Dosu monitors pull requests and merge requests for changes that affect your published documentation. When relevant PRs or MRs are opened, Dosu comments with links to related docs. When those PRs or MRs merge, Dosu automatically updates its knowledge base.
How It Works#
When a PR or MR is opened (or marked ready for review), Dosu analyzes the code changes and checks them against your published documentation. If any documents are related to the changes, Dosu posts a comment with links to those documents.
When the PR or MR is merged, Dosu reviews the changes again and updates the related documentation. Each update includes a link back to the PR or MR showing what changed.
Draft PRs and MRs are ignored until marked ready for review.
Requirements#
For Maintain Docs to work:
- The document must be published. Drafts and pending documents aren't monitored.
- The repository or project must be connected as a data source.
- Stale Doc Check must be enabled in your deployment settings (enabled by default).
Publishing Documents#
To publish a document so that Dosu monitors it:
- Go to the Dosu dashboard
- Expand the Drafts section in the sidebar
- Click on the document you want to publish
- Click Publish
Once published, Dosu references the document when answering questions and monitors it for staleness when PRs or MRs are opened.
Configuration#
You can adjust Maintain Docs behavior in your deployment settings under Pull Requests (for GitHub) or Merge Requests (for GitLab):
Stale Doc Check: When enabled, Dosu comments on PRs or MRs with related documentation and updates docs on merge. Disable this if you don't want comments or automatic updates.
Auto Publish: When enabled (default), documentation updates are published automatically when PRs or MRs merge. When disabled, updates require manual review before publishing.
When documentation updates are approved and a sync PR or MR is created, the author of the original PR or MR is automatically added as a reviewer on the sync PR or MR. This ensures the person who made the code changes can review the corresponding documentation updates.
What Gets Checked#
Dosu checks all published documents in your knowledge base against PR or MR changes, not just those generated by Dosu. Changelog pages are excluded from staleness checks.
