Sources for work-related answers — Knowledge data 2026 | Stack Overflow Developer Survey

Developer Survey 2026

Question

When you need to answer a work-related question, which sources do you use most often? Select up to 5.

multi select
Optional
v2026.1

Data

	Respondents	Percent
Coworkers or teammates	10,405	71.9%
Code repositories or code comments	9,065	62.7%
Internal documentation (i.e. Design, product, or planning docs), wiki, or knowledge base	8,687	60.1%
Internal chat tools, such as Slack or Teams	6,572	45.4%
Official docs	4,415	30.5%
Product, vendor, or API documentation	4,221	29.2%
Stack Overflow	3,472	24.0%
Manager or leadership	3,272	22.6%
Project management or ticketing tools	2,916	20.2%
Past decisions or architecture records	2,248	15.5%
Meeting notes or transcripts	1,536	10.6%
Other	1,008	7.0%
Vendor forum	411	2.8%
Customer, support, or sales information	362	2.5%
Not sure	196	1.4%
None of these	122	0.8%

Use this data

Citation

Response data is released under the ODbL 1.0, which asks that you attribute it.

Stack Exchange Inc. (2026). “Sources for work-related answers”. Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2026. Licensed under ODbL 1.0. https://survey.stackoverflow.co/2026/knowledge/data/knowledge-q

JSON

Structured for code, with the question, the year and the source url alongside the numbers.

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  "question": "Sources for work-related answers",
  "dataId": "KnowledgeQ",
  "asked": "When you need to answer a work-related question, which sources do you use most often? Select up to 5.",
  "year": "2026",
  "url": "https://survey.stackoverflow.co/2026/knowledge/data/knowledge-q",
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  "data": [
    {
      "response": "Coworkers or teammates",
      "count": 10405,
      "pct": 0.719
    },
    {
      "response": "Code repositories or code comments",
      "count": 9065,
      "pct": 0.627
    },
    {
      "response": "Internal documentation (i.e. Design, product, or planning docs), wiki, or knowledge base",
      "count": 8687,
      "pct": 0.601
    },
    {
      "response": "Internal chat tools, such as Slack or Teams",
      "count": 6572,
      "pct": 0.454
    },
    {
      "response": "Official docs",
      "count": 4415,
      "pct": 0.305
    },
    {
      "response": "Product, vendor, or API documentation",
      "count": 4221,
      "pct": 0.292
    },
    {
      "response": "Stack Overflow",
      "count": 3472,
      "pct": 0.24
    },
    {
      "response": "Manager or leadership",
      "count": 3272,
      "pct": 0.226
    },
    {
      "response": "Project management or ticketing tools",
      "count": 2916,
      "pct": 0.202
    },
    {
      "response": "Past decisions or architecture records",
      "count": 2248,
      "pct": 0.155
    },
    {
      "response": "Meeting notes or transcripts",
      "count": 1536,
      "pct": 0.106
    },
    {
      "response": "Other",
      "count": 1008,
      "pct": 0.07
    },
    {
      "response": "Vendor forum",
      "count": 411,
      "pct": 0.028
    },
    {
      "response": "Customer, support, or sales information",
      "count": 362,
      "pct": 0.025
    },
    {
      "response": "Not sure",
      "count": 196,
      "pct": 0.014
    },
    {
      "response": "None of these",
      "count": 122,
      "pct": 0.008
    }
  ]
}

Markdown

A formatted table, ready to paste into a document, an issue or a prompt.

|  | Respondents | Percent |
| --- | ---: | ---: |
| Coworkers or teammates | 10,405 | 71.9% |
| Code repositories or code comments | 9,065 | 62.7% |
| Internal documentation (i.e. Design, product, or planning docs), wiki, or knowledge base | 8,687 | 60.1% |
| Internal chat tools, such as Slack or Teams | 6,572 | 45.4% |
| Official docs | 4,415 | 30.5% |
| Product, vendor, or API documentation | 4,221 | 29.2% |
| Stack Overflow | 3,472 | 24.0% |
| Manager or leadership | 3,272 | 22.6% |
| Project management or ticketing tools | 2,916 | 20.2% |
| Past decisions or architecture records | 2,248 | 15.5% |
| Meeting notes or transcripts | 1,536 | 10.6% |
| Other | 1,008 | 7.0% |
| Vendor forum | 411 | 2.8% |
| Customer, support, or sales information | 362 | 2.5% |
| Not sure | 196 | 1.4% |
| None of these | 122 | 0.8% |

Spreadsheet

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