docs-conventions

name	docs-conventions
description	Use when writing or reviewing Flet documentation, including Python docstrings (Google style, reST roles, admonitions), Markdown docs (cross-references, images, code examples), and sidebar navigation.

Documentation Conventions

Docs live in website/docs/. Docusaurus renders them as the website.

Python Docstrings

Use Google style docstrings with sections: Args:, Returns:, Raises:, Note:, Example:, Warning:.

Cross-references

reST roles

Prefer these in Python docstrings. CrocoDocs renders them as links in the API docs and they keep authoring terse when the auto-derived label is acceptable.

Supported roles: :class:, :attr:, :meth:, :func:, :data:, :mod:

"""
If a parent is a :class:`~flet.ResponsiveRow`, this property determines
how many virtual columns the control spans.

See :attr:`value` or :attr:`flet.Text.size` for the current selection.

Calls :meth:`flet.Page.update` after modifying controls.
"""

Rules:

• Qualified reference: :attr:flet.Page.route`` — links to the member, displays inline code Page.route
• Extension reference: :attr:flet_map.Map.animation_curve`` — links to the extension member, displays inline code Map.animation_curve
• Short display with ~: :attr:~flet.Page.route`` — links to the member, displays inline code route
• Local member (same class): :attr:value`` — no qualifier needed
• Method with parens: :meth:update`` — do NOT include () in the target

For plain class references like :class:flet.Page and extension references like `:class:`flet_map.Map, the website strips leading public package aliases automatically, so they display as inline code Page and Map.

Not supported:

• Custom labels like :class:my label <flet.Page>`` — the label is always auto-derived from the target
• Roles for symbols not in CrocoDocs API data degrade to inline code

Xrefs

Reference-style Markdown links of the form [label][key], where key is the fully-qualified dotted symbol path (same form as reST role targets).

Use as the default form for linking to API symbols from Markdown docs (.md / .mdx).

Examples:

Class: [`Page`][flet.Page]
Attribute: [`route`][flet.Page.route]
Method: [`Page.update()`][flet.Page.update]
Extension: [`Video.controls`][flet_video.Video.controls]
Plain text: [the route attribute][flet.Page.route]

When to prefer over the other forms:

• Flexible labels — the first [ ] accepts any text or inline code, unlike reST roles whose label is always auto-derived from the target
• Path-independent — keys are dotted symbol paths, so links don't break when source files are moved, renamed, or restructured (unlike Markdown link paths with ../ and #flet.X.y anchors)
• Terser than Markdown links to the same symbol — no relative path or anchor to maintain
• Greppable — searching for the dotted key finds every reference to that symbol across all docs

Rules:

• The label (inside the first [ ]) is the rendered text — inline code or plain text
• The key (inside the second [ ]) is the fully-qualified dotted path; do NOT include () for methods
• Unresolved keys render as broken reference-style links (silent fallback) — verify with a build or yarn crocodocs:generate

Markdown links

Fallback for cases xrefs cannot cover:

• docs-only Python strings — the docs_reason parameter of @deprecated, extracted validation messages, or short admonition text
• links to non-API content (other doc pages, external URLs, anchors that aren't API symbols)
• when the xref entry is missing and you need a working link before regenerating

Use relative .md paths with dot-format anchors.

Examples:

Control: [`Page`](../controls/page.md)
Type: [`DragTargetEvent.global_position`](../types/dragtargetevent.md#flet.DragTargetEvent.global_position)
Plain text: [route](../controls/page.md#flet.Page.route)
Method: [`Page.update()`](../controls/page.md#flet.Page.update)

Admonitions in docstrings

Google-style section headers render as Docusaurus admonitions:

"""
Note:
    Has effect only if the direct parent is a :class:`~flet.Column`.

Warning:
    This property is deprecated. Use :attr:`new_prop` instead.

Example:
    Setting up a basic layout:
    ``ft.Column(controls=[ft.Text("Hello")])``
"""

Supported kinds: Note, Warning, Danger, Tip, Info. Unsupported kinds (e.g. Limitation, Example) are normalized to note. Empty admonitions are skipped.

Admonitions

:::note
Basic note without title.
:::

:::warning[Important]
Warning with a custom title.
:::

Supported types: note, info, tip, warning, danger.

Front matter

---
class_name: "flet.Container"
examples: "controls/container"
example_images: "test-images/examples/material/golden/macos/container"
example_media: "examples/controls/container/media"
title: "Container"
---

• examples — root-relative path under sdk/python/examples/
• example_images / example_media — root-relative under website/static/docs/

Images

Use the CrocoDocs Image component. Paths without ../ are resolved against /docs/:

import {Image} from '@site/src/components/crocodocs';

<Image src={frontMatter.example_images + '/image_for_docs.png'} width="55%" />

For absolute paths (one-off assets in static/):

<Image src="/docs/assets/controls/charts/bar-chart-diagram.svg" width="65%" />

Code examples

import {CodeExample} from '@site/src/components/crocodocs';

<CodeExample path={frontMatter.examples + '/example_1.py'} />

Paths are relative to the configured examples_root (sdk/python/examples/).

Inline HTML

Use <kbd>...</kbd> in Python docstrings for keyboard keys, for example <kbd>Enter</kbd> or <kbd>Shift</kbd>. CrocoDocs preserves this tag in API docs.

Sidebar Navigation

Edit website/sidebars.yml to change navigation structure:

docs:
  Getting started:
  - getting-started/installation.md
  Controls:
    _generated_index:
      title: Controls
      slug: /controls
      description: Browse the complete catalog of controls.
    AlertDialog: controls/alertdialog.md

After editing, regenerate sidebars.js:

cd website && yarn crocodocs:generate