Style guide license
The license for the Developer Experience style guide, what it covers, what it excludes, and what it means for teams that adopt the guide.
Version 1.0. Last updated: September 7, 2026
The Developer Experience style guide, published at docs.developerexperience.com/style-guide/, is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0). This page states what the license covers, what it does not cover, and how it applies to teams that adopt the guide. It is a summary. The license deed and its legal code govern.
What is licensed §
The licensed material is the style guide as published on the style guide pages of docs.developerexperience.com:
- The rule text
- The rationales
- The examples
- The word list
Under CC BY-SA 4.0 you may copy, redistribute, and adapt this material for any purpose, including commercial use, provided that you give attribution and that you license any adaptation you share under the same terms.
What is not licensed §
The license covers the online guide only. The following are not covered by it:
- The guide’s unpublished research evidence records (the evidence directory of the guide’s source repository).
- StyleOps code, prompts, templates, and configuration.
- The machine-readable guide files delivered with StyleOps.
- Annotations that are not displayed on the licensed pages.
StyleOps software, the machine-readable guide files, and customer materials are licensed under the StyleOps Customer Agreement. Unpublished material is not licensed for any use.
Documentation written by following the guide §
Documentation you write by applying the guide is your work. It is not an adaptation of the guide, and this license places no obligation on it.
Attribution §
When you copy or adapt the guide’s text, attribute it in a way that fits the medium. A suggested form:
Adapted from the Developer Experience style guide by Developer Experience, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
State whether you changed the material. Do not suggest that Developer Experience endorses you or your use.
Adoption questions §
Answers to the questions teams ask most when they adopt the guide.
Are documents written by following the guide adaptations of it? §
No. A document that follows the guide’s rules is your own work, not an adaptation of the guide. The license does not apply to it.
Does my project’s code or documentation inherit CC BY-SA? §
No. Share-alike applies only to adaptations of the guide’s text that you share. Following the guide does not make your code or your documentation share-alike.
Do I have to credit Developer Experience for following the rules? §
No. Attribution is required only when you copy or adapt the guide’s text, not when you follow its rules.
Can I copy or adapt the guide’s text? §
Yes. If you copy or adapt the guide’s text (rules, rationales, examples, or the word list) and share the result, give attribution and license the result under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Are rules I write in my own words covered? §
No. The license covers the guide’s text, not its editorial positions. A rule you write in your own words is yours, even when it reaches the same conclusion as the guide.
Do StyleOps files use this license? §
No. StyleOps offline files, tools, and unpublished evidence use separate terms. StyleOps software, the machine-readable guide files, and customer materials are covered by the StyleOps Customer Agreement, and unpublished evidence carries no public license.