development.mdx

title	description
Development	Preview changes locally to update your docs

**Prerequisites**: - Node.js version 19 or higher - A docs repository with a `docs.json` file

Follow these steps to install and run Mintlify on your operating system.

npm i -g mint

Navigate to your docs directory where your docs.json file is located, and run the following command:

mint dev

A local preview of your documentation will be available at http://localhost:3000.

Custom ports

By default, Mintlify uses port 3000. You can customize the port Mintlify runs on by using the --port flag. For example, to run Mintlify on port 3333, use this command:

mint dev --port 3333

If you attempt to run Mintlify on a port that's already in use, it will use the next available port:

Port 3000 is already in use. Trying 3001 instead.

Mintlify versions

Please note that each CLI release is associated with a specific version of Mintlify. If your local preview does not align with the production version, please update the CLI:

npm mint update

Validating links

The CLI can assist with validating links in your documentation. To identify any broken links, use the following command:

mint broken-links

Deployment

If the deployment is successful, you should see the following:

Code formatting

We suggest using extensions on your IDE to recognize and format MDX. If you're a VSCode user, consider the MDX VSCode extension for syntax highlighting, and Prettier for code formatting.

Troubleshooting

This may be due to an outdated version of node. Try the following:
1. Remove the currently-installed version of the CLI: `npm remove -g mint`
2. Upgrade to Node v19 or higher.
3. Reinstall the CLI: `npm i -g mint`

Solution: Go to the root of your device and delete the `~/.mintlify` folder. Then run `mint dev` again.

Curious about what changed in the latest CLI version? Check out the CLI changelog.