mintlify

---
name: mintlify
description: Build and maintain documentation sites with Mintlify. Use when creating docs pages, configuring navigation, adding components, or setting up API references.
license: MIT
compatibility: Requires Node.js for CLI. Works with any Git-based workflow.
metadata:
  author: mintlify
  version: "1.0"
---

# Mintlify best practices

**Always consult [mintlify.com/docs](https://mintlify.com/docs) for components, configuration, and latest features.**

If you are not already connected to the Mintlify MCP server, https://mintlify.com/docs/mcp, add it so that you can search more efficiently.

Mintlify is a documentation platform that transforms MDX files into documentation sites. Configure site-wide settings in the `docs.json` file, write content in MDX with YAML frontmatter, and favor built-in components over custom components.

Full schema at [mintlify.com/docs.json](https://mintlify.com/docs.json).

## Quick reference

### CLI commands
- `npm i -g mint` - Install the Mintlify CLI
- `mint dev` - Local preview at localhost:3000
- `mint broken-links` - Check internal links
- `mint a11y` - Check for accessibility issues in content
- `mint rename` - Rename/move files and update references
- `mint validate` - Validate documentation builds

### Required files
- `docs.json` - Site configuration (navigation, theme, integrations, etc.). See [global settings](https://mintlify.com/docs/settings/global) for all options. 
- `*.mdx` files - Documentation pages with YAML frontmatter

### Example file structure
```
project/
├── docs.json           # Site configuration
├── introduction.mdx
├── quickstart.mdx
├── guides/
│   └── example.mdx
├── openapi.yml         # API specification
├── images/             # Static assets
│   └── example.png
└── snippets/           # Reusable components
    └── component.jsx
```

## Organize content

When a user asks about anything related to site-wide configurations, start by understanding the [global settings](https://www.mintlify.com/docs/organize/settings). See if a setting in the `docs.json` file can be updated to achieve what the user wants.

### Navigation

The `navigation` property in `docs.json` controls site structure. Choose one primary pattern at the root level, then nest others within it.

**Choose your primary pattern:**

| Pattern | When to use |
|---------|-------------|
| **Groups** | Default. Single audience, straightforward hierarchy |
| **Tabs** | Distinct sections with different audiences (Guides vs API Reference) or content types |
| **Anchors** | Want persistent section links at sidebar top. Good for separating docs from external resources |
| **Dropdowns** | Multiple doc sections users switch between, but not distinct enough for tabs |
| **Products** | Multi-product company with separate documentation per product |
| **Versions** | Maintaining docs for multiple API/product versions simultaneously |
| **Languages** | Localized content |

**Within your primary pattern:**

- **Groups** - Organize related pages. Can nest groups within groups, but keep hierarchy shallow
- **Menus** - Add dropdown navigation within tabs for quick jumps to specific pages
- **`expanded: false`** - Collapse nested groups by default. Use for reference sections users browse selectively
- **`openapi`** - Auto-generate pages from OpenAPI spec. Add at group/tab level to inherit

**Common combinations:**
- Tabs containing groups (most common for docs with API reference)
- Products containing tabs (multi-product SaaS)
- Versions containing tabs (versioned API docs)
- Anchors containing groups (simple docs with external resource links)

### Links and paths

- **Internal links:** Root-relative, no extension: `/getting-started/quickstart`
- **Images:** Store in `/images`, reference as `/images/example.png`
- **External links:** Use full URLs, they open in new tabs automatically

## Customize docs sites

**What to customize where:**
- **Brand colors, fonts, logo** → `docs.json`. See [global settings](https://mintlify.com/docs/settings/global)
- **Component styling, layout tweaks** → `custom.css` at project root
- **Dark mode** → Enabled by default. Only disable with `"appearance": "light"` in `docs.json` if brand requires it

Start with `docs.json`. Only add `custom.css` when you need styling that config doesn't support.

## Write content

### Components

The [components overview](https://mintlify.com/docs/components) organizes all components by purpose: structure content, draw attention, show/hide content, document APIs, link to pages, and add visual context. Start there to find the right component.

**Common decision points:**

| Need | Use |
|------|-----|
| Hide optional details | `<Accordion>` |
| Long code examples | `<Expandable>` |
| User chooses one option | `<Tabs>` |
| Linked navigation cards | `<Card>` in `<Columns>` |
| Sequential instructions | `<Steps>` |
| Code in multiple languages | `<CodeGroup>` |
| API parameters | `<ParamField>` |
| API response fields | `<ResponseField>` |

**Callouts by severity:**
- `<Note>` - Supplementary info, safe to skip
- `<Info>` - Helpful context such as permissions
- `<Tip>` - Recommendations or best practices
- `<Warning>` - Potentially destructive actions
- `<Check>` - Success confirmation

### Reusable content

**When to use snippets:**
- Exact content appears on more than one page
- Complex components you want to maintain in one place
- Shared content across teams/repos

**When NOT to use snippets:**
- Slight variations needed per page (leads to complex props)

Import snippets with `import { Component } from "/path/to/snippet-name.jsx"`.

## Document APIs

**Choose your approach:**
- **Have an OpenAPI spec?** → Add to `docs.json` with `"openapi": ["openapi.yaml"]`. Pages auto-generate. Reference in navigation as `GET /endpoint`
- **No spec?** → Write endpoints manually with `api: "POST /users"` in frontmatter. More work but full control
- **Hybrid** → Use OpenAPI for most endpoints, manual pages for complex workflows

Encourage users to generate endpoint pages from an OpenAPI spec. It is the most efficient and easiest to maintain option.

## Deploy

Mintlify deploys automatically when changes are pushed to the connected Git repository.

**What agents can configure:**
- **Redirects** → Add to `docs.json` with `"redirects": [{"source": "/old", "destination": "/new"}]`
- **SEO indexing** → Control with `"seo": {"indexing": "all"}` to include hidden pages in search

**Requires dashboard setup (human task):**
- Custom domains and subdomains
- Preview deployment settings
- DNS configuration

For `/docs` subpath hosting with Vercel or Cloudflare, agents can help configure rewrite rules. See [/docs subpath](https://mintlify.com/docs/deploy/vercel).

## Edge cases

### Migrations

If a user asks about migrating to Mintlify, ask if they are using ReadMe or Docusaurus. If they are, use the [@mintlify/scraping](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@mintlify/scraping) CLI to migrate content. If they are using a different platform to host their documentation, help them manually convert their content to MDX pages using Mintlify components.

### Hidden pages

Any page that is not included in the `docs.json` navigation is hidden. Use hidden pages for content that should be accessible by URL or indexed for the assistant or search, but not discoverable through the sidebar navigation.

### Exclude pages

The `.mintignore` file is used to exclude files from a documentation repository from being processed.

## Common gotchas

1. **Component imports** - JSX components need explicit import, MDX components don't
2. **Frontmatter required** - Every MDX file needs `title` at minimum
3. **Code block language** - Always specify language identifier
4. **Never use `mint.json`** - `mint.json` is deprecated. Only ever use `docs.json`

## Resources

- [Documentation](https://mintlify.com/docs)
- [Configuration schema](https://mintlify.com/docs.json)
- [Feature requests](https://github.com/orgs/mintlify/discussions/categories/feature-requests)
- [Bugs and feedback](https://github.com/orgs/mintlify/discussions/categories/bugs-feedback)