1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363
364
365
366
367
368
369
370
371
372
373
374
375
376
377
378
379
380
381
382
383
384
385
386
387
388
389
390
391
392
393
394
395
396
397
398
399
400
401
402
403
404
405
406
407
408
409
410
411
412
413
414
415
416
417
418
419
420
421
422
423
424
425
426
427
428
429
430
431
432
433
434
435
436
437
438
439
440
441
442
443
444
445
446
447
448
449
450
451
452
453
454
455
456
457
458
459
460
461
462
463
464
465
466
467
468
469
470
471
472
473
474
475
476
477
478
479
480
481
482
483
484
485
486
487
488
489
490
491
492
493
494
495
496
497
498
499
500
501
502
503
504
505
506
507
508
509
510
511
512
513
514
515
516
517
518
519
520
521
522
523
524
525
526
527
528
529
530
531
532
533
534
535
536
537
538
539
540
541
542
543
544
545
546
547
548
549
550
551
552
553
554
555
556
557
558
559
560
561
562
563
564
565
566
567
568
569
570
571
572
573
574
575
576
577
578
579
580
581
582
583
584
585
586
587
588
589
590
591
592
593
594
595
596
597
598
599
600
601
602
603
604
605
606
607
|
---
description: Learn how to contribute to GitLab Documentation.
---
# GitLab Documentation guidelines
GitLab's documentation is [intended as the single source of truth (SSOT)](https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/documentation/) for information about how to configure, use, and troubleshoot GitLab. The documentation contains use cases and usage instructions for every GitLab feature, organized by product area and subject. This includes topics and workflows that span multiple GitLab features, and the use of GitLab with other applications.
In addition to this page, the following resources can help you craft and contribute documentation:
- [Style Guide](styleguide.md) - What belongs in the docs, language guidelines, Markdown standards to follow, links, and more.
- [Structure and template](structure.md) - Learn the typical parts of a doc page and how to write each one.
- [Documentation process](workflow.md).
- [Markdown Guide](../../user/markdown.md) - A reference for all Markdown syntax supported by GitLab.
- [Site architecture](site_architecture/index.md) - How <https://docs.gitlab.com> is built.
## Source files and rendered web locations
Documentation for GitLab, GitLab Runner, Omnibus GitLab, and Charts is published to <https://docs.gitlab.com>. Documentation for GitLab is also published within the application at `/help` on the domain of the GitLab instance.
At `/help`, only help for your current edition and version is included. Help for other versions is available at <https://docs.gitlab.com/archives/>.
The source of the documentation exists within the codebase of each GitLab application in the following repository locations:
| Project | Path |
| --- | --- |
| [GitLab](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/) | [`/doc`](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/tree/master/doc) |
| [GitLab Runner](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-runner/) | [`/docs`](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-runner/tree/master/docs) |
| [Omnibus GitLab](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/omnibus-gitlab/) | [`/doc`](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/tree/master/doc) |
| [Charts](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/charts/gitlab) | [`/doc`](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/charts/gitlab/tree/master/doc) |
Documentation issues and merge requests are part of their respective repositories and all have the label `Documentation`.
### Branch naming
The [CI pipeline for the main GitLab project](../pipelines.md) is configured to automatically
run only the jobs that match the type of contribution. If your contribution contains
**only** documentation changes, then only documentation-related jobs will be run, and
the pipeline will complete much faster than a code contribution.
If you are submitting documentation-only changes to Runner, Omnibus, or Charts,
the fast pipeline is not determined automatically. Instead, create branches for
docs-only merge requests using the following guide:
| Branch name | Valid example |
|:----------------------|:-----------------------------|
| Starting with `docs/` | `docs/update-api-issues` |
| Starting with `docs-` | `docs-update-api-issues` |
| Ending in `-docs` | `123-update-api-issues-docs` |
## Contributing to docs
[Contributions to GitLab docs](workflow.md) are welcome from the entire GitLab community.
To ensure that GitLab docs are current, there are special processes and responsibilities for all [feature changes](feature-change-workflow.md)—i.e. development work that impacts the appearance, usage, or administration of a feature.
However, anyone can contribute [documentation improvements](improvement-workflow.md) that are not associated with a feature change. For example, adding a new doc on how to accomplish a use case that's already possible with GitLab or with third-party tools and GitLab.
