Documentation

Introduction

We welcome corrections and improvements to the documentation. The documentation lives in a separate repository from the main project. To contribute:

• For corrections and improvements to existing documentation, submit issues and pull requests to the documentation repository.
• For documentation of new features, include the documentation changes in your pull request to the project repository.

Guidelines

Style

Follow Google’s developer documentation style guide where practical.

Markdown

Adhere to these Markdown conventions:

• Use ATX headings (levels 2-4), not setext headings.

• Use collapsed link references instead of full or shortcut references. For example:

  content/example.md

  This is a [link][].
  
  [link]: https://example.org

• Use inline links to link to fragments on the same page. For example:

  content/example.md

  This is a link to a [fragment][#fragment].

• Use fenced code blocks instead of indented code blocks.

• Use hyphens, not asterisks, for unordered list items.

• Prefix each ordered list item with 1. instead of numbering the items sequentially.

• Use callouts instead of bold text for emphasis.

• Do not mix raw HTML within Markdown.

• Do not use bold text in place of a heading or description term (dt).

• Remove consecutive blank lines.

• Remove trailing spaces.

Glossary

Glossary terms are defined on individual pages, providing a central repository for definitions, though these pages are not directly linked from the site.

Definitions must be complete sentences, with the first sentence defining the term. Italicize the first occurrence of the term and any referenced glossary terms for consistency.

Link to glossary terms using this syntax: [term](g)

Term lookups are case-insensitive, ignore formatting, and support singular and plural forms. For example, all of these variations will link to the same glossary term:

[global resource](g)
[Global Resource](g)
[Global Resources](g)
[`Global Resources`](g)

Use the glossary-term shortcode to insert a term definition:

{{% glossary-term "global resource" %}}

Terminology

Link to the glossary as needed and use terms consistently. Pay particular attention to:

• “client side” (noun), “client-side” (adjective)
• “file name” (two words)
• “flag” (instead of “option” for command-line flags)
• “front matter” (two words, except when referring to the configuration key)
• “home page” (two words)
• “map” (instead of “dictionary”)
• “Markdown” (capitalized)
• “Node.js” (first mention per page), “Node” (subsequent mentions), “node” (for the executable), “npm” (always lowercase)
• “open source” (noun), “open-source” (adjective)
• “server side” (noun), “server-side” (adjective)
• “standalone” (noun or adjective)
• “stylesheet” (one word)
• “website” (one word)

Template types

When you refer to a template type, italicize it:

When creating a _taxonomy_ template, do this...

However, if the template type is also a link, do not italicize it to avoid distracting formatting:

When creating a [taxonomy][] template, do this...

Do not italicize the template type in a title, heading, or front matter description.

Titles and headings

• Use sentence-style capitalization.
• Avoid formatted strings.
• Keep them concise.

Page descriptions

When writing the page description use imperative present tense when possible. For example:

---
description: Use these functions to read local or remote data files.
linkTitle: data
title: Data functions
---

+++
description = 'Use these functions to read local or remote data files.'
linkTitle = 'data'
title = 'Data functions'
+++

{
   "description": "Use these functions to read local or remote data files.",
   "linkTitle": "data",
   "title": "Data functions"
}

Writing style

Prefer active voice and present tense.

No → With Hugo you can build a static site.
Yes → Build a static site with Hugo.

No → This will cause Hugo to generate HTML files in the public directory.
Yes → Hugo generates HTML files in the public directory.

Use second person instead of third person.

No → Users should exercise caution when deleting files.
Better → You must be cautious when deleting files.
Best → Be cautious when deleting files.

Minimize adverbs.

No → Hugo is extremely fast.
Yes → Hugo is fast.

Function and method descriptions

Start descriptions in the functions and methods sections with “Returns”, or for booelan values, “Reports whether”.

File paths and names

Enclose directory names, file names, and file paths in backticks, except when used in:

• Page titles
• Section headings (h1-h6)
• The description field in front matter

Miscellaneous

Other best practices:

• Introduce lists with a sentence or phrase, not directly under a heading.
• Do not use Hugo’s ref or relref shortcodes.
• Prioritize current best practices over multiple options or historical information.
• Use short, focused code examples.
• Use basic english where possible for a global audience.

