docs-review
metabase/metabase
Review documentation changes against Metabase's writing style guide.
What is docs-review?
A documentation review skill that checks markdown files for compliance with Metabase's style guide. Use it when reviewing pull requests or documentation changes to catch tone, clarity, formatting, and structure issues before merge.
- Detects formal/corporate language and suggests conversational alternatives
- Identifies vague headings and buried important information
- Flags verbose text and unclear paragraph purpose
- Checks for improper link text and formatting inconsistencies
- Validates code examples and command ordering
- Catches condescending qualifiers like 'easy' or 'simple'
How to install docs-review
npx skills add https://github.com/metabase/metabase --skill docs-review- Access to the Metabase style guide (included via shared reference)
- Markdown files or diffs to review
How to use docs-review
- 1.Provide the documentation changes, PR diff, or file paths to review
- 2.The skill will detect whether it's in PR review mode (GitHub) or local review mode
- 3.Read through changes to understand intent
- 4.Check against the style guide checklist for tone, structure, links, formatting, code, and sentence construction
- 5.Issues are numbered sequentially and formatted as 'Issue N: [Brief title]' with description and suggested fix
Use cases
- Review documentation PRs to ensure consistent tone and voice across Metabase docs
- Check newly written markdown files for style guide compliance before publication
- Audit existing documentation sections for readability and clarity improvements
- Validate code examples and instructions are in correct execution order
- Ensure links use descriptive text rather than generic 'here' or 'click here'
- Documentation reviewers and maintainers
- Technical writers contributing to Metabase docs
- Pull request reviewers checking documentation changes
- Content teams ensuring style consistency
docs-review FAQ
The skill automatically detects PR review mode if the GitHub MCP tool is available. It will create a pending review, collect all issues, post them as numbered comments, and submit as a single cohesive review.
The skill outputs issues in the conversation as a numbered markdown list, allowing you to reference specific issues by number (e.g., 'fix issues 1, 3, and 5').
No. Only flag issues that make a material difference to the reader. Skip minor issues that won't significantly impact clarity or compliance.
All issues are numbered sequentially starting from Issue 1 with no gaps. This allows efficient tracking and reference of specific feedback items.
The Metabase writing style guide, which emphasizes conversational tone, clear structure, descriptive links, and avoiding formal/corporate language.
Full instructions (SKILL.md)
Source of truth, from metabase/metabase.
name: docs-review description: Review documentation changes for compliance with the Metabase writing style guide. Use when reviewing pull requests, files, or diffs containing documentation markdown files. allowed-tools: Read, Grep, Bash, Glob
Documentation Review Skill
@./../_shared/metabase-style-guide.md
Review mode detection
IMPORTANT: Before starting the review, determine which mode to use:
-
PR review mode: If the
mcp__github__create_pending_pull_request_reviewtool is available, you are reviewing a GitHub PR- Use the pending review workflow to post all issues as one cohesive review
- Follow the workflow steps in "PR review mode format" below
-
Local review mode: If the MCP tool is NOT available, output issues in the conversation
- Format all issues in a numbered markdown list (as described in "Feedback format" below)
Review process
- Detect review mode - Check if
mcp__github__create_pending_pull_request_reviewis available - Read the changes through once to understand intent
- Check all issues that violate style guide or significantly impact readability
- Only flag issues worth mentioning - if it won't make a material difference to the reader, skip it
- REQUIRED: Number ALL feedback sequentially - Start from Issue 1 and increment for each issue found
Review checklist
Run through the diff looking for these issues:
Tone and voice:
- Formal/corporate language ("utilize" not "use", "offerings", etc.)
- "Users" instead of "people" or "companies"
- Excessive exclamation points or overly peppy tone
- Telling readers something is cool instead of showing them
Structure and clarity:
- Important information buried instead of leading
- Verbose text that adds little value
- Paragraphs without clear purpose
- Vague headings that don't convey the point
- Instructions explain "why" before telling "what to do"
- Tasks described as "easy" or "simple"
Links and references:
- Linking the word "here" instead of descriptive text
- Links in headings (unless entire heading is a link)
Formatting:
- Ampersands as "and" substitute (except proper nouns)