## Markdown and styles
[GitLab docs](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-docs) uses [GitLab Kramdown](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab_kramdown)
as its Markdown rendering engine. See the [GitLab Markdown Guide](https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/engineering/ux/technical-writing/markdown-guide/) for a complete Kramdown reference.
Adhere to the [Documentation Style Guide](styleguide.md). If a style standard is missing, you are welcome to suggest one via a merge request.
## Folder structure and files
See the [Structure](styleguide.md#structure) section of the [Documentation Style Guide](styleguide.md).
## Changing document location
Changing a document's location requires specific steps to ensure that
users can seamlessly access the new doc page, whether they are accessing content
on a GitLab instance domain at `/help` or at <https://docs.gitlab.com>. Be sure to assign a
technical writer if you have any questions during the process (such as
whether the move is necessary), and ensure that a technical writer reviews this
change prior to merging.
If you indeed need to change a document's location, do not remove the old
document, but instead replace all of its content with a new line:
```md
This document was moved to [another location](path/to/new_doc.md).
```
where `path/to/new_doc.md` is the relative path to the root directory `doc/`.
For example, if you move `doc/workflow/lfs/lfs_administration.md` to
`doc/administration/lfs.md`, then the steps would be:
1. Copy `doc/workflow/lfs/lfs_administration.md` to `doc/administration/lfs.md`
1. Replace the contents of `doc/workflow/lfs/lfs_administration.md` with:
```md
This document was moved to [another location](../../administration/lfs.md).
```
1. Find and replace any occurrences of the old location with the new one.
A quick way to find them is to use `git grep`. First go to the root directory
where you cloned the `gitlab` repository and then do:
```shell
git grep -n "workflow/lfs/lfs_administration"
git grep -n "lfs/lfs_administration"
```
NOTE: **Note:**
If the document being moved has any Disqus comments on it, there are extra steps
to follow documented just [below](#redirections-for-pages-with-disqus-comments).
Things to note:
- Since we also use inline documentation, except for the documentation itself,
the document might also be referenced in the views of GitLab (`app/`) which will
render when visiting `/help`, and sometimes in the testing suite (`spec/`).
You must search these paths for references to the doc and update them as well.
- The above `git grep` command will search recursively in the directory you run
it in for `workflow/lfs/lfs_administration` and `lfs/lfs_administration`
and will print the file and the line where this file is mentioned.
You may ask why the two greps. Since [we use relative paths to link to
documentation](styleguide.md#links)
, sometimes it might be useful to search a path deeper.
- The `*.md` extension is not used when a document is linked to GitLab's
built-in help page, that's why we omit it in `git grep`.
- Use the checklist on the "Change documentation location" MR description template.
### Alternative redirection method
You can also replace the content
of the old file with a frontmatter containing a redirect link:
```yaml
---
redirect_to: '../path/to/file/README.md'
---
```
It supports both full and relative URLs, e.g. `https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/path/to/file.html`, `../path/to/file.html`, `path/to/file.md`. Note that any `*.md` paths will be compiled to `*.html`.
NOTE: **Note:**
This redirection method will not provide a redirect fallback on GitLab `/help`. When using
it, make sure to add a link to the new page on the doc, otherwise it's a dead end for users that
land on the doc via `/help`.
### Redirections for pages with Disqus comments
If the documentation page being relocated already has Disqus comments,
we need to preserve the Disqus thread.
Disqus uses an identifier per page, and for <https://docs.gitlab.com>, the page identifier
is configured to be the page URL. Therefore, when we change the document location,
we need to preserve the old URL as the same Disqus identifier.
To do that, add to the frontmatter the variable `disqus_identifier`,
using the old URL as value. For example, let's say I moved the document
available under `https://docs.gitlab.com/my-old-location/README.html` to a new location,
`https://docs.gitlab.com/my-new-location/index.html`.
Into the **new document** frontmatter add the following:
```yaml
---
disqus_identifier: 'https://docs.gitlab.com/my-old-location/README.html'
---
```
Note: it is necessary to include the file name in the `disqus_identifier` URL,
even if it's `index.html` or `README.html`.
## Merge requests for GitLab documentation
Before getting started, make sure you read the introductory section
"[contributing to docs](#contributing-to-docs)" above and the
[documentation workflow](workflow.md).
