Author Guide
This guide is for authors who create or update service_docs troubleshooting topics.
Use it after you understand the basic GitHub/Codex workflow and need the service_docs-specific rules: topic structure, troubleshooting flow, hardware and software applicability, review workflow, and automated checks.
If GitHub, Markdown, VS Code, Codex, branches, pull requests, or local preview are new to you, start with Beginner’s Guide to Authoring Topics with Codex first.
Main path
Section titled “Main path”- Know your audience - who reads troubleshooting topics, where they use them, and what belongs in a topic.
- Author responsibilities - responsibilities for initiating a new guide or editing an existing guide.
- Topic structure - frontmatter, the
topicobject, the wrapper, and prose. - Writing the troubleshooting flow - step types,
next,options[].next, notes, and rendered flow. - Workflow outcomes - every branch ends in return to service, asset requires maintenance, or escalate.
- Software and hardware applicability - use
softwareVersionsandhardwareonly when they change what the reader should do. - Automated checks and review signals - CI, AI Content Review, Greptile, Confidence Score, and when to ask for help.
References and appendices
Section titled “References and appendices”- Auto-merge PR - enable auto-merge for an individual PR or merge it manually when it is ready.
- Codex prompt reference - reusable prompts for creating topics, adding version branches, adding escalations, and fixing backward navigation.
- Alarm aliases and redirects - route additional alarm identifiers to an existing topic when the troubleshooting flow is the same.
- Appendix A - CI failure examples - detailed screenshots and examples for passing and failing PR checks.
Checklists
Section titled “Checklists”- Guide authoring workflow checklist - a short, repeatable path from branch setup through review after completing the Beginner’s Guide.
- Guide content checklist - final topic-level checks before opening or updating a PR.
- PR readiness checklist - review-readiness checks before sending a PR for review.