DOC-9122: Update CLI docs to current flow

[smagee-robot]

RATIONALE

Lots has happened, docs have (largely) not. Let's get this stuff up to date so it can immediately become inaccurate again.

CHANGES

This pull request updates and expands the CLI documentation, focusing on improved explanations of command workflows, new plugin and dependency management features, and enhanced usability for shell completions. The most significant changes clarify the dr start command flow, add documentation for new plugin and dependency commands, and provide more detailed shell completion instructions. Minor corrections and improvements to links and formatting are also included.

Command workflow and documentation improvements:

• Clarified and expanded the step-by-step workflow for the dr start command in both the main README.md and docs/commands/start.md, detailing prerequisite checks, CLI version validation, repository detection, and start command execution order. Also updated sample output and clarified behavior when no start command is found. [1] [2] [3]
• Improved explanations for the template setup process and removed outdated screenshots from the main README.md.

New plugin and dependency management documentation:

• Added documentation for new plugin and dependencies commands, including their subcommands and use cases, in both the command reference (docs/commands/README.md, docs/commands/self.md) and summary tables. Clarified the distinction between user-facing plugin management and plugin author tooling. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

Shell completion usability enhancements:

• Updated shell completion documentation to describe the new install and uninstall subcommands for interactive setup, and clarified usage for generating scripts for specific shells. [1] [2]

Minor corrections and improvements:

• Fixed links and repository references for docs and support resources, improved debug log explanations, and updated environment variable documentation to include plugin discovery timeout. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
• Updated command aliases and command tree formatting for better clarity and discoverability.

These changes collectively make the CLI documentation more accurate, user-friendly, and reflective of the latest features and workflows.

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Note

Low Risk
Low risk because changes are documentation-only; the main risk is user confusion if the updated command flows, flags, or examples don’t precisely match current CLI behavior.

Overview
Updates the docs to match the current CLI behavior and command surface, especially clarifying the end-to-end dr start flow (version check + update prompt, prerequisite checks, repo detection + template setup re-run, and start-command selection/exit behavior) in both the main README and the command reference.

Expands command reference coverage to include plugin management/authoring and dependency checks (including new global --plugin-discovery-timeout/env var and command aliases), and refreshes completion docs to document install/uninstall subcommands alongside script generation. Also includes small link/wording/formatting fixes and updated support URLs.

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[Copilot]

Pull request overview

Updates DataRobot CLI documentation to reflect the current command surface area and user workflows, especially around dr start, shell completions, and plugin/dependency management.

Changes:

• Refreshes dr start documentation with the current step ordering, behaviors, and sample outputs.
• Adds/expands docs for plugin tooling (dr plugin, dr self plugin) and dependencies check, and updates command reference/index pages accordingly.
• Improves shell completion guidance with the new install/uninstall flows, plus assorted README/link/formatting updates.

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 9 out of 9 changed files in this pull request and generated 2 comments.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
docs/template-system/structure.md	Clarifies generated Taskfile artifacts (Taskfile.gen.yaml vs Taskfile.yaml) and their intended usage.
docs/index.md	Updates the docs landing page navigation to include new/expanded command reference material.
docs/development/plugins.md	Trims/adjusts plugin development documentation around execution/auth behavior.
docs/commands/task.md	Documents when/why dr task compose generates Taskfile.yaml vs dr run using generated Taskfiles.
docs/commands/start.md	Re-documents dr start flow (version check, prerequisites, repo detection, start detection, exit behavior) and examples.
docs/commands/self.md	Adds dr self plugin author tooling overview and links to plugin docs.
docs/commands/completion.md	Documents dr self completion install/uninstall and updates completion examples.
docs/commands/README.md	Updates global flags and command tree (dependencies, plugin, completion changes, plugin timeout).
README.md	Refreshes quickstart/setup descriptions, fixes links, and updates support URLs.

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[n-aylward]

Would it be accurate to say "not in a DataRobot application template repository" to make this a bit clearer?

[smagee-robot]

I don't see why not. As a silly test, I tried running it from the docs repo root and it still flowed as indicated, so you're right.