| 1 | # Description Authoring |
| 2 | |
| 3 | Metadata descriptions are public product copy. They appear on |
| 4 | Learn, in integration cards, in generated umbrella pages, and in |
| 5 | some in-app surfaces. Write them for an operator scanning a catalog, |
| 6 | not for a developer reading implementation notes. |
| 7 | |
| 8 | ## Catalog Description Contract |
| 9 | |
| 10 | The Monitor Anything table does not read a dedicated |
| 11 | `catalog_description` field. `integrations/gen_doc_collector_page.py` |
| 12 | extracts the first sentence from the generated `## Overview` section |
| 13 | and falls back to `meta.monitored_instance.description` only when |
| 14 | overview text is unavailable. |
| 15 | |
| 16 | For collector-like integrations, that means the first sentence of |
| 17 | `overview.data_collection.metrics_description` **is** the catalog |
| 18 | description. Write that sentence first, deliberately, before adding |
| 19 | detail for the full integration page. |
| 20 | |
| 21 | That first sentence must: |
| 22 | |
| 23 | - start with an active user-facing verb or action phrase; |
| 24 | - describe what the integration is; |
| 25 | - describe what it monitors, enriches, exports, authenticates, or |
| 26 | discovers; |
| 27 | - be stable without knowing the user's configuration; |
| 28 | - be short enough for a table cell; |
| 29 | - use user-facing product language. |
| 30 | |
| 31 | That first sentence must not: |
| 32 | |
| 33 | - describe a configuration option, variable, default value, or setting; |
| 34 | - start with "Set ...", "Configure ...", "When enabled ...", or |
| 35 | similar setup language; |
| 36 | - contain placeholders such as `<tier>`, `<key>`, or |
| 37 | `[[ variables.foo ]]`; |
| 38 | - describe limits, sizing, retention, troubleshooting, or caveats; |
| 39 | - mention internal tests, implementation state, reviewer notes, or |
| 40 | future work. |
| 41 | |
| 42 | Required first-sentence style: |
| 43 | |
| 44 | - Collectors: `Monitor <thing> ...`, `Collect <data> from <thing> ...`, |
| 45 | `Keep an eye on <thing> ...`. |
| 46 | - Flow sources: `Collect network flow records from <protocol/exporter> ...`. |
| 47 | - Flow enrichment sources: `Enrich network flows with <fields/context> from |
| 48 | <source> ...`. |
| 49 | - Flow labeling/classification sources: `Annotate network flows with |
| 50 | <labels> from <source/rules> ...`. |
| 51 | - Exporters: `Export Netdata metrics to <destination> ...`. |
| 52 | - Service discovery: `Discover <targets> from <source> ...`. |
| 53 | |
| 54 | Avoid leading with the provider's publication mechanism (`AWS publishes ...`, |
| 55 | `Microsoft publishes ...`, `Set option ...`). Those facts may be useful in |
| 56 | the full page, but the catalog sentence should first tell users what Netdata |
| 57 | does for them. |
| 58 | |
| 59 | ## Where Details Belong |
| 60 | |
| 61 | Use the right metadata field for the job: |
| 62 | |
| 63 | | Content | Field | |
| 64 | |---|---| |
| 65 | | What the integration is / what data it provides | First sentence of `overview.data_collection.metrics_description` | |
| 66 | | How collection works | `overview.data_collection.method_description` | |
| 67 | | Defaults and auto-detection | `overview.default_behavior.auto_detection.description` | |
| 68 | | Limits, retention, sizing, and cardinality | `overview.default_behavior.limits.description` | |
| 69 | | CPU, memory, disk, or network impact | `overview.default_behavior.performance_impact.description` | |
| 70 | | Configuration settings | `setup.configuration.options.list[].description` | |
| 71 | | Example-specific behavior | `setup.configuration.examples.list[].description` | |
| 72 | | Failure modes and fixes | `troubleshooting.problems.list[].description` | |
| 73 | |
| 74 | Configuration option descriptions are allowed to describe settings. |
| 75 | Catalog descriptions are not. |
| 76 | |
| 77 | ## Good And Bad Examples |
| 78 | |
| 79 | Bad catalog description: |
| 80 | |
| 81 | ```yaml |
| 82 | metrics_description: | |
| 83 | Set `protocols.decapsulation_mode` to `srv6` or `vxlan`. |
| 84 | ``` |
| 85 | |
| 86 | Good catalog description: |
| 87 | |
| 88 | ```yaml |
| 89 | metrics_description: | |
| 90 | Enrich network flows with inner source and destination endpoints from VXLAN or SRv6 encapsulated traffic. |
| 91 | ``` |
| 92 | |
| 93 | Bad catalog description: |
| 94 | |
| 95 | ```yaml |
| 96 | metrics_description: | |
| 97 | Empty `asn_database` and `geo_database` values enable auto-detection. |
| 98 | ``` |
| 99 | |
| 100 | Good catalog description: |
| 101 | |
| 102 | ```yaml |
| 103 | metrics_description: | |
| 104 | Enrich network flows with ASN and geographic context from DB-IP Lite MMDB databases. |
| 105 | ``` |
| 106 | |
| 107 | Bad catalog description: |
| 108 | |
| 109 | ```yaml |
| 110 | metrics_description: | |
| 111 | The `journal.tiers.<tier>.duration_of_journal_files` setting controls retention. |
| 112 | ``` |
| 113 | |
| 114 | Good catalog description: |
| 115 | |
| 116 | ```yaml |
| 117 | metrics_description: | |
| 118 | Collect network flow records from NetFlow exporters such as routers, switches, and firewalls. |
| 119 | ``` |
| 120 | |
| 121 | ## Review Checklist |
| 122 | |
| 123 | Before committing `metadata.yaml` changes: |
| 124 | |
| 125 | 1. Regenerate `src/collectors/COLLECTORS.md`. |
| 126 | 2. Read the table row description for the integration. |
| 127 | 3. Confirm it answers "what is this integration?" without relying on |
| 128 | setup context. |
| 129 | 4. Move option names, defaults, variables, and limits out of the |
| 130 | catalog sentence and into the proper setup or default-behavior |
| 131 | field. |
| 132 | 5. Keep the first sentence useful even when rendered alone in a list, |
| 133 | card, search result, or generated catalog. |