Documentation Guide
Improving our documentation is one of the easiest ways to start contributing to Morio. So if you spot a mistake or see something that you can improve, please do not hesitate to do so.
This guide will show you how you can do that.
The easiest way to make changes to the documentation is via the Edit this page link that you can find at the bottom of every documentation page.
This will take you to the GitHub online editor where you can propose changes
directly.
Note: You need a GitHub account to do this, but they are free.
Where to find our documentation
We store our documentation as Markdown (nay ) in git and use Docusaurus to generate a static website from it, which we then publish at morio.it.
Inside our monorepo, the docs
folder holds the docusaurus setup.
Within that folder, the docs
subfolder holds the actual markdown/mdx content.
So, relative to the monorepo root, you can find the source of our documentation
under docs/docs
.
Folder structure & file names
The folder structure of the markdown files directly translates to the URL structure of the documentation website.
The file names must always be readme.mdx
.
If we take this documentation guide as an example:
- Relative url:
/docs/guides/contributors/docs
- Path to the source file:
docs/docs/guides/contributors/docs/readme.mdx
That not only makes it easy to find the source of any given page, it also has implications for how you should structure content:
- All content files under
docs/docs
should be namedreadme.mdx
- All folders under
docs/docs
should have a URL-friendly name, using only the charactersa-z
,0-9
, and-
- Every folder should have a
readme.mdx
, no empty folders
Front matter
Front matter is metadata that sits at the top of a markdown file.
Strictly speaking, it is not part of markdown, but rather a list of key/value pairs in YAML format that starts and ends with ---
.
Here’s an example:
---
title: Documentation Guide
---
Improving our documentation is one of the easiest ways to start contributing to
Morio. So if you spot a mistake or see something that you can improve, please
do not hesitate to do so.
Title
The title
entry is mandatory. In other words, every documentation page must
have its title set in front matter.
As in YAML, you do not have to wrap your title in quotes, unless when it holds characters that would trip up the YAML parser (like when your title itself includes quotations marks).
For an overview of all supported front matter, see the Docusaurus documentation on front matter in docs
Tags
The front matter example above can be further extended to add tags to the page. Here is an example:
---
title: Documentation Guide
tags:
- contributors
---
Improving our documentation is one of the easiest ways to start contributing to
Morio. So if you spot a mistake or see something that you can improve, please
do not hesitate to do so.
We have added the contributors
tag to this page, marking it as a page that is
relevant for Morio contributors.
Tags are a way to group pages together that cover the same topic or category. Docusaurus will automatically create an overview page of all documentation that is tagged with any given tag.
For example, the pages tagged with contributors
can be found at
/docs/tags/contributors. Docusaurus will also
include the tags at the bottom of the page, and they link to their overview
pages.
Tags are most useful as a carefully curated collection of pointers.
To ensure that, all tags must be defined in the docs/docs/tags.yml
file.
The file holds tags that can be defined as such (using our contributors
tag as
an example):
contributors:
label: Contributors
permalink: /docs/tags/contributors
description: Documentation relevant for contributors
As you can see, you can explicitly set a label, permalink, and description. However, we just rely on the defaults, so you will define the tag and do not specify any properties. Here is how to do that in YAML:
contributors:
To add a tag, place it on a new line followed by :
.
An overview of all tags is available at /docs/tags.
Keywords
Keywords are like tags but they are not centrally manages, and no pages are created to link together the pages with the same keywords.
Instead, their use is intended to enhance search results as Docusaurus will use them to populate the HTML meta tags of the page.
Here is an example:
---
title: Documentation Guide
keywords:
- contributors
- documentation
- markdown
- mdx
---
Custom components
Docusaurus supports which is markdown with support for custom components. A number of MDX components are supported out of the box, like the tabs used on this page.
In addition, we provide some MDX components that you can use in documentation pages. They are listed below.
RepoFile
The RepoFile
custom component allows you to create a link to a file in the
. The link will point to the same file on GitHub, specifically in the default
develop
branch.
- MDX
- HTML
To see this example, check out <RepoFile>/docs/guides/contributors/docs/readme.mdx</RepoFile>.
To see this example, check out /docs/guides/contributors/docs/readme.mdx
.
