Problem

Developers spend significant time on documentation:

  • Need to write READMEs and guides from terminal work
  • Manual step-by-step documentation after screen recording
  • Copy-pasting command history one by one
  • Writing CHANGELOG and tutorials is repetitive and tedious

Pain Intensity: 7/10 - Repetitive and time-consuming task

Market

  • Primary Market: Developers who write technical documentation
  • Segment: DevRel, open-source maintainers, tech leads
  • TAM: Documentation tools market ~$2B in 2026 (Loom, Scribe, Tango)
  • SAM: Developer-specific documentation ~$200M

Solution

AI Doc Writer CLI - A CLI tool that automatically documents terminal sessions

Core Features

  1. Session Recording: Start recording with docw start
  2. AI Analysis: Understand command sequence, output, and intent
  3. Doc Generation: Auto-generate README, tutorials, CHANGELOG
  4. Format Support: Markdown, AsciiDoc, HTML output

Usage Example

# Start session
$ docw start "Docker deployment guide"

# Do regular work
$ docker build -t myapp .
$ docker run -p 3000:3000 myapp

# Stop session and generate docs
$ docw stop --format markdown --output DEPLOY.md

Generated Output

# Docker Deployment Guide

## 1. Build Image
Build the image using the Dockerfile in the current directory.
\`\`\`bash
docker build -t myapp .
\`\`\`

## 2. Run Container
Run the container with port 3000 exposed.
\`\`\`bash
docker run -p 3000:3000 myapp
\`\`\`

Competition

CompetitorPriceWeakness
Trupeer AI Doc Writer$20+/moRequires screen recording, GUI-centric
Scribe$20/user/moBrowser-based, no CLI support
asciinemaFreePlayback only, no doc conversion
script commandFreeRaw output, no AI analysis

Competition Intensity: Medium - No terminal-specific tool exists Differentiation: CLI-native, developer workflow integration

MVP Development

  • MVP Timeline: 10 weeks
  • Full Version: 6 months
  • Tech Complexity: Medium
  • Stack: Rust/Go (CLI), LLM API, Markdown parser

MVP Scope

  1. Terminal session recording (PTY capture)
  2. Document generation via GPT-4o/Claude API
  3. Markdown output
  4. Basic templates (README, Tutorial)

Revenue Model

  • Model: Freemium + Usage-based
  • Pricing:
    • Free: 5 sessions/month, basic templates
    • Pro: $12/mo (unlimited sessions, custom templates)
    • Team: $25/user/mo (team sharing, branding)
  • Expected MRR (6 months): $2,000-5,000
  • Expected MRR (12 months): $8,000-15,000

Risk

TypeLevelMitigation
TechnicalMediumPTY capture cross-platform issues
MarketMediumNeed to change developer doc habits
ExecutionMediumLLM cost management required

Recommendation

Score: 92/100 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

  1. Trupeer validated screen recording → docs market
  2. CLI specialization targets developer niche
  3. LLM costs dropping improves margins
  4. Clear target: open-source maintainers

Risk Factors

  1. PTY capture cross-platform complexity
  2. Accuracy for complex session analysis

First Actions

  1. Build PTY session capture PoC in Go
  2. Test doc generation with Claude API
  3. Use it first on your own project READMEs

This idea transplants Trupeer AI Doc Writer’s screen recording → documentation concept into the terminal CLI environment.