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Contributing to NVIDIA OpenShell Documentation

This guide covers how to write, edit, and review documentation for NVIDIA OpenShell. If you change code that affects user-facing behavior, update the relevant docs in the same PR.

Use the Agent Skills

If you use an AI coding agent (Cursor, Claude Code, Codex, etc.), the repo includes skills that automate doc work. Use them before writing from scratch.

Skill What it does When to use
update-docs Scans recent commits for user-facing changes and drafts doc updates. After landing features, before a release, or to find doc gaps.
build-from-issue Plans and implements work from a GitHub issue, including doc updates. When working from an issue that has doc impact.

The skills live in .agents/skills/ and follow the style guide below automatically. To use one, ask your agent to run it (e.g., "catch up the docs for everything merged since v0.2.0").

When to Update Docs

Update documentation when your change:

  • Adds, removes, or renames a CLI command or flag.
  • Changes default behavior or configuration.
  • Adds a new feature that users interact with.
  • Fixes a bug that the docs describe incorrectly.
  • Changes an API, protocol, or policy schema.

Building Docs Locally

Verify the docs are built correctly by building them and checking the output.

To build the docs, run:

mise run docs

To serve the docs locally and automatically rebuild on changes, run:

mise run docs:serve

Writing Conventions

Format

  • Docs use MyST Markdown, a Sphinx-compatible superset of CommonMark.
  • Every page starts with YAML frontmatter (title, description, topics, tags, content type).
  • Include the SPDX license header after frontmatter: 
    <!--
  SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Copyright (c) 2025-2026 NVIDIA CORPORATION & AFFILIATES. All rights reserved.
  SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
-->

Frontmatter Template

---
title:
  page: Page Title
  nav: Short Nav Title
description: One-sentence summary of the page.
topics:
- Generative AI
- Cybersecurity
tags:
- Relevant
- Tags
content:
  type: concept | how_to | get_started | tutorial | reference
  difficulty: technical_beginner | technical_intermediate | technical_advanced
  audience:
  - engineer
  - data_scientist
---

Page Structure

  1. H1 heading matching the title.page value.
  2. A one- or two-sentence introduction stating what the page covers.
  3. Sections organized by task or concept, using H2 and H3. Start each section with an introductory sentence that orients the reader.
  4. A "Next Steps" section at the bottom linking to related pages.

Style Guide

Write like you are explaining something to a colleague. Be direct, specific, and concise.

Voice and Tone

  • Use active voice. "The CLI creates a gateway" not "A gateway is created by the CLI."
  • Use second person ("you") when addressing the reader.
  • Use present tense. "The command returns an error" not "The command will return an error."
  • State facts. Do not hedge with "simply," "just," "easily," or "of course."

Things to Avoid

These patterns are common in LLM-generated text and erode trust with technical readers. Remove them during review.

Pattern Problem Fix
Unnecessary bold "This is a critical step" on routine instructions. Reserve bold for UI labels, parameter names, and genuine warnings.
Em dashes everywhere "The gateway — which runs in Docker — creates sandboxes." Use commas or split into two sentences. Em dashes are fine sparingly but should not appear multiple times per paragraph.
Superlatives "OpenShell provides a powerful, robust, seamless experience." Say what it does, not how great it is.
Hedge words "Simply run the command" or "You can easily configure..." Drop the adverb. "Run the command."
Emoji in prose "🚀 Let's get started!" No emoji in documentation prose.
Rhetorical questions "Want to secure your agents? Look no further!" State the purpose directly.

Formatting Rules

  • End every sentence with a period.
  • Use code formatting for CLI commands, file paths, flags, parameter names, and values.
  • Use code blocks with the console language for CLI examples. Prefix commands with $: 
    $ openshell gateway start
  • Use tables for structured comparisons. Keep tables simple (no nested formatting).
  • Use MyST admonitions (:::{tip}, :::{note}, :::{warning}) for callouts, not bold text.
  • Avoid nested admonitions.
  • Do not number section titles. Write "Deploy a Gateway" not "Section 1: Deploy a Gateway" or "Step 3: Verify."
  • Do not use colons in titles. Write "Deploy and Manage Gateways" not "Gateways: Deploy and Manage."
  • Use colons only to introduce a list. Do not use colons as general-purpose punctuation between clauses.

Word List

Use these consistently:

Use Do not use
gateway Gateway (unless starting a sentence)
sandbox Sandbox (unless starting a sentence)
CLI cli, Cli
API key api key, API Key
NVIDIA Nvidia, nvidia
OpenShell Open Shell, openShell, Openshell, openshell
mTLS MTLS, mtls
YAML yaml, Yaml

Submitting Doc Changes

  1. Create a branch following the project convention: docs/<issue-id>-<description>/<username>.
  2. Make your changes.
  3. Build locally with mise run docs and verify the output.
  4. Run mise run pre-commit to catch formatting issues.
  5. Open a PR with docs: as the conventional commit type.
docs: update gateway deployment instructions

If your doc change accompanies a code change, include both in the same PR and use the code change's commit type:

feat(cli): add --gpu flag to gateway start

Reviewing Doc PRs

When reviewing documentation:

  • Check that the style guide rules above are followed.
  • Watch for LLM-generated patterns (excessive bold, em dashes, filler).
  • Verify code examples are accurate and runnable.
  • Confirm cross-references and links are not broken.
  • Build locally to check rendering.