docs(fern): add local library autodocs without Fern auth

[lbliii]

Description

Adds a nemo-curator-local path-based library entry so contributors can run npm run generate:library:local (Fern --local) without Fern login, using Docker to parse ../nemo_curator locally. CI and publish/preview workflows are pinned to --library nemo-curator so the git-based remote generation path is unchanged. Also bumps the Fern CLI pin to 5.50.4 and documents both flows in fern/README.md, fern/AUTODOCS_GUIDE.md, and the docs agent skill.

Usage

cd fern
npm run generate:library:local   # no Fern auth; requires Docker
npm run generate:library         # full reference via git; needs fern login or FERN_TOKEN

Checklist

• I am familiar with the Contributing Guide.
• New or Existing tests cover these changes.
• The documentation is up to date with these changes.

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[greptile-apps]

Greptile Summary

This PR introduces a nemo-curator-local library entry in fern/docs.yml (using input.path: ../nemo_curator) so contributors can generate the Python API reference locally via Docker without Fern authentication, while keeping CI and preview/publish workflows pinned to the git-based nemo-curator entry. The Fern CLI pin in fern.config.json is also bumped from 5.29.0 to 5.50.4, and documentation is updated across README.md, AUTODOCS_GUIDE.md, and the docs agent skill.

• Two library entries, one output folder: Both nemo-curator and nemo-curator-local write to product-docs/nemo-curator/Full-Library-Reference/ (gitignored). The local Docker parser is explicitly documented as a beta subset (~fewer pages) and should not be confused with the full reference produced by CI.
• CI workflows correctly scoped: Both publish-fern-docs.yml and fern-docs-preview-comment.yml now explicitly pass --library nemo-curator, preventing the path-based entry from being invoked in the cloud context.
• fern generate --docs step is unguarded: The final publish/preview command has no --library filter; whether Fern re-processes the libraries: block during this step (and what it does with input.path entries when --local is absent) should be verified.

Confidence Score: 4/5

Safe to merge for the documentation and dev-workflow changes; the one unverified path is whether fern generate --docs silently skips or errors on the nemo-curator-local entry.

The changes are well-scoped docs and tooling additions. The explicit --library nemo-curator pinning in both CI workflows is the right call. The main open question is how fern generate --docs behaves when two library entries are present and only one has been pre-generated — that step is unfiltered in both the publish and preview workflows, and if Fern re-invokes library generation there, the input.path entry could fail.

fern/docs.yml (dual-entry shared output) and .github/workflows/publish-fern-docs.yml (unguarded fern generate --docs step).

Important Files Changed

Filename	Overview
fern/docs.yml	Adds nemo-curator-local library entry with input.path: ../nemo_curator and the same output path as nemo-curator; both entries share ./product-docs/nemo-curator/Full-Library-Reference.
fern/package.json	Adds generate:library:local script using npx -y fern-api@latest, consistent with all other scripts; pins generate:library to --library nemo-curator.
fern/fern.config.json	Bumps Fern CLI pin from 5.29.0 to 5.50.4; note that npm scripts use @latest rather than this pinned version.
.github/workflows/publish-fern-docs.yml	Correctly scopes library generation to --library nemo-curator, preventing accidental invocation of the nemo-curator-local path-based entry during publish.
.github/workflows/fern-docs-preview-comment.yml	Same --library nemo-curator pin as publish workflow; CI isolation remains intact.
Makefile	Adds docs-generate-library-local target and corresponding .PHONY entry; both targets are symmetric and correct.
.claude/skills/nemo-curator-docs/SKILL.md	Documents both library entries and their trade-offs (page count, auth requirements) clearly.
fern/README.md	Adds 'Library reference without Fern login' section; troubleshooting entry updated with the local alternative.
fern/AUTODOCS_GUIDE.md	Extends the generation section with the --local --library nemo-curator-local command; accurate and concise.

