HDFGroup · brtnfld · Mar 20, 2026 · Mar 20, 2026 · jhendersonHDF · Mar 20, 2026
@@ -229,7 +229,7 @@ if (HDF5_PACK_EXAMPLES)
   )
   install (
       FILES
-          ${HDF5_SOURCE_DIR}/release_docs/USING_CMake_Examples.md
+          ${HDF5_SOURCE_DIR}/doc/USING_CMake_Examples.md
       DESTINATION ${HDF5_INSTALL_DATA_DIR}
       COMPONENT hdfdocuments
   )
@@ -268,40 +268,40 @@ if (NOT HDF5_EXTERNALLY_CONFIGURED)
       DESTINATION ${HDF5_INSTALL_DATA_DIR}
       COMPONENT hdfdocuments
   )
-  if (EXISTS "${HDF5_SOURCE_DIR}/release_docs" AND IS_DIRECTORY "${HDF5_SOURCE_DIR}/release_docs")
+  if (EXISTS "${HDF5_SOURCE_DIR}/doc" AND IS_DIRECTORY "${HDF5_SOURCE_DIR}/doc")
     set (release_files
-        ${HDF5_SOURCE_DIR}/release_docs/USING_HDF5_CMake.md
+        ${HDF5_SOURCE_DIR}/doc/USING_HDF5_CMake.md
         ${HDF5_SOURCE_DIR}/release_docs/CHANGELOG.md
     )
     if (WIN32)
       set (release_files
           ${release_files}
-          ${HDF5_SOURCE_DIR}/release_docs/USING_HDF5_VS.md
+          ${HDF5_SOURCE_DIR}/doc/USING_HDF5_VS.md
       )
     endif ()
     if (HDF5_PACK_INSTALL_DOCS)
       set (release_files
           ${release_files}
-          ${HDF5_SOURCE_DIR}/release_docs/INSTALL_CMake.md
+          ${HDF5_SOURCE_DIR}/doc/INSTALL_CMake.md
           ${HDF5_SOURCE_DIR}/release_docs/HISTORY-1_8.txt
-          ${HDF5_SOURCE_DIR}/release_docs/INSTALL
+          ${HDF5_SOURCE_DIR}/doc/INSTALL.md
       )
       if (WIN32)
         set (release_files
             ${release_files}
-            ${HDF5_SOURCE_DIR}/release_docs/INSTALL_Windows.md
+            ${HDF5_SOURCE_DIR}/doc/INSTALL_Windows.md
         )
       endif ()
       if (CYGWIN)
         set (release_files
             ${release_files}
-            ${HDF5_SOURCE_DIR}/release_docs/INSTALL_Cygwin.md
+            ${HDF5_SOURCE_DIR}/doc/INSTALL_Cygwin.md
         )
       endif ()
       if (HDF5_ENABLE_PARALLEL)
         set (release_files
             ${release_files}
-            ${HDF5_SOURCE_DIR}/release_docs/README_HPC.md
+            ${HDF5_SOURCE_DIR}/doc/README_HPC.md
         )
       endif ()
     endif ()

@@ -328,7 +328,7 @@ set (HDF5_JAVA_JSRC_DIR            ${HDF5_SOURCE_DIR}/java/jsrc)
 set (HDF5_JAVA_LOGGING_JAR         ${HDF5_SOURCE_DIR}/java/lib/slf4j-api-2.0.16.jar)
 set (HDF5_JAVA_LOGGING_NOP_JAR     ${HDF5_SOURCE_DIR}/java/lib/ext/slf4j-nop-2.0.16.jar)
 set (HDF5_JAVA_LOGGING_SIMPLE_JAR  ${HDF5_SOURCE_DIR}/java/lib/ext/slf4j-simple-2.0.16.jar)
-set (HDF5_DOXYGEN_DIR              ${HDF5_SOURCE_DIR}/doxygen)
+set (HDF5_DOXYGEN_DIR              ${HDF5_SOURCE_DIR}/doc/doxygen)
 
 set (HDF5_SRC_INCLUDE_DIRS ${HDF5_SRC_DIR})
 