- Use the current [merge request description template](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/blob/master/.gitlab/merge_request_templates/Documentation.md)
- Label the MR `Documentation`
- Assign the correct milestone (see note below)
Documentation will be merged if it is an improvement on existing content,
represents a good-faith effort to follow the template and style standards,
and is believed to be accurate.
Further needs for what would make the doc even better should be immediately addressed
in a follow-up MR or issue.
NOTE: **Note:**
If the release version you want to add the documentation to has already been
frozen or released, use the label `Pick into X.Y` to get it merged into
the correct release. Avoid picking into a past release as much as you can, as
it increases the work of the release managers.
## GitLab `/help`
Every GitLab instance includes the documentation, which is available at `/help`
(`https://gitlab.example.com/help`). For example, <https://gitlab.com/help>.
There are [plans](https://gitlab.com/groups/gitlab-org/-/epics/693) to end this
practice and instead link out from the GitLab application to <https://docs.gitlab.com> URLs.
The documentation available online on <https://docs.gitlab.com> is deployed every four hours from the `master` branch of GitLab, Omnibus, and Runner. Therefore,
after a merge request gets merged, it will be available online on the same day.
However, it will be shipped (and available on `/help`) within the milestone assigned
to the MR.
For example, let's say your merge request has a milestone set to 11.3, which
will be released on 2018-09-22. If it gets merged on 2018-09-15, it will be
available online on 2018-09-15, but, as the feature freeze date has passed, if
the MR does not have a "pick into 11.3" label, the milestone has to be changed
to 11.4 and it will be shipped with all GitLab packages only on 2018-10-22,
with GitLab 11.4. Meaning, it will only be available under `/help` from GitLab
11.4 onward, but available on <https://docs.gitlab.com/> on the same day it was merged.
### Linking to `/help`
When you're building a new feature, you may need to link the documentation
from GitLab, the application. This is normally done in files inside the
`app/views/` directory with the help of the `help_page_path` helper method.
In its simplest form, the HAML code to generate a link to the `/help` page is:
```haml
= link_to 'Help page', help_page_path('user/permissions')
```
The `help_page_path` contains the path to the document you want to link to with
the following conventions:
- it is relative to the `doc/` directory in the GitLab repository
- the `.md` extension must be omitted
- it must not end with a slash (`/`)
Below are some special cases where should be used depending on the context.
You can combine one or more of the following:
1. **Linking to an anchor link.** Use `anchor` as part of the `help_page_path`
method:
```haml
= link_to 'Help page', help_page_path('user/permissions', anchor: 'anchor-link')
```
1. **Opening links in a new tab.** This should be the default behavior:
```haml
= link_to 'Help page', help_page_path('user/permissions'), target: '_blank'
```
1. **Linking to a circle icon.** Usually used in settings where a long
description cannot be used, like near checkboxes. You can basically use
any font awesome icon, but prefer the `question-circle`:
```haml
= link_to icon('question-circle'), help_page_path('user/permissions')
```
1. **Using a button link.** Useful in places where text would be out of context
with the rest of the page layout:
```haml
= link_to 'Help page', help_page_path('user/permissions'), class: 'btn btn-info'
```
1. **Using links inline of some text.**
```haml
Description to #{link_to 'Help page', help_page_path('user/permissions')}.
```
1. **Adding a period at the end of the sentence.** Useful when you don't want
the period to be part of the link:
```haml
= succeed '.' do
Learn more in the
= link_to 'Help page', help_page_path('user/permissions')
```
### GitLab `/help` tests
Several [rspec tests](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/blob/master/spec/features/help_pages_spec.rb)
are run to ensure GitLab documentation renders and works correctly. In particular, that [main docs landing page](../../README.md) will work correctly from `/help`.
For example, [GitLab.com's `/help`](https://gitlab.com/help).
## Docs site architecture
See the [Docs site architecture](site_architecture/index.md) page to learn
how we build and deploy the site at <https://docs.gitlab.com> and
to review all the assets and libraries in use.
### Global navigation
See the [Global navigation](site_architecture/global_nav.md) doc for information
on how the left-side navigation menu is built and updated.
