# How the Shipping-Artifacts Skill Documents AI-Built Applications

> Learn how the shipping-artifacts skill documents AI applications. It generates a standardized Markdown artifact detailing architecture, history, and security audits for review.

- Repository: [Pawel Huryn/pm-skills](https://github.com/phuryn/pm-skills)
- Tags: deep-dive
- Published: 2026-07-07

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**The Shipping-Artifacts skill generates a standardized Markdown artifact that captures application architecture, version history, and security audit results to create a comprehensive review package for AI-generated code.**

The **Shipping-Artifacts** skill in the `phuryn/pm-skills` repository automates documentation generation for applications built by large language models. As part of the **pm-ai-shipping** collection, this skill ensures that AI-built applications include structured, review-ready artifacts that human reviewers can evaluate efficiently. This article explains how the skill captures critical application details and formats them for integration into code review pipelines.

## Overview of the Shipping-Artifacts Skill

### Purpose and Command Invocation

The skill is triggered through the **`document-app`** command defined in [`pm-ai-shipping/commands/document-app.md`](https://github.com/phuryn/pm-skills/blob/main/pm-ai-shipping/commands/document-app.md). When executed, this command invokes the **Shipping-Artifacts** skill to begin collecting structured data about the AI-built application.

### Integration with the pm-ai-shipping Collection

The skill operates alongside sibling skills including **`security-audit-static`** and **`performance-audit-static`**. According to the source code in [`pm-ai-shipping/skills/shipping-artifacts/SKILL.md`](https://github.com/phuryn/pm-skills/blob/main/pm-ai-shipping/skills/shipping-artifacts/SKILL.md), the skill references audit results from these complementary tools to include security and compliance notes in the final documentation.

## How the Skill Documents AI-Built Applications

### Prompt Flow and Data Collection

The skill employs a structured prompt flow that queries the LLM for four critical categories of information:

- **Application overview**: A concise description of the app's purpose and target users
- **Version and changelog**: The current version number and recent changes
- **Key components**: Architecture diagrams, data sources, and external services
- **Security and compliance notes**: References to static security or performance audits performed by sibling skills

### Artifact Structure and Format

The skill assembles collected data into a Markdown document following the **standard layout** used for AI-generated artifacts in the repository. As implemented in [`pm-ai-shipping/skills/shipping-artifacts/SKILL.md`](https://github.com/phuryn/pm-skills/blob/main/pm-ai-shipping/skills/shipping-artifacts/SKILL.md), the artifact includes dedicated sections for:

- **Summary**
- **Version**
- **Architecture**
- **Audit Results**
- **Next Steps**

This standardized format ensures that reviewers receive a consistent, complete picture of what the application does and how it was built.

### Output Handling and File Generation

Once generated, the document is written to the project's **`docs/`** folder or a user-specified output path. The `document-app` command prints a direct link to the created file, enabling reviewers to open the artifact immediately from the CLI.

## Integration with Review Pipelines

Because the generated artifact includes structured **audit results** and **changelog** data, downstream review tools can automatically ingest the Markdown. Code-review bots and PR templates parse these sections to surface information in pull request descriptions or review checklists, streamlining the validation process for AI-generated applications.

## Practical Usage Examples

### Generating an Artifact from the Terminal

Invoke the skill using the `document-app` command with the application name and desired output path:

```bash
pm-ai-shipping document-app \
  --app-name "SmartTicket" \
  --output docs/smartticket-artifact.md

```

This command launches the Shipping-Artifacts skill, gathers the required details, and writes a ready-to-review Markdown file to the specified location.

### Referencing the Artifact in a PR Template

Link the generated documentation in your pull request template to provide reviewers with immediate access:

```markdown

## AI-Built Application Review

**Artifact:** [SmartTicket Artifact](docs/smartticket-artifact.md)

- [ ] Architecture verified
- [ ] Security audit passed
- [ ] Performance benchmarks reviewed

```

The Markdown link points to the artifact created by the skill, establishing a single source of truth for the review process.

## Key Source Files

The implementation of the Shipping-Artifacts skill spans several files in the `phuryn/pm-skills` repository:

- **[`pm-ai-shipping/skills/shipping-artifacts/SKILL.md`](https://github.com/phuryn/pm-skills/blob/main/pm-ai-shipping/skills/shipping-artifacts/SKILL.md)**: Contains the detailed skill description, prompt definitions, expected inputs, and output format specifications.

- **[`pm-ai-shipping/commands/document-app.md`](https://github.com/phuryn/pm-skills/blob/main/pm-ai-shipping/commands/document-app.md)**: Implements the CLI wrapper that invokes the skill and handles file writing operations.

- **[`pm-ai-shipping/README.md`](https://github.com/phuryn/pm-skills/blob/main/pm-ai-shipping/README.md)**: Provides high-level context for all shipping-related skills, including documentation standards and integration patterns.

## Summary

- The **Shipping-Artifacts** skill standardizes documentation for AI-built applications through the `document-app` command.
- The skill collects **application overview**, **version history**, **architecture details**, and **audit results** via a structured prompt flow.
- Generated artifacts follow a consistent Markdown format with sections for Summary, Version, Architecture, Audit Results, and Next Steps.
- Output files are written to the `docs/` directory and linked directly from the CLI for immediate reviewer access.
- The standardized format enables automatic ingestion by code-review bots and PR templates.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### What triggers the Shipping-Artifacts skill to document an AI-built application?

The skill is triggered through the **`document-app`** command located in [`pm-ai-shipping/commands/document-app.md`](https://github.com/phuryn/pm-skills/blob/main/pm-ai-shipping/commands/document-app.md). When executed from the CLI, this command initiates the prompt flow that gathers application details and generates the review artifact.

### Where does the skill save the generated documentation?

According to the source code in [`pm-ai-shipping/skills/shipping-artifacts/SKILL.md`](https://github.com/phuryn/pm-skills/blob/main/pm-ai-shipping/skills/shipping-artifacts/SKILL.md), the skill writes the Markdown file to the project's **`docs/`** folder by default, or to a user-specified path provided via the `--output` parameter.

### How does the artifact integrate with security and performance audits?

The skill references results from sibling skills **`security-audit-static`** and **`performance-audit-static`**. It includes these **audit results** and **compliance notes** in the generated artifact's dedicated Audit Results section, ensuring reviewers have visibility into all validation checks performed on the AI-built application.

### Can the output format be customized for specific review workflows?

While the skill adheres to the standard Markdown layout defined in the **pm-ai-shipping** collection, the output path is fully configurable via command-line arguments. Teams can specify custom directories or filenames using the `--output` flag to align with their specific review pipeline requirements.