Internet RFC Skill#

Comprehensive skill for working with IETF RFCs in OCaml projects.

Features#

📥 Fetch RFCs in plain text and save to spec/ directory
📝 Generate OCamldoc citations with proper formatting
🔗 Link code to RFC sections with specific references
✅ Validate RFC references in existing code
💡 Suggest improvements for RFC documentation

Usage#

Invoke the skill#

# In Claude Code CLI
@internet-rfc <your request>

Example Prompts#

Fetch and document an RFC:

@internet-rfc I'm implementing RFC 6265 for HTTP cookies.
Please fetch the RFC and help me document the module.

Add RFC citations to existing code:

@internet-rfc Review lib/punycode.mli and add proper RFC 3492
citations to all functions.

Validate RFC implementation:

@internet-rfc Check if our RFC 5891 implementation matches
all the MUST requirements in the spec.

Improve existing documentation:

@internet-rfc Look at our IDNA module and suggest where we should
add RFC references to make the documentation clearer.

What the Skill Does#

1. Fetches and Stores RFCs#

Downloads from https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfcXXXX.txt
Saves to spec/rfcXXXX.txt in your project
Creates spec/ directory if needed

2. Generates Proper OCamldoc Links#

Converts plain text references like "RFC 3492 Section 6.1" into:

{{:https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc3492#section-6.1}RFC 3492 Section 6.1}

3. Links Code to Specs#

Adds comprehensive documentation:

val encode : Uchar.t array -> (string, error) result
(** [encode codepoints] encodes Unicode code points to Punycode.

    Implements {{:https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc3492#section-6.3}
    RFC 3492 Section 6.3} encoding procedure. *)

4. Validates References#

Checks RFC numbers exist
Verifies section numbers are correct
Ensures URL format is proper
Validates implementation matches spec

5. Suggests Improvements#

Analyzes code and suggests where to add:

Missing RFC citations
Section-specific references
Error condition documentation
Parameter documentation

File Structure#

your-project/
├── spec/
│   ├── rfc3492.txt    # Punycode spec
│   ├── rfc5891.txt    # IDNA spec
│   └── rfc6265.txt    # HTTP cookies spec
├── lib/
│   ├── module.ml
│   └── module.mli     # With RFC citations
└── README.md

RFC Citation Format#

Basic Reference#

{{:https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc3492}RFC 3492}

Section-Specific#

{{:https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc3492#section-6.1}RFC 3492 Section 6.1}

Appendix#

{{:https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc3492#appendix-A}RFC 3492 Appendix A}

Best Practices#

The skill follows these best practices automatically:

✅ Always uses plain text RFC files ✅ Stores RFCs locally in spec/ directory ✅ Links functions to specific sections ✅ Documents error types with RFC requirements ✅ Keeps citation format consistent ✅ References "why" from RFC, not just "what"

Examples from Real Projects#

Punycode (RFC 3492)#

(** RFC 3492 Punycode: A Bootstring encoding of Unicode for IDNA.

    This module implements the Punycode algorithm as specified in
    {{:https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc3492}RFC 3492}. *)

val adapt : delta:int -> numpoints:int -> firsttime:bool -> int
(** Implements the bias adaptation algorithm from
    {{:https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc3492#section-6.1}
    RFC 3492 Section 6.1}. *)

IDNA (RFC 5891)#

type error =
  | Label_too_long of int
      (** Label exceeds 63 bytes per
          {{:https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc1035}RFC 1035}. *)

When to Use#

Use this skill when you:

Start implementing a new RFC
Need to document RFC compliance
Want to improve existing RFC documentation
Need to validate implementation against spec
Are reviewing code that implements standards

Tips#

Always mention the RFC number in your prompt
Be specific about what you need (fetch, document, validate, etc.)
Point to the module/file you want to work with
The skill will read existing RFCs from spec/ if available
Use section numbers when you know them for more precise results

Troubleshooting#

RFC not found?

Verify the RFC number exists
Check if it's a draft (use draft name instead)

Links not working in generated docs?

Make sure odoc is properly configured
Check URL format matches examples above

Skill not activating?

Use @internet-rfc prefix
Or mention "RFC XXXX" prominently in your message

For detailed documentation, see skill.md.

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