Writer Quick Start

🚀 Writer quick start

Fix or write a docs page in about five minutes. You need a GitHub account that was invited to the project, and nothing installed.

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🧭 The route

flowchart LR
  A["✏️ Edit this page"] --> B["🔑 Sign in with GitHub"]
  B --> C["🌿 Your own branch"]
  C --> D["📝 Write and Save"]
  D --> E["🔀 Pull request opens"]
  E --> F["👀 Preview and checks"]
  F --> G["✅ Review and merge"]

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Step	What you do	What happens by itself
1. ✏️ Open the page	Click Edit this page at the bottom of any docs page, or the green Edit this branch button in a pull request comment	A branch named docs2/edit/<page>-<date> is made for you from the latest docs. Clicking again the same day reuses it
2. 🔑 Sign in	Sign in with GitHub when Pages CMS asks	Pages CMS opens your page on that branch. No access yet? Ask a maintainer to invite you
3. 📝 Write	Change the text. Press / on an empty line for headings, quotes, tables and images. Drag a screenshot straight in	Nothing is public yet
4. 💾 Save	Click Save (top right). Optionally type a short message about what you changed	Every save is a commit with your name
5. 🔀 The pull request	Nothing	The first save opens a pull request. Its title reads 📄 Location > Chapter · Pages CMS: Your name and its description lists what you changed
6. 👀 Check	Open the comment in the pull request and click the preview link	Checks run on every save, and the image bot files your screenshots
7. ✅ Review	Fix anything the checks flag by opening the branch again (green Edit this branch button)	A maintainer reviews and merges. Then the website updates

💡 Lost? Every pull request comment has the Edit this branch in Pages CMS button and one link per changed page.

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✍️ Markdown in two minutes

You never have to type Markdown, but these shortcuts are faster than the menu. Type them at the start of a line, or use the Markdown switch in the editor to see and edit the plain text.

You type	You get
# then text	A heading (## and ### for smaller ones)
**bold** and *italic*	bold and italic
`code`	code in a box
[text](https://…)	A link
- or 1.	A bullet list or a numbered list
>	A quote. Start it with Tip: to get a tip box
--- on its own line	A horizontal line
Three backticks	A code block

A blank line separates paragraphs and different kinds of block. The Comment node page has a longer example you can copy.

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🖼️ Screenshots

Drag the picture into the page. Save. The image bot names it after the page and the heading above it, shrinks it if it is huge, and replaces a repeat of a picture that already exists. Write what the image shows as its alt text, not the file name. Details: Images and screenshots.

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🧩 The few special patterns

You write	The website shows
> **Tip:** text (also Note, Warning, Important)	💡 A callout
Ctrl + Space	⌨️ Keycaps
Edit › Preferences › System	🧭 A menu path with icons
A heading named like a tool (#### Bevel)	🧰 A tool card

The full list is on Plain writing, and the heading and table rules are on Formatting standard.

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🆘 If something goes wrong

What you see	What to do
❌ Images check: "is not in the image library"	Tell a maintainer. It is a known timing issue when the same picture was already in the library. Linking the library copy fixes it
🟡 A warning about alt text	Say what the image shows instead of the file name
❌ Pages CMS says you have no access	You need an invitation to the project. Ask a maintainer
Your change is not on the website	A maintainer merges first, then the website updates
You made a mistake	Save again with the fix. Nothing is lost until a maintainer merges

More: Editing the docs online · Branches and review · Troubleshooting