The following guidelines cover how to write Shell prompt code examples for MDN Web Docs.

What is a "shell"

A shell is a program that waits for you to type in a command and then press the return key. To indicate which commands you should type, content on MDN Web Docs lists them in a code block, similar to code examples.

Such a block looks like this:

# This may take a while...git clone https://github.com/mdn/contentcd content

General guidelines for shell prompt code examples

Choosing a format

Opinions on correct indentation, whitespace, and line lengths have always been controversial. Discussions on these topics are a distraction from creating and maintaining content.

On MDN Web Docs, we usePrettier as a code formatter to keep the code style consistent (and to avoid off-topic discussions). You can consult ourconfiguration file to learn about the current rules, and read thePrettier documentation.

Prettier formats all the code and keeps the style consistent. Nevertheless, there are a few additional rules that you need to follow.

Writing shell code blocks

When writing a shell code block:

• Do not include a$ or> at the beginning of a shell instruction. It confuses more than it helps and it is not useful when copying the instructions.
• Comments start with#.
• Choose "bash" to indicate the language in markdown.

See also

Django server-side development docs show good practice presentation of shell prompt commands.