add documentation of format

Author: Jiloc

contrib/tools/config-docs-generator/README.md

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # Configuration Documentation Generator
 
-A tool that automatically generates comprehensive Markdown documentation for Stacks node TOML configuration options. The documentation is extracted directly from Rust source code comments and generates a complete configuration reference.
+This tool automatically generates markdown documentation from Rust configuration structs by extracting specially formatted doc comments.
 
 ## Quick Start
 
@@ -54,6 +54,242 @@ For each configuration field, it extracts:
 - **Primary**: `docs/generated/configuration-reference.md` - Complete configuration reference
 - **Intermediate**: `target/doc-generation/extracted-config-docs.json` - Raw extracted data
 
+## Annotation Syntax Guide
+
+### Overview
+
+The generator processes doc comments with a structured annotation format:
+
+```rust
+/// [Description text in Markdown format]
+/// ---
+/// @annotation_name: value
+/// @another_annotation: value
+pub field_name: Type,
+```
+
+### General Structure
+
+- **Description**: Standard Markdown text before the `---` separator
+- **Separator**: Three dashes (`---`) separate description from annotations
+- **Annotations**: Key-value pairs starting with `@`, each on its own line
+
+### Supported Annotations
+
+#### `@default: <value>`
+Specifies the default value for the field.
+- **Value Type**: String
+- **Multiline Support**: Yes (all modes)
+- **Examples**:
+  ```rust
+  /// @default: `None`
+  /// @default: `"localhost:8080"`
+  /// @default: |
+  ///   Complex multi-line
+  ///   default value
+  ```
+
+#### `@notes: <content>`
+Additional notes or explanations, rendered as a bulleted list.
+- **Value Type**: String (parsed into list items)
+- **Multiline Support**: Yes (all modes)
+- **List Processing**: Lines starting with `-`, `*`, or `•` become list items
+- **Examples**:
+  ```rust
+  /// @notes: Single line note
+  /// @notes:
+  ///   - First bullet point
+  ///   - Second bullet point
+  /// @notes: |
+  ///   Complex formatting with
+  ///   preserved line breaks
+  ```
+
+#### `@deprecated: <message>`
+Marks a field as deprecated with an optional message.
+- **Value Type**: String
+- **Multiline Support**: Yes (all modes)
+- **Examples**:
+  ```rust
+  /// @deprecated: Use new_field instead
+  /// @deprecated: |
+  ///   This field will be removed in v3.0.
+  ///   Migrate to the new configuration system.
+  ```
+
+#### `@toml_example: <example>`
+Provides TOML configuration examples.
+- **Value Type**: String
+- **Multiline Support**: Yes (all modes)
+- **Rendering**: Displayed in `<pre><code>` blocks in markdown tables
+- **Examples**:
+  ```rust
+  /// @toml_example: key = "value"
+  /// @toml_example: |
+  ///   [section]
+  ///   key = "value"
+  ///   nested = { a = 1, b = 2 }
+  ```
+
+#### `@required: <boolean>`
+Indicates whether the field is mandatory.
+- **Value Type**: Boolean (flexible parsing)
+- **Default**: `false` if annotation is omitted
+- **Supported Values**:
+  - `true`, `True`, `TRUE`, `yes`, `Yes`, `YES`, `1` → `true`
+  - `false`, `False`, `FALSE`, `no`, `No`, `NO`, `0` → `false`
+  - Invalid values default to `false`
+- **Examples**:
+  ```rust
+  /// @required: true
+  /// @required: yes
+  /// @required: false
+  ```
+
+#### `@units: <unit>`
+Specifies the unit of measurement for the field.
+- **Value Type**: String
+- **Multiline Support**: Yes (all modes)
+- **Constant References**: Supports `[`CONSTANT_NAME`]` syntax
+- **Examples**:
+  ```rust
+  /// @units: milliseconds
+  /// @units: sats/vByte
+  ```
+
+### Multiline Content Support
+
+All annotations support three multiline modes:
+
+#### Default Literal-like Mode
+Content preserves newlines and relative indentation within the annotation block.
+
+```rust
+/// @notes:
+///   First line with base indentation
+///     Second line more indented
+///   Third line back to base
+///       Fourth line very indented
+```
+
+**Output preserves relative indentation**:
+```
+First line with base indentation
+  Second line more indented
+Third line back to base
+    Fourth line very indented
+```
+
+#### Literal Block Style (`|`)
+Exact preservation of newlines and relative indentation. Uses "clip" chomping (single trailing newline preserved).
+
+```rust
+/// @toml_example: |
+///   [network]
+///   bind = "0.0.0.0:20444"
+///     # Indented comment
+///   timeout = 30
+```
+
+**Output**:
+```
+[network]
+bind = "0.0.0.0:20444"
+  # Indented comment
+timeout = 30
+```
+
+#### Folded Block Style (`>`)
+Folds lines into paragraphs with intelligent spacing. More-indented lines preserved as literal blocks.
+
+```rust
+/// @notes: >
+///   This is a long paragraph that will be
+///   folded into a single line with spaces
+///   between the original line breaks.
+///
+///   This is a second paragraph after a blank line.
+///
+///     This indented block will be preserved
+///     exactly as written, like code.
+///
+///   Back to normal folded paragraph text.
+```
+
+**Output**:
+```
+This is a long paragraph that will be folded into a single line with spaces between the original line breaks.
+
+This is a second paragraph after a blank line.
+
+  This indented block will be preserved
+  exactly as written, like code.
+
+Back to normal folded paragraph text.
+```
+
+### Same-line Content
+
+Content can start immediately after the colon for default multiline mode:
+
+```rust
+/// @default: immediate content
+/// @notes: Content that starts immediately
+///   and continues on the next line
+```
+
+For literal (`|`) and folded (`>`) modes, content must start on the next line:
+
+```rust
+/// @notes: |
+///   Content starts here on the next line
+///   All content must be indented on subsequent lines
+/// @deprecated: >
+///   Folded content also starts on the next line
+///   and will be joined appropriately
+```
+
+### Complete Example
+
+```rust
+/// Timeout duration for network connections.
+///
+/// This setting controls how long the node will wait for network operations
+/// to complete before timing out. Setting this too low may cause connection
+/// failures on slow networks.
+/// ---
+/// @default: [`DEFAULT_NETWORK_TIMEOUT`]
+/// @required: true
+/// @units: milliseconds
+/// @notes:
+///   - Must be greater than 0
+///   - Recommended range: 1000-30000
+///   - Higher values needed for slow connections
+/// @toml_example: |
+///   [network]
+///   timeout = 15000  # 15 seconds
+/// @deprecated: >
+///   Use the new `connection_timeout` setting instead.
+///   This field will be removed in version 3.0.
+pub timeout_ms: u64,
+```
+
+### Best Practices
+
+1. **Choose the right multiline mode**:
+   - Default mode: General text with preserved formatting
+   - Literal (`|`): Code examples, exact formatting required
+   - Folded (`>`): Documentation prose, automatic paragraph wrapping
+
+2. **Use constant references in `@default` when appropriate**
+
+### Integration with Rust Documentation
+
+This system integrates with standard Rust documentation tools:
+- Doc comments remain valid for `rustdoc`
+- Annotations are ignored by standard documentation generators
+- Full compatibility with existing documentation workflows
+
 ## Adding New Configuration Structs
 
 ### 1. Update the Target List