abstract-uses-directive (TN202)

Group	Default severity
Content	Error

The abstract must be declared with the abstract directive, not as an ordinary section titled “Abstract”. A heading renders a section on the page, but only the directive captures the abstract as technote metadata — for structured metadata, document listings, and the page’s og:description. This layout is common in technotes migrated from older formats, which is why the rule reports the heading’s exact location.

Example of a failing technote

index.rst

################
A technote title
################

Abstract
========

One or two sentences summarizing the technote.

[TN202] index.rst:5: the abstract is declared as an ordinary 'Abstract' section heading. Use the '.. abstract::' directive instead so the abstract is captured in the technote metadata.

How to fix it

Replace the heading with the directive, indenting the abstract text as directive content:

index.rst

################
A technote title
################

.. abstract::

   One or two sentences summarizing the technote.

In a Markdown (MyST) technote the same fix uses the fenced directive:

index.md

```{abstract}
One or two sentences summarizing the technote.
```

See also

• TN201 — no abstract of any form was found.

• TN204 — the directive exists but has no content.

• Migrate legacy reStructuredText/Sphinx technical notes — the migration tool converts legacy technotes to the directive form.