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215 changes: 82 additions & 133 deletions quickstart.mdx
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description: "Deploy your documentation in minutes"
---

This quickstart guide shows you how to set up and deploy your documentation site in minutes.

After completing this guide, you will have a live documentation site ready to customize and expand.
Get your documentation site live in under 10 minutes. This guide walks you through setup, editing, and deployment.

<Info>

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

**Prerequisites**: [Create an account](https://mintlify.com/start) and complete onboarding first.
</Info>

## Getting started
## Your site is already live

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

```
https://<your-project-name>.mintlify.app
Expand All @@ -28,88 +24,61 @@
<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.
## Connect GitHub

### Install the GitHub App
Set up automatic deployments when you push changes:

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.
1. Go to **Settings** → **GitHub App** in your dashboard
2. Click **Install GitHub App**
3. Select your organization and repositories
4. Authorize your GitHub account in **Settings** → **My Profile**

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Avoid first-person pronouns such as 'My'.

<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.
Organization admins may need to approve the authorization depending on your GitHub settings.
</Info>

### Authorize your GitHub account
## Choose your editing workflow

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.
Pick the workflow that fits your team:

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

## Editing workflows

Mintlify offers two workflows for creating and maintaining your documentation:

<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.
<CardGroup cols={2}>
<Card title="Code-based" icon="terminal" href="#code-based-editing">
Work locally with your favorite editor and Git workflow
</Card>

<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 title="Web editor" icon="mouse-pointer-2" href="#web-editor">
Edit directly in your browser with a visual interface
</Card>
</CardGroup>

## Code-based workflow

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.
## Code-based editing

### Install the CLI

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

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:
Install the Mintlify CLI to work locally:

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

<CodeGroup>
```bash npm
npm i -g mint
```
```bash npm
npm i -g mint
```

```bash pnpm
pnpm add -g mint
```
```bash pnpm
pnpm add -g mint
```
</CodeGroup>

<Info>
You need Node.js installed on your machine. If you encounter installation issues, check the troubleshooting guide.
Requires Node.js v19+. Having issues? Check the troubleshooting section below.
</Info>

### Edit the documentation

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

1. Open your repository created during onboarding.
2. Open `index.mdx` and locate the top of the file:

```mdx index.mdx
---
title: "Introduction"
description: "This is the introduction to the documentation"
---
```
### Make your first edit

3. Update the `title` field to `"Hello World"`.
1. Open your repository from onboarding
2. Edit `index.mdx` and change the title:

```mdx index.mdx {2}
---
Expand All @@ -118,133 +87,113 @@
---
```

### Preview the changes
### Preview locally

To preview the changes locally, run the following command:
Run the development server:

```bash
mint dev
```

Your preview will be available at `localhost:3000`.
Your preview opens at `localhost:3000`.

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

### Push the changes
### Deploy changes

When you are ready to publish your changes, push them to your repository.
Push your changes to GitHub. Mintlify automatically builds and deploys your updates.

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).
Monitor deployment status in your GitHub commit history or [dashboard](https://dashboard.mintlify.com).

After the deployment completes, your latest update will be available at `<your-project-name>.mintlify.app`.
## Web editor

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

## 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 editor

### 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>
1. Go to your [dashboard](https://dashboard.mintlify.com)
2. Click **Editor** in the sidebar

<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" />
<img alt="The Mintlify web editor" src="/images/quickstart/web-editor-light.png" className="block dark:hidden" />
<img alt="The Mintlify web editor" 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.
### Make your first edit

Then, in the editor, update the title field to "Hello World".
1. Select `index.mdx` in the file explorer
2. Change the title 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.
Type <kbd>/</kbd> to open the command menu and access formatting tools and components.
</Tip>

### Publish your changes
### Publish 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.
Click **Publish** in the top-right corner. Your changes deploy immediately.

<Tip>
Use branches to preview and review changes through pull requests before deploying to your live site.
Use branches to preview changes through pull requests before going live.
</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).
## Add a custom domain

## Adding a custom domain
Replace your `.mintlify.app` subdomain with your own 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.
1. Go to [Domain Setup](https://dashboard.mintlify.com/settings/deployment/custom-domain) in your dashboard
2. Enter your domain (e.g., `docs.yourcompany.com`)

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3. Add this DNS record with your domain provider:

To add a custom domain, navigate to the [Domain Setup](https://dashboard.mintlify.com/settings/deployment/custom-domain) page in your dashboard.
<Table>
| Record Type | Name | Value | TTL |
|-------------|------|-------|-----|
| CNAME | docs | cname.mintlify.app | 3600 |
</Table>

<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.mintlify.app | 3600 |
</Table>

<Info>
DNS changes can take up to 48 hours to propagate, though changes often complete much sooner.
DNS changes can take up to 48 hours to propagate.
</Info>

## Next steps

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'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:
Your documentation site is live! Here's what to do next:

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<Card title="Configure your global settings" icon="settings" href="settings" horizontal>
Configure site-wide styling, navigation, integrations, and more with the `docs.json` file.
<CardGroup cols={2}>
<Card title="Configure settings" icon="settings" href="settings">
Customize styling, navigation, and integrations
</Card>
<Card title="Customize your theme" icon="paintbrush" href="themes" horizontal>
Learn how to customize colors, fonts, and the overall appearance of your documentation site.
<Card title="Customize theme" icon="paintbrush" href="themes">
Update colors, fonts, and appearance
</Card>
<Card title="Organize navigation" icon="map" href="navigation" horizontal>
Structure your documentation with intuitive navigation to help users find what they need.
<Card title="Organize navigation" icon="map" href="navigation">
Structure your content for easy discovery
</Card>
<Card title="Add interactive components" icon="puzzle" href="/components/accordions" horizontal>
Enhance your documentation with interactive components like accordions, tabs, and code samples.
</Card>
<Card title="Set up API references" icon="code" href="/api-playground/overview" horizontal>
Create interactive API references with OpenAPI and AsyncAPI specifications.
<Card title="Add components" icon="puzzle" href="/components/accordions">
Use interactive elements like tabs and accordions
</Card>
</CardGroup>

## 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 upwards 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>
<Accordion title="Local preview not working">
Ensure you have Node.js v19+ installed and run `mint dev` from the directory containing your `docs.json` file.
</Accordion>
<Accordion title="Changes not appearing on live site">
Deployment takes a few minutes. Check GitHub Actions or dashboard deployment logs for build errors.
</Accordion>
<Accordion title="Custom domain not connecting">
Verify DNS records are correct and allow time for propagation. Use [DNSChecker](https://dnschecker.org) to verify your CNAME record.
</Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>