pyrox.dev
1# Writing NixOS Documentation {#sec-writing-documentation}
2
3As NixOS grows, so too does the need for a catalogue and explanation of
4its extensive functionality. Collecting pertinent information from
5disparate sources and presenting it in an accessible style would be a
6worthy contribution to the project.
7
8## Building the Manual {#sec-writing-docs-building-the-manual}
9
10The sources of the [](#book-nixos-manual) are in the
11[`nixos/doc/manual`](https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/tree/master/nixos/doc/manual)
12subdirectory of the Nixpkgs repository.
13
14You can quickly validate your edits with `devmode`:
15
16```ShellSession
17$ cd /path/to/nixpkgs/nixos/doc/manual
18$ nix-shell
19[nix-shell:~]$ devmode
20```
21
22Once you are done making modifications to the manual, it's important to
23build it before committing. You can do that as follows:
24
25```ShellSession
26nix-build nixos/release.nix -A manual.x86_64-linux
27```
28
29When this command successfully finishes, it will tell you where the
30manual got generated. The HTML will be accessible through the `result`
31symlink at `./result/share/doc/nixos/index.html`.