## Previewing the changes live
NOTE: **Note:**
To preview your changes to documentation locally, follow this
[development guide](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-docs/blob/master/README.md#development-when-contributing-to-gitlab-documentation) or [these instructions for GDK](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-development-kit/blob/master/doc/howto/gitlab_docs.md).
The live preview is currently enabled for the following projects:
- <https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab>
- <https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-runner>
If your merge request has docs changes, you can use the manual `review-docs-deploy` job
to deploy the docs review app for your merge request.
You will need at least Maintainer permissions to be able to run it.
![Manual trigger a docs build](img/manual_build_docs.png)
NOTE: **Note:**
You will need to push a branch to those repositories, it doesn't work for forks.
The `review-docs-deploy*` job will:
1. Create a new branch in the [`gitlab-docs`](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-docs)
project named after the scheme: `docs-preview-$DOCS_GITLAB_REPO_SUFFIX-$CI_MERGE_REQUEST_IID`,
where `DOCS_GITLAB_REPO_SUFFIX` is the suffix for each product, e.g, `ee` for
EE, `omnibus` for Omnibus GitLab, etc, and `CI_MERGE_REQUEST_IID` is the ID
of the respective merge request.
1. Trigger a cross project pipeline and build the docs site with your changes.
In case the review app URL returns 404, this means that either the site is not
yet deployed, or something went wrong with the remote pipeline. Give it a few
minutes and it should appear online, otherwise you can check the status of the
remote pipeline from the link in the merge request's job output.
If the pipeline failed or got stuck, drop a line in the `#docs` chat channel.
TIP: **Tip:**
Someone with no merge rights to the GitLab projects (think of forks from
contributors) cannot run the manual job. In that case, you can
ask someone from the GitLab team who has the permissions to do that for you.
NOTE: **Note:**
Make sure that you always delete the branch of the merge request you were
working on. If you don't, the remote docs branch won't be removed either,
and the server where the Review Apps are hosted will eventually be out of
disk space.
### Troubleshooting review apps
In case the review app URL returns 404, follow these steps to debug:
1. **Did you follow the URL from the merge request widget?** If yes, then check if
the link is the same as the one in the job output.
1. **Did you follow the URL from the job output?** If yes, then it means that
either the site is not yet deployed or something went wrong with the remote
pipeline. Give it a few minutes and it should appear online, otherwise you
can check the status of the remote pipeline from the link in the job output.
If the pipeline failed or got stuck, drop a line in the `#docs` chat channel.
### Technical aspects
If you want to know the in-depth details, here's what's really happening:
1. You manually run the `review-docs-deploy` job in a merge request.
1. The job runs the [`scripts/trigger-build-docs`](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/blob/master/scripts/trigger-build-docs)
script with the `deploy` flag, which in turn:
1. Takes your branch name and applies the following:
- The `docs-preview-` prefix is added.
- The product slug is used to know the project the review app originated
from.
- The number of the merge request is added so that you can know by the
`gitlab-docs` branch name the merge request it originated from.
1. The remote branch is then created if it doesn't exist (meaning you can
re-run the manual job as many times as you want and this step will be skipped).
1. A new cross-project pipeline is triggered in the docs project.
1. The preview URL is shown both at the job output and in the merge request
widget. You also get the link to the remote pipeline.
1. In the docs project, the pipeline is created and it
[skips the test jobs](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-docs/blob/8d5d5c750c602a835614b02f9db42ead1c4b2f5e/.gitlab-ci.yml#L50-55)
to lower the build time.
1. Once the docs site is built, the HTML files are uploaded as artifacts.
1. A specific Runner tied only to the docs project, runs the Review App job
that downloads the artifacts and uses `rsync` to transfer the files over
to a location where NGINX serves them.
The following GitLab features are used among others:
- [Manual actions](../../ci/yaml/README.md#whenmanual)
- [Multi project pipelines](../../ci/multi_project_pipeline_graphs.md)
- [Review Apps](../../ci/review_apps/index.md)
- [Artifacts](../../ci/yaml/README.md#artifacts)
- [Specific Runner](../../ci/runners/README.md#locking-a-specific-runner-from-being-enabled-for-other-projects)
- [Pipelines for merge requests](../../ci/merge_request_pipelines/index.md)
## Testing
We treat documentation as code, and so use tests in our CI pipeline to maintain the
standards and quality of the docs. The current tests, which run in CI jobs when a
merge request with new or changed docs is submitted, are:
- [`docs lint`](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/blob/master/.gitlab/ci/docs.gitlab-ci.yml#L48):
Runs several tests on the content of the docs themselves:
- [`lint-doc.sh` script](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/blob/master/scripts/lint-doc.sh)
runs the following checks and linters:
- All cURL examples use the long flags (ex: `--header`, not `-H`).
