enforcing-doc-hierarchy

To audit markdown documentation for broken cross-references and symlinks, run an authority-chain audit across repository files to validate paths, resolve symlinks to current sprint PRDs, and produce a findings table of violations.

Documentation authority-chain alignment verifies that each document references the correct next-authority file and that symlinks resolve properly. It walks project documentation and Claude Code infrastructure chains to enforce a single-source-of-truth structure.

To detect duplicate content across project markdown files, an audit scans documents like CONTRIBUTING.md and architecture docs, identifies overlapping content, and classifies violations by type for targeted remediation.

You can enforce single-source documentation hierarchy when reviewing a pull request by auditing moved or renamed files to detect scope creep, wrong-authority placements, and chain breaks before merging changes.

The best way to fix stale documentation paths and wrong-authority placements is to apply a guided alignment process that proposes minimal, authoritative fixes like moving or replacing content, applying changes only after user approval.

You should run a documentation hierarchy audit after a large file rename, when reviewing a PR touching docs, or during periodic hygiene checks to prevent scope creep and maintain authoritative requirement placements.