refactor: implement docs workflow with MegaLinter and standardized ac…

…tions - Replace custom implementation with MegaLinter documentation flavor - Use tj-actions/changed-files for file detection - Create standard configuration files for all tools - Remove complex composite action in favor of pipeline approach - Update documentation to reflect new architecture - Add testing script for validation - Fix Vale style checking implementation - Cleanup documentation files
coder · EdwardAngert · Apr 24, 2025 · Apr 24, 2025 · Apr 24, 2025 · Apr 24, 2025
commit ef93173f9ee71356f1641eebd90402b88054524f
diff --git a/.github/docs/README.md b/.github/docs/README.md
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+# Coder Documentation Workflow
+
+This directory contains GitHub Actions, configurations, and workflows for Coder's unified documentation validation system.
+
+## Developer Quick Start Guide
+
+```bash
+# Check only changed documentation files (default behavior)
+make lint/docs
+
+# Check ALL documentation files
+make lint/docs --all
+
+# Format markdown tables and fix common issues
+make fmt/markdown
+
+# Run Vale style check (optional, requires Vale installation)
+make lint/docs-style
+```
+
+The validation system will automatically detect and check only files that have changed in your working directory. This ensures fast feedback during development.
+
+## Directory Structure
+
+- `config`: Configuration files for markdown tools (markdownlint, markdown-link-check)
+- `vale`: Configuration and style rules for Vale documentation linting
+- `testing`: Test scripts and utilities for workflow validation
+
+## Quick Start
+
+For developers working with documentation, here are the most commonly used commands:
+
+```bash
+# Run comprehensive documentation validation (markdown lint + link checking)
+make lint/docs
+
+# Run only markdown linting
+make lint/markdown
+
+# Run optional style checking with Vale (if installed)
+make lint/docs-style
+
+# Fix formatting issues
+make fmt/markdown   # Formats tables and markdown styling
+```
+
+## Local vs CI Validation
+
+The validation that runs in CI is available locally through the same Makefile targets:
+
+| GitHub Action | Local Command | Description |
+|---------------|--------------|-------------|
+| Markdown linting | `make lint/markdown` | Checks markdown formatting |
+| Link checking | `make lint/docs` | Verifies links aren't broken |
+| Vale style checking | `make lint/docs-style` (optional) | Validates documentation style with Vale |
+| Cross-reference validation | *Part of CI only* | Checks references between docs |
+
+### Optional Tool Installation
+
+While basic linting works out-of-the-box with node dependencies, additional tools can be installed for more advanced checks:
+
+```bash
+# Install Lychee for link checking (recommended)
+cargo install lychee
+
+# Install Vale for style checking (optional)
+brew install vale
+
+# Node dependencies for markdown formatting (required)
+pnpm install
+```
+
+# Coder Documentation Workflow System
+
+## Workflow Architecture
+
+The documentation workflow system uses MegaLinter and standardized GitHub Actions to provide a comprehensive validation pipeline:
+
+```
+┌─ Workflow Entry Points ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
+│                                                                               │
+│  ┌─────────────────┐  ┌─────────────────┐  ┌─────────────────┐  ┌───────────┐ │
+│  │   PR Preview    │  │    Post-Merge   │  │     Weekly      │  │  CI Check │ │
+│  │   Workflow      │  │    Validation   │  │     Checks      │  │  Workflow │ │
+│  │ docs-preview.yml│  │  docs-ci.yml    │  │weekly-docs.yml  │  │docs-ci.yml│ │
+│  │                 │  │                 │  │                 │  │           │ │
+│  │ • Runs on PR    │  │ • Runs after    │  │ • Runs weekly   │  │ • Runs on │ │
+│  │   creation/update│  │   merges to main│  │   on schedule  │  │   PR      │ │
+│  │ • Generates     │  │ • Checks links  │  │ • Comprehensive │  │ • Basic   │ │
+│  │   preview links │  │   only          │  │   validation    │  │   checks  │ │
+│  │ • Validates docs│  │ • Falls back to │  │ • Planned: issues│  │ • Fast    │ │