Front matter fields

This site uses the front matter fields listed in the table below.

Of the four required fields, only title and description require data.

---
categories: &categories
[]
description: The description
keywords: &categories *categories
title: The title
---

+++
categories = []
description = 'The description'
keywords = []
title = 'The title'
+++

{
   "categories": [],
   "description": "The description",
   "keywords": [],
   "title": "The title"
}

If quotation marks are required, prefer single quotes to double quotes when possible.

Related content

When available, the “See also” sidebar displays related pages using Hugo’s related content feature, based on front matter keywords. We ensure consistent keyword usage by validating them against data/keywords.yaml during the build. If a keyword is not found, you’ll be alerted and must either modify the keyword or update the data file. This validation process helps to refine the related content for better results.

If the title in the “See also” sidebar is ambiguous or the same as another page, you can define an alternate title in the front matter:

linkTitle: Short title
params:
  alt_title: Whatever you want
title: Long descriptive title

linkTitle = 'Short title'
title = 'Long descriptive title'
[params]
  alt_title = 'Whatever you want'

{
   "linkTitle": "Short title",
   "params": {
      "alt_title": "Whatever you want"
   },
   "title": "Long descriptive title"
}

Use of the alternate title is limited to the “See also” sidebar.

Code examples

With examples of template code:

• Indent with two spaces.
• Insert a space after an opening action delimiter.
• Insert a space before a closing action delimiter.
• Do not add white space removal syntax to action delimiters unless required. For example, inline elements like img and a require whitespace removal on both sides.

```go-html-template
{{ if eq $foo $bar }}
  {{ fmt.Printf "%s is %s" $foo $bar }}
{{ end }}
```

Fenced code blocks

The code block render hook performs several language substitutions:

Set the language to go-html-template when including template examples:

```go-html-template
{{ if eq $foo "bar" }}
  {{ print "foo is bar" }}
{{ end }}
```

Set the language to md when including Markdown examples:

```md
This is **bold** text.
```

Set the language to sh when including command line examples:

```sh
hugo server -D
```

Set the language to tree when documenting the output of the tree command:

```tree
assets/
└── images/
    └── sunset.jpg
```

To include a file name header and copy-to-clipboard button:

```go-html-template {file="layouts/_partials/foo.html" copy=true}
{{ if eq $foo "bar" }}
  {{ print "foo is bar" }}
{{ end }}
```

To wrap the code block within an initially-opened details element using a non-default summary:

```go-html-template {details=true open=true summary="layouts/_partials/foo.html" copy=true}
{{ if eq $foo "bar" }}
  {{ print "foo is bar" }}
{{ end }}
```

Whitespace trimming is enabled by default. To override this behavior and preserve leading and trailing whitespace:

```go-html-template {trim=false}

{{ if eq $foo "bar" }}
  {{ print "foo is bar" }}
{{ end }}

```

Shortcode calls

Use this syntax to escape the call within examples:

{{</* foo */>}}
{{%/* foo */%}}

Project configuration

Use the code-toggle shortcode to include project configuration examples:

{{< code-toggle file=hugo >}}
baseURL = 'https://example.org/'
locale = 'en-US'
title = 'My Site'
{{< /code-toggle >}}

Front matter

Use the code-toggle shortcode to include front matter example, setting the fm attribute to true:

{{< code-toggle file=content/posts/my-first-post.md fm=true >}}
title = 'My first post'
date = 2023-11-09T12:56:07-08:00
draft = false
{{< /code-toggle >}}

Callouts

Use callouts (admonitions) to visually emphasize important information.

There are five callout types: note, important, tip, warning, and caution. These are the usage statistic as of 10 Jun 2026, including usage on this page:

• note (302)
• tip (5)
• important (7)
• warning (7)
• caution (5)

The predominant use of the note callout type is a historical artifact; the previous theme only provided a note shortcode, so the callouts were generic.

In the examples below, the callout type (e.g., note, warning) is case-insensitive.

> [!NOTE]
> Useful information that users should know, even when skimming content.

