- **General Documentation**: written by the [developers responsible by creating features](#contributing-to-docs). Should be submitted in the same merge request containing code. Feature proposals (by GitLab contributors) should also be accompanied by its respective documentation. They can be later improved by PMs and Technical Writers.
- **[Technical Articles](#technical-articles)**: written by any [GitLab Team](https://about.gitlab.com/team/) member, GitLab contributors, or [Community Writers](https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/product/technical-writing/community-writers/).
- **Indexes per topic**: initially prepared by the Technical Writing Team, and kept up-to-date by developers and PMs in the same merge request containing code. They gather all resources for that topic in a single page (user and admin documentation, articles, and third-party docs).
We use the [monthly release blog post](https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/marketing/blog/release-posts/#monthly-releases) as a changelog checklist to ensure everything
Currently GitLab docs use Redcarpet as [markdown](../user/markdown.md) engine, but there's an [open discussion](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-com/gitlab-docs/issues/50) for implementing Kramdown in the near future.
The documentation is structured based on the GitLab UI structure itself,
separated by [`user`](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-ce/tree/master/doc/user),
[`administrator`](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-ce/tree/master/doc/administration), and [`contributor`](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-ce/tree/master/doc/development).
In order to have a [solid site structure](https://searchengineland.com/seo-benefits-developing-solid-site-structure-277456) for our documentation,
all docs should be linked. Every new document should be cross-linked to its related documentation, and linked from its topic-related index, when existent.
The directories `/workflow/`, `/gitlab-basics/`, `/university/`, and `/articles/` have
been deprecated and the majority their docs have been moved to their correct location
in small iterations. Please don't create new docs in these folders.
### Location and naming documents
The documentation hierarchy can be vastly improved by providing a better layout
and organization of directories.
Having a structured document layout, we will be able to have meaningful URLs
like `docs.gitlab.com/user/project/merge_requests/index.html`. With this pattern,
you can immediately tell that you are navigating a user related documentation
and is about the project and its merge requests.
Do not create summaries of similar types of content (e.g. an index of all articles, videos, etc.),
rather organize content by its subject (e.g. everything related to CI goes together)
and cross-link between any related content.
The table below shows what kind of documentation goes where.
| Directory | What belongs here |
| --------- | -------------- |
| `doc/user/` | User related documentation. Anything that can be done within the GitLab UI goes here including `/admin`. |
| `doc/administration/` | Documentation that requires the user to have access to the server where GitLab is installed. The admin settings that can be accessed via GitLab's interface go under `doc/user/admin_area/`. |
| `doc/api/` | API related documentation. |
| `doc/development/` | Documentation related to the development of GitLab. Any styleguides should go here. |
| `doc/legal/` | Legal documents about contributing to GitLab. |
| `doc/install/`| Probably the most visited directory, since `installation.md` is there. Ideally this should go under `doc/administration/`, but it's best to leave it as-is in order to avoid confusion (still debated though). |
| `doc/update/` | Same with `doc/install/`. Should be under `administration/`, but this is a well known location, better leave as-is, at least for now. |
| `doc/topics/` | Indexes per Topic (`doc/topics/topic-name/index.md`): all resources for that topic (user and admin documentation, articles, and third-party docs) |
---
**General rules:**
1. The correct naming and location of a new document, is a combination
of the relative URL of the document in question and the GitLab Map design
that is used for UX purposes ([source][graffle], [image][gitlab-map]).
1. When creating a new document and it has more than one word in its name,
make sure to use underscores instead of spaces or dashes (`-`). For example,
a proper naming would be `import_projects_from_github.md`. The same rule
applies to images.
1. Start a new directory with an `index.md` file.
1. There are four main directories, `user`, `administration`, `api` and `development`.
1. The `doc/user/` directory has five main subdirectories: `project/`, `group/`,
`profile/`, `dashboard/` and `admin_area/`.
1.`doc/user/project/` should contain all project related documentation.
1.`doc/user/group/` should contain all group related documentation.
1.`doc/user/profile/` should contain all profile related documentation.
Every page you would navigate under `/profile` should have its own document,
i.e. `account.md`, `applications.md`, `emails.md`, etc.
1.`doc/user/dashboard/` should contain all dashboard related documentation.