- The `CHANGELOG.md` does not contain duplicate versions.
- No files in `doc/` are executable.
- No new `README.md` was added.
- [markdownlint](#markdownlint).
- [Vale](#vale).
- Nanoc tests:
- [`internal_links`](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/blob/master/.gitlab/ci/docs.gitlab-ci.yml#L67)
checks that all internal links (ex: `[link](../index.md)`) are valid.
- [`internal_anchors`](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/blob/master/.gitlab/ci/docs.gitlab-ci.yml#L69)
checks that all internal anchors (ex: `[link](../index.md#internal_anchor)`)
are valid.
- If any code or the `doc/README.md` file is changed, a full pipeline will run, which
runs tests for [`/help`](#gitlab-help-tests).
### Running tests & lint checks locally
Apart from [previewing your changes locally](#previewing-the-changes-live), you can also run all lint checks
and Nanoc tests locally.
#### Nanoc tests
To execute Nanoc tests locally:
1. Navigate to the [`gitlab-docs`](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-docs) directory.
1. Run:
```shell
# Check for broken internal links
bundle exec nanoc check internal_links
# Check for broken external links (might take a lot of time to complete).
# This test is set to be allowed to fail and is run only in the gitlab-docs project CI
bundle exec nanoc check internal_anchors
```
#### Lint checks
Lint checks are performed by the [`lint-doc.sh`](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/blob/master/scripts/lint-doc.sh)
script and can be executed as follows:
1. Navigate to the `gitlab` directory.
1. Run:
```shell
MD_DOC_PATH=path/to/my_doc.md scripts/lint-doc.sh
```
Where `MD_DOC_PATH` points to the file or directory you would like to run lint checks for.
If you omit it completely, it will default to the `doc/` directory.
The output should be similar to:
```plaintext
=> Linting documents at path /path/to/gitlab as <user>...
=> Checking for cURL short options...
=> Checking for CHANGELOG.md duplicate entries...
=> Checking /path/to/gitlab/doc for executable permissions...
=> Checking for new README.md files...
=> Linting markdown style...
=> Linting prose...
✔ 0 errors, 0 warnings and 0 suggestions in 1 file.
✔ Linting passed
```
Note that this requires you to either have the required lint tools installed on your machine,
or a working Docker installation, in which case an image with these tools pre-installed will be used.
For more information on available linters refer to the [linting](#linting) section.
### Linting
To help adhere to the [documentation style guidelines](styleguide.md), and improve the content
added to documentation, consider locally installing and running documentation linters. This will
help you catch common issues before raising merge requests for review of documentation.
The following are some suggested linters you can install locally and sample configuration:
- [`proselint`](#proselint)
- [markdownlint](#markdownlint), which is the same as the test run in [`docs-lint`](#testing)
- [Vale](#vale), for English language grammar and syntax suggestions
NOTE: **Note:**
This list does not limit what other linters you can add to your local documentation writing toolchain.
#### `proselint`
`proselint` checks for common problems with English prose. It provides a
[plethora of checks](http://proselint.com/checks/) that are helpful for technical writing.
`proselint` can be used [on the command line](http://proselint.com/utility/), either on a single
Markdown file or on all Markdown files in a project. For example, to run `proselint` on all
documentation in the [`gitlab` project](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab), run the
following commands from within the `gitlab` project:
```shell
cd doc
proselint **/*.md
```
`proselint` can also be run from within editors using plugins. For example, the following plugins
are available:
- [Sublime Text](https://packagecontrol.io/packages/SublimeLinter-contrib-proselint)
- [Visual Studio Code](https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=PatrykPeszko.vscode-proselint)
- [Others](https://github.com/amperser/proselint#plugins-for-other-software)
##### Sample `proselint` configuration
All of the checks are good to use. However, excluding the `typography.symbols` and `misc.phrasal_adjectives` checks will reduce
noise. The following sample `proselint` configuration disables these checks:
```json
{
"checks": {
"typography.symbols": false,
"misc.phrasal_adjectives": false
}
}
```
A file with `proselint` configuration must be placed in a
[valid location](https://github.com/amperser/proselint#checks). For example, `~/.config/proselint/config`.
