# Contributing to InfluxData Documentation ## Sign the InfluxData CLA The InfluxData Contributor License Agreement (CLA) is part of the legal framework for the open-source ecosystem that protects both you and InfluxData. In order to contribute to any InfluxData project, you must first sign the CLA. [Sign the InfluxData (CLA)](https://www.influxdata.com/legal/cla/) ## Make suggested updates ### Fork and clone InfluxData Documentation Repository [Fork this repository](https://help.github.com/articles/fork-a-repo/) and [clone it](https://help.github.com/articles/cloning-a-repository/) to your local machine. ### Run the documentation locally (optional) To run the documentation locally, follow the instructions provided in the README. ### Make your changes Make your suggested changes being sure to follow the [style and formatting guidelines](#style--formatting) outline below. ### Submit a pull request Push your changes up to your forked repository, then [create a new pull request](https://help.github.com/articles/creating-a-pull-request/). ## Style & Formatting ### Markdown All of our documentation is written in [Markdown](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Markdown). ### Semantic Linefeeds Use [semantic linefeeds](http://rhodesmill.org/brandon/2012/one-sentence-per-line/). Separating each sentence with a new line makes it easy to parse diffs with the human eye. **Diff without semantic linefeeds:** ``` diff -Data are taking off. Those data are time series. You need a database that specializes in time series. You should check out InfluxDB. +Data are taking off. Those data are time series. You need a database that specializes in time series. You need InfluxDB. ``` **Diff with semantic linefeeds:** ``` diff Data are taking off. Those data are time series. You need a database that specializes in time series. -You should check out InfluxDB. +You need InfluxDB. ``` ### Page frontmatter Every documentation page includes frontmatter which specifies information about the page. Frontmatter populates variables in page templates and the site's navigation menu. ```yaml title: # Title of the page used in the the page's h1 seotitle: # Page title used in the html title and used in search engine results description: # Page description displayed in search engine results menu: v2_0: name: # Article name that only appears in the left nav parent: # Specifies a parent group and nests navigation items weight: # Determines sort order. draft: # If true, will not render page on build enterprise_all: # If true, specifies the doc as a whole is specific to InfluxDB Enterprise enterprise_some: # If true, specifies the doc includes some content specific to InfluxDB Enterprise ``` #### Title usage ##### `title` The `title` frontmatter populates each page's h1 header. It shouldn't be overly long, but should set the context for users coming from outside sources. ##### `seotitle` The `seotitle` frontmatter populates each page's HTML `title` attribute. Search engines use this in search results (not the page's h1) and therefore it should be keyword optimized. ##### `menu > name` The `name` attribute under the `menu` frontmatter determines the text used in each page's link in the site navigation. It should be short and assume the context of its parent if it has one. ### Article headings Use only h2-h6 headings in markdown content. h1 headings act as the page title and are populated automatically from the `title` frontmatter. h2-h6 headings act as section headings. ### Notes and warnings Shortcodes are available for formatting notes and warnings in each article: ```md {{% note %}} Insert note markdown content here. {{% /note %}} {{% warn %}} Insert warning markdown content here. {{% /warn %}} ``` ### Enterprise Content Many articles are unique to InfluxDB enterprise or at least contain some information specific to InfluxDB Enterprise. There are frontmatter options and an enterprise shortcode that help to properly identify this content. #### All content is Enterprise-specific If all content in an article is Enterprise-specific, set the `enterprise_all` frontmatter to `true`. ```yaml enterprise_all: true ``` This will display a message at the top of page indicating that the things discussed are unique to InfluxDB Enterprise. #### Only some content is Enterprise-specific If only some content in the article is enterprise specific, set the `enterprise_some` frontmatter to `true`. ```yaml enterprise_some: true ``` This will display a message at the top of page indicating some things are unique to InfluxDB Enterprise. To format Enterprise-specific content, wrap it in the `{{% enterprise %}}` shortcode: ```md {{% enterprise %}} Insert