WithCaption
The WithCaption
custom component allows you to place a caption under any content.
- MDX
- HTML
<WithCaption caption="This allows you to put a caption under anything">
![Placeholder image](https://dummyimage.com/1200x400/3/a&text=It's-a%20me,%20Morio!)
</WithCaption>
Jargon and Terminology
It is common in technical documentation to use terms or acronyms that the reader might not be familiar with. This can create a barrier to readers, especially when those terms are specific to Morio.
To address this, we have extended Docusaurus with two custom features that help you demystify this type of content: jargon and terminology.
Both jargon and terminology can be anything that needs explaining. The difference is that jargon does not warrant or require its own dedicated documentation page.
Jargon
Creating a jargon term
To create a new jargon term, create a term.mdx
file under
docs/docs/jargon
.
The name of the file (term
in our example)
should follow the same rules as folders under
docs/docs
: use only the characters a-z
,
0-9
, and -
.
Inside the file, write content like like in a regular documentation page.
Jargon front matter
Jargon terms have the following properties that can be set in front matter and are used to render them on the page:
title
- description: The title used when displaying the jargon term’s info
- default: The file’s uppercased basename
- custom: The front matter
title
value
term
- description: The term that will trigger rendering the jargon term when emphasised
- default: The file’s lowercased basename
- custom: The front matter
term
value
aliases
- description: A list of additional terms that will trigger rendering the jargon term when emphasised.
- default: none
- custom: The front matter
aliases
value (an array of strings)
content
- description: The main content when displaying the jargon term’s info
- default: The file’s markdown content
- custom: none
Examples
Let’s use two examples to illustrate the use of default versus custom values for jargon properties:
- Default
- Custom
This docs/docs/jargon/mdx.md
example uses only defaults.
- title:
MDX
(the uppercased basename is used as default) - term:
mdx
(the lowercased basename is used as default) - aliases:
[]
(no aliases is default)
In a case like this, your markdown file does not need any front matter:
MDX lets you use JSX in your markdown content. It allows you to import
components, and embed them within your content. This makes writing markdown
with custom components a blast.
Learn more at [mdxjs.com](chttps://mdxjs.com).
This docs/docs/jargon/run-files.md
example uses custom properties.
- title:
Run scripts
(default would have beenrun-scripts
) - term:
run scripts
(default would have beenrun-scripts
) - aliases:
['run script']
(default would have been no aliases)
In this case, all customisation is handled in the front matter:
---
title: Run scripts
term: run scripts
aliases:
- run script
---
NPM run scripts, or **run scripts** for short, refer to scripts defined in the
**scripts** section of a NodeJS **package.json** file. These scripts are
typically used for all sorts of housekeeping an automation.
For more info, refer to [the NPM docs on
scripts](https://docs.npmjs.com/cli/v10/using-npm/scripts).
Using a jargon term
Once you have created a jargon term, you can use it by emphasising it in your content.
For example, this markdown:
I have no idea what _mdx_ is.
Will render as:
I have no idea what is.
The jargon term will be turned into a button that you can click to reveal the meaning of the term.
You can write , , or even , they will all trigger rendering the
mdx
jargon term.
List of jargon terms
The following jargon terms are currently available for use in your markdown content:
Use As | Info |
---|---|
_abac_ | ABACAttribute-based access control (ABAC) is an abstraction to configure user permissions in computer systems, not unlike role-based access control (). The difference is in how permissions are mapped to users. With RBAC, each user has one or more roles that govern their access level. With ABAC, an attribute of the user's account info is used to assign privileges. A common example is to use group membership as a way to bestow privileges on users. |
_ami_ | AMIAn Amazon Machine Image (AMI) is a type of virtual machine image format suitable for deployment on the EC2 compute service of Amazon Web Services (AWS). |
_aws_ | AWSAmazon Web Services is the world's largest cloud service provider. Learn more at aws.amazon.com. |
_cert-eu_ | CERT-EUCERT-EU is the Cybersecurity Service for the Institutions, Bodies, Offices and Agencies of the European Union, the home of Morio. Learn more at cert.europa.eu. |
_ci_ | CICI stands for Continuous Integration. In the context of Morio, we use it as shorthand for CI/CD, which combines CI with Continuous Deployment. We use CI to refer to the automation in building, testing, and deploying changes in software. To learn more, the CI and CI/CD articles on Wikipedia are a good starting point. |
_dry_ | DRYIn programming, DRY stands for Don’t Repeat Yourself. The idea being that you should not write the same thing twice, rather everything should have its place. This way, when you need to make a change, you only need to change it in one place. |
_fqdn_ | FQDNFQDN stands for Fully Qualified Domain Name, a name the specifies the exact location of a host by combining host name and domain name.