#### markdownlint
[markdownlint](https://github.com/DavidAnson/markdownlint) checks that Markdown
syntax follows [certain rules](https://github.com/DavidAnson/markdownlint/blob/master/doc/Rules.md#rules),
and is used by the [`docs-lint` test](#testing) with a [configuration file](#markdownlint-configuration).
Our [Documentation Style Guide](styleguide.md#markdown) and [Markdown Guide](https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/engineering/ux/technical-writing/markdown-guide/)
elaborate on which choices must be made when selecting Markdown syntax for GitLab
documentation. This tool helps catch deviations from those guidelines.
markdownlint can be used [on the command line](https://github.com/igorshubovych/markdownlint-cli#markdownlint-cli--),
either on a single Markdown file or on all Markdown files in a project. For example, to run
markdownlint on all documentation in the [`gitlab` project](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab),
run the following commands from within your `gitlab` project root directory, which will
automatically detect the [`.markdownlint.json`](#markdownlint-configuration) config
file in the root of the project, and test all files in `/doc` and its subdirectories:
```shell
markdownlint 'doc/**/*.md'
```
If you wish to use a different config file, use the `-c` flag:
```shell
markdownlint -c <config-file-name> 'doc/**/*.md'
```
markdownlint can also be run from within text editors using [plugins/extensions](https://github.com/DavidAnson/markdownlint#related),
such as:
- [Sublime Text](https://packagecontrol.io/packages/SublimeLinter-contrib-markdownlint)
- [Visual Studio Code](https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=DavidAnson.vscode-markdownlint)
- [Atom](https://atom.io/packages/linter-node-markdownlint)
It is best to use the [same configuration file](#markdownlint-configuration) as what
is in use in the four repos that are the sources for <https://docs.gitlab.com>. Each
plugin/extension has different requirements regarding the configuration file, which
is explained in each editor's docs.
##### markdownlint configuration
Each formatting issue that markdownlint checks has an associated
[rule](https://github.com/DavidAnson/markdownlint/blob/master/doc/Rules.md#rules).
These rules are configured in the `.markdownlint.json` files located in the root of
four repos that are the sources for <https://docs.gitlab.com>:
- <https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/blob/master/.markdownlint.json>
- <https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-runner/blob/master/.markdownlint.json>
- <https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/omnibus-gitlab/blob/master/.markdownlint.json>
- <https://gitlab.com/charts/gitlab/blob/master/.markdownlint.json>
By default all rules are enabled, so the configuration file is used to disable unwanted
rules, and also to configure optional parameters for enabled rules as needed. You can
also check [the issue](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-foss/issues/64352) that
tracked the changes required to implement these rules, and details which rules were
on or off when markdownlint was enabled on the docs.
#### Vale
[Vale](https://errata-ai.github.io/vale/) is a grammar, style, and word usage linter
for the English language. Vale's configuration is stored in the
[`.vale.ini`](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/blob/master/.vale.ini) file
located in the root directory of the [GitLab repository](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab).
Vale supports creating [custom tests](https://errata-ai.github.io/vale/styles/),
stored in the `doc/.linting/vale/styles/gitlab` directory, that extend any of
several types of checks.
To view linting suggestions locally, you must install Vale on your own machine,
and from GitLab's root directory (where `.vale.ini` is located), run:
```shell
vale --glob='*.{md}' doc
```
You can also
[configure the text editor of your choice](https://errata-ai.github.io/vale/#local-use-by-a-single-writer)
to display the results.
Vale's test results are not currently displayed in CI, but may be displayed in the future.
## Danger Bot
GitLab uses [Danger](https://github.com/danger/danger) for some elements in
code review. For docs changes in merge requests, whenever a change to files under `/doc`
is made, Danger Bot leaves a comment with further instructions about the documentation
process. This is configured in the Dangerfile in the GitLab repo under
[/danger/documentation/](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/tree/master/danger/documentation).
|