enterprise-specific markdown content here. {{% /enterprise %}} ``` ### Tabbed Content Shortcodes are available for creating "tabbed" content (content that is changed by a users' selection). Ther following three must be used: `{{< tabs-wrapper >}}` This shortcode creates a wrapper or container for the tabbed content. All UI interactions are limited to the scope of each container. If you have more than one "group" of tabbed content in a page, each needs its own `tabs-wrapper`. This shortcode must be closed with `{{< /tabs-wrapper >}}`. **Note**: The `<` and `>` characters used in this shortcode indicate that the contents should be processed as HTML. `{{% tabs %}}` This shortcode creates a container for buttons that control the display of tabbed content. It should contain simple markdown links with anonymous anchors (`#`). The link text is used as the button text. This shortcode must be closed with `{{% /tabs %}}`. **Note**: The `%` characters used in this shortcode indicate that the contents should be processed as Markdown. `{{% tab-content %}}` This shortcode creates a container for a content block. Each content block in the tab group needs to be wrapped in this shortcode. **The number of `tab-content` blocks must match the number of links provided in the `tabs` shortcode** This shortcode must be closed with `{{% /tab-content %}}`. **Note**: The `%` characters used in this shortcode indicate that the contents should be processed as Markdown. #### Example tabbed content group ```md {{< tabs-wrapper >}} {{% tabs %}} [Button text for tab 1](#) [Button text for tab 2](#) {{% /tabs %}} {{% tab-content %}} Markdown content for tab 1. {{% /tab-content %}} {{% tab-content %}} Markdown content for tab 2. {{% /tab-content %}} {{< /tabs-wrapper >}} ``` #### Tabbed code blocks Shortcodes are also available for tabbed code blocks primarily used to give users the option to choose between different languages and syntax. The shortcode structure is the same as above, but the shortcode names are different: `{{< code-tabs-wrapper >}}` `{{% code-tabs %}}` `{{% code-tab-content %}}` ~~~md {{< code-tabs-wrapper >}} {{% code-tabs %}} [Flux](#) [InfluxQL](#) {{% /code-tabs %}} {{% code-tab-content %}} ```js data = from(bucket: "telegraf/autogen") |> range(start: -15m) |> filter(fn: (r) => r._measurement == "mem" AND r._field == "used_percent" ) ``` {{% /code-tab-content %}} {{% code-tab-content %}} ```sql SELECT "used_percent" FROM "telegraf"."autogen"."mem" WHERE time > now() - 15m ``` {{% /code-tab-content %}} {{< /code-tabs-wrapper >}} ~~~ ### High-resolution images In many cases, screenshots included in the docs are taken from high-resolution (retina) screens. Because of this, the actual pixel dimension is 2x larger than it needs to be and is rendered 2x bigger than it should be. The following shortcode automatically sets a fixed width on the image using half of its actual pixel dimension. This preserves the detail of the image and renders it at a size where there should be little to no "blur" cause by browser image resizing. ```html {{< img-hd src="/path/to/image" alt="Alternate title" />}} ``` ###### Notes - This should only be used on screenshots takes from high-resolution screens. - The `src` should be relative to the `static` directory. - Image widths are limited to the width of the article content container and will scale accordingly, even with the `width` explicitly set. ### Truncated content blocks In some cases, it may be appropriate to shorten or truncate blocks of content. Use cases include long examples of output data or tall images. The following shortcode truncates blocks of content and allows users to opt into to seeing the full content block. ```md {{% truncate %}} Truncated markdown content here. {{% /truncate %}} ``` ### Generate a list of children articles Section landing pages often contain just a list of articles with links and descriptions for each. This can be cumbersome to maintain as content is added. To automate the listing of articles in a section, use the `{{< children >}}` shortcode. ```md {{< children >}} ``` ### Reference content The InfluxDB documentation is "task-based," meaning content primarily focuses on what a user is **doing**, not what they are **using**. However, there is a need to document tools and other things that don't necessarily fit in the task-based style. This is referred to as "reference content." Reference content is styled just as the rest of the InfluxDB documentation. The only difference is the `menu` reference in the page's frontmatter. When defining the menu for reference content, use the following pattern: ```yaml # Pattern menu: v__ref: # ... # Example menu: v2_0_ref: # ... ```