# Generate and manage help pages

> Verified against the product on 2026-10-06

## Browse generated pages

Open **Home** to browse generated pages. The catalogue groups pages by topic, with Featured pages above the topic rows. While a build runs, planned pages appear alongside published pages; pages that didn’t publish appear separately with a retry option.

## Build states

**writing it now:** Cactus is writing the planned page.
**publishing:** Cactus is making the page available.
**written:** The page is published and can be opened.
**Didn’t publish yet:** The page didn’t publish and isn’t available as a published page yet.
**Checking [source]:** Cactus is checking whether the source still supports this page section.
**Checked against [source] just now:** Cactus checked the source and found no change.
**[source] changed; this section is being updated:** The source changed, and Cactus is updating this page section.
**Couldn't reach [source]:** Cactus couldn’t reach the source to check it.
**The team's answer still holds:** The team’s answer still holds after the source check.

## Page generation

Cactus organizes a catalogue from what it knows about your product, then writes each page from that knowledge and supporting evidence. It checks the cited evidence and publishes each page as soon as it’s ready, so you can browse it while the rest of the build continues.

## Build progress

**Home** shows a status line above the catalogue while a build is working. It names the current stretch of work and, while pages are being published, may show how many planned pages are live. The signed-in app’s tray or phone dock also shows the current phase and an estimated time remaining when available. A visible status line means the build is working. If you’re unsure whether a run ended or failed, check the build status in the tray or dock.

## Retry an unpublished page

In **Home**, under **Didn’t publish yet**, select **Retry** beside the page; Cactus tries to publish that page again.

- Built for teams that ship faster than they can document.: Back, **Retry** (1), Google, GitHub, Dismiss, Done

*In Home, under Didn’t publish yet, select Retry beside the page; Cactus tries to publish that page again.*

## Review page sources

Generated page sections include source citations. To inspect the evidence behind a page:

- Your product starts here.: Back to the live page, Show this edition, Show changes, See what Cactus takes as true, Open these lines on GitHub, Retire, Translate conversations, Set up the Messenger
- detail: **Sources** (1)

*Where Sources sits on Your product starts here.*

1. On an open page, select **Sources**.
2. In **Sources**, select **Open these lines on GitHub** to inspect a cited code span.

## Page history

**History of this page** lists earlier editions, newest first, with their dates and why they were written. An edition is read-only.

1. In **History of this page**, open an earlier edition.
2. On the edition, select **Show changes** to compare it with the live page. Added and removed words are marked.

## Page audience

Each generated page has an audience setting that affects who can read it. For audience rules and how to change them, see [Choose who can read a help page](https://cactus.heycactus.ai/choose-page-audience).

## If a build fails

| What you see | What it means | What to do |
| --- | --- | --- |
| “The build failed” | The build failed. | In the tray or phone dock, select **Rebuild** to start a full build again. |