styleguideline

A style guideline is a published document that specifies the conventions and standards to be followed within a particular context, such as writing, design, or software development. It is intended to promote consistency, readability, and a coherent identity across materials, products, and teams.

Common contexts include editorial style guides for authors, branding and UI style guides for visual identity, and coding style guides for source code and APIs. While a style guideline may exist as a single document, many organizations maintain evolving collections that link multiple guides and pattern libraries.

Typical content includes rules on language usage (grammar, punctuation, capitalization, terminology), tone and voice, citation and references; technical conventions (naming, formatting, testing, error handling); and design specifications (typography, color, layout, accessibility).

Development and governance: style guidelines are living documents updated by designated owners, with version control and review processes. Conformance is often encouraged through code linters, templates, design tokens, reviews, and onboarding.

Relationship to other artifacts: they may be part of a broader style system that includes component libraries and design systems; a style sheet is a subset focused on a single medium, while a style guide may cover multiple media.

Examples: editorial guides like the AP stylebook, Chicago Manual of Style; tech guides such as language-specific style guides (PEP 8, Google JavaScript Style Guide).