# Numbers and units

## Spell out zero through nine

Write `zero` through `nine` as words, and `10` upward as numerals.

- Correct: `Create three rules.`
- Correct: `The account allows 100 buckets.`

Three cases take a numeral whatever the value: a measurement, a version, and anything the reader types or reads on screen. `Set the TTL to 5 seconds`, not `five seconds`.

## Use a period for decimals and a comma for thousands

| Rule                             | Example                |
| -------------------------------- | ---------------------- |
| Period for the decimal separator | `9.5`, `3.14159`       |
| Comma for thousands              | `10,000`, `25,456,990` |
| A leading zero below one         | `0.5`, never `.5`      |

Portuguese reverses both separators. A translated page writes `10.000` and `9,5`, so a number copied across a pair without conversion is wrong in one of them.

## Write a unit with its number

- Put a space between the numeral and the unit: `20 MB`, `60 seconds`.
- Hyphenate when the measurement modifies a noun: `a 60-second TTL`.
- Abbreviate only next to a number, and never follow the abbreviation with a period: `20 MB`, not `20 MB.` or `twenty MB`.

Every value in a table carries its unit. A cell holding `100` leaves the reader choosing between megabytes, seconds, and requests. [Reference](/en/documentation/style-guide/content/reference/) treats a limit without a unit as an incomplete fact.

`MB` and `MiB` are different numbers. Write the unit the product states and never convert between decimal (`kB`, `MB`, `GB`) and binary (`KiB`, `MiB`, `GiB`) forms. The same applies to rates: `Gbps` counts bits and `MB/s` counts bytes, eight times apart, so keep the form the product uses.

A limit is exact and is never rounded. Round only an illustrative figure, and mark it: `about 200 ms`.

## Use an en dash for a negative number

Write `–40` with an en dash, not a hyphen. The rule applies to prose: in code, commands, and any value the reader copies, keep the ASCII hyphen-minus — a pasted `–40` does not parse. [Punctuation](/en/documentation/style-guide/formatting/punctuation/) covers the other dash rules.

## Write an ordinal without a suffix beyond the number

Write `first` and `second` as words. In a numeral, write `1st`, never `1stly` or `firstly`.

## Format a date only where a date belongs

Dates appear in changelogs and nowhere else, which [Word choice](/en/documentation/style-guide/writing/word-choice/) states as a rule. A date anywhere else ages the page.

Where a date is allowed, spell the month out and order it month, day, year: `July 10, 2026`.

- Incorrect: `7/10/2026`
- Incorrect: `July 10th, 2026`
- Correct: `July 10, 2026`

A numeric date reads as month-first in the United States and day-first almost everywhere else, so it means two things at once.

## Write a time in the 24-hour clock or with AM and PM

Capitalize `AM` and `PM` and put a space before them: `10:45 AM`. Portuguese pages use the 24-hour clock: `10:45`, `18:30`.

Do not write `24/7`. Write `at all times` or name the actual availability.

## Format currency only on the pricing page

A price, a quota sold by the unit, and a billing metric live on the pricing page alone. [Reference](/en/documentation/style-guide/content/reference/) forbids restating one on a product page.

Where an amount is allowed, the symbol precedes the number with no space: `$1,000`.