1.`doc/user/admin_area/` should contain all admin related documentation
describing what can be achieved by accessing GitLab's admin interface
(_not to be confused with `doc/administration` where server access is
required_).
1. Every category under `/admin/application_settings` should have its
own document located at `doc/user/admin_area/settings/`. For example,
the **Visibility and Access Controls** category should have a document
located at `doc/user/admin_area/settings/visibility_and_access_controls.md`.
1. The `doc/topics/` directory holds topic-related technical content. Create
`doc/topics/topic-name/subtopic-name/index.md` when subtopics become necessary.
General user- and admin- related documentation, should be placed accordingly.
If you are unsure where a document should live, you can ping `@axil` or `@marcia` in your
merge request.
### Changing document location
Changing a document's location is not to be taken lightly. Remember that the
documentation is available to all installations under `help/` and not only to
GitLab.com or http://docs.gitlab.com. Make sure this is discussed with the
Documentation team beforehand.
If you indeed need to change a document's location, do NOT remove the old
document, but rather replace all of its contents with a new line:
```
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 were to 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:
```
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-ce` repository and then do:
1. [`ee_compat_check`](https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/development/automatic_ce_ee_merge.html#avoiding-ce-gt-ee-merge-conflicts-beforehand) (runs on CE only):
When you submit a merge request to GitLab Community Edition (CE),
there is this additional job that runs against Enterprise Edition (EE)
and checks if your changes can apply cleanly to the EE codebase.
If that job fails, read the instructions in the job log for what to do next.
As CE is merged into EE once a day, it's important to avoid merge conflicts.
Submitting an EE-equivalent merge request cherry-picking all commits from CE to EE is
- Use the current [merge request description template](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-ce/blob/master/.gitlab/merge_request_templates/Documentation.md)
- Use the correct [branch name](#branch-naming)
- Label the MR `Documentation`
- Assign the correct milestone (see note below)
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
General documentation is categorized by _User_, _Admin_, and _Contributor_, and describe what that feature is, what it does, and its available settings.
### Technical Articles
Technical articles replace technical content that once lived in the [GitLab Blog](https://about.gitlab.com/blog/), where they got out-of-date and weren't easily found.
They are topic-related documentation, written with an user-friendly approach and language, aiming to provide the community with guidance on specific processes to achieve certain objectives.
A technical article guides users and/or admins to achieve certain objectives (within guides and tutorials), or provide an overview of that particular topic or feature (within technical overviews). It can also describe the use, implementation, or integration of third-party tools with GitLab.
They should be placed in a new directory named `/article-title/index.md` under a topic-related folder, and their images should be placed in `/article-title/img/`. For example, a new article on GitLab Pages should be placed in `doc/user/project/pages/article-title/` and a new article on GitLab CI/CD should be placed in `doc/ci/examples/article-title/`.
- **Tutorials**: technical content provided step-by-step on how to do things, or how to reach very specific objectives
#### Understanding guides, tutorials, and technical overviews
Suppose there's a process to go from point A to point B in 5 steps: `(A) 1 > 2 > 3 > 4 > 5 (B)`.
A **guide** can be understood as a description of certain processes to achieve a particular objective. A guide brings you from A to B describing the characteristics of that process, but not necessarily going over each step. It can mention, for example, steps 2 and 3, but does not necessarily explain how to accomplish them.
- Live example: "[Static sites and GitLab Pages domains (Part 1)](../user/project/pages/getting_started_part_one.md) to [Creating and Tweaking GitLab CI/CD for GitLab Pages (Part 4)](../user/project/pages/getting_started_part_four.md)"
A **tutorial** requires a clear **step-by-step** guidance to achieve a singular objective. It brings you from A to B, describing precisely all the necessary steps involved in that process, showing each of the 5 steps to go from A to B.
It does not only describes steps 2 and 3, but also shows you how to accomplish them.
- Live example (on the blog): [Hosting on GitLab.com with GitLab Pages](https://about.gitlab.com/2016/04/07/gitlab-pages-setup/)
A **technical overview** is a description of what a certain feature is, and what it does, but does not walk
through the process of how to use it systematically.
- Live example (on the blog): [GitLab Workflow, an overview](https://about.gitlab.com/2016/10/25/gitlab-workflow-an-overview/)