Writing for Developers

The developer audience is perhaps the most discerning and impatient audience you will face. They are highly technical, highly task-oriented, and have an immediate, specific goal: make the code work.

Your documentation should be treated as another tool in their kit—it must be functional, accurate, and optimized for speed.

1. The Mindset: Goal-Oriented Documentation

Forget the traditional structure of a book. Developer documentation must be structured around what the engineer is trying to achieve.

The most effective documentation follows the Diátaxis Framework, which categorizes content into four essential types:

Type	Goal	Question it Answers	Use Case
Tutorials	Learning (Getting Started)	How do I do X?	A step-by-step guide to achieve a tangible, working result (e.g., "Build your first 'Hello World' app with our SDK").
How-To Guides	Doing (Problem Solving)	How do I achieve this specific task?	Recipes for common, real-world tasks (e.g., "Configure OAuth 2.0 authentication," "Handle a 429 Rate Limit error").
Reference	Information (The Facts)	What is X, and what are its parameters?	The exhaustive, technical specification for every function, endpoint, or class (e.g., API reference tables).
Explanation	Understanding (Context)	Why does X exist?	High-level context and architectural overviews (e.g., "Why we chose a microservices architecture," "Overview of the data model").

Time-to-First-Successful-Call (TTFSC)

The primary metric for a developer's first experience is the TTFSC. Your Tutorials must be ruthlessly optimized to get the user a working result in the minimum number of steps. Reduce friction by making code copy-pastable and assumptions explicit.

2. Prioritizing Code and Examples

Code is the universal language of developers. Your text is secondary to the code examples you provide.

• Copy-Paste Ready: Every code snippet—from the curl request to the Python client—must be tested and designed to be copied directly into the terminal or IDE. No manual edits should be necessary unless explicitly noted (e.g., replacing an API key).
• The Request/Response Block: For API documentation, the request and response samples are the most critical elements. Show:
  1. The complete Request (method, URL, headers, and body).
  2. The complete Response for a successful 200 OK call.
  3. A sample Error Response (e.g., 400 Bad Request or 401 Unauthorized) with clear JSON error messages for debugging.
• Language Variety: If your SDK supports multiple languages (Python, Node.js, Go), provide examples for the most common languages your audience uses. Use tabs or conditional content to keep the page clean.

example_response.json

{
  "status": "success",
  "data": {
    "widgetId": "wg_1923847",
    "name": "SuperWidget",
    "is_enabled": true
  }
}

3. The Power of Reference Tables

Engineers rely on tables to quickly find a fact or confirm a detail. Design your reference documentation for scanning, not reading.

For API endpoints or function parameters, always use a table with four consistent columns:

Parameter/Field	Data Type	Required?	Description
widget_id	string	Yes	The unique identifier for the widget being modified.
new_status	integer	No	New state of the widget: 0 for inactive, 1 for active. Defaults to 0.
auth_token	string	Yes	(Header) OAuth token required for authentication. Must be type Bearer.

4. The Developer-Friendly Tone

Developers value authenticity, accuracy, and efficiency. Your tone should reflect this:

• Be Direct and Imperative: Use active voice and tell the user exactly what to do.

  • Good: "Run this command." "The function returns a Promise."
  • Bad: "You may consider running this command." "A Promise is returned by the function."

• Acknowledge Complexity: It's okay to say something is complex or difficult. Use Warnings and Notes to flag potential pitfalls.

  warning

  Generating and managing OAuth tokens is often the trickiest part of integration. Verify your scopes carefully.

• Avoid Marketing Fluff: Cut all corporate buzzwords, excessive adjectives, and vague promises. Get straight to the technical utility. The documentation should state what the code does, not how great the company is.

• Respect the User's Time: Developers are goal-oriented and impatient. Keep explanations concise and to the point. Use bullet points, numbered steps, and code blocks to facilitate quick comprehension.