This article serves as the guideline for contributing to the IPFS Docs repository. This guide is only concerned with documentation within this repository and does not contain any information regarding changes to VuePress or the HTML of the site. It also includes some general tips, tools, and workflows for creating helpful docs.
By following these guidelines, you're helping to keep the IPFS docs consistent.
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Address readers in the second person by using you to address them. Stay away from words like I, we, our, or one.
You can install the virtual machine.
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Follow each list of three or more items with a comma, also known as the Oxford Comma.
Use Don't Use One, two, three, and four. One, two, three and four. Henry, Elizabeth, and George. Henry, Elizabeth and George. -
Write clearly and concisely. Sentences should be shorter than 25 words. Any longer and things tend to get a little blurry.
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Don’t use formal or complex words when easy or short ones work fine.
Use Don't Use Get Aquire Help Assist About Approximately -
Use consistent terminology when writing general documentation. Writing standard docs isn't creative writing. You don't need to describe the same thing differently every time you mention it. However, for conceptual or theoretical topics, feel free to write more creatively.
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Use American English spelling.
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Try not to use acronyms. If you absolutely have to use acronyms, spell the full phrase first and include the acronym in parentheses
()the first time you use them in each document.Decentralized Application (Dapp), Decentralized Web (DWeb)
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Avoid using specific version numbers whenever possible.
Write everything in using the GitHub Flavored Markdown syntax. Here are a few guidelines that help to keep everything nice and tidy.
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Write file names, folders, addresses, and variables between code tags.
Copy
example.jsonto~/var/www/html. -
Things that the user must click on, or look out for, should be in bold.
Click Log out to end your session. Enter your file name in the File Name field.
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Multi-line code blocks should have the language supplied in line with the markdown. Doing this helps the syntax highlighter know which language classes to use. To select a particular language in markdown, add the language name to the end of the first code tag:
const contribution_guidelines = ['hello', 'world'] console.log(contribution_guidelines[0])
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Keep titles in sentence-case (only capitalize the first letter, and any names):
Types of contribution
Dealing with the James Harden effect
When referring to projects by name, use proper noun capitalization: Go-IPFS and JS-IPFS.
Cases inside code blocks refer to commands and are not capitalized: go-ifps or js-ifps.
When writing content to explain a particular workflow, function, or service, keep your tone clean and straightforward. While it doesn't have to be formal, technical writing is not creative writing. You're just explaining to the reader how to do something.
When you're writing conceptual explanations or overviews, you can be more creative. Creative writing is especially useful when you're describing a typically boring or hard-to-follow topic. The more exciting you can make the piece to the reader, the better.
There're lots of ways you can contribute to the docs project! It all depends on how much time you have and your knowledge of the topic.
The IPFS project can only really work when the community steps up and helps out, so any contributions you can make it welcome. There are a few different types of contributions you can make to the project.
Sometimes small mistakes fall through the cracks. So if you see an error in the documentation, the best way to fix it is to edit the file on GitHub and create a pull request.
Have an idea for a new page or article, or even a series of articles? The first step is to create an issue with your suggestions. The article you are suggesting may have been discussed before, or somebody else could already be working on it.
Once an issue has been created, it can be discussed by the community and IPFS project leads. Once approved, you are free to start writing and implementing your documentation into the repository. Internal IPFS project leads from Protocol Labs review all pull-requests.
Follow these steps to learn how to file an issue with the IPFS project.
- Go to the Issues tab in the
ipfs/ipfs-docsrepository. - Search for the issue you want to raise. It may already exist. Make sure to also search closed issues by including
is:closedin your search query. - If the issue doesn't already exist, click New issue.
- Select either the Content request or Documentation issue issue template. These templates auto-fill some of the issues for you, and direct you to fill out the required information.
- Answer the questions listed in the issue form. Issues are created using Github Flavoured Markdown.
- Once you have finished describing your issue, click Submit new issue.
Shortly after your issue is submitted, an internal project lead from the IPFS project evaluates your issue. Further questions or requests-for-comment may be asked within the issue.
If you have created some changes to a post, article, or entire section, you can submit a pull request to have it merged into the ipfs/ipfs-docs repository.
If you only need to change a single file, the easiest way to create a pull request is to edit the file directly within the GitHub editor. Within each markdown file in the ipfs/ipfs-docs repository is a pencil icon. When you click on that icon, the GitHub editor will open, and you'll be able to change the file. Once you have finished your edits, you can create a new branch for this commit and start a pull request.
You can learn more about pull requests on GitHub.
You can also contribute to the project without specifically writing content for the site. Many discussions are happening all around the project. Protocol Labs, and by extension, IPFS, is a collaborative company that relies heavily on the community. We need your opinions and input! If you have an idea about a topic or want to weigh in on a discussion, feel free to have your say either on GitHub or on the IPFS forums.
The following tools are used by the IPFS docs team to help create documentation.
While you can use any text editor you want to create content, there are a few add-ons available for Microsoft's Visual Studio Code (VSCode) that make writing docs a lot easier. Here are a few extensions and add-ons that we use:
Markdown lint, David Anson
If you're only going to install one extension from this list, make it this one. This add-on points out the issues and inconsistencies within your writing and can warn you about any problems before you push your changes. This extension is handy as it keeps everyone on the same page in terms of styling and layout.
Markdown all in one, Yu Zhang
While not essential, this extension contains a bunch of quality of life improvements that make writing docs a bit easier.
It might not be the most elegant or robust application available, but Grammarly can help fix some of the complex or easy to miss mistakes in your docs. The free version is more than enough to get you by. The paid-for version comes with some quality of life improvements like adjusting the tone of your document or suggesting more optimal words, but it's not 100% necessary.
This app helps to simplify your writing. It's easy to ramble on while writing, while not realizing your content has become difficult to read or unwieldy. Hemmingway stops that by telling you when your sentences are too long or complicated.
After all that, if you're still not sure how to contribute to this project just post a question on the IPFS forum, or join us on IRC at #ipfs.