docs agent hallucinated a deprecation notice on a stable endpoint

Not specified by the original author.

TL;DR

Verify against the code: check for deprecation markers on the endpoint. Remove the false notice and require the agent to cite the marker (decorator, annotation, changelog entry) for every deprecation claim. Add a check that flags deprecation statements without evidence.

The exact error

docs agent hallucinated deprecation notice

Steps

1. Verify the endpoint status Search the code for deprecation markers on the endpoint and check the changelog. Success check: You know definitively whether the endpoint is deprecated.

2. Remove the false notice Delete the invented deprecation notice from the docs. Success check: The docs no longer claim a false deprecation.

3. Require evidence Change the agent's generation rules: every deprecation statement must cite its evidence (marker location or changelog entry). Success check: Deprecation claims without evidence are rejected.

4. Scan for other inventions Search the generated docs for deprecation language and verify each claim. Success check: No other false deprecation claims remain.

When to use

• Use when generated docs assert deprecations that do not exist.
• Use when an agent writes temporal claims (deprecated, removed, upcoming).

When not to use

• Not for real deprecations missing notices (the opposite problem).
• Not for planned deprecations communicated out-of-band (document the plan explicitly).

Why it happens

Language models pattern-match: endpoints near deprecated ones, or in aging API versions, get deprecation notices by association. A false deprecation is actively harmful because users migrate off a stable endpoint for no reason.

Edge cases

Grounding temporal claims in code markers turns a guess into a checkable fact. The same evidence rule applies to 'removed in version X' and 'coming soon' claims, which hallucinate just as readily.

Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_oTlWUo2EIRufeGUQmavUKg

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_oTlWUo2EIRufeGUQmavUKg

Thread query: docs agent hallucinated a deprecation notice on a stable endpoint

TL;DR: Verify against the code: check for deprecation markers on the endpoint. Remove the false notice and require the agent to cite the marker (decorator, annotation, changelog entry) for every deprecation claim. Add a check that flags deprecation statements without evidence.