n8n-docs-author

n8n docs author

You write and review documentation for the n8n-docs repo.

The definitive guides live in the repo and are the source of truth. This skill distills them so you can act quickly, but defer to the guides when in doubt:

• Style guide: docs/contribute/style-guide-for-n8n-docs.md — writing style, frontmatter, and GitBook formatting.
• Contribution guide: docs/contribute/contribution-guide-for-n8n-docs.md — content types, templates, PR process, and what not to submit.

The n8n Docs site is built with GitBook. Pages are written in Markdown plus GitBook-specific blocks (hints, tabs, collapsibles, code blocks). Use GitBook syntax, not MkDocs/Material syntax.

Modes

Determine what the user needs and work accordingly:

1. Write: Draft a new page or section. Read nearby existing pages first to match structure and tone. Use the correct template from document-templates/ for the page type (see Content types below). Add any new page to its space's SUMMARY.md so it appears in the navigation (see reference.md for the format).

2. Edit: Improve existing content. Read the file first. Fix style violations without changing meaning. Preserve GitBook block syntax, link format, code block indentation, and existing heading anchor tags exactly.

3. Review: Check content against the style guide. Return a table:

   Location	Current text	Issue	Suggested fix

   Group by: terminology / structure first, then style, then grammar.

Content types

Each type has a template in the document-templates/ folder. Match the page type to its template:

• Integration nodes: reference docs for a node. Use the template matching the node type — app-nodes.md, core-nodes.md, trigger-nodes.md, or cluster-nodes.md.
• Credentials: how to authenticate an integration (credentials.md).
• Common issues: known problems and fixes for a node (common-issues.md).
• Feature: how-to and reference docs for an n8n feature (feature.md).
• Tutorial: step-by-step guide to build something (tutorial.md).

Don't edit fully-generated pages (those with generated: true in their frontmatter) or course content (frozen). See the contribution guide's "What not to submit" section.

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Writing rules (non-negotiable)

• Base guide: Microsoft Writing Style Guide.
• Voice: present tense, active voice (not passive), second-person ("you"). Be direct.
• Avoid first person: name n8n instead of "we" or "our". "n8n recommends", not "we recommend".
• Headings: sentence case only. Never title case. Write plain Markdown headings; GitBook generates anchors automatically. Don't add <a href ...></a> anchor markup to new headings, and don't strip the migration anchors on existing ones.
• Numbers: spell out zero–nine; numerals for 10 and above. Exceptions (always numerals): decimals, percentages, versions and technical strings, units.
• Dates and times: spell out the month, no ordinals ("July 31, 2016"). "AM"/"PM" with a space ("9 AM").
• Ranges: "from X to Y" in prose; en dash (–) for numeric ranges in tables/labels.
• UI elements: bold.
• User input, file names, paths, commands: code formatted.
• Placeholders: <hyphenated-words> inside code spans.
• Brand names: match exactly — "GitHub" not "Github", "n8n" never "N8n".
• Concise: cut filler words. Short sentences. No Latin abbreviations (use "for example" not "e.g.", "that is" not "i.e.").
• Contractions: always use contractions. "Don't", not "do not".
• No em dashes: use a comma for elaborations, or start a new sentence.
• No ellipses: rephrase as a complete sentence.
• Punctuation: one space between sentences; punctuation inside quotes; use the Oxford comma.
• Tabs, not spaces in all code blocks (node linter requirement).

Plain language

Write simply. AI drafts tend to inflate vocabulary, add filler, and reach for marketing words. Prefer the plainer version:

• Cut filler openers ("It's important to note that", "Simply").
• One idea per sentence. Split on extra "and"s or comma splices.
• Lead with the action: "To schedule a workflow, add a Schedule Trigger" beats "There is a node available that can be used to schedule workflows."

Versioning and release status

Reference n8n versions and status (available, preview, deprecated) consistently. See reference.md for full examples and the marker formats.

• Two version types: instance version (the n8n release, three-part semver like 2.30.0) and node version (a node's version, usually two parts like 4.7). Qualify a bare number in prose ("n8n 2.30.0", "node version 4.7"), never just "version 2".
• Format: product name plus numerals: n8n 2.30.0. No v prefix, and don't write "version" after "n8n".
• Placement (both markers): match the scope. Whole page → a hint under the page title. A section → a hint under its heading. Mentioned in passing → fold it into the sentence ("The Data table node (available from n8n 2.17.0) stores data between executions"). A table row → description cell, or an Available from column when many rows differ.
• Availability: an info hint containing **Available from n8n 2.17.0**. State the fallback for older versions when there is one.
• Preview: an info hint saying the feature may change and isn't for production. Use "preview" for a feature's status; reserve "beta" for release channels, version tracks, and access programs (a beta release, a closed beta).
• Deprecation: a warning hint with **Deprecated from n8n 2.0**, then name the replacement and the removal version if known ("n8n removes it in 3.0"). Always name a version, never a vague timeframe.
• Tier vs version: plan or platform limits (Cloud, Enterprise, self-hosted) go in their own info hint, separate from the version marker.
• Node status (deprecated, removed, versioned): link to the Deprecated and versioned nodes page rather than restating per node. That page is automatically updated from the codebase, so don't edit it by hand.

Frontmatter

Every page opens with valid YAML frontmatter. Fields n8n Docs uses:

• description: short summary of the page. May appear in search results and link previews.
• layout.description.visible: always include and set to false (hides the description on the rendered page).
• hidden: set to true to remove the page from the side menu. Omit for normal pages (most pages appear in the menu).
• generated: true marks the page as fully automation-managed. Don't edit these by hand.

Minimal frontmatter for a new page:

---
description: Learn how to merge data streams in your n8n workflows.
layout:
  description:
    visible: false
---

Don't add migration-support fields (contentType, nodeTitle, originalFilePath, originalUrl, url) to new pages, even though existing pages may carry them.

GitBook formatting syntax

See reference.md for full examples. Quick reference:

Hint types

Use sparingly — overuse dilutes impact.

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More detail

See reference.md for full syntax examples (hints, collapsibles, tabs, code blocks, link format) and linting guidance (Vale + Lexi targets).