+│  │ • Posts comments│  │   original doc  │  │   for problems  │  │   feedback│ │
+│  └────────┬────────┘  └────────┬────────┘  └────────┬────────┘  └─────┬─────┘ │
+│           │                    │                    │                  │       │
+└───────────┼────────────────────┼────────────────────┼──────────────────┼───────┘
+            │                    │                    │                  │
+            └──────────┬─────────┴──────────┬─────────┴──────────┬──────┘
+                       │                    │                    │
+                       ▼                    ▼                    ▼
+┌─ Unified Reusable Workflow ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
+│                                                                                 │
+│  docs-unified.yaml                                                              │
+│  ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐  │
+│  │ Configuration System                                                       │  │
+│  │ ┌────────────┐ ┌────────────┐ ┌────────────┐ ┌────────────┐               │  │
+│  │ │ PR Preset  │ │Post Preset │ │Weekly Preset│ │ CI Preset  │               │  │
+│  │ └────────────┘ └────────────┘ └────────────┘ └────────────┘               │  │
+│  └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘  │
+│                                                                                 │
+│  ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐  │
+│  │ Validation Pipeline                                                        │  │
+│  │ ┌────────────────┐  ┌────────────────┐  ┌────────────────┐                │  │
+│  │ │ MegaLinter     │  │ Cross-reference│  │ Result Reporting│                │  │
+│  │ │ Documentation  │  │ Validation     │  │ and Comments    │                │  │
+│  │ └────────────────┘  └────────────────┘  └────────────────┘                │  │
+│  └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘  │
+│                                                                                 │
+└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
+                                       │
+                                       ▼
+┌─ Local Development Integration ────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
+│                                                                               │
+│  Makefile targets that mirror workflow functionality:                         │
+│  ┌───────────────┐ ┌───────────────┐ ┌───────────────┐ ┌───────────────┐     │
+│  │ make lint/docs│ │make fmt/markdown│ │make lint/markdown│ │make lint/docs-style│     │
+│  └───────────────┘ └───────────────┘ └───────────────┘ └───────────────┘     │
+│                                                                               │
+```
+
+## Documentation Workflow Components
+
+### Entry Point Workflows
+
+The system provides four specialized entry points for different validation scenarios:
+
+1. **PR Preview (docs-preview.yaml)**
+   - Triggers on PR create/update when docs files change
+   - Performs comprehensive validation on documentation changes
+   - Generates preview links and posts PR comments with results
+   - Skips link checking for faster feedback
+
+2. **Post-Merge Validation (docs-link-check.yaml)**
+   - Runs after merges to main branch
+   - Lightweight check focused only on link integrity
+   - Ensures merged content maintains external link validity
+
+3. **Weekly Check (weekly-docs.yaml)**
+   - Scheduled run every Monday at 9 AM
+   - Comprehensive validation of documentation health
+   - Checks links, cross-references, markdown structure, and formatting
+   - Creates issues for persistent problems
+
+4. **CI Check (docs-ci.yaml)**
+   - Fast validation for continuous integration
+   - Focuses on formatting and structural issues
+   - Designed for rapid feedback
+
+### Unified Workflow & Presets
+
+All entry points use the central `docs-unified.yaml` workflow with different preset configurations:
+
+| Preset | Description | Main Validations | When Used |
+|--------|-------------|------------------|-----------|
+| `pr` | Complete validation for PRs | markdown, formatting, style, cross-references | PRs that modify docs (preview workflow) |
