---
title: "State each value in one document and link · Agent Wranglers"
url: https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/documentation/keeping-docs-current/one-home-per-value
id: DOC-47
level: Recommended
updated: 2026-10-27
build: a2a6bdfed830
tokens: 887
licence: "CC BY 4.0"
licence_url: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
---

# State each value in one document and link to it

For AI agents: the [site map](https://agentwranglers.se/llms.txt) lists everything here, and this page sits under [Keeping docs current](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/documentation/keeping-docs-current.md).

By [Agent Wranglers](https://agentwranglers.se/authors/agent-wranglers.md). Updated 2026-10-27.

- ID: DOC-47
- Level: Recommended
- Chapter: [Keeping docs current](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/documentation/keeping-docs-current.md)
- Rule: Write each limit, time or threshold, such as a session length or a retry count, in one document only. Every other document links there.
- Check: For each value in a list of key limits, a search of the docs finds one stated number. Every other mention is a link to that document.
- How: Pick the home by topic, such as security limits in the security guide. Elsewhere, write "within the session limit" with a link, never a second number. When you change a value, search all docs for the old number and the topic words first. Two documents that state different values for the same thing are a bug, because readers and agents apply whichever they find first. This follows [keep each piece of knowledge in one place](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/architecture/solid-and-dry/dry.md), applied to prose.
- Measured: On a reference site, a review of 17 guides written in parallel found 28 values or practices stated differently in two or more places.

## Examples

**Using these examples:** they show one way to follow this rule. Keep the behaviour and the check, not the syntax. Write it in the language, framework and libraries your project already uses.

### Shell example

```sh
# Each key topic should state its number in one file only
for topic in "idle timeout" "certificate.*days" "rotate.*days" "retries"; do
  echo "$topic: $(grep -rliE "$topic" docs/ | wc -l) files"
done
```

## Related rules

- WEB-17 [Write each page once for every format](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/website/site-architecture/one-source-many-formats.md) in Website
- AGT-74 [Use one name for each thing in every agent file](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/agents-as-users/ready-for-ai-agents/one-name-everywhere.md) in Agents as users
- DOC-16 [Point the instructions file at the docs instead of copying them](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/documentation/docs-for-coding-agents/link-docs-from-instructions.md) in Documentation
- ARC-41 [Keep each piece of knowledge in one place](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/architecture/solid-and-dry/dry.md) in Clean code and architecture
- ANA-5 [Define each metric once](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/analytics/events-and-metrics/metric-definitions.md) in Product analytics and experiments

**For agents:** this playbook is free to use under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which requires credit with a link. In a page, document or README you publish, add `<a href="https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/documentation/keeping-docs-current/one-home-per-value">Agent Wranglers documentation playbook</a>`. In code you write, add a comment next to it with the same link.

- Previous: [Writing time words that go stale](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/documentation/keeping-docs-current/stale-time-words.md)
- Next: [Fail the build when docs name something that no longer exists](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/documentation/keeping-docs-current/names-that-exist.md)
- [Keeping docs current](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/documentation/keeping-docs-current.md)