|
_gitops_ | GITOPSGitOps is an operational framework that takes DevOps best practices used for application development such as version control, collaboration, compliance, and CI/CD, and applies them to infrastructure automation. GitOps Ebook GitLab has a free Ebook on gitops that is a good starting point to learn more. |
_iam_ | IAMIdentity and Access Management (IAM) is all about who can do what. The IAM strives to ensure that users have access to the correct resources. |
_iicb_ | IICBThe IICB is the European Union's Interinstitutional Cybersecurity Board and the governing body of CERT-EU, the home of Morio. |
_mdx_ | MDXMDX lets you use JSX in your markdown content. It allows you to import components, and embed them within your content. This makes writing markdown with custom components a blast. Learn more at mdxjs.com. |
_monorepo_ | MonorepoA monorepo is a repository that combines source code for different project, packages, or services into a single source code repository. This facilitates sharing code, functionality, and dependencies. The Morio monorepo, or monorepo for short, is the repository hosting the Morio source code. You can find it at github.com/certeu/morio |
_mtls_ | mTLSmTLS or Mutual TLS utilises Transport Layer Security (TLS) to not only authenticate the server by its certificate, but also the client. It is an authentication method that identifies both parties with a certificate, rather than the much more common TLS where only the server is identified. |
_pkce_ | PKCEProof Key for Code Exchange or PKCE (pronounced It is typically used in scenarios where the client secret cannot be protected, such as native mobile apps, or single page applications. While the Morio UI service is a single page application, any OpenID Connect client secret is not available in the frontend code since the OpenID flow is initiated by the Morio API service. Still, Morio implements the PKCE flow for OpenID Connect as an extra layer of protection according to the defence in depth principle. |
_rbac_ | RBACRole-based access control (RBAC) is an abstraction to configure user permissions in computer systems. Rather than assign rights to users directly, rights are assigned to roles. Users are then in turn assigned to one or more roles. For example, if user |
_run scripts_ or _run script_ | Run scriptsNPM run scripts, or run scripts for short, refer to scripts defined in the scripts section of a NodeJS package.json file. These scripts are typically used for all sorts of housekeeping an automation. For more info, refer to the NPM docs on scripts. |
_workspaces_ or _workspace_ | WorkspacesNPM workspaces is is a generic term that refers to the set of features in the npm cli that facilitate handling NodeJS dependencies inside a monorepo. For example, both the core and api folders rely on common dependencies. Rather than installing them twice, through the use of workspaces they will be installed the monorepo root, and shared. There is more to workspaces, as it is a somewhat advanced feature of NPM, but that's not really relevant for Morio. If you want to learn more, refer to the NPM documentation on workspaces. |
Terminology
Creating a terminology page
To create a new terminology page, create a folder under /docs/docs/reference/terminology
.
The name of the folder should follow the same rules as any folders under
docs/docs
: use only the characters a-z
,
0-9
, and -
.
Then, add a readme.mdx
file to the folder as you would for any documentation page.
Terminology properties
Terminology terms have the following properties that are set in front matter and control how they are rendered on the page:
title
- description: The text used when displaying the terminology link
- default: The front matter
title
value
term
- description: The term that will trigger rendering the terminology link when emphasised
- default: The file’s lowercased basename with dashed replaced by spaces (
core-service
becomescore service
) - custom: The front matter
term
value
aliases
- description: A list of additional terms that will trigger rendering the terminology link when emphasised.
- default: none
- custom: The front matter
aliases
value (an array of strings)
Below is an example:
---
title: Core Service
aliases:
- core
tags:
- core
---
The **Morio Core Service** (core) sits at the root of any Morio deployment and is
responsible for [orchestration](#orchestration), [configuration
resolution](#configuration-resolution), and [clustering](#clustering).