@@ -1168,7 +1168,7 @@ if (HDF5_BUILD_DOC AND EXISTS "${HDF5_DOXYGEN_DIR}" AND IS_DIRECTORY "${HDF5_DOX
     # the case where Doxygen is not found or HDF5_BUILD_DOC is OFF.
     add_custom_target (doxygen)
 
-    add_subdirectory (doxygen)
+    add_subdirectory (doc/doxygen)
   else ()
     message (WARNING "Doxygen needs to be installed to generate the doxygen documentation")
   endif ()

@@ -145,8 +145,8 @@ Here's where to find things in the source tree:
 * **`java/`**: JNI/Java language wrapper
 * **`bin/`**: Build scripts and miscellaneous tools
 * **`config/`**: Configuration files for CMake
-* **`doxygen/`**: Doxygen build files and documentation
-* **`release_docs/`**: Install instructions and release notes
+* **`doc/`**: User guides, installation instructions, and Doxygen API documentation
+* **`release_docs/`**: Changelogs, version history, and release process
 * **`utils/`**: Small utility programs
 
 ---
@@ -245,7 +245,7 @@ Use HDF5's internal memory management instead of direct `malloc`/`free`:
    - Update documentation as needed.
 
 4. **Build and test thoroughly**
-   - Follow build instructions in `release_docs/INSTALL*` files.
+   - Follow build instructions in `doc/INSTALL*` files.
    - Ensure all tests pass.
 
 5. **Submit a pull request (PR)**

@@ -25,11 +25,11 @@ tools, and services at [The HDF Group's website](https://www.hdfgroup.org/).
 
 ## Quick Start
 
-- **New to HDF5?** Start with the [INSTALL.md](release_docs/INSTALL.md) guide for compilation and installation instructions.
+- **New to HDF5?** Start with the [INSTALL.md](doc/INSTALL.md) guide for compilation and installation instructions.
 
-- **Ready to build?** See [INSTALL_CMake.md](release_docs/INSTALL_CMake.md) for CMake-based builds.
+- **Ready to build?** See [INSTALL_CMake.md](doc/INSTALL_CMake.md) for CMake-based builds.
 
-- **Running on HPC?** Check out [README_HPC.md](release_docs/README_HPC.md) for parallel HDF5 configuration.
+- **Running on HPC?** Check out [README_HPC.md](doc/README_HPC.md) for parallel HDF5 configuration.
 
 ## Table of Contents
 
@@ -56,17 +56,17 @@ to the features and updates included in this release of the library.
 
 ### Platform-Specific Guides
 
-Several files in the [release_docs/][u4] directory provide platform-specific details:
+Several files in the [doc/][u4] directory provide platform-specific details:
 
 | File | Description |
 |------|-------------|
-| [INSTALL](release_docs/INSTALL.md) | General compilation and installation instructions (start here) |
-| [INSTALL_CMake.md](release_docs/INSTALL_CMake.md) | Building with CMake |
-| [README_HPC.md](release_docs/README_HPC.md) | Building and configuring Parallel HDF5 on HPC systems |
-| [INSTALL_Windows.md](release_docs/INSTALL_Windows.md) | Windows installation |
-| [INSTALL_Cygwin.md](release_docs/INSTALL_Cygwin.md) | Cygwin installation |
-| [USING_HDF5_CMake.md](release_docs/USING_HDF5_CMake.md) | Building HDF5 applications with CMake |
-| [USING_CMake_Examples.md](release_docs/USING_CMake_Examples.md) | Building and testing HDF5 examples with CMake |
+| [INSTALL](doc/INSTALL.md) | General compilation and installation instructions (start here) |
+| [INSTALL_CMake.md](doc/INSTALL_CMake.md) | Building with CMake |
+| [README_HPC.md](doc/README_HPC.md) | Building and configuring Parallel HDF5 on HPC systems |
+| [INSTALL_Windows.md](doc/INSTALL_Windows.md) | Windows installation |
+| [INSTALL_Cygwin.md](doc/INSTALL_Cygwin.md) | Cygwin installation |
+| [USING_HDF5_CMake.md](doc/USING_HDF5_CMake.md) | Building HDF5 applications with CMake |
+| [USING_CMake_Examples.md](doc/USING_CMake_Examples.md) | Building and testing HDF5 examples with CMake |
 
