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This version of GitHub Enterprise Server was discontinued on 2024-09-24. No patch releases will be made, even for critical security issues. For better performance, improved security, and new features, upgrade to the latest version of GitHub Enterprise Server. For help with the upgrade, contact GitHub Enterprise support.

Style guide and content model

Learn about how we keep GitHub's documentation consistent, easy to follow, and maintainable.

Style guide

Follow this guide to make sure GitHub's documentation stays consistent and follows clear patterns that our readers can understand.

About the content model

The content model describes the structure and types of content that we publish.

Contents of a GitHub Docs article

Every article includes a few standard elements, and may include conditional or optional elements. We also use a standard order for content within an article.

About topics

Use topics to make articles searchable.

Conceptual content type

People most often use conceptual content when they are learning about something new to them.

Referential content type

Referential content provides detailed information that people need while they are actively using a feature.

Procedural content type

Procedural content gives context on how a task fits into someone's larger goal.

Troubleshooting content type

Troubleshooting content includes built-in errors we expect people to encounter, common problems reported to support, and situations people might encounter while completing tasks.

Release note content type

Release notes enable readers to understand and prepare for the user-facing changes in each release of GitHub's versioned enterprise products.

Quickstart content type

Quickstarts are best for people who want instructions quickly without lengthy explanations of how something works or why they would want to use it.

Tutorial content type

Tutorials are useful when someone has a basic understanding of the product and is interested in extending their understanding to solve a specific problem

About combining multiple content types

You can combine multiple content types in a single article to help people complete complex tasks.