A document is a .md file in the source/ folder of your knowledge base. File names become page names: backup-check.md is published as backup-check.html, so pick short names without spaces.
Start with the properties
Every document starts with a block of properties between two --- lines, one Key: value per line:
---
Author: Ann Lopez
Category: Procedure
Date: 2026-10-03
Tag: backup, postgresql
---
- Give a property several values by separating them with commas.
- Use any property names you like. Keep them singular and capitalised (
Tag,Team,Product):Tagandtagare different properties. Dateis optional. Write it as2026-10-03or2026-10-03 14:30.
Quote values that contain a colon followed by a space
Summary: Backups: how they run breaks the document. Write Summary: "Backups: how they run".
Which properties to use depends on what you write and on the theme. The techdoc theme, for example, reacts to Category, Priority and Status.
Give it a title
After the properties, leave an empty line and write the title as a level 1 heading. Every document needs exactly this one # heading:
# Check last night's backups
The title comes from this line. A Title: property is ignored.
Organise it in sections
Use ## for sections and ### for subsections. Themes use them for the table of contents, and techdoc lets readers fold them.
## Steps
### On the primary server
Link to other documents
Link to the Markdown file; KB4IT rewrites the link to the published page:
See [the restore procedure](restore-postgresql.md#steps).
If the target does not exist, the build warns with LINK_BROKEN and names both documents.
Add notes and warnings
Start a line with !!!, a type and an optional title, and indent the text by four spaces:
!!! warning "Stop the application first"
The restore replaces every table in the database.
Common types are note, tip, important, warning and danger.
Show commands and code
Fence code with three backticks and name the language:
```bash
pg_restore -d appdb appdb.dump
```
Add tables
| Server | Role |
|--------|---------|
| db01 | primary |
| db02 | replica |
Add images
Put images in source/resources/images/. KB4IT copies source/resources/ to the website as it is, so link to them like this:
Check your work
Build the site, or check the documents without building:
kb4it verify ~/mykb/config/repo.json
It lists every document KB4IT cannot read and why. Document format explains each reason.