Content Types

Content Type is a single-select enum on each document in the Content Register. It is one of exactly nine values, split into two tiers:

• Free — public, fully indexable, build topical authority.
• Premium — gated behind a SureMembers membership and used for monetization.

Free Tier

Content Type	Meaning	Best For	Example
cheatsheet	Compact syntax/command reference. Assumes you already know the concept — you just need the exact command or syntax	code, devops	Git Quick Reference, Python Quick Reference
reference	Practical summary of a topic or its elements. Broader than a cheatsheet — explains the pieces and when to use them, still scannable	demo, ai	Article Body Styling Sample
checklist	A repeatable, ordered process you follow step by step. Answers "what do I do, in what order?"	seo, devops	Keyword Research Checklist
glossary	Term → definition entries. Answers "what is X?" — one term per H2, definition-first (1–3 sentences), ~8–15 terms, ~250–450 words	code, ai, seo	a Python Glossary (module, package, duck typing…)

Premium Tier

Content Type	Meaning	Best For	Example
prompt	A reusable, copy-paste AI prompt or prompt pattern. Answers "give me a prompt that reliably produces X"	ai	Data Extraction Prompt, Code Review Prompt
snippet	A single, ready-to-run code block with minimal context. Answers "give me the exact code for one task"	code	Python Retry-With-Backoff Snippet
pattern	A reusable approach to a recurring problem, with structure and rationale. Deeper than a snippet, less prose than a tutorial	code, devops	Idempotent Deploy Pattern, Config-as-Code Pattern
template	A complete, copy-paste starting file or scaffold (Docker Compose, nginx conf, CI pipeline, systemd unit). Answers "give me a working starting point"	devops, code, security	Docker Compose Template, Cloudflare Worker Template
runbook	An ordered operational or incident procedure with verification steps. Answers "what do I do when this breaks?"	devops, security	Backup Restore Runbook, Certificate Rotation Runbook

Mental model: cheatsheet = "give me the syntax", reference = "summarize this topic", checklist = "walk me through the steps", glossary = "what does this word mean", prompt = "give me a prompt that works", snippet = "give me the code for one task", pattern = "show me the reusable approach", template = "give me a working starting file", runbook = "tell me what to do when it breaks".

Glossary format

A glossary is one term per H2, not a bold list under a single Terms heading. This gives each term a heading anchor (deep-linkable, surfaced in the page outline) and turns every term into a scannable section that answers what is X?. The body contract's rule — title is H1, body starts at H2 — makes ## Term fully compliant. See Article Body Elements → Glossary for the full template.

Rules:

• Each term = ## Term (sentence case, no trailing period).
• Definition-first: sentence 1 answers "what is it"; sentence 2 (optional) adds usage, command, or a relevant cross-link.
• No ## Terms wrapper heading — it becomes empty once terms are H2s. Add an optional lead-in paragraph before the first term instead.
• Keep 8–15 terms and roughly 250–450 words so every heading carries real definition content.
• Cross-link each term to the deepest existing post on that concept (descriptive anchor text, one target per term, no dead-ends). This builds the topical cluster that lets terms rank beyond the page's own keyword. See Glossary SEO.

Choosing a Type

Pick the type that matches the question the page answers:

• You already know the concept and just need the command → cheatsheet.
• You want a scannable explainer of the pieces and when to use them → reference.
• You want a repeatable, ordered process → checklist.
• You want one term, one definition → glossary.
• You want a reusable AI prompt → prompt.
• You want the exact code for one task → snippet.
• You want a reusable approach to a recurring problem → pattern.
• You want a complete copy-paste starting file → template.
• You want an operational procedure for an incident → runbook.

Where the Type Is Used

Place	Field / Value
content-inventory.csv	Content Type column — single select, one of the nine values
Markdown frontmatter	Required content_type: field on every document (e.g. content_type: cheatsheet). sync.py requires it and validate-inventory.py enforces it matches the CSV. It becomes _id86_content_type post meta on WordPress
new-doc.py	`--type cheatsheet
id86-publish-scheduled.sh / id86-push-published.sh	The register row drives publish; the type has no separate sync path

When scaffolding with scripts/new-doc.py, the generated Markdown frontmatter carries the type, for example:

content_type: cheatsheet

Author the body per the Article Body Elements contract regardless of the type — the type decides the page's shape and scope, not the Markdown elements allowed.

Tier vs Access

• Free types are public, indexed by search engines, and drive topical authority and traffic.
• Premium types (prompt, snippet, pattern, template, runbook) are gated by SureMembers and require a membership to view. They are the monetization surface; see Monetization & Disclosures.
• A premium document's excerpt and meta description remain visible so search can confirm the answer exists, but the full body requires membership.

Working Examples

Four live demo posts in the demo category exercise the free formats on a common topic (tmux), so the formats are directly comparable:

Content Type	Example Post	What it shows
cheatsheet	Tmux Cheatsheet	Keybinding and command tables, one action per row
reference	Tmux Reference	Explains the client–server model and when to use each feature
checklist	Tmux Setup Checklist	Ordered, checkable setup steps with a verification pass
glossary	Tmux Glossary	One term per H2, definition-first

Sources live at content/demo/DEM-000002-* … DEM-000005-* in the local mirror, and the matching rows are published in content-inventory.csv.

Note: the former faq type and its DEM-000006 tmux demo were retired when the taxonomy moved to the Free + Premium tiers.