--- title: How to Contribute to SQL Server Documentation description: "How to contribute to SQL Server Documentation" author: MikeRayMSFT ms.author: mikeray ms.reviewer: randolphwest ms.date: 05/26/2025 ms.service: sql ms.subservice: release-landing ms.topic: how-to ms.custom: - ignite-2025 monikerRange: ">=aps-pdw-2016 || =azuresqldb-current || =azure-sqldw-latest || >=sql-server-2016 || >=sql-server-linux-2017 || =fabric-sqldb" --- # How to contribute to SQL Server documentation [!INCLUDE [sql-asdb-asa-pdw](../includes/applies-to-version/sql-asdb-asa-pdw.md)] Anyone can contribute to SQL Server documentation. This includes correcting typos, suggesting better explanations, and improving technical accuracy. This article explains how to get started with content contributions and how the process works. There are two main workflows you can use to contribute: | Workflow | Description | | --- | --- | | [Edit in your browser](#githubui) | Good for small, quick edits of any article. | | [Edit locally with tools](#tools) | Good for more complex edits, edits involving multiple articles, and frequent contributions. | The Data Docs content team validates all public contributions for technical accuracy and consistency. ## Edit in your browser You can make simple edits to SQL Server content in your browser and then submit them to Microsoft. For more information, see the [contributor guide overview](/contribute/#quick-edits-to-existing-documents). The following steps summarize the process: 1. On the page you have feedback about, select the **Pencil** icon at the top right. 1. On the next page, select the **Pencil** icon at the top right. If this icon doesn't appear, you might need to sign in to your GitHub account first. 1. On the next page, in the **Edit file** text window, make your edits directly to the text you want to change. If you need help with formatting the new or changed text, see the [Markdown Cheatsheet](https://github.com/adam-p/markdown-here/wiki/Markdown-Cheatsheet). 1. After you make your edits, under **Commit changes**: 1. In the first text box, enter a brief description of the change you make. 1. In the **Add an optional extended description** box, provide a brief explanation of your change. 1. Select **Propose file change**. 1. On the **Comparing changes** page, select **Create pull request**. 1. On the **Open a pull request** page, select **Create pull request**. The following GIF demonstrates the end-to-end process for submitting changes in your browser: :::image type="content" source="media/sql-server-docs-navigation-guide/edit-sql-docs.gif" alt-text="Screenshot of Edit SQL Docs." lightbox="media/sql-server-docs-navigation-guide/edit-sql-docs.gif"::: ## Edit locally with tools Another editing option is to fork the `sql-docs` or `azure-docs` repositories and clone them locally to your machine. You can then use a Markdown editor and a git client to submit the changes. This workflow is good for edits that are more complex or involve multiple files. It's also good for frequent contributors to Microsoft technical documentation. To contribute with this method, see the following articles: - [Create a GitHub account](/contribute/get-started-setup-github) - [Install content authoring tools](/contribute/get-started-setup-tools) - [Set up a Git repository locally](/contribute/get-started-setup-local) - [Use tools to contribute](/contribute/how-to-write-workflows-major) If you submit a pull request with significant changes to documentation, you get a comment in GitHub asking you to submit an online **Contribution License Agreement (CLA)**. You must complete the online form before your pull request can be accepted. ## Recognition If your changes are accepted, you're recognized as a contributor at the top of the article. :::image type="content" source="media/sql-server-docs-contribute/contribution-recognition-step-1.png" alt-text="Screenshot of Content contribution recognition under article heading." lightbox="media/sql-server-docs-contribute/contribution-recognition-step-1.png"::: Select the contributors link, and you can see the list of contributors in more detail. :::image type="content" source="media/sql-server-docs-contribute/contribution-recognition-step-2.png" alt-text="Screenshot of Content contribution recognition dialog."::: ## Overview: sql-docs repository This section provides more guidance on working in the `sql-docs` repository. > [!IMPORTANT] > The information in this section is specific to `sql-docs`. If you're editing a SQL article in the Azure documentation, see [the Readme for the azure-docs repository on GitHub](https://github.com/MicrosoftDocs/azure-docs/blob/master/README.md). The [sql-docs](https://github.com/MicrosoftDocs/sql-docs) repository uses several standard folders to organize the content. | Folder | Description | | --- | --- | | [docs](https://github.com/MicrosoftDocs/sql-docs/tree/live/docs) | Contains all published SQL Server content. Subfolders logically organize different areas of the content. | | [docs/includes](https://github.com/MicrosoftDocs/sql-docs/tree/live/docs/includes) | Contains include files. These files are blocks of content that can be included in one or more other articles. | | `./media` | Each folder can have one `media` subfolder for article images. The `media` folder in turn has subfolders with the same name as the articles that the image appears in. Images should be `.png` files with all lower case letters and no spaces. | | `TOC.yml` | A table-of-contents file. Each subfolder has the option of using one `TOC.yml` file. | #### Applies-to includes Each SQL Server article contains an `applies-to` include file after the title. This indicates what areas or versions of SQL Server the article applies to. Consider the following Markdown example that pulls in the `applies-to-version/sql-asdb-asdbmi-asa-pdw-fabricsqldb.md` include file. ```md [!INCLUDE [SQL Server Azure SQL Database Azure SQL Managed Instance Azure Synapse Analytics Analytics Platform System (PDW) SQL database in Microsoft Fabric](../includes/applies-to-version/sql-asdb-asdbmi-asa-pdw-fabricsqldb.md)] ``` This adds the following text to the top of the article: :::image type="content" source="media/sql-server-docs-contribute/applies-to.png" alt-text="Screenshot of Applies to text." lightbox="media/sql-server-docs-contribute/applies-to.png"::: To find the correct applies-to include file for your article, use the following tips: - For a list of commonly used includes, see [SQL Server include files for versioning and applies-to](applies-to-includes.md). - Look at other articles that cover the same feature or a related task. If you edit that article, you can copy the Markdown for the applies-to include link (you can cancel the edit without submitting it). - Search the [docs/includes](https://github.com/MicrosoftDocs/sql-docs/tree/live/docs/includes) directory for files containing the text `applies-to`. You can use the **Find** button in GitHub to quickly filter. Select the file to see how it renders. - Pay attention to the naming convention. If the name contains multiple `x` characters in the string, they're usually placeholders indicating the lack of support for a service. For example, `appliesto-xx-xxxx-asdw-xxx-md.md` indicates support for only Azure Synapse Analytics, because only `asdw` is spelled out, whereas the other fields are filled with the `x` character. - Some includes specify a version number, such as `tsql-appliesto-ss2017-xxxx-xxxx-xxx-md.md`. Only use these include files when you know the feature was introduced with a specific version of SQL Server. ## Contributor resources - [Contributor guide](/contribute/) - [Microsoft Style Guide](/teamblog/style-guide) - [Markdown basics](https://docs.github.com/get-started/writing-on-github/getting-started-with-writing-and-formatting-on-github) > [!TIP] > If you have product feedback rather than documentation feedback, [provide feedback](https://feedback.azure.com/forums/908035-sql-server). ## Related content Explore the [sql-docs repository](https://github.com/MicrosoftDocs/sql-docs) on GitHub. Find an article, submit a change, and help the SQL Server community. Thank you.