 ## Help and Support
 
@@ -173,5 +173,5 @@ If you use HDF5 in your research, please cite it. This repository includes a [`C
 
 [u1]: https://github.com/HDFGroup/hdf5/blob/develop/release_docs/CHANGELOG.md
 [u2]: https://github.com/HDFGroup/hdf5/blob/develop/release_docs/img/release-schedule.png
-[u3]: https://github.com/HDFGroup/hdf5/blob/develop/doxygen/img/HDF5.png
-[u4]: https://github.com/HDFGroup/hdf5/blob/develop/release_docs
+[u3]: https://github.com/HDFGroup/hdf5/blob/develop/doc/doxygen/img/HDF5.png
+[u4]: https://github.com/HDFGroup/hdf5/blob/develop/doc
@@ -95,7 +95,7 @@ HDF5-specific practices:
 - **Artifact Verification:** All binaries and source tarballs on [GitHub Releases](https://github.com/HDFGroup/hdf5/releases) include SHA-256 checksums. Users should verify downloaded artifacts against these checksums.
 - **SBOM:** We provide CycloneDX SBOM fragments for core, tools, and plugins where applicable.
 - **Fuzzing:** Continuous fuzzing of HDF5 file parsing and API entry points via OSS-Fuzz.
-- **Build from Source:** General build instructions are available in [release_docs/INSTALL](release_docs/INSTALL).
+- **Build from Source:** General build instructions are available in [doc/INSTALL.md](doc/INSTALL.md).
 
 ---
 

@@ -487,7 +487,7 @@ sub create_doxygen_cmake ($) {
 
     # Output to doxygen directory (relative to src/)
     my $doxygen_dir = $prefix;
-    $doxygen_dir =~ s/src\/?$/doxygen\//;   # Replace "src/" with "doxygen/"
+    $doxygen_dir =~ s/src\/?$/doc\/doxygen\//;   # Replace "src/" with "doc/doxygen/"
 
     # Create doxygen directory if it doesn't exist
     if ($doxygen_dir ne "" && ! -d $doxygen_dir) {
@@ -549,7 +549,7 @@ for $file (@ARGV) {
     # Create header files
     print "Generating 'H5version.h'\n";
     create_public($prefix);
-    print "Generating 'doxygen/H5version_doxygen.cmake'\n";
+    print "Generating 'doc/doxygen/H5version_doxygen.cmake'\n";
     create_doxygen_cmake($prefix);
 }
 
@@ -21,11 +21,11 @@ This directory contains a few important things:
 * Example install scripts (in `examples`)
 * Installation support files (in `install`)
 
-CMake is documented in the following in the root's `release_docs` folder files:
-
-* [INSTALL.md](../release_docs/INSTALL.md)
-* [INSTALL_CMake.md](../release_docs/INSTALL_CMake.md)
-* [USING_HDF5_CMake.md](../release_docs/USING_HDF5_CMake.md)
-* [USING_HDF5_VS.md](../release_docs/USING_HDF5_VS.md)
-* [INSTALL_Windows.md](../release_docs/INSTALL_Windows.md)
-* [USING_CMake_Examples.md](../release_docs/USING_CMake_Examples.md)
+CMake is documented in the following files in the `doc/` directory:
+
+* [INSTALL.md](../doc/INSTALL.md)
+* [INSTALL_CMake.md](../doc/INSTALL_CMake.md)
+* [USING_HDF5_CMake.md](../doc/USING_HDF5_CMake.md)
+* [USING_HDF5_VS.md](../doc/USING_HDF5_VS.md)
+* [INSTALL_Windows.md](../doc/INSTALL_Windows.md)
+* [USING_CMake_Examples.md](../doc/USING_CMake_Examples.md)
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ CMake builds include a number of CMake specific files for support of CMake's fin
 
