TYPO3 Documentation Skill Skill

TYPO3 Documentation Skill

Create and maintain TYPO3 extension documentation following official docs.typo3.org standards.

TYPO3 API First: Always use TYPO3's built-in APIs, core features, and established conventions before creating custom implementations. Do not reinvent what TYPO3 already provides. Always verify that the APIs and methods you use exist and are not deprecated in TYPO3 v14 by checking the official TYPO3 documentation.

Supplements: SKILL-PHP84.md (PHP version badges, PHP 8.4 in RST) · SKILL-CONTENT-BLOCKS.md (Content Blocks fields with .. confval:: and :name:)

When to Use

Creating documentation from scratch (no Documentation/ exists)
Editing Documentation/**/*.rst files
Using TYPO3 directives: confval, versionadded, card-grid, tabs
Creating/adding screenshots
Rendering and testing documentation locally
Deploying to docs.typo3.org

Documentation Structure

Documentation/
├── Index.rst                 # Main entry point
├── guides.xml                # Configuration file
├── Introduction/
│   └── Index.rst
├── Installation/
│   └── Index.rst
├── Configuration/
│   └── Index.rst
├── Usage/
│   └── Index.rst
├── Developer/
│   └── Index.rst
└── Images/
    └── screenshot.png

Creating Documentation from Scratch

When no Documentation/ directory exists, use the init command:

docker run --rm --pull always -v $(pwd):/project -w /project -it \
  ghcr.io/typo3-documentation/render-guides:latest init

Interactive prompts:

Format: Choose rst (ReStructuredText) for full TYPO3 theme features
Site Set: Enter name/path if extension defines a Site set

guides.xml Configuration

Official reference: guides.xml (How to document). The docker … init command generates a file from the render-guides template; prefer that output over copying fragments by hand.

Minimal RST manual (matches TYPO3 theme expectations — adjust interlink-shortcode to your Composer package name):

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
<guides
    xmlns="https://www.phpdoc.org/guides"
    xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
    xsi:schemaLocation="https://www.phpdoc.org/guides vendor/phpdocumentor/guides-cli/resources/schema/guides.xsd"
    input-format="rst"
>
    <project title="My Extension" copyright="The contributors"/>
    <extension
        class="\T3Docs\Typo3DocsTheme\DependencyInjection\Typo3DocsThemeExtension"
        interlink-shortcode="vendor/my-extension"
        typo3-core-preferred="stable"
    />
    <inventory id="t3coreapi" url="https://docs.typo3.org/m/typo3/reference-coreapi/main/en-us/"/>
</guides>

GitHub “edit on” and project links

TYPO3 sets these as attributes on <extension …/>, not as a generic <settings> block. Example:

    <extension
        class="\T3Docs\Typo3DocsTheme\DependencyInjection\Typo3DocsThemeExtension"
        edit-on-github="myorg/my-extension"
        edit-on-github-branch="main"
        interlink-shortcode="vendor/my-extension"
        project-home="https://github.com/vendor/my-extension"
        project-repository="https://github.com/vendor/my-extension"
        typo3-core-preferred="stable"
    />

Some image tags ship a configure helper for guides.xml — confirm with docker run --rm ghcr.io/typo3-documentation/render-guides:latest -h before documenting it for users. Then run lint-guides-xml (below) to validate against the XSD.

RST Syntax Reference

Headings

==========
Page Title
==========

Section
=======

Subsection
----------

Subsubsection
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Code Blocks

..  code-block:: php
    :caption: Classes/Service/MyService.php

    <?php
    declare(strict_types=1);

    namespace Vendor\MyExtension\Service;

    final class MyService
    {
        // ...
    }

Inline Code and Text Roles

Use :php:`MyClass` for PHP references.
The file :file:`ext_localconf.php` is loaded automatically.
Click :guilabel:`Save` to apply changes.
Press :kbd:`Ctrl+S` to save.

Links and References

See :ref:`my-reference-label` for more information.

External link: `TYPO3 Documentation <https://docs.typo3.org/>`__

..  _my-reference-label:

Section with Reference
======================

This section can be referenced from anywhere.

TYPO3 Directives

confval (Configuration Values)

If the display title of a .. confval:: is not unique in your manual, you must set :name: to a unique slug (TYPO3 merges duplicate titles poorly in indexes). See Configuration values (confval) and the Content Blocks supplement for multi-field examples.

..  confval:: encryptionMethod
    :name: ext-myext-encryptionMethod
    :type: string
    :default: 'aes-256-gcm'
    :required: false

    The encryption method to use for API keys.

    Available options:

    -   ``aes-256-gcm`` (recommended)
    -   ``aes-256-cbc``

versionadded / versionchanged / deprecated

..  versionadded:: 2.0.0
    This feature was added in version 2.0.0.

..  versionchanged:: 2.1.0
    The default value was changed from ``false`` to ``true``.

..  deprecated:: 3.0.0
    Use :php:`newMethod()` instead.

Admonitions

..  note::
    Background information users should know.

..  tip::
    Helpful suggestion for better results.

..  warning::
    Potential issue or data loss risk.

..  important::
    Critical information that must not be missed.

Tabs

..  tabs::

    ..  group-tab:: Composer

        Install via Composer:

        ..  code-block:: bash

            composer require vendor/my-extension

    ..  group-tab:: TER

        Download from the TYPO3 Extension Repository.

Card Grid

..  card-grid::
    :columns: 2
    :card-height: 100

    ..  card:: Installation

        Learn how to install the extension.

