Welcome to the Downpatch Content Repository.
This repository contains all of the Markdown content that powers downpatch.com, including guides, documentation, and wiki pages. Every page on the site is stored here as plain text, making it easy for anyone to contribute using Git and Markdown.
Downpatch is built around a few simple principles:
- Keep all content open source.
- Make contributing approachable for everyone.
- Store content as clean, human-readable Markdown.
- Separate content from presentation by using reusable Markdown components.
- Build a wiki that is easy to maintain, review, and expand over time.
The website automatically pulls content from this repository.
Content is:
- Cloned when the application starts.
- Automatically refreshed approximately once every hour.
Once your changes are merged into the main branch, they will be published automatically during the next refresh cycle.
All documentation lives inside the guide/ directory.
Example:
guide/
halo/
index.md
toc.yml
reach/
index.md
winter-contingency.md
oni-sword-base.md
Repository rules:
- Every folder should contain an
index.mdfile. - Nested folders are fully supported.
- URLs are generated directly from the folder structure.
- An
index.mdfile becomes the landing page for its folder.
For example:
guide/halo/index.md
becomes:
/guide/halo
while
guide/halo/reach/winter-contingency.md
becomes:
/guide/halo/reach/winter-contingency
Every Markdown page begins with YAML frontmatter. Frontmatter defines page metadata such as the title, navigation, hero image, external links, and level information.
Example:
---
title: Winter Contingency
description: Speedrun guide for Winter Contingency in Halo Reach.
game: Halo Reach
mission_number: Mission 1
map_name: m10.scenario
hero_image: /content/guide/halo/assets/wiki/winter-contingency.webp
leaderboard: https://haloruns.com/leaderboards/reach/solo/wc/Easy
discord: https://haloruns.com/discord
halopedia: https://www.halopedia.org/Winter_Contingency_(level)
previous_title:
previous_url:
next_title: ONI Sword Base
next_url: /guide/halo/reach/oni-sword-base
goal_beginner_easy: 6:45–7:45
goal_beginner_legendary: 8:00–10:00
goal_beginner_laso:
goal_intermediate_easy: 5:00–6:00
goal_intermediate_legendary: 5:30–6:30
goal_intermediate_laso:
goal_world_easy: 4:25–4:45
goal_world_legendary: 4:50–5:20
goal_world_laso:
goal_il_easy: 4:12
goal_il_legendary: 4:35
goal_il_laso:
---| Field | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
title |
✓ | Displayed page title. |
description |
✓ | Meta description used for search engines and social sharing. |
game |
Game the guide belongs to. | |
mission_number |
Mission number within the game. | |
map_name |
Internal scenario/map name. |
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
hero_image |
Large banner image displayed at the top of the guide. |
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
leaderboard |
HaloRuns leaderboard for the level. |
discord |
Community Discord invite. |
halopedia |
Related Halopedia article. |
These fields create the Previous / Next navigation at the bottom of a guide.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
previous_title |
Previous guide title. |
previous_url |
Previous guide URL. |
next_title |
Next guide title. |
next_url |
Next guide URL. |
Goal times populate the Level Information card shown on mission pages.
Supported fields:
goal_beginner_easy
goal_beginner_legendary
goal_beginner_laso
goal_intermediate_easy
goal_intermediate_legendary
goal_intermediate_laso
goal_advanced_easy
goal_advanced_legendary
goal_advanced_laso
goal_world_easy
goal_world_legendary
goal_world_laso
Leave any field blank if no goal time is available.
Downpatch supports standard GitHub Flavored Markdown in addition to several custom components.
# Heading 1
## Heading 2
### Heading 3- Item
- Item
- Item[HaloRuns](https://haloruns.com)Callouts are useful for highlighting important information without interrupting the flow of a guide.
Supported callout types:
notetipimportantwarningcaution
Example:
> [!NOTE]
> This is a note.
> [!TIP]
> This is a tip.
> [!IMPORTANT]
> This is important.
> [!WARNING]
> This is a warning.
> [!CAUTION]
> This is a caution.Strategy Cards are used to document routes, tricks, skips, movement techniques, and other speedrunning strategies in a consistent format.
Always leave a blank line between the final body text and the component's closing tag.
