SudoDocs Earns a 70 Proof of Usefulness Score by Building an AI-Powered Unit Test for Documentation

In this interview, we talk to Saurabh Sugandh, the creator behind SudoDocs. SudoDocs addresses the chronic issue of documentation drift by acting as an automated "unit test" that connects Git repositories with documentation to ensure accuracy.

What does SudoDocs do? And why is now the time for it to exist?

SudoDocs acts as a "unit test" for documentation by connecting to Git repositories and Jira to detect when code changes differ from existing docs. It uses Google Vertex AI (Gemini) to analyze semantic drift in code diffs and automatically drafts accurate updates, ensuring your documentation never lags behind production code. But, SudoDocs is much more than this. With SudoDocs, you create your own RAG vector database and leverage a built-in chat assistant that is not limited to synthesize docs but also your codebase. It doesn't stop there, it then gives you a project workspace to quickly compose release notes and draft features from Jira details while simultaneously validate it against the engineering pull or merge requests. Moreover, SudoDocs serves product teams to quickly validate OpenAPI specifications and automatically correct the mistakes in it. This wholesome package allows technical writers, product owners, and software developers leverage the best documentation for your product. Now’s a good time for SudoDocs to exist because rapid release cycles are outpacing manual documentation updates, creating a critical need for automated solutions that treat documentation as code.

What is your traction to date? How many people does SudoDocs reach?

Between my open-source Streamlit tools (OAS Validator, Release Notes Assistant) and the SudoDocs pre-launch waitlist, the project ecosystem currently reaches a targeted audience of developers and technical writers. Additionally, my articles on 'Docs-as-Code' on HackerNoon have established a readership interested in documentation automation. During the initial response to the waitlist, SudoDocs hit at about 100 user requests and its growing.

Who does SudoDocs serve? What’s exciting about your users and customers?

• Primary: Technical Writers overwhelmed by rapid release cycles who need to automate diff analysis.
• Secondary: Solo Founders and Engineering Leads who need to maintain accurate documentation without hiring a dedicated documentation team.

Notable use cases: Teams practicing 'Docs-as-Code' who suffer from documentation drift, Product teams looking for bulk release notes (or changelog) generation, and Technical writers looking for a quick feature draft with an autogenerated architectural diagrams.

What technologies were used in the making of SudoDocs? And why did you choose ones most essential to your techstack?

The core logic relies on Python (Flask) hosted on Google Cloud Run for a serverless architecture, while Google Vertex AI (Gemini Pro Models) powers the semantic analysis of code diffs. The original scripts that existed before SudoDocs were natively in Python written by me and thus choosing Python (Flask) became an obvious choice. Since the project intended to use Google Docs for an interim review process for the generated drafts, I leveraged Google Authentication for the app usage and deploying it on Google Cloud Run was an obvious choice to bring in all the benefits of Google ecosystem. Currently, SudoDocs is supported with Google Startups for Cloud program that offers free Google Credits to run the project. The updated pricing for the SaaS offering has been slashed down to pass on benefits to the users too. The frontend is built with Tailwind CSS for speed. The ecosystem is also supported by Streamlit for auxiliary open-source modules and Git integrations via GitHub/GitLab APIs.

What is traction to date for SudoDocs? Around the web, who’s been noticing?

While the main SaaS platform is accessible at sudodocs.com, the project has established a footprint through three active open-source utility tools: an OAS Validator, a Release Notes Assistant, and an Intelligent Content Mapper. These public-facing tools serve as practical entry points for the broader "Docs-as-Code" community. We are at about 100 users who are constantly trying the product. Users have shown interest in a self-hosted version too. A community edition will soon be released and is currently under heavy development. My LinkedIn connections get early announcements for any new developments.

What excites you about this SudoDocs's potential usefulness?

Though SudoDocs offers many great features from having a great built-in product assistant to generating feature drafts and composing release notes, I am most excited about finally solving 'Documentation Drift'— the silent failure where code updates but docs don't. By treating documentation like a unit test that runs against Git diffs, SudoDocs has the potential to save technical writers hundreds of hours of manual auditing and serve product teams to release product at a faster rate. SudoDocs basically transforms technical writers from 'maintenance janitors' into 'documentation architects,' ensuring that the 'Source of Truth' never becomes a lie.