        :ref:`Read more <installation>`

    ..  card:: Configuration

        Configure the extension for your needs.

        :ref:`Read more <configuration>`

Accordion

..  accordion::

    ..  accordion-item:: How do I install this extension?

        See the :ref:`installation` chapter.

    ..  accordion-item:: What PHP version is required?

        PHP 8.2 or higher is required.

Editor Configuration

Create Documentation/.editorconfig:

root = true

[*]
charset = utf-8
end_of_line = lf
indent_style = space
indent_size = 4
insert_final_newline = true
trim_trailing_whitespace = true
max_line_length = 80

Rendering Documentation

Local Rendering

# Render documentation (extension root = /project; official HOWTO uses --config=Documentation)
docker run --rm --pull always -v $(pwd):/project -w /project -it \
  ghcr.io/typo3-documentation/render-guides:latest --config=Documentation

# Output is in Documentation-GENERATED-temp/

Preview generated output

Current render-guides images expose render, migrate, init, lint-guides-xml, configure, create-redirects-from-git, etc. — confirm with -h for your tag. Live preview is provided by --watch on the render flow (default port is often 1337). run is the internal Symfony command name, not the Docker subcommand, and there is no separate serve subcommand in current entrypoints.

docker run --rm --pull always -v $(pwd):/project -w /project -p 1337:1337 -it \
  ghcr.io/typo3-documentation/render-guides:latest \
  --config=Documentation --watch

Always check docker run --rm ghcr.io/typo3-documentation/render-guides:latest -h for the commands and flags your image tag actually exposes. --watch depends on image support and the required runtime extensions (for example inotify). Do not assume a serve command exists.

Validation

# Fail the build on warnings/errors — flag name varies by image; confirm with `-h` before relying on `--fail-on-log`
docker run --rm --pull always -v $(pwd):/project -w /project -it \
  ghcr.io/typo3-documentation/render-guides:latest --config=Documentation --no-progress --fail-on-log

# Validate guides.xml — `lint-guides-xml` must be the first CLI argument (do not prefix with `--config=…` on the same argv slot)
docker run --rm --pull always -v $(pwd):/project -w /project -it \
  ghcr.io/typo3-documentation/render-guides:latest lint-guides-xml

Screenshots

Requirements

PNG format (official TYPO3 screenshot guidelines focus on dimensions, not DPI — e.g. full-page shots around 1400×1050 px; confirm current docs)
Appropriate size (not too large)
Always include :alt: text

Adding Screenshots

..  figure:: /Images/BackendModule.png
    :alt: Backend module screenshot
    :class: with-shadow

    The backend module provides an overview of all items.

Screenshot Directory

Documentation/
└── Images/
    ├── BackendModule.png
    ├── Configuration.png
    └── Frontend.png

Writing Guidelines

General Rules

Use American English spelling (color, behavior, optimize)
Use sentence case for headings (not Title Case)
Maximum line length: 80 characters
Use 4 spaces for indentation (no tabs)
Add blank line before and after code blocks
Use present tense

CamelCase for Files

Index.rst (not index.rst)
Configuration/ (not configuration/)
BackendModule.png (not backend-module.png)

Example: Good Documentation

============
Installation
============

This chapter explains how to install the extension.

Requirements
============

-   TYPO3 v14.x
-   PHP 8.2 or higher

Installation via Composer
=========================

Run the following command:

..  code-block:: bash

    composer require vendor/my-extension

After installation, activate the extension:

..  code-block:: bash

    vendor/bin/typo3 extension:setup -e my_extension

> Extension CLI flags change between Core versions — run `vendor/bin/typo3 extension:setup --help` (typically **`-e` / `--extension`**).

Deployment to docs.typo3.org

Prerequisites

Extension registered on extensions.typo3.org
Documentation in Documentation/ directory
Valid guides.xml configuration

Webhook Setup

Go to https://intercept.typo3.com/
Login with TYPO3.org account
Register your repository
Add webhook to GitHub/GitLab

Trigger Rendering

Documentation is automatically rendered when:

Webhook receives push event
Manual trigger via Intercept

Complete Index.rst Example

Includes.rst.txt: When your project root contains this file, the TYPO3 documentation rendering toolchain merges it automatically for many manuals — you often do not need a manual .. include:: in every Index.rst. If your template or older tutorial shows .. include:: /Includes.rst.txt, only keep it when that file actually exists in your tree; otherwise remove the directive.

.. _start:

==============
My Extension
==============

:Extension key:
    my_extension

:Package name:
    vendor/my-extension

:Version:
    |release|

:Language:
    en

:Author:
    Your Name

:License:
    This document is published under the
    `Creative Commons BY 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/>`__
    license.

:Rendered:
    |today|

----

This extension provides functionality for managing items.

----

**Table of Contents**

..  toctree::
    :maxdepth: 2
    :titlesonly:

    Introduction/Index
    Installation/Index
    Configuration/Index
    Usage/Index
    Developer/Index

..  toctree::
    :hidden:

    Sitemap

Appendix

For resource links, v14-specific documentation notes, and attribution details, see references/v14-and-resources.md.

Credits & Attribution

This skill is based on the excellent work by Netresearch DTT GmbH.

Original repository: https://github.com/netresearch/typo3-docs-skill

Copyright (c) Netresearch DTT GmbH — Methodology and best practices (MIT / CC-BY-SA-4.0) Adapted by webconsulting.at for this skill collection

Agent Skills: TYPO3 Documentation Skill

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