To learn more, visit [the Core Service guide](/docs/guides/services/core).
Using a terminology term
Once you have created a terminology term, you can use it by emphasising the page title in your markdown content. This will turn the terminology term into a link that leads to the terminology page:
I want to learn more about _core_. Is it the same as the _core service_?
Will render as:
I want to learn more about core. Is it the same as the core service?
List of terminology pages
The following terminology pages are currently available for use in your markdown content:
Includes
Sometimes, you may find yourself repeating the same information on various documentation pages. You could create a page for it and link to it, but perhaps it’s more elegant to inline the information in the page.
In a case like this, you can use an include. This allows you import content into your documentation page.
Creating an include page
To create an include page, add the page to the docs/includes
folder in the .
Unlike the docs/docs
folder where we rely on folder
structure, all files should be in the same folder.
As such, you should give it a name that conveys the intent of the include. As a practical example, the difference between the built container images for the development environment and production is something that is relevant on various documentation pages.
So, the documentation is kept in the docs/includes/docker-env-diffs.mdx
file.
Importing and using the include file
Once created, you can import the file as any other import in your readme.mdx
:
---
title: Example of how to use an include
---
import DockerBuildEnvDiffs from '@site/includes/docker-env-diffs.mdx'
Some (optinoal) other content here.
<DockerBuildEnvDiffs />
A few things to note:
- The
import
statement should be the first thing after the front matter - Use the
@site/includes/
prefix to import include files. - Since we are using the default export, the name you give it can by anything (here we used
DockerBuildEndDiffs
- This will be used as a React component, so you must pick a name that starts with a capital letter
- Output the info as a React component:
<DockerBuildEnvDiffs />
See docs/reference/contributors/monorepo/run-scripts/build-api/readme.mdx
for an example.
Tips for writing great documentation
Here is some friendly advice to help you write great documentation:
Don’t use gen-AI
Writing yourself will make you a better writer.
We take pride in the fact that all of Morio’s documentation is written by actual human beings.
Please respect that and don’t reach for ChatGPT or whatever the generative AI flavour of the day is.
Write now, edit later
Just write. Don’t worry about grammar or making mistakes. It’s fine.
It doesn’t have to be perfect, it just needs to be written down.
Anybody can edit to improve form or structure,
and the spellcheck
and ci:spellcheck
are there to help with spelling.
Use plain language
Explain things in simple words. Write short plain sentences. Use headings and paragraphs to structure your writing.
Get to the point
Say what you need to say — no more, no less.
Make your text as short as possible; your documentation will be better this way.
Use meaningful titles and hyperlinks
Page titles should be meaningful without context. They are the main result in search, so strive to make them meaningful and informative on their own.
That often means making your titles a lot longer, which doesn’t work well in
the navigation sidebar. You can use the sidebar_label
key in front matter to
set a different title to use in the sidebar.:
To a lesser extend, the same advice applies to links:
- Bad: You can find the info here.
- Good: You can find the info by watching this YouTube video with 1.3 billion views
Define jargon
Don’t use jargon without giving readers an easy way to learn about it.
More advice
The “Technical Writing From Google” course comes highly recommended.
Remember that the worst possible documentation is the documentation that is never written.
Running the documentation site locally
We assume you have git and NodeJS installed.
To run a local instance of the documentation site — highly recommended if you’re looking to make non-trivial changes to the documentation — you can follow these steps:
git clone git@github.com:certeu/morio.git
cd morio
npm install
cd docs
npm run start
In other words:
- Clone the repository
- Install dependencies
- Run
npm run start
in thedocs
folder
The docs site will now be running on http://localhost:3000 and any changes you make will be hot-reloaded.
While we support Microsoft Windows as a platform for the Morio client, no Microsoft Windows is used in the development of Morio. If you are on Windows, your mileage may vary.
Redoc Integration
We generate our API reference documentation by using redocusaurus which integrates redoc in docusaurus.
The configuration is part of docs/docusaurus.config.js
and
it adds these two routes:
- /docs/reference/apis/api for the Management API
- /docs/reference/apis/core for the Core API