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require-sidebar-category-label

Require a non-empty label for explicit Docusaurus sidebar category objects.

Targeted pattern scopeโ€‹

This rule focuses on sidebars.* files and specifically on explicit longhand category objects.

It targets category objects that declare fields such as:

  • type: "category"
  • items

and expects them to also declare:

  • label

What this rule reportsโ€‹

This rule reports explicit sidebar category objects that omit label or resolve it to an empty static string.

Why this rule existsโ€‹

Docusaurus category items are named navigation groups.

When an explicit category object has no label, the sidebar structure becomes ambiguous and drifts away from the documented category schema.

The shorthand category syntax already encodes the label in the object key, so this rule focuses only on explicit longhand category objects.

โŒ Incorrectโ€‹

export default {
 docs: [
  {
   type: "category",
   items: ["introduction"],
  },
 ],
};

โœ… Correctโ€‹

export default {
 docs: [
  {
   type: "category",
   label: "Guides",
   items: ["introduction"],
  },
 ],
};

Behavior and migration notesโ€‹

This rule reports only. It does not autofix.

Choosing the right category label is a content decision that depends on the sidebar's information architecture.

Additional examplesโ€‹

โœ… Correct โ€” shorthand categories already carry their labelโ€‹

export default {
 docs: [
  {
   Guides: ["introduction"],
  },
 ],
};

ESLint flat config exampleโ€‹

import docusaurus2 from "eslint-plugin-docusaurus-2";

export default [docusaurus2.configs.recommended];

When not to use itโ€‹

Do not use this rule if your project intentionally permits explicit longhand category objects without labels and you do not want linting to enforce the documented category schema.

Rule catalog ID: R026

Further readingโ€‹