README

This is the source for content for docs.timescale.com, starting with release 2.0. All documentation for previous versions is in the deprecated repository called docs.timescale.com-content.

The documentation site is statically generated with Gatsby. The source code is in a separate repository, which pulls in content from this repository on each build.

All files are written in standard markdown.

Contributing

We welcome and appreciate any help the community can provide to make TimescaleDB's documentation better.

You can help either by opening an issue with any suggestions or bug reports, or by forking this repository, making your own contribution, and submitting a pull request.

Before we accept any contributions, Timescale contributors need to sign the Contributor License Agreement (CLA). By signing a CLA, we can ensure that the community is free and confident in its ability to use your contributions.

Docs review

Once a PR has been started for any branch, a GitHub action will attach a unique URL to preview your changes and allow others to more effectively review your updates. The URL will be added as a comment to your PR.

Any new commits to that PR will rebuild and be visible at the same URL.

Main sections and tree navigation

Each major section that is incorporated into docs.timescale.com has a navigation hierarchy governed by the appropriate page-index.js file and underlying directory structure. Depending on the content you are adding or editing, you may have to modify the page-index.js file that exists for that specific sub-project.

For instance, if you are adding a new function to the 'API Reference' section, then you need to modify the page-index.js file inside of api-reference folder, specifically at api-reference/page-index/page-index.js.

Most content is then held within the parent folder as defined by the hierarchy. For instance, the Overview section is a parent to a number of other pages and folders. Therefore, there is a folder in the repo for overview with more Markdown files and folder inside as the hierarchy dictates.

As a general rule, every folder must have an index.md file inside which will have the content and layout for the "landing page" of that parent folder.

page-index.js layout

The format of this file is generally self explanatory, but the following rules should be understood to ensure you get the results you expect.

Key	Type	Required	Description
href	string	Yes	The URL segment to use for the page. If there is a corresponding Markdown file, href must also match the name of the Markdown file, minus the file extension.
title	string	Yes	The title of the page, used as the page name within the navigation tree
type	One of [directory, placeholder, redirect-to-child-page]	No	If no type is specified, the page is built as a default page, turning the corresponding Markdown file into a webpage. If the type is directory, the corresponding file is turned into a webpage, and the page becomes a directory. directory pages are the exception to the rule that the page index matches the file directory structure. Child pages of directory pages sit on the same level as the directory page inside the repository. They only become children during the site build. If the type is placeholder, an entry is made in the navigation tree, but a Markdown file is not converted into a webpage. The Markdown file doesn't even need to exist. Rather, the corresponding page is produced programmatically upon site build. If not produced, the link in the navigation tree returns a 404. If the type is redirect-to-child-page, an entry is made in the navigation tree, no page is built, and the link in the navigation tree goes directly to the first child.
children	Array of page entries	No	Child pages of the current page. If the parent page's type is not directory, the children should be located in a directory with the same name as the parent. The parent is the index.md file in that directory. If the parent page's type is directory, the children should be located in the same directory as the parent.
pageComponents	One of [['featured-cards'], ['content-list']]	No	Any page that has child pages can list its children in either card or list style at the bottom of the page. Specify the desired style with this key.

Example

    href: "overview",
    pageComponents: ["featured-cards"],
    children: [
        {
            title: "What is time-series data?",
            href: "what-is-time-series-data",
        },
        {
            title: "Core concepts",
            href: "core-concepts",
            children : [
                {
                    title: "Hypertables & Chunks",
                    href: "hypertables-and-chunks",
                },
                {
                    title: "Scaling",
                    href: "scaling",
                },
                ...
            ],
        },
    ]

Formatting and content rules

Internal page links

None of the internal page links within these files work on GitHub inside of the raw Markdown files that are being reviewed. Instead, the review link discussed above should be utilized for verifying all internal links.

Internal links do not need to include the domain name, https://docs.timescale.com.

External links:

Input as-is.

Anchor tags

By default, H1, H2, H3, and H4 headings have automatically generated anchor tags. H2 headings also show up in the Table of Contents (on the right side of the screen on wide windows).

Code blocks

Command formatting

When showing commands being entered from a command line, do not include a character for the prompt. Do this:

some_command

instead of this:

some_command

or this:

> some_command

Otherwise the code highlighter may be disrupted.

Syntax highlighting

When using a code block, add the appropriate language identifier after the initial three backticks to provide the appropriate highlighting on the rendered documentation site.

Programming language samples aside, most code blocks are one of: bash, sql, json.

Partials

Partials allow you to reuse snippets of content in multiple places. All partials live in the _partials top-level directory. To make a new partial, create a new .mdx file. The filename must start with an underscore.