 ## Introduction
 The table below shows the equivalent CMake build options that match those from Autotools. See the
-[release_docs/INSTALL_CMake.md](./INSTALL_CMake.md) file for more information on the CMake build system and options.
+[INSTALL_CMake.md](./INSTALL_CMake.md) file for more information on the CMake build system and options.
 
 ## Autotools to CMake Options
 | Autotools Build Options | CMake Build Options | Notes |

@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@ The HDF Group provides source code and pre-compiled binaries from the HDF5 GitHu
 
 ### 3.1. Build and Install HDF5 Libraries and Tools with CMake
 
-See the [release_docs/INSTALL_CMake.md](./INSTALL_CMake.md) file for detailed instructions.
+See the [INSTALL_CMake.md](./INSTALL_CMake.md) file for detailed instructions.
 
 ## 4. Quick Start Presets
 
@@ -91,7 +91,7 @@ The above example will create a `build` folder in the source parent directory, w
 
 ### 4.3. Customization
 
-See the HDF5 documentation for more on presets, especially the presets section in the [release_docs/INSTALL_CMake.md](./INSTALL_CMake.md) file.
+See the HDF5 documentation for more on presets, especially the presets section in the [INSTALL_CMake.md](./INSTALL_CMake.md) file.
 
 ### 4.4. See Also
 

@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@
 <a id="section-i"></a>
 ## I. Preconditions
 
-* Refer to [release_docs/INSTALL.md](./INSTALL.md) for preconditions and instructions for building HDF5.
+* Refer to [INSTALL.md](./INSTALL.md) for preconditions and instructions for building HDF5.
 
