Documentation/Technical style guides and templates

This page contains resources you will need to create quality documentation for Wikimedia projects.

Note: Most of these resources are in English or refer to writing in English.

Style and grammar

 * Wikipedia manual of style - This is the primary style guide for Wikimedia projects. You should use this as a reference for any general writing you are doing.
 * MediaWiki technical documentation style guide - This resource is a secondary style guide meant specifically for technical documentation on Wikimedia projects. You should use this to help guide the style and formatting of technical aspects of projects.
 * Inclusive language guide - We want to encourage a culture of inclusivity, and part of doing that is making sure we use appropriate language where we can. This guide provides information about using inclusive language in your technical documentation.
 * PAWS/Jupyter notebooks - Coming soon! A style guide for PAWS/Jupiter notebooks.

Code styles
There are a number of code style guides used by folks on Wikimedia projects. Some are listed here; though this is not an extensive list. In most cases, it's best to refer to the original style guide for whatever coding language you are using.


 * Product_Analytics/Style_guide

Document types

 * Different technical writing genres

Templates

 * Templates for different doc types - Take the guesswork out of setting up your documentation. This page contains links to templates for frequently used document types.
 * Templates for formatting text - Need to leave a note in your docs? This page provides a number of templates for your needs.

Processes

 * Guidelines for technical documentation tasks

Audiences for Wikimedia technical documentation
https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/User:SRodlund_(WMF)/Personas_for_wikimedia_technical_documentation

Best practices or writing simple technical English for translation

 * Simple English

Spelling, grammar and writing aids
Many writers benefit from running spelling and grammar checks on their work. Not only can these check for issues with your document, but they can also help you become a better writer by identifying your more common errors.

Some Open Source options:


 * https://www.languagetool.org/
 * https://editsaurus.tylerwalters.com/
 * https://grammark.org/dist/#/