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:6: the abstract is declared as an ordinary 'Abstract' section heading. Use the '.. abstract::' directive instead so the abstract is captured in the technote metadata.

The line is the one the parsed document records for the heading, which in reStructuredText is the title’s adornment line.

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.