[docs-scanner] Wasm documentation scope conflicts with deprecation status

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Assessment

Difficulty
2/5
Estimated time
1-3 hours
Newbie friendliness
72/100
Issue type
Documentation
Clarity
Mostly clear
Activity status
Active
Tech stack
docker, markdown
Domain
content, documentation

Research direction

Read content/manuals/desktop/features/wasm.md and check how the deprecation notice aligns with the setup, examples, tutorial, and troubleshooting sections. Choose a clear direction for the page, such as reducing usage instructions or adding migration guidance, based on the project’s current information. Done when the page gives readers consistent guidance about Wasm’s status and what to do.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Description

File: content/manuals/desktop/features/wasm.md

Issue

The page opens with a clear deprecation notice:

Wasm workloads are deprecated and will be removed in a future Docker Desktop release. This feature is no longer actively maintained.

However, the rest of the page provides extensive, detailed instructions for enabling and using Wasm workloads, including:

  • Complete setup instructions ("Turn on Wasm workloads")
  • Multiple usage examples with docker run and Docker Compose
  • A multi-service application tutorial with step-by-step instructions
  • Building and pushing Wasm modules
  • Detailed troubleshooting section
Why this matters

A reader encountering this page faces conflicting signals:

  1. The deprecation notice suggests they should not invest time in this feature
  2. The comprehensive documentation (setup, examples, tutorials, troubleshooting) suggests this is a fully-supported feature worth learning

This creates confusion about whether users should:

  • Ignore the feature entirely (suggested by deprecation)
  • Learn and use it (suggested by the extensive documentation)
  • Migrate away from it (not addressed)
Suggested fix

Given the deprecation status, consider one of these approaches:

Option 1: Minimal documentation

  • Keep only the deprecation notice and basic description
  • Remove detailed setup, usage examples, and troubleshooting
  • Add a brief note about what users should use instead (if applicable)

Option 2: Migration-focused documentation

  • Keep the deprecation notice prominent
  • Add a section explaining migration path or alternatives
  • Reduce the emphasis on setup/usage and increase emphasis on "if you're currently using this, here's what to do"

Option 3: Clarify the timeline

  • If the feature will remain available for a significant period, clarify this in the deprecation notice
  • Example: "Wasm workloads are deprecated and will be removed in Docker Desktop 5.0 (estimated Q2 2025). This feature is no longer actively maintained but remains available for existing users."

The current approach of "deprecated but here's how to use it extensively" sends mixed messages to readers.

Found by nightly documentation quality scanner

Dominant language
Markdown
Stars
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Forks
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Avg merge
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Merged PRs (30d)
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Getting set up

First steps

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  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

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