To insert the partial in another document, put an import statement in the document. The import statement goes before the content and after any frontmatter. For example:

import Component from 'versionContent/_partials/_partial-name.mdx';

Component can be any CamelCased name.

Where you need the partial to display, insert it as a self-closing tag:

<Component />

General formatting conventions

To maintain consistency, please follow these general rules.

• Maintain text editor width for paragraphs at 80 characters. We ask you to do this to assist in reviewing documentation changes. When text is very wide, it is difficult to visually see where text has changed within a paragraph and keeping a narrow width on text assists in making PRs easier to review. Most editors such as Visual Studio Code have settings to do this visually.
• Most links should be reference-style links where the link address is at the bottom of the page. The two exceptions are:
  • Links within highlight blocks (Note, Important, or Warning). These must be inline links for now
  • Links to anchors on the same page as the link itself.
• All functions, commands and standalone function arguments (ex. SELECT, time_bucket) should be set as inline code within backticks ("`command`").
• Functions should not be written with parentheses unless the function is being written with arguments within the parentheses.
• "PostgreSQL" is the way to write the elephant database name, rather than "Postgres." "TimescaleDB" refers to the database, "Timescale" refers to the company.
• Use backticks when referring to the object of a user interface action. For example: Click Get started to proceed with the tutorial.

Callout and highlight blocks

To create a callout around a paragraph of text, wrap it with the following custom React component tag. Reminder, any links within the callout text MUST have inline link styles.

The type can currently support a value of "note", "warning", "important", "deprecation" or "cloud"". cloud produces a Cloud callout for content specifically referring to Timescale Cloud.

<highlight type="note">
Callout text goes here...

Example link style would [look like this](http://example.com/)
</highlight>

Tags

You can use tags to indicate links to downloadable files, or to indicate metadata about functions. Available tags:

• Download tags: <tag type="download">Markdown link to download</tag>
• Experimental tags: <tag type="experimental" content="Experimental" /> or <tag type="experimental-toolkit" content="Experimental" />
• Toolkit tag: <tag type="toolkit" content="Toolkit" />
• Community tag: <tag type="community" content="Community" />

Procedures

Procedures are used to indicate a sequence of steps. For syntax, see the procedure example.

Optional label

Used to indicate an optional step within a procedure. Syntax: <Optional />

Multi-code blocks

Multi-code blocks are code blocks with a language or OS selector. For syntax, see the multi-code-block example.

Tabs

Tabs can be used to display content that differs based on a user selection. The syntax is:

<Tabs label="Description of section, used for accessibility">

<Tab title="Title that is displayed on first tab">

Content goes here

</Tab>

<Tab title="Title that is displayed on second tab">

Content goes here

</Tab>

</Tabs>

Note that spacing is important.

Editing troubleshooting sections

Troubleshooting pages are not written as whole Markdown files, but are programmatically assembled from troubleshooting entries in the _troubleshooting folder. Each entry describes a single troubleshooting case and its solution, and contains the following frontmatter:

Key	Type	Required	Description
title	string	Yes	The title of the troubleshooting entry, displayed as a heading above it
section	the literal string troubleshooting	Yes	Must be troubleshooting, used to identify troubleshooting entries during site build
products or topics	array of strings	Yes (can have either or both, but must have at least one)	The products or topics related to the entry. The entry will show up on the troubleshooting pages for the listed products and topics.
errors	object of form {language: string, message: string}	No	The error, if any, related to the troubleshooting entry. Displayed as a code block right underneath the title. language is the programming language to use for syntax highlighting.
keywords	array of strings	No	These are displayed at the bottom of every troubleshooting page. Each keyword links to a collection of all pages associated with that keyword.
tags	array of strings	No	Concepts, actions, or things associated with the troubleshooting entry. These are not displayed in the UI, but they affect the calculation of related pages.

Beneath the frontmatter, describe the error and its solution in normal Markdown. You can also use any other components allowed within the docs site.

The entry shows up on the troubleshooting pages for its associated products and topics. If the page doesn't already exist, add an entry for it in the page index, setting type to placeholder. For more information, see the section on page index layout.

Editing the API section

There is a specific format for the API section which consists of:

• Function name with empty parentheses (if function takes arguments). Ex. add_dimension()
• A brief, specific description of the function
• Any warnings necessary
• Required Arguments
  • A table with columns for "Name," "Type," and "Description"
• Optional Arguments
  • A table with columns for "Name," "Type," and "Description"
• Any specific instructions about the arguments, including valid types
• Sample Usage
  • One or two literal examples of the function being used to demonstrate argument syntax.

See the API file to get an idea.