 ---
 
@@ -148,7 +148,7 @@ If the `aws-c-s3` library is installed to a non-standard location, the environme
 CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH=<install-path> cmake -DHDF5_ENABLE_ROS3_VFD=ON ..
 ```
 
-Refer to [release_docs/INSTALL_CMake.md](./INSTALL_CMake.md) for more general instructions on building HDF5 with CMake.
+Refer to [INSTALL_CMake.md](./INSTALL_CMake.md) for more general instructions on building HDF5 with CMake.
 
 ---
 

@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ if (DOXYGEN_FOUND)
   set (DOXYGEN_OPTIMIZE_OUTPUT_FOR_C YES)
   set (DOXYGEN_MACRO_EXPANSION YES)
   set (DOXYGEN_OUTPUT_DIRECTORY ${HDF5_BINARY_DIR}/hdf5lib_docs)
-  set (DOXYGEN_EXAMPLES_DIRECTORY "${HDF5_DOXYGEN_DIR}/dox/cookbook ${HDF5_DOXYGEN_DIR}/examples ${HDF5_SRC_DIR} ${HDF5_SOURCE_DIR}/release_docs ${HDF5_TEST_SRC_DIR}")
+  set (DOXYGEN_EXAMPLES_DIRECTORY "${HDF5_DOXYGEN_DIR}/dox/cookbook ${HDF5_DOXYGEN_DIR}/examples ${HDF5_SRC_DIR} ${HDF5_SOURCE_DIR}/doc ${HDF5_TEST_SRC_DIR}")
   set (DOXYGEN_LAYOUT_FILE ${HDF5_DOXYGEN_DIR}/hdf5doxy_layout.xml)
   set (DOXYGEN_HTML_HEADER ${HDF5_DOXYGEN_DIR}/hdf5_header.html)
   set (DOXYGEN_HTML_FOOTER ${HDF5_DOXYGEN_DIR}/hdf5_footer.html)
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ if (DOXYGEN_FOUND)
   # get associated with the same underlying function.
   #
   # The versioned API macros are auto-generated from src/H5vers.txt by the
-  # bin/make_vers script, which creates doxygen/H5version_doxygen.cmake.
+  # bin/make_vers script, which creates doc/doxygen/H5version_doxygen.cmake.
   # This ensures the Doxygen configuration stays synchronized with the
   # actual default versions defined in src/H5version.h.
   set (_doxygen_predefined_entries
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ if (DOXYGEN_FOUND)
     "H5std_string=std::string"
     "H5G_link_t=H5L_type_t"
   )
-  # Load auto-generated versioned API macros from doxygen/H5version_doxygen.cmake
+  # Load auto-generated versioned API macros from doc/doxygen/H5version_doxygen.cmake
   include(${HDF5_DOXYGEN_DIR}/H5version_doxygen.cmake)
   list (JOIN _doxygen_predefined_entries " " DOXYGEN_PREDEFINED)
   set (DOXYGEN_WARN_AS_ERROR ${HDF5_DOXY_WARNINGS})

@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ See the \ref LBExamples for additional examples.
 
 \subsection cpp_building Building Applications
 
-Please refer to the release_docs/INSTALL_CMake.md file under the top directory of the HDF5 source code or <a href="https://\SRCURL/release_docs/INSTALL_CMake.md">INSTALL_CMake.md</a> on GitHub for information about installing, building, and testing the C++ API.
+Please refer to the doc/INSTALL_CMake.md file under the top directory of the HDF5 source code or <a href="https://\SRCURL/doc/INSTALL_CMake.md">INSTALL_CMake.md</a> on GitHub for information about installing, building, and testing the C++ API.
 
 
 <hr>

@@ -83,8 +83,8 @@ With CMake both libraries have to be explicitly enabled. The source code distrib
 Users can overwrite the defaults by using
  -DHDF5_ENABLE_SZIP_SUPPORT:BOOL=OFF -DHDF5_ENABLE_ZLIB_SUPPORT:BOOL=OFF
 with the “cmake –C” command. See the
-<a href="https://\SRCURL/release_docs/INSTALL_CMake.md">INSTALL_CMake.md</a> file
-under the release_docs directory in the HDF5 source distribution.
+<a href="https://\SRCURL/doc/INSTALL_CMake.md">INSTALL_CMake.md</a> file
+under the doc directory in the HDF5 source distribution.
 
 If compression is not requested or found at configuration time, the compression method is not
 registered with the library and cannot be applied when data is written or read. For example, the

@@ -777,7 +777,7 @@ if the library was built with C++ and Fortran.
 
 <h4>USING_HDF5_CMake.md:</h4>
 
-See <a href="https://\SRCURL/release_docs/USING_CMake_Examples.md">USING_CMake_Examples.md</a>.
+See <a href="https://\SRCURL/doc/USING_CMake_Examples.md">USING_CMake_Examples.md</a>.
 
 \section secLBCompilingVS Using Visual Studio
 
@@ -972,15 +972,15 @@ or on WINDOWS you may need to add the path to the bin folder to PATH.
 \section secLBCompilingCMake Compiling an Application with CMake
 
 \subsection subsecLBCompilingCMakeScripts CMake Scripts for Building Applications