Example:
:::strategy
title: Gate Clip
difficulty: Advanced
time-save: 5 seconds
compared-to: Roof Route
platform: MCC
input: Controller
recommended: IL Only
consistency: 80%
Gate Clip is currently the fastest IL method to reach Falcon Grab.
- Works on Easy and Legendary
- Used in top Full Game runs
- Saves approximately 5 seconds
:::| Field | Description |
|---|---|
title |
Strategy name |
difficulty |
Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, IL Only, or Experimental |
time-save |
Estimated amount of time saved |
compared-to |
Strategy this one improves upon |
platform |
MCC, Xbox 360, Original Xbox, etc. |
input |
Controller, Mouse & Keyboard, or Both |
recommended |
Intended use (Full Game, IL Only, LASO, etc.) |
consistency |
Estimated success rate (0–100%) |
Only include fields that are applicable to the strategy.
YouTube Embeds
Embed YouTube videos anywhere in a page using the following syntax:
<youtube id="cHob5ARzWks"></youtube>It also supports the below syntax as well:
<youtube
url="https://youtu.be/cHob5ARzWks?t=82"
title="Gate Clip Tutorial">
</youtube>The video will automatically be embedded into the page.
MP4 Video Embeds
Local MP4 videos can be embedded directly into a guide.
Example:
<figure>
<video src="/content/guide/halo/assets/wiki/Barrier%20Jumps.mp4" title="Barrier Jump Route" controls=""><a href="/content/guide/halo/assets/wiki/Barrier%20Jumps.mp4">Video</a></video>
<figcaption>Barrier Jump Route</figcaption>
</figure>Video recommendations
• Use .mp4 format • Compress videos for web playback • Store videos in assets/videos
Example directory:
content/
└── guide/
└── halo/
└── assets/
└── videos/
└── gate-clip.mp4Images
Images use standard Markdown syntax.
Recommended image format:
.webpImage guidelines:
Use lowercase filenames. Use hyphens instead of spaces. Keep filenames descriptive. Optimize images before uploading.
Example:
/content/guide/halo/assets/wiki/gate-clip.webp
Uploading AssetsImages and videos should be committed alongside the guide that references them.
Recommended folder structure:
content/
└── guide/
└── halo/
└── assets/
├── wiki/
│ ├── gate-clip.webp
│ └── winter-contingency.webp
│
└── videos/
├── gate-clip.mp4
└── falcon-grab.mp4Keeping assets organized by game makes them easier to maintain, avoids duplicate uploads, and keeps the repository consistent.
Contributions of all sizes are welcome. Whether you're fixing a typo, adding a new strategy, or writing an entirely new guide, the process is the same.
Click Fork in the top-right corner of this repository to create your own copy under your GitHub account.
Clone your fork to your local machine.
git clone https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/content.gitThen enter the repository.
cd contentCreate a new branch for your changes.
git checkout -b improve-gate-clipChoose a descriptive branch name that summarizes your work.
Examples:
fix-winter-contingencyadd-halo-2-guideupdate-gate-clip
Edit the Markdown files, add any required images or videos, and verify that your formatting is correct.
Before committing, review your changes:
git statusStage all modified files.
git add .Or stage individual files.
git add guide/halo/reach/winter-contingency.mdCreate a commit describing what you changed.
git commit -m "Improve Gate Clip strategy"Good commit messages describe the change, not the process.
Examples:
- Improve Gate Clip strategy
- Add ONI Sword Base guide
- Fix Winter Contingency typo
- Update goal times
Push your branch to GitHub.
git push origin improve-gate-clipOpen your repository on GitHub.
GitHub will usually display a Compare & Pull Request button after you push your branch.
If not:
- Open the Pull Requests tab.
- Click New Pull Request.
- Choose your branch.
- Target the
mainbranch. - Add a short description of your changes.
- Submit the Pull Request.
Maintainers may request changes before merging your Pull Request.
Once approved and merged into the main branch, your changes will automatically appear on downpatch.com during the next content refresh (approximately every hour).
If you're unsure about formatting, Markdown syntax, or repository structure:
- Look at an existing guide for examples.
- Open a GitHub Issue.
- Ask in the Haloruns Discord.
We appreciate every contribution, no matter how small.