---
title: "Documentation style guide"
source: OpenTelemetry Documentation
source_url: https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry.io
licence: CC-BY-4.0
domain: engineering
subdomain: opentelemetry-docs
date_added: 2026-04-25
---

We don't have an official style guide yet, but the current OpenTelemetry
documentation style is inspired by the following style guides:

- [Google Developer Documentation Style Guide](https://developers.google.com/style)
- [Kubernetes Style Guide](https://kubernetes.io/docs/contribute/style/style-guide/)

The following sections contain guidance that is specific to the OpenTelemetry
project.

> [!NOTE]
>
> Many requirements of our style guide can be enforced by running automation:
> before submitting a [pull request][] (PR), run `npm run fix:all` on your local
> machine and commit the changes.
>
> If you run into errors or [failed PR checks](../pr-checks), read about our
> style guide and learn what you can do to fix certain common issues.

[pull request]:
  https://docs.github.com/en/get-started/learning-about-github/github-glossary#pull-request

## OpenTelemetry.io word list

A list of OpenTelemetry-specific terms and words to be used consistently across
the site:

- [OpenTelemetry](/docs/concepts/glossary/#opentelemetry) and
  [OTel](/docs/concepts/glossary/#otel)
- [Collector](/docs/concepts/glossary/#collector)
- [OTEP](/docs/concepts/glossary/#otep)
- [OpAMP](/docs/concepts/glossary/#opamp)

For a complete list of OpenTelemetry terms and their definition, see
[Glossary](/docs/concepts/glossary/).

Make sure that proper nouns, such as other CNCF projects or third-party tools,
are properly written and use the original capitalization. For example, write
"PostgreSQL" instead of "postgre". For a full list, check the
[`.textlintrc.yml`](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry.io/blob/main/.textlintrc.yml)
file.

## Markdown

Site pages are written in the Markdown syntax supported by the [Goldmark][]
Markdown renderer. For the full list of supported Markdown extensions, see
[Goldmark][].

You can also use the following Markdown extensions:

- [Alerts](#alerts)
- [Emojis][]: for the complete list of available emojis, see [Emojis][] from the
  Hugo docs.

[Emojis]: https://gohugo.io/quick-reference/emojis/

### Alerts

You can write alerts using the following extended syntax:

- [GitHub-flavored Markdown][GFM] (GFM) [alerts][gfm-alerts]
- [Obsidian callout][] syntax for custom alert titles

Here is an example of each:

```markdown
{{% _param alertExamples %}}
```

These render as:

{{% _param alertExamples %}}

For details about the blockquote alert syntax, see [Alerts][docsy-alerts] from
the Docsy docs.

[gfm-alerts]:
  https://docs.github.com/en/contributing/style-guide-and-content-model/style-guide#alerts
[GFM]: https://github.github.com/gfm/
[Goldmark]: https://gohugo.io/configuration/markup/#goldmark
[docsy-alerts]: https://www.docsy.dev/docs/content/adding-content/#alerts
[Obsidian callout]: https://help.obsidian.md/callouts

### Link references

When using Markdown [reference links][], prefer the _collapsed_ form `[text][]`
over the _shortcut_ form `[text]`. While both are valid [CommonMark][], the
shortcut form is not consistently recognized by all Markdown tools. In
particular, if you write `[example]` and forget the definition, the
[markdownlint][] linter won't warn you[^md052] -- the text silently renders as
literal `[example]` instead of a link. With the collapsed form `[example][]`,
the linter catches the missing definition immediately.

[^md052]:
    Specifically, the built-in [MD052][] rule (`reference-links-images`) only
    checks collapsed and full reference forms by default. Its `shortcut_syntax`
    option can include shortcut references, but it doesn't work well in
    practice.

[MD052]: https://github.com/DavidAnson/markdownlint/blob/main/doc/md052.md

This is enforced by the `no-shortcut-ref-link` custom rule. Run
`npm run fix:markdown` to convert shortcut references automatically.

[CommonMark]: https://spec.commonmark.org/0.31.2/#reference-link
[reference links]: https://spec.commonmark.org/0.31.2/#reference-link

### Markdown checks {#markdown-standards}

To enforce standards and consistency for Markdown files, all files should follow
certain rules, enforced by [markdownlint][]. For a full list, check the
[.markdownlint.yaml][] and [.markdownlint-cli2.yaml][] files.

When legitimate exceptions to a rule exists, use `markdownlint-disable`
directive to suppress the rule warnings. For details, see the
[markdownlint documentation](https://github.com/DavidAnson/markdownlint#configuration).

We also enforce Markdown [file format](#file-format) and strip files of trailing
whitespace. This precludes the [line break syntax][] of 2+ spaces; use ``
instead or reformat your text.

## Spell checking

Use [CSpell](https://github.com/streetsidesoftware/cspell) to make sure that all
your text is spelled correctly.

If `cspell` reports an "Unknown word", check whether you wrote the word
correctly. If so, add the word to one of these locations:

- A page-local `cSpell:ignore` list in the page front matter. For details, see
  below.
- Your locale-specific word list file
- The general [all-words.txt][] word list

[all-words.txt]:
  https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry.io/blob/main/.cspell/all-words.txt

### Page-local `cSpell:ignore` list

If the unknown word appears only on a single or a few pages, add it to a
page-local `cSpell:ignore` list in the page front matter:

```markdown
---
title: PageTitle
cSpell:ignore: <word>
---
```

For non-Markdown files, add `cSpell:ignore <word>` in a comment line appropriate
for the file. For example, in a [registry](/ecosystem/registry/) entry YAML
file, it might look like this:

```yaml
# cSpell:ignore <word>
title: registryEntryTitle
```

### Word list files

If the unknown word appears in multiple pages or is a technical term, add it to
your locale-specific word list file. Word list files are located in the
[.cspell/][] directory.

If the word is spelled correctly in all locales, such as `opamp`, add it to the
[all-words.txt][] file.

[.cspell/]:
  https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry.io/blob/main/.cspell/

## File format

We use [Prettier][] to enforce file formatting. Invoke it using:

- `npm run fix:format` to format all files
- `npm run fix:format:diff` to format only the files that have changed since the
  last commit
- `npm run fix:format:staged` to format only the files that are staged for the
  next commit

## File names

All file names should be in
[kebab case](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letter_case#Kebab_case).

## Fixing validation issues

To learn how to fix validation issues, see [Pull request checks](../pr-checks).

[.markdownlint.yaml]:
  https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry.io/blob/main/.markdownlint.yaml
[.markdownlint-cli2.yaml]:
  https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry.io/blob/main/.markdownlint-cli2.yaml
[line break syntax]: https://www.markdownguide.org/basic-syntax/#line-breaks
[markdownlint]: https://github.com/DavidAnson/markdownlint
[Prettier]: https://prettier.io