- Inconsistent list formatting
Code and examples:
- Code examples that don't work or would error
- Commands not in execution order
- Full-width screenshots instead of scoped UI elements
- Excessive or unnecessary images
Sentence construction:
- Overuse of pronouns when introducing new terms
Quick scan table
| Pattern | Issue |
|---|---|
| we can do X, our feature | Should be "Metabase" or "it" |
| click here, read more here | Need descriptive link text |
| easy, simple, just | Remove condescending qualifiers |
| users | Should be "people" or "companies" if possible |
Feedback format
MANDATORY REQUIREMENT: Every single issue MUST be numbered sequentially starting from Issue 1.
This numbered format is NON-NEGOTIABLE. It allows users to efficiently reference specific issues (e.g., "fix issues 1, 3, and 5") and track which feedback has been addressed.
Local review mode format
When outputting issues in the conversation (local mode), use this format:
## Issues
**Issue 1: [Brief title]**
Line X: Succinct description of the issue
[code or example]
Suggested fix or succinct explanation
**Issue 2: [Brief title]**
Line Y: Description of the issue
Suggested fix or explanation
**Issue 3: [Brief title]**
...
Examples:
Issue 1: Formal tone Line 15: This could be more conversational. Consider: "You can't..." instead of "You cannot..."
Issue 2: Vague heading Line 8: The heading could be more specific. Try stating the point directly: "Run migrations before upgrading" vs "Upgrade process"
PR review mode format
When posting to GitHub (PR mode), use the pending review workflow:
Workflow steps:
-
Start a review: Use
mcp__github__create_pending_pull_request_reviewto begin a pending review- This creates a draft review that won't be visible until submitted
-
Get diff information: Use
mcp__github__get_pull_request_diffto understand the code changes and line numbers- This helps you determine the correct file paths and line numbers for comments
-
Identify ALL issues: Read through all changes and identify every issue worth mentioning
- Collect all issues before posting any comments
- Number them sequentially (Issue 1, Issue 2, Issue 3, etc.)
-
Add review comments: Use
mcp__github__add_pull_request_review_comment_to_pending_reviewfor each issue- CRITICAL: Post ALL comments in a SINGLE response using multiple tool calls in parallel
- Each comment should reference a specific file path and line number from the diff
- Start each comment body with
**Issue N: [Brief title]** - Include the description and suggested fix
-
Submit the review: Use
mcp__github__submit_pending_pull_request_reviewto publish all comments at once- Use event type
"COMMENT"(NOT "REQUEST_CHANGES") to make it non-blocking - Do NOT include a body message - Leave the body empty or omit it entirely
- All comments will appear together as one cohesive review
- Use event type
Comment format example:
**Issue 1: Formal tone**
This could be more conversational. Consider: "You can't..." instead of "You cannot..."
IMPORTANT:
- Each issue gets its own review comment attached to the pending review
- Number ALL comments sequentially (Issue 1, Issue 2, Issue 3, etc.)
- Always start the comment body with
**Issue N: [Brief title]** - MUST add all comments in parallel in a single response - Do NOT add them one after another in separate responses
- Do NOT output a summary message to the conversation - only post GitHub review comments
- When submitting the review, do NOT include a body parameter (or leave it empty) to avoid cluttering the PR with summary text
- The review will appear as a single review with multiple comments when submitted
Final check
- Remove any issues from your assessment that won't make a material difference to the reader if addressed. Only flag issues worth the author's time to fix.
- Verify all issues are numbered sequentially starting from Issue 1 with no gaps in numbering.
- Confirm the format exactly matches:
**Issue N: [Brief title]**where N is the issue number. - In PR mode: Verify each issue was posted as a separate GitHub comment (not output to conversation).
Related skills
More from metabase/metabase and the wider catalog.

docs-write
Write clear, user-focused documentation in Metabase's conversational style.

typescript-review
Review TypeScript/JavaScript code against Metabase standards, style, and quality rules.

typescript-write
Write TypeScript/JavaScript code following Metabase's strict typing standards and best practices.

add-malli-schemas
Add Malli schemas to Metabase API endpoints with proper validation patterns and error handling

chinese-writing
Guidelines for writing and reviewing clear, human-sounding Chinese tech newsletter content without AI flavor.

youtube-transcript
Download YouTube video transcripts when user provides a YouTube URL or asks to download/get/fetch a transcript from YouTube. Also use when user wants to transcribe or get captions/subtitles from a YouTube video.