Deprecations and removals

When GitLab deprecates or removes a feature, use the following process to update the documentation. This process requires temporarily changing content to be “deprecated” or “removed” before it’s deleted.

If a feature is not generally available, you can delete the content outright instead of following these instructions.

Features not actively being developed

When a feature is no longer actively developed, but not deprecated, add the following note under the topic title and version history:

{{< alert type="note" >}}

This feature is not under active development, but
[community contributions](https://about.gitlab.com/community/contribute/) are welcome.

{{< /alert >}}

Deprecate a page or topic

To deprecate a page or topic:

1. Add (deprecated) after the title. Use a warning alert to explain when it was deprecated, when it will be removed, and the replacement feature.

   title: Title (deprecated)
   ---
   
   {{< details >}}
   
   - Tier: Premium, Ultimate
   - Offering: GitLab.com, GitLab Self-Managed, GitLab Dedicated
   
   {{< /details >}}
   
   {{< alert type="warning" >}}
   
   This feature was [deprecated](https://issue-link) in GitLab 14.8
   and is planned for removal in 15.4. Use [feature X](link-to-docs.md) instead.
   
   {{< /alert >}}

   If you’re not sure when the feature will be removed or no replacement feature exists, you don’t need to add this information.

2. If the deprecation is a breaking change, add this text:

   This change is a breaking change.

   You can add any additional context-specific details that might help users.

3. Add the following HTML comments above and below the content. For remove_date, set a date three months after the release where it will be removed.

   title: Title (deprecated)
   ---
   
   <!--- start_remove The following content will be removed on remove_date: 'YYYY-MM-DD' -->
   
   {{< details >}}
   
   - Tier: Premium, Ultimate
   - Offering: GitLab.com, GitLab Self-Managed, GitLab Dedicated
   
   {{< /details >}}
   
   {{< alert type="warning" >}}
   
   This feature was [deprecated](https://issue-link) in GitLab 14.8
   and is planned for removal in 15.4. Use [feature X](link-to-docs.md) instead.
   
   {{< /alert >}}
   
   <!--- end_remove -->

4. Open a merge request to add the word (deprecated) to the left nav, after the page title.

Remove a page

Mark content as removed during the release the feature was removed. The title and a removed indicator remains until three months after the removal.

To remove a page:

1. Leave the page title. Remove all other content, including the history items and the details and alert shortcodes.

2. After the title, change (deprecated) to (removed).

3. Update the YAML metadata:

   • For remove_date, set the value to a date three months after the release when the feature was removed.
   • For the redirect_to, set a path to a file that makes sense. If no obvious page exists, use the docs home page.
   ---
   stage: Foundations
   group: Global Search
   info: To determine the technical writer assigned to the Stage/Group associated with this page, see https://handbook.gitlab.com/handbook/product/ux/technical-writing/#assignments
   remove_date: '2022-08-02'
   redirect_to: '../newpath/to/file/index.md'
   title: Title (removed)
   ---
   
   {{< details >}}
   
   - Tier: Premium, Ultimate
   - Offering: GitLab.com, GitLab Self-Managed, GitLab Dedicated
   
   {{< /details >}}
   
   This feature was [deprecated](https://issue-link) in GitLab X.Y
   and [removed](https://issue-link) in X.Y.
   Use [feature X](link-to-docs.md) instead.

4. Edit the navigation.yaml in docs-gitlab-com to remove the page’s entry from the global navigation.

5. Search the Deprecations and Removals page for links to the removed page. The links use full URLs like: https://docs.gitlab.com/user/deprecated_page/. If you find any links, update the relevant YAML files:

   • In the body: section, remove links to the removed page.

   • In the documentation_url: section, if the entry links to the page, delete the link.

   • Run the Rake task to update the documentation:

     bin/rake gitlab:docs:compile_deprecations

This content is removed from the documentation as part of the Technical Writing team’s regularly scheduled tasks.

Remove a topic

To remove a topic:

1. Leave the title and the details of the deprecation and removal. Remove all other content, including the history items and the details and alert shortcodes.

2. Add (removed) after the title.

3. Add the following HTML comments above and below the topic. For remove_date, set a date three months after the release where it was removed.

   title: Title (removed)
   ----
   
   <!--- start_remove The following content will be removed on remove_date: 'YYYY-MM-DD' -->
   
   {{< details >}}
   
   - Tier: Premium, Ultimate
   - Offering: GitLab.com, GitLab Self-Managed, GitLab Dedicated
   
   {{< /details >}}
   
   This feature was [deprecated](https://issue-link) in GitLab X.Y
   and [removed](https://issue-link) in X.Y.
   Use [feature X](link-to-docs.md) instead.
   
   <!--- end_remove -->

4. Search the Deprecations and Removals page for links to the removed page. The links use full URLs like: https://docs.gitlab.com/user/deprecated_page/. If you find any links, update the relevant YAML files:

   • In the body: section, remove links to the removed page.

   • In the documentation_url: section, if the entry links to the page, delete the link.

   • Run the Rake task to update the documentation:

     bin/rake gitlab:docs:compile_deprecations

This content is removed from the documentation as part of the Technical Writing team’s regularly scheduled tasks.

Removing version-specific upgrade pages

Version-specific upgrade pages are in the doc/update/versions/ directory.

We don’t remove version-specific upgrade pages immediately for a major milestone. This gives users time to upgrade from older versions.

For example, doc/update/versions/14_changes.md should be removed during the .3 milestone. Therefore 14_changes.md are removed in GitLab 17.3.

Instead of removing the unsupported page:

• Add a note with a date three months in the future to ensure the page is removed during the monthly maintenance task.
• Do not add Removed to the title.

If the X_changes.md page contains relative links to other sections that are removed as part of the versions cleanup, the docs-lint links job might fail. You can replace those relative links with an archived version. Choose the latest minor version of the unsupported version to be removed.