Skip to content

Simplify quickstart page #1946

New issue

Have a question about this project? Sign up for a free GitHub account to open an issue and contact its maintainers and the community.

Sign up for GitHub

By clicking “Sign up for GitHub”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy statement. We’ll occasionally send you account related emails.

Already on GitHub? Sign in to your account

Closed
wants to merge 1 commit into from
Closed

Simplify quickstart page #1946

Changes from all commits
Commits
Show all changes
1 commit
Select commit
File filter

Filter by extension

Filter by extension
Conversations
Failed to load comments.
Loading
Jump to
Jump to file
Failed to load files.
Loading
Diff view
Diff view
344 changes: 64 additions & 280 deletions quickstart.mdx
View file
Open in desktop
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -4,311 +4,95 @@
keywords: ["quickstart","deploy","get started","first steps"]
---

After completing this guide, you will have a live documentation site ready to customize and expand.

<Info>
**Prerequisites**: Before you begin, [create an account](https://mintlify.com/start) and complete onboarding.
</Info>

## Getting started

After you complete the onboarding process, your documentation site automatically deploys to a unique URL with this format:

```
https://<your-project-name>.mintlify.app
```

Find your URL on the Overview page of your [dashboard](https://dashboard.mintlify.com/).

<Frame>
<img
src="/images/quickstart/mintlify-domain-light.png"
alt="Mintlify Domain"
className="block dark:hidden"
/>

<img
src="/images/quickstart/mintlify-domain-dark.png"
alt="Mintlify Domain"
className="hidden dark:block"
/>
</Frame>

Your site's URL is available immediately. Use this URL for testing and sharing with your team while you are setting up your docs site.

### Install the GitHub App

Mintlify provides a GitHub App that automates deployment when you push changes to your repository.

Install the GitHub App by following the instructions from the onboarding checklist or your dashboard.

1. Navigate to **Settings** in your Mintlify dashboard.
2. Select **GitHub App** from the sidebar.
3. Select **Install GitHub App**. This opens a new tab to the GitHub App installation page.
4. Select the organization or user account where you want to install the app.
5. Select the repositories that you want to connect.

<Frame>
<img
src="/images/quickstart/github-app-installation-light.png"
alt="GitHub App Installation"
className="block dark:hidden"
/>

<img
src="/images/quickstart/github-app-installation-dark.png"
alt="GitHub App Installation"
className="hidden dark:block"
/>
</Frame>

<Info>
Update the GitHub App permissions if you move your documentation to a different repository.
**Prerequisites**: [Create an account](https://mintlify.com/start) and complete onboarding.
</Info>

### Authorize your GitHub account
## Your documentation site

1. Navigate to **Settings** in your Mintlify dashboard.
2. Select **My Profile** from the sidebar.
3. Select **Authorize GitHub account**. This opens a new tab to the GitHub authorization page.
After onboarding, your site deploys to `https://<your-project-name>.mintlify.app`. Find your URL on the [dashboard](https://dashboard.mintlify.com/) Overview page.

<Info>
An admin for your GitHub organization may need to authorize your account depending on your organization settings.
</Info>
## Install the GitHub App

Check warning on line 15 in quickstart.mdx

View check run for this annotation

Mintlify / Mintlify Validation (mintlify) - vale-spellcheck

quickstart.mdx#L15 

'Install the GitHub App' should use sentence-style capitalization.

## Editing workflows
The GitHub App automates deployment when you push changes.

Mintlify offers two workflows for creating and maintaining your documentation:
1. Navigate to **Settings** > **GitHub App** in your dashboard.
2. Select **Install GitHub App** and choose your organization.
3. Select the repositories to connect.

<Card title="Code-based workflow" icon="terminal" horizontal href="#code-based-workflow">
For users who prefer working with existing tools in their local environment. Click to jump to this section.
</Card>
## Edit your documentation

<Card title="Web editor workflow" icon="mouse-pointer-2" horizontal href="#web-editor-workflow">
For users who prefer a visual interface in their web browser. Click to jump to this section.
</Card>
Choose your preferred workflow:

## Code-based workflow
<Tabs>
<Tab title="Code-based">
### Install the CLI

Check warning on line 29 in quickstart.mdx

View check run for this annotation

Mintlify / Mintlify Validation (mintlify) - vale-spellcheck

quickstart.mdx#L29 

Use 'command-line tool' instead of 'CLI'.

