workflow context is needed. Apply best practices.
How it works
Systematic methodology for reading live MathWorks documentation. Provides a repeatable four-pass strategy (local catalog → help → user guide pages → reference pages) that turns documentation lookup into a predictable, efficient operation. Uses MATLAB's webread via MCP to fetch pages, with helper scripts that handle URL discovery, HTML parsing, and content extraction.
When to use it
- You are answering a "How do I..." question related to MathWorks products and workflows
- You guessed a URL and got 404 — use this skill to discover the correct URL from the index
- You need to find which functions exist for a product or workflow — start with the local function catalog
- You need to verify a function's syntax, arguments, or deprecation status from the authoritative source
- You want to check MathWorks best practices for a specific workflow
- Training-data knowledge is uncertain or potentially out of date for a release-specific API
- The user asks what MathWorks recommends for a specific topic
- You want a systematic approach that finds the RIGHT page (not just A page) in minimal tool calls
What it can touch
- Tools: claude-code, codex, copilot
- Scripts: get_local_function_list.m, fetch_product_index.m, extract_page_slugs.m, fetch_doc_page.m, find_replacement.m, DocUtilities.m
- Methodology: four-pass strategy, using
help, local catalog,ug/workflow pages, andref/pages
Caveats
- License: license URL is provided in the skill metadata; no explicit license text shown here
- Behavior depends on live MathWorks documentation structure and release indexing; fetches are subject to changes in MathWorks site and page availability
# Use MathWorks Documentation Systematic methodology for reading live MathWorks documentation. Provides a repeatable four-pass strategy (local catalog → `help` → user guide pages → reference pages) that turns documentation lookup into a predictable, efficient operation. Uses MATLAB's `webread` via MCP to fetch pages, with helper scripts that handle URL discovery, HTML parsing, and content extraction. ## When to Use - You are answering a "How do I..." question related to MathWorks products and workflows - You guessed a URL and got 404 — use this skill to discover the correct URL from the index - You need to find which functions exist for a product or workflow — start with the local function catalog - You need to verify a function's syntax, arguments, or deprecation status from the authoritative source - You want to check MathWorks best practices for a specific workflow - Training-data knowledge is uncertain or potentially out of date for a release-specific API - The user asks what MathWorks recommends for a specific topic - You want a systematic approach that finds the RIGHT page (not just A page) in minimal tool calls ## When NOT to Use - The local `help` command is sufficient — pr
- When to Use
- When NOT to Use
- Fast Paths
- Release notes
- Help Center Page Hierarchy
- Choosing What to Fetch
- Page value signals (product-independent)
- Four-pass strategy
- When help is enough (most of the time)
- When help is NOT enough (fetch the web page)
- URL Patterns
- Building documentation URLs
- Page type patterns
- Scripts
What does the matlab-read-doc skill do?
Guides the agent to reference official MathWorks Documentation and Help. Determine correct function syntax and workflows from user guides when deeper context is needed. Minimize iterations and repetitive trial and error. Use this skill to: Identify correct syntax and configuration details. Retrieve relevant, version-specific (or release-specific) information from official documentation. Consult user guides when conceptual or workflow context is needed. Apply best practices.
How do I install it?
Run `npx skills add matlab/matlab-agentic-toolkit --skill matlab-read-doc --agent claude-code` — it drops the skill into your project so the agent can pick it up. Swap the --agent value for codex, cursor or copilot if you use one of those.
Where does this skill come from?
From matlab/matlab-agentic-toolkit, a repository with 868 stars. We read it straight from the repository tree rather than a submitted listing, so what you see here is what is actually published.
Is a popular skill a good skill?
Not necessarily. Stars measure attention, not adoption — a repository can trend for a week and be abandoned. That is why we show the weekly change from our own snapshots next to the total, instead of a single flattering number.