+| `post-merge` | Lightweight check after merge | links | After merging to main (catches broken links) |
+| `weekly` | Scheduled health check | markdown, formatting, links, cross-references | Weekly cron job (comprehensive check) |
+| `ci` | Fast CI validation | markdown, formatting | PR checks (fast feedback) |
+
+## Key Tools and Integrations
+
+### MegaLinter Documentation Flavor
+
+The workflow leverages MegaLinter's documentation flavor to provide comprehensive validation:
+
+- **markdownlint**: Validates markdown syntax and formatting
+- **Vale**: Checks documentation style and terminology
+- **markdown-link-check**: Verifies links are valid and accessible
+
+Configuration files are stored in standardized locations:
+- `.github/docs/config/.markdownlint.yml`: Markdown linting rules
+- `.github/docs/vale/.vale.ini`: Vale style configuration
+- `.github/docs/config/markdown-link-check.json`: Link checking settings
+
+### Changed Files Detection
+
+The workflow uses tj-actions/changed-files to efficiently detect changed files:
+
+```yaml
+# Get changed files
+- name: Get changed files
+  id: changed-files
+  uses: tj-actions/changed-files@v41
+  with:
+    files: |
+      docs/**/*.md
+      **/*.md
+```
+
+### Cross-Reference Validation
+
+Custom cross-reference validation checks for broken internal links:
+
+- References to deleted files
+- Broken internal markdown links
+- Missing image references
+
+## Vale Style Checking
+
+The workflow includes Vale style checking that:
+- Only examines changed files to improve performance
+- Validates documentation against Coder style guidelines
+- Uses the errata-ai/vale-action GitHub Action
+- Is configured in `.github/docs/vale/` with custom rules
+
+### Vale Style Rules
+
+The following style rules are configured:
+
+| Rule | Description | Severity |
+|------|-------------|----------|
+| `Coder.Headings` | Ensures proper heading capitalization | warning |
+| `Coder.Terms` | Enforces consistent terminology | warning |
+| `Coder.RepeatedWords` | Catches repeated words like "the the" | error |
+| `Coder.SentenceLength` | Warns about overly long sentences | suggestion |
+| `GitLab.*` | Various rules from GitLab style guide | varies |
+
+To suppress a Vale rule for a specific line:
+
+```markdown
+<!-- vale Coder.SentenceLength = NO -->
+This is a very long sentence that would normally trigger the sentence length rule but has been explicitly exempted for a good reason such as a technical requirement or quotation.
+<!-- vale Coder.SentenceLength = YES -->
+```
+
+## Workflow Configuration Options
+
+Each workflow entry point can be customized with these key parameters:
+
+| Parameter | Description | Default |
+|-----------|-------------|---------|
+| `preset` | Predefined configuration bundle | (required) |
+| `lint-markdown` | Run markdown linting | (from preset) |
+| `check-format` | Validate table formatting | (from preset) |
+| `check-links` | Verify link integrity | (from preset) |
+| `check-cross-references` | Check documentation cross-references | (from preset) |
+| `lint-vale` | Run Vale style validation | (from preset) |
+| `generate-preview` | Create preview links | (from preset) |
+| `post-comment` | Post results as PR comment | (from preset) |
+| `create-issues` | Create GitHub issues for failures | (from preset) |
+| `fail-on-error` | Fail workflow on validation errors | (from preset) |
+
+## Using Documentation Validation in Custom Workflows
+
+To use documentation validation in your own workflows:
+
+```yaml
+jobs:
+  custom-docs-check:
+    uses: ./.github/workflows/docs-unified.yaml
+    with:
+      preset: 'pr'  # Choose a preset based on your needs
+      # Optional overrides
+      check-links: false  # For faster checks
+      notification-channels: 'slack'  # For notifications
+```
+
+Available presets:
+- `pr`: Full validation with PR comments and preview links
+- `post-merge`: Lightweight link checking for merged content
+- `weekly`: Comprehensive health check for scheduled runs
+- `ci`: Fast validation for continuous integration
+
+The presets provide sensible defaults for each use case, which can be overridden as needed for specific scenarios.