# Documentation

## Why Document?

1. Accessibility - nonexperts have an easier time learning and will become experts more quickly (they can then improve the eVOLVER).
2. Complexity - eVOLVER is a complex system and even experts may not have a complete grasp of all its parts.
3. Knowledge loss - when the designers of an undocumented part are no longer available, any troubleshooting or modification requires rediscovery of how that part works. (Even the designer of a part may forget how it works after some time).

## When to Document

1. When creating a new feature in the base eVOLVER
2. No page about the topic exists and it could prove useful
3. Current documentation is out-of-date or insufficient

{% hint style="info" %}
Documentation about optional extensions (optogenetics, biosensing) to the eVOLVER should be collected and added to the Wiki after publication.
{% endhint %}


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# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://khalil-lab.gitbook.io/evolver/contributing/documentation.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.
