github/github-mcp-server · warning

failed to generate docs for %s: %w

Error message

failed to generate docs for %s: %w

What it means

Umbrella error from the generate-docs command: each documentation generator (README.md, docs/remote-server.md, docs/insiders-features.md, docs/feature-flags.md, docs/tool-renaming.md) is run in sequence, and the first one that fails is wrapped with its target path. The message itself is generic — the actionable cause is always in the wrapped error (file read/write failure or missing markers).

Source

Thrown at cmd/github-mcp-server/generate_docs.go:51

// default user experience used by the generated documentation.
func noFeatureFlagsChecker(_ context.Context, _ string) (bool, error) {
	return false, nil
}

func generateAllDocs() error {
	for _, doc := range []struct {
		path string
		fn   func(string) error
	}{
		// File to edit, function to generate its docs
		{"README.md", generateReadmeDocs},
		{"docs/remote-server.md", generateRemoteServerDocs},
		{"docs/insiders-features.md", generateInsidersFeaturesDocs},
		{"docs/feature-flags.md", generateFeatureFlagsDocs},
		{"docs/tool-renaming.md", generateDeprecatedAliasesDocs},
	} {
		if err := doc.fn(doc.path); err != nil {
			return fmt.Errorf("failed to generate docs for %s: %w", doc.path, err)
		}
		fmt.Printf("Successfully updated %s with automated documentation\n", doc.path)
	}
	return nil
}

func generateReadmeDocs(readmePath string) error {
	// Create translation helper
	t, _ := translations.TranslationHelper()

	// The README documents the default user experience: tools that are
	// enabled with no special flags set. Installing a checker that reports
	// every flag as disabled excludes tools gated by FeatureFlagEnable and
	// keeps the legacy variants of tools gated by FeatureFlagDisable, so
	// flag-gated duplicates don't appear twice.
	// Build() can only fail if WithTools specifies invalid tools - not used here
	r, _ := github.NewInventory(t).
		WithToolsets([]string{"all"}).

View on GitHub (pinned to 0ea1f775a7)

Solutions

1. Read the wrapped error text — it names the real failure (read/write/markers) for the listed file
2. Run `go run ./cmd/github-mcp-server generate-docs` (or equivalent) from the repo root
3. If markers are missing, restore them from git history: git show HEAD~N:<file> and copy the <!-- START AUTOMATED … --> blocks
4. Ensure all five doc files exist and are writable

// Pre-flight: ensure every target file exists before generating
for _, p := range []string{"README.md", "docs/remote-server.md", "docs/insiders-features.md", "docs/feature-flags.md", "docs/tool-renaming.md"} {
    if _, err := os.Stat(p); err != nil {
        log.Fatalf("missing docs target: %s (run from repo root)", p)
    }
}

if err := runGenerateDocs(); err != nil {
    // unwrap to the concrete cause: read/write failure or missing markers
    log.Fatalf("generate-docs failed: %v", err)
    // the message names the file; fix that file then re-run
}

When it happens

Trigger: Any of the five generators fails: the target file is missing/unreadable (read errors), unwritable (write errors), or no longer contains the expected START/END AUTOMATED markers (replaceSection 'markers not found'). Running the command outside the repo root triggers the read failures immediately.

Common situations: Docs regeneration in CI after someone edited the markdown and deleted/renamed marker comments; partial repo checkouts; file permission issues on checked-out docs; stale forks missing newer docs files.

Related errors

• failed to read docs file: %w
• markers not found: %s / %s
• failed to read README.md: %w
• failed to write README.md: %w
• failed to read docs file: %w

AI-assisted analysis of github/github-mcp-server@0ea1f775a7 (2026-08-15). Data as JSON: /api/errors/c3e81aa213f1a42c. Report an issue: GitHub.