The difference between a tutorial and a how-to guide
tutorial definition, how-to guide definition, learning vs task completion, prerequisite handling, tutorial outcomes, guide outcomes, when to use each
Tutorial vs How-To Guide
Tutorials and how-to guides look similar on the surface — both have steps and code. The difference is their purpose and assumed reader.
Tutorials
A tutorial is a guided learning experience. The reader doesn't know the domain yet. Success means they finish with something working and understand how it works. Tutorials hold the reader's hand. You explain every step. You anticipate confusion.
Example: "Build your first Express.js REST API" — assumes no prior Node.js web framework knowledge.
How-To Guides
A how-to guide is a task completion document. The reader already knows the domain and wants to accomplish one specific thing. No explanations unless critical. Just steps.
Example: "How to add JWT authentication to an Express.js app" — assumes the reader already knows Express.js.
The Classification Test
Ask: does the reader need to understand what they're doing, or just do it? Understanding → tutorial. Doing → how-to. Getting this wrong wastes your reader's time. A beginner hits a how-to and gets lost. An expert hits a tutorial and gets bored and skips ahead into errors.
One Piece of Advice
When in doubt, write a how-to. Most developers who reach your docs already know enough to be dangerous — they just need the specific steps.