The code-based workflow integrates with your existing development environment and Git repositories. This workflow is best for technical teams who want to manage documentation alongside code.
<Info>
Requires [Node.js](https://nodejs.org/en) v20.17.0+ through v24.
</Info>

### Install the CLI
```bash npm
npm i -g mint
```

<Info>
**Prerequisite**: The CLI requires [Node.js](https://nodejs.org/en) v20.17.0 or higher through v24. LTS versions are preferred.
</Info>

To work locally with your documentation, install the Command Line Interface (CLI), called [mint](https://www.npmjs.com/package/mint), by running this command in your terminal:

<CodeGroup>

```bash npm
npm i -g mint
```


```bash pnpm
pnpm add -g mint
```

</CodeGroup>

### Create a new project

Run `mint new` to create a new documentation project. See the [CLI installation guide](/installation#create-a-new-project) for details on the command and flags.

### Edit the documentation

After setting up your project, you can start editing your documentation files. For example, update the title of the introduction page:

1. Navigate to your documentation repository.
2. Open `index.mdx` and locate the top of the file:

```mdx index.mdx
---
title: "Introduction"
description: "This is the introduction to the documentation"
---
```

3. Update the `title` field to `"Hello World"`.

```mdx index.mdx {2}
---
title: "Hello World"
description: "This is the introduction to the documentation"
---
```
### Create and edit

### Preview the changes
Run `mint new` to create a project, then edit your MDX files:

To preview the changes locally, run the following command:
```mdx index.mdx
---
title: "Hello World"
description: "This is the introduction to the documentation"
---
```

```bash
mint dev
```
### Preview locally

Your preview is available at `localhost:3000`.
```bash
mint dev
```

<Frame>
<img
src="/images/quickstart/mintlify-dev-light.png"
alt="Mintlify Dev"
className="block dark:hidden"
/>
Preview at `localhost:3000`.

<img
src="/images/quickstart/mintlify-dev-dark.png"
alt="Mintlify Dev"
className="hidden dark:block"
/>
</Frame>
### Deploy

### Push the changes
Push to your repository. Mintlify automatically builds and deploys your changes.
</Tab>
<Tab title="Web editor">
1. Select **Editor** in your [dashboard](https://dashboard.mintlify.com).
2. Edit files using the visual interface.
3. Select **Publish** to deploy.

When you are ready to publish your changes, push them to your repository.
<Tip>
Type <kbd>/</kbd> in the editor to access formatting tools and components.
</Tip>
</Tab>
</Tabs>

Mintlify automatically detects the changes, builds your documentation, and deploys the updates to your site. Monitor the deployment status in your GitHub repository commit history or the [dashboard](https://dashboard.mintlify.com).
## Add a custom domain

After the deployment completes, your latest update will be available at `<your-project-name>.mintlify.app`.
Navigate to [Domain Setup](https://dashboard.mintlify.com/settings/deployment/custom-domain) and add your domain (e.g., `docs.yourcompany.com`).

Check warning on line 75 in quickstart.mdx

View check run for this annotation

Mintlify / Mintlify Validation (mintlify) - vale-spellcheck

quickstart.mdx#L75 

Use parentheses judiciously.

Check warning on line 75 in quickstart.mdx

View check run for this annotation

Mintlify / Mintlify Validation (mintlify) - vale-spellcheck

quickstart.mdx#L75 

Use 'for example' instead of 'e.g.'.

<Card title="Jump to adding a custom domain" icon="arrow-down" horizontal href="#adding-a-custom-domain">
Optionally, skip the web editor workflow and jump to adding a custom domain.
</Card>
Configure DNS with your provider:

## Web editor workflow

The web editor workflow provides a what-you-see-is-what-you-get (WYSIWYG) interface for creating and editing documentation. This workflow is best for people who want to work in their web browser without additional local development tools.

### Access the web editor

1. Log in to your [dashboard](https://dashboard.mintlify.com).
2. Select **Editor** on the left sidebar.

<Info>
If you have not installed the GitHub App, you will be prompted to install the app when you open the web editor.
</Info>

<Frame>
<img
alt="The Mintlify web editor in the visual editor mode"
src="/images/quickstart/web-editor-light.png"
className="block dark:hidden"
/>

<img
alt="The Mintlify web editor in the visual editor mode"
src="/images/quickstart/web-editor-dark.png"
className="hidden dark:block"
/>
</Frame>

### Edit the documentation

In the web editor, you can navigate through your documentation files in the sidebar. Let's update the introduction page:

Find and select `index.mdx` in the file explorer.

Then, in the editor, update the title field to "Hello World".