Flowchart

%%{init: {'theme': 'neutral'}}%%
flowchart TD
    subgraph LocalDev["Local Development (no auth)"]
        A["npm run generate:library:local"] --> B["fern docs md generate --local --library nemo-curator-local"]
        B --> C["Docker: fernapi/fern-python-library-docs-parser"]
        C --> D["input.path: ../nemo_curator"]
        D --> E["Output: Full-Library-Reference/ (fewer pages, beta)"]
    end

    subgraph FullLocal["Local Full Reference (auth required)"]
        F["npm run generate:library"] --> G["fern docs md generate --library nemo-curator"]
        G --> H["Cloud Fern parser (FERN_TOKEN)"]
        H --> I["input.git: github.com/NVIDIA-NeMo/Curator"]
        I --> J["Output: Full-Library-Reference/ (424 pages)"]
    end

    subgraph CI["CI / Publish Workflows"]
        K["Push docs/v* tag OR PR"] --> L["fern docs md generate --library nemo-curator"]
        L --> M["Cloud Fern parser (DOCS_FERN_TOKEN secret)"]
        M --> N["input.git: github.com/NVIDIA-NeMo/Curator"]
        N --> O["Output: Full-Library-Reference/"]
        O --> P["fern generate --docs / --preview"]
        P --> Q["Published or Preview site"]
    end

    E -.->|same gitignored folder| O
    J -.->|same gitignored folder| O

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%%{init: {'theme': 'base', 'themeVariables': {"darkMode": true, "background": "#0d1117", "primaryColor": "#21262d", "primaryTextColor": "#e6edf3", "primaryBorderColor": "#8b949e", "lineColor": "#8b949e", "textColor": "#e6edf3", "edgeLabelBackground": "#161b22", "actorBkg": "#21262d", "actorBorder": "#8b949e", "actorTextColor": "#e6edf3", "actorLineColor": "#8b949e", "signalColor": "#8b949e", "signalTextColor": "#e6edf3", "noteBkgColor": "#373320", "noteBorderColor": "#d4a72c", "noteTextColor": "#f0e6c0", "labelBoxBkgColor": "#21262d", "labelBoxBorderColor": "#8b949e", "labelTextColor": "#e6edf3", "loopTextColor": "#e6edf3", "activationBkgColor": "#30363d", "activationBorderColor": "#8b949e"}}}%%
flowchart TD
    subgraph LocalDev["Local Development (no auth)"]
        A["npm run generate:library:local"] --> B["fern docs md generate --local --library nemo-curator-local"]
        B --> C["Docker: fernapi/fern-python-library-docs-parser"]
        C --> D["input.path: ../nemo_curator"]
        D --> E["Output: Full-Library-Reference/ (fewer pages, beta)"]
    end

    subgraph FullLocal["Local Full Reference (auth required)"]
        F["npm run generate:library"] --> G["fern docs md generate --library nemo-curator"]
        G --> H["Cloud Fern parser (FERN_TOKEN)"]
        H --> I["input.git: github.com/NVIDIA-NeMo/Curator"]
        I --> J["Output: Full-Library-Reference/ (424 pages)"]
    end

    subgraph CI["CI / Publish Workflows"]
        K["Push docs/v* tag OR PR"] --> L["fern docs md generate --library nemo-curator"]
        L --> M["Cloud Fern parser (DOCS_FERN_TOKEN secret)"]
        M --> N["input.git: github.com/NVIDIA-NeMo/Curator"]
        N --> O["Output: Full-Library-Reference/"]
        O --> P["fern generate --docs / --preview"]
        P --> Q["Published or Preview site"]
    end

    E -.->|same gitignored folder| O
    J -.->|same gitignored folder| O

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Comments Outside Diff (1)

1. .github/workflows/publish-fern-docs.yml, line 59-63 (link)

   fern generate --docs has no library filter — verify it skips the libraries: block

   The preceding step explicitly filters to --library nemo-curator, but the fern generate --docs publish step has no such flag. If Fern's publish command internally re-processes every entry in the libraries: block, it will encounter nemo-curator-local with input.path: ../nemo_curator. Without the --local Docker flag, Fern would attempt cloud-based generation against a local filesystem path, which is likely to fail and break the publish job. The same concern applies to the preview workflow. Worth a quick manual confirm (or a CI run) that fern generate --docs only consumes pre-generated MDX and does not re-invoke library generation.

_{Reviews (1): Last reviewed commit: "docs(fern): align Makefile library gener..." | Re-trigger Greptile}

[greptile-apps]

Shared output path produces silently smaller reference on local machines

Both nemo-curator and nemo-curator-local write to the same Full-Library-Reference/ directory. Running generate:library:local after generate:library overwrites the full 424-page set with the beta Docker-parsed subset. A developer iterating locally may not notice the missing pages until they compare output sizes. The docs call this out, but a runtime guard — even just an echo warning — in the Makefile/npm script that the local flow produces fewer pages and overwrites any previous full generation would prevent confusion.