Style Guide

Press :kbd:`Shift-G` and then press :kbd:`Enter`.

Monospace `text` — Code-Related Text

• Commands, flags, arguments: `mongod`, `-t`
• Database/collection/file/directory names: `mytestdb`, `/etc/`
• Environment variables: `$PATH`
• Methods, elements, inline code: `startTransaction()`
• Error messages, paths

Italics — Special Text

• Document titles: MongoDB Manual
• New terms on first use: swappiness
• Qualifiers: (Optional) Enter a name.

Bold — User Input

• Non-clickable URLs/emails: [email protected]
• User GUI input: type outlook

Titles and Headings

AP Headline-Style Capitalization

Capitalize all words except: articles (a, an, the), conjunctions (and, but, or), prepositions, "to" in infinitives. Always capitalize first and last word.

Structure Rules

• Don't start with articles (a, an, the)
• Don't apply formatting in titles (no bold/italics/monospace)
• Don't stack headings — text must appear between them
• Limit to 2 heading levels when possible
• Place important words first (SEO)

Title Structure by Page Type

Code Examples

Use file-based directives, not hard-coded inline code:

.. literalinclude:: /path/to/file.js
   :language: javascript

.. io-code-block::
   .. input:: /path/to/input.py
   .. output:: /path/to/output.txt

Terminology

Client Library vs Driver

• client library: Use in TOC titles and headings
• driver: Use in body text (e.g., "MongoDB Java Driver")
• Don't use: "client drivers", "client connectors"

Prefer American English spelling.