<Frame>
<img
alt="Editing in Web Editor"
src="/images/quickstart/web-editor-editing-light.png"
className="block dark:hidden"
/>

<img
alt="Editing in Web Editor"
src="/images/quickstart/web-editor-editing-dark.png"
className="hidden dark:block"
/>
</Frame>

<Tip>
The editor provides a rich set of formatting tools and components. Type <kbd>/</kbd>

in the editor to open the command menu and access these tools.
</Tip>

### Publish your changes

When you're satisfied with your edits, select the **Publish** button in the top-right corner. Your changes are immediately deployed to your documentation site.

<Tip>
Use branches to preview and review changes through pull requests before deploying to your live site.
</Tip>

For more details about using the web editor, including using branches and pull requests to collaborate and preview changes, see our [web editor documentation](/editor).

## Adding a custom domain

While your `<your-project-name>.mintlify.app` subdomain works well for testing and development, most teams prefer using a custom domain for production documentation.

To add a custom domain, navigate to the [Domain Setup](https://dashboard.mintlify.com/settings/deployment/custom-domain) page in your dashboard.

<Frame>
<img
src="/images/quickstart/custom-domain-light.png"
alt="Custom Domain"
className="block dark:hidden"
/>

<img
src="/images/quickstart/custom-domain-dark.png"
alt="Custom Domain"
className="hidden dark:block"
/>
</Frame>

Enter your domain (for example, `docs.yourcompany.com`) and follow the provided instructions to configure DNS settings with your domain provider.

<Table>
| Record Type | Name | Value | TTL |
| ----------- | ------------------- | -------------------- | ---- |
| CNAME | docs (or subdomain) | cname.vercel-dns.com | 3600 |
</Table>

<Info>
DNS changes can take up to 48 hours to propagate, though changes often complete much sooner.
</Info>
| Record Type | Name | Value | TTL |
| ----------- | ------------------- | -------------------- | ---- |
| CNAME | docs (or subdomain) | cname.vercel-dns.com | 3600 |

Check warning on line 81 in quickstart.mdx

View check run for this annotation

Mintlify / Mintlify Validation (mintlify) - vale-spellcheck

quickstart.mdx#L81 

Use parentheses judiciously.

## Next steps

Check warning on line 83 in quickstart.mdx

View check run for this annotation

Mintlify / Mintlify Validation (mintlify) - vale-spellcheck

quickstart.mdx#L83 

'Next steps' should use sentence-style capitalization.

Congratulations! You have successfully deployed your documentation site with Mintlify. Here are suggested next steps to enhance your documentation:

<Card title="Configure your global settings" icon="settings" horizontal href="organize/settings">
Configure site-wide styling, navigation, integrations, and more with the `docs.json` file.
</Card>

<Card title="Customize your theme" icon="paintbrush" horizontal href="customize/themes">
Learn how to customize colors, fonts, and the overall appearance of your documentation site.
</Card>

<Card title="Organize navigation" icon="map" horizontal href="organize/navigation">
Structure your documentation with intuitive navigation to help users find what they need.
</Card>

<Card title="Add interactive components" icon="puzzle" horizontal href="/components/accordions">
Enhance your documentation with interactive components like accordions, tabs, and code samples.
</Card>

<Card title="Set up API references" icon="code" horizontal href="/api-playground/overview">
Create interactive API references with OpenAPI and AsyncAPI specifications.
</Card>

## Troubleshooting

If you encounter issues during the setup process, check these common troubleshooting solutions:

<AccordionGroup>
<Accordion title="Local preview not working">
Make sure you have Node.js v19+ installed and that you run the `mint dev` command from the directory containing your `docs.json` file.
</Accordion>
<Accordion title="Changes not reflecting on live site">
Deployment can take up to a few minutes. Check your GitHub Actions (for code-based workflow) or deployment logs in the Mintlify dashboard to ensure there are no build errors.
</Accordion>
<Accordion title="Custom domain not connecting">
Verify that your DNS records are set up correctly and allow sufficient time for DNS propagation (up to 48 hours). You can use tools like [DNSChecker](https://dnschecker.org) to verify your CNAME record.
</Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>
<CardGroup cols={2}>
<Card title="Configure settings" icon="settings" href="organize/settings">
Set up styling, navigation, and integrations.
</Card>
<Card title="Customize theme" icon="paintbrush" href="customize/themes">
Customize colors and fonts.
</Card>
<Card title="Organize navigation" icon="map" href="organize/navigation">
Structure your documentation.
</Card>
<Card title="Add components" icon="puzzle" href="/components/accordions">
Use interactive components.
</Card>
</CardGroup>