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CONTENT002 - No Placeholder Text

Placeholder text should be replaced with actual content.

Why This Rule Exists

Placeholder text like "Lorem ipsum", "TBD", or "coming soon" is a normal part of drafting, but it should not survive into published documentation. This rule flags a fixed set of common placeholder patterns so they can be caught before a book ships.

Examples

Incorrect

# Installation

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet.

# Configuration

This feature is TBD.

# Roadmap

This section is coming soon.

# API Reference

Insert content here.

Correct

# Installation

Run `cargo install mdbook-lint` to install the latest release.

# Configuration

Set `output.max_width` to control line wrapping in generated pages.

Other patterns the rule flags: TBA, TBC, under construction, work in progress, N/A, the literal word placeholder, [draft], [pending], foo bar baz, content goes here, your name here, a line that is only XXX, and a line that is only .... example.com in prose is flagged too, including under the default allow_example_urls = true, which exempts it only inside fenced code blocks.

Matches inside fenced code blocks and inline code spans are skipped by default, so a code sample showing TBD as a literal status value is not flagged:

Use `TBD` as the status value until the release date is set.

Configuration

[CONTENT002]
# Whether to scan inside fenced code blocks. Default: false.
check_code_blocks = false

# Whether `example.com` is exempt inside fenced code blocks when those are
# scanned. Has no effect unless check_code_blocks is true. Default: true.
allow_example_urls = true

check_code_blocks

With the default false, text inside fenced code blocks (and inline code spans) is never checked, so example commands or sample output containing words like TBD are left alone. Set it to true to also scan code blocks.

allow_example_urls

With the default true, example.com is still reported when it appears in prose (outside a code block); the option only affects whether it is skipped inside fenced code blocks once check_code_blocks is enabled. Under the default check_code_blocks = false those lines are never scanned anyway, so allow_example_urls does nothing at either value. The exemption also does not cover inline code spans: with check_code_blocks = true, a `https://example.com` span is flagged whichever way this option is set.

When to Disable

  • Working drafts where placeholder markers are intentional and temporary
  • Documentation that legitimately discusses these terms (for example, a writing-style guide that uses "lorem ipsum" as an example of placeholder text)

Rule Details

  • Rule ID: CONTENT002
  • Aliases: no-placeholder-text
  • Category: Content
  • Severity: Warning
  • Auto-fix: No
  • CONTENT001 - TODO, FIXME and similar markers left in prose
  • CONTENT003 - Chapters too short to be worth a page