> [!IMPORTANT]
> Key information users need to know to achieve their goal.

> [!TIP]
> Helpful advice for doing things better or more easily.

> [!WARNING]
> Urgent info that needs immediate user attention to avoid problems.

> [!CAUTION]
> Advises about risks or negative outcomes of certain actions.

Shortcodes

These shortcodes are commonly used throughout the documentation. Other shortcodes are available for specialized use.

code-toggle

Use the code-toggle shortcode to display examples of project configuration, front matter, or data files. This shortcode takes these arguments:

config

(string) The section of hugo.Data.docs.config to render.

copy

(bool) Whether to display a copy-to-clipboard button. Default is false.

datakey

(string) The section of hugo.Data.docs to render.

file

(string) The file name to display above the rendered code. Omit the file extension for project configuration examples.

fm

(bool) Whether to render the code as front matter. Default is false.

skipHeader

(bool) Whether to omit top-level key(s) when rendering a section of hugo.Data.docs.config.

{{< code-toggle file=hugo copy=true >}}
baseURL = 'https://example.org/'
locale = 'en-US'
title = 'My Site'
{{< /code-toggle >}}

deprecated-in

Use the deprecated-in shortcode to indicate that a feature is deprecated:

{{< deprecated-in 0.144.0 />}}

You can also include details:

{{< deprecated-in 0.144.0 >}}
Use the [`hugo.IsServer`](/docs/reference/functions/hugo/isserver/) function instead.
{{< /deprecated-in >}}

eturl

Use the embedded template URL (eturl) shortcode to insert an absolute URL to the source code for an embedded template. The shortcode takes a single argument, the base file name of the template (omit the file extension).

This is a link to the [embedded alias template][].

[embedded alias template]: <{{% eturl alias %}}>

glossary-term

Use the glossary-term shortcode to insert the definition of the given glossary term.

{{% glossary-term scalar %}}

include

Use the include shortcode to include content from another page.

{{% include "_common/glob-patterns.md" %}}

new-in

Use the new-in shortcode to indicate a new feature:

{{< new-in 0.144.0 />}}

You can also include details:

{{< new-in 0.144.0 >}}
This is a new feature.
{{< /new-in >}}

New features

Use the new-in shortcode to indicate a new feature.

The new-in shortcode will trigger a build warning if the specified version is older than a predefined threshold, based on differences in major and minor versions. This serves as a reminder to remove this shortcode call. See details.

Deprecated features

Use the deprecated-in shortcode to indicate that a feature is deprecated.

The deprecated-in shortcode will trigger a build warning if the specified version is older than a predefined threshold, based on differences in major and minor versions. This serves as a reminder to remove this shortcode call and the associated content. See details.

When deprecating a feature that has its own page, also set the expiryDate in front matter to two years from the date of deprecation. Include a brief comment to explain the setting:

expiryDate: 2028-03-03 # deprecated 2026-03-03 in v0.157.0

GitHub workflow

Use this workflow to create and submit pull requests.

Step 1

Fork the documentation repository.

Step 2

Clone your fork.

Step 3

Create a new branch with a descriptive name that includes the corresponding issue number, if any:

git checkout -b restructure-foo-page-99999

Step 4

Make changes.

Step 5

Build the site locally to preview your changes.

Step 6

Commit your changes with a descriptive commit message:

• Provide a summary on the first line, typically 50 characters or less, followed by a blank line.
  • Begin the summary with one of content, theme, config, all, or misc, followed by a colon, a space, and a brief description of the change beginning with a capital letter
  • Use imperative present tense
• Optionally, provide a detailed description where each line is 72 characters or less, followed by a blank line.
• Optionally, add one or more “Fixes” or “Closes” keywords, each on its own line, referencing the issues addressed by this change.

For example:

git commit -m "content: Restructure the taxonomy page

This restructures the taxonomy page by splitting topics into logical
sections, each with one or more examples.

Fixes #9999
Closes #9998"

Step 7

Push the new branch to your fork of the documentation repository.

Step 8

Visit the documentation repository and create a pull request (PR).

Step 9

A project maintainer will review your PR and may request changes. You may delete your branch after the maintainer merges your PR.