99 lines
4.5 KiB
Markdown
99 lines
4.5 KiB
Markdown
---
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stage: none
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group: Documentation Guidelines
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info: For assistance with this Style Guide page, see https://handbook.gitlab.com/handbook/product/ux/technical-writing/#assignments-to-other-projects-and-subjects.
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---
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# Contribute to the GitLab documentation
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The GitLab documentation is the single source of truth (SSOT)
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for information about how to configure, use, and troubleshoot GitLab.
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Everyone is welcome to contribute to the GitLab documentation.
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## Work without an issue
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You don't need an issue to update the documentation.
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On <https://docs.gitlab.com>, at the bottom of any page,
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you can select **View page source** or **Edit in Web IDE** and [get started with a merge request](#open-your-merge-request).
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You can alternately:
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- Choose a page [in the `/doc` directory](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/tree/master/doc)
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and edit it from there.
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- Try installing and running the [Vale linting tool](testing.md#vale)
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and fixing the resulting issues.
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When you're developing code, the workflow for updating docs is slightly different.
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For details, see the [merge request workflow](../contributing/merge_request_workflow.md).
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## Search available issues
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If you're looking for an open issue, you can
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[review the list of documentation issues curated specifically for new contributors](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/?sort=created_date&state=opened&label_name%5B%5D=documentation&label_name%5B%5D=docs-only&label_name%5B%5D=Seeking%20community%20contributions&first_page_size=20).
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When you find an issue you'd like to work on:
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- If the issue is already assigned to someone, pick a different one.
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- If the issue is unassigned, add a comment and ask to work on the issue. For a Hackathon, use `@docs-hackathon`. Otherwise, use `@gl-docsteam`. For example:
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```plaintext
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@docs-hackathon I would like to work on this issue
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```
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- Do not ask for more than three issues at a time.
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## Open your merge request
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When you are ready to update the documentation:
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1. Go to the [GitLab repository](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab).
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1. In the upper-right corner, select **Fork**. Forking makes a copy of the repository on GitLab.com.
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1. In your fork, find the documentation page in the `\doc` directory.
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1. If you know Git, make your changes and open a merge request.
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If not, follow these steps:
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1. In the upper right, select **Edit > Edit single file**.
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1. Make your changes.
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1. When you're ready to submit your changes, in the **Commit message** text box, enter a commit message.
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Use 3-5 words, start with a capital letter, and do not end with a period.
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1. Select **Commit changes**.
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1. On the left sidebar, select **Code > Merge requests**.
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1. Select **New merge request**.
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1. For the source branch, select your fork and branch. If you did not create a branch, select `master`.
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For the target branch, select the [GitLab repository](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab) `master` branch.
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1. Select **Compare branches and continue**. A new merge request opens.
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1. Select the **Documentation** template. In the description, write a brief summary of the changes and link to the related issue, if there is one.
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1. Select **Create merge request**.
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## Ask for help
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Ask for help from the Technical Writing team if you:
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- Need help to choose the correct place for documentation.
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- Want to discuss a documentation idea or outline.
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- Want to request any other help.
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To identify someone who can help you:
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1. Locate the Technical Writer for the relevant
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[DevOps stage group](https://handbook.gitlab.com/handbook/product/ux/technical-writing/#assignments).
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1. Either:
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- If urgent help is required, directly assign the Technical Writer in the issue or in the merge request.
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- If non-urgent help is required, ping the Technical Writer in the issue or merge request.
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If you are a member of the GitLab Slack workspace, you can request help in the `#docs` channel.
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## Branch naming
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The [CI/CD pipeline for the main GitLab project](../pipelines/index.md) is configured to
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run shorter, faster pipelines on merge requests that contain only documentation changes.
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If you submit documentation-only changes to Omnibus, Charts, or Operator,
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to make the shorter pipeline run, you must follow these guidelines when naming your branch:
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| Branch name | Valid example |
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|:----------------------|:-----------------------------|
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| Starting with `docs/` | `docs/update-api-issues` |
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| Starting with `docs-` | `docs-update-api-issues` |
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| Ending in `-docs` | `123-update-api-issues-docs` |
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