-See <a href="https://\SRCURL/release_docs/USING_CMake_Examples.md">Using CMake to Build Applications</a> to build applications with different languages and options.
+See <a href="https://\SRCURL/doc/USING_CMake_Examples.md">Using CMake to Build Applications</a> to build applications with different languages and options.
 
 For a more complete script (and to help resolve issues) see the script provided with the HDF5 Examples project.
 
 \subsection subsecLBCompilingCMakeExamples HDF5 Examples
 The installed HDF5 can be verified by compiling the HDF5 Examples project, included with the CMake built HDF5 binaries
 in the share folder or you can go to the <a href="https://\SRCURL/HDF5Examples">HDF5 Examples</a> in the HDF5 github repository.
 
-Go into the share directory and follow the instructions in <a href="https://\SRCURL/release_docs/USING_CMake_Examples.md">Using CMake to Build Examples</a> to build the examples.
+Go into the share directory and follow the instructions in <a href="https://\SRCURL/doc/USING_CMake_Examples.md">Using CMake to Build Examples</a> to build the examples.
 
 In general, users must first set the HDF5_ROOT environment variable to the installed location of the CMake
 configuration files for HDF5.
@@ -998,7 +998,7 @@ For example, on Linux the following path might be set:
 \subsection subsecLBCompilingCMakeTroubless Troubleshooting CMake
 <h4>How do you use find_package with HDF5?</h4>
 To use find_package you will first need to make sure that HDF5_ROOT is set correctly. For setting this
-environment variable see the Preconditions in the <a href="https://\SRCURL/release_docs/USING_HDF5_CMake.md">USING_HDF5_CMake.md</a> file in the share directory.
+environment variable see the Preconditions in the <a href="https://\SRCURL/doc/USING_HDF5_CMake.md">USING_HDF5_CMake.md</a> file in the share directory.
 
 See the CMakeLists.txt file provided with these examples for how to use find_package with HDF5.
 

@@ -582,7 +582,7 @@ ctest -R "JUnitFFM" -V
 
 \par See Also
 \li \ref subsec_maven_artifacts for using pre-built Maven artifacts
-\li release_docs/INSTALL_CMake.md Section XIII for Java FFM testing details
+\li doc/INSTALL_CMake.md Section XIII for Java FFM testing details
 \li release_docs/README.md for comprehensive Java documentation
 \li HDF5Examples/JAVA for Java example programs
 

@@ -83,7 +83,7 @@ ABI/API compatibility reports between 1.14.6 and 1.14.5 [tar file](https://\RELU
 Source code and binaries are available at:
 <a href="https://\RELURL/v1_14/v1_14_6/downloads/index.html">https://support.hdfgroup.org/releases/hdf5/v1_14/v1_14_6</a>
 
-Please refer to [Build instructions](https://\SRCURL/release_docs/INSTALL) for building with either CMake or Autotools.
+Please refer to [Build instructions](https://\SRCURL/doc/INSTALL.md) for building with either CMake or Autotools.
 
 
 \subsection subsec_obtain_method_114 Methods to obtain (gz file)

@@ -80,7 +80,7 @@ ABI/API Compatibility Reports between 2.1.0 and 2.0.0 [tar file](https://github.
 Source code and binaries are available at:
 <a href="https://github.com/HDFGroup/hdf5/releases/tag/2.1.0">HDF5 2.1.0 on GitHub</a>
 
-Please refer to [Build instructions](https://\SRCURLALL/hdf5_2.1.0/release_docs/INSTALL) for building with CMake.
+Please refer to [Build instructions](https://\SRCURLALL/hdf5_2.1.0/doc/INSTALL.md) for building with CMake.
 
 
 \subsection subsec_obtain_method_2x Methods to obtain (gz file)
-Original file line number
+Diff line change
@@ Expand Up / @@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ See the \ref LBExamples for additional examples. @@
     \subsection cpp_building Building Applications
-    Please refer to the release_docs/INSTALL_CMake.md file under the top directory of the HDF5 source code or <a href="https://\SRCURL/release_docs/INSTALL_CMake.md">INSTALL_CMake.md</a> on GitHub for information about installing, building, and testing the C++ API.
+    Please refer to the doc/INSTALL_CMake.md file under the top directory of the HDF5 source code or <a href="https://\SRCURL/doc/INSTALL_CMake.md">INSTALL_CMake.md</a> on GitHub for information about installing, building, and testing the C++ API.
     <hr>
@@ Expand Down @@