Quickstart

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

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

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Getting Started

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

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

Find your URL on the Overview page of your dashboard.

This URL becomes available immediately and updates when you make changes to your documentation. Use this URL for testing and sharing with your team during development.

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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 from 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. Then select the repositories that you want to connect.

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Authorize your GitHub Account

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.

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Editing Workflows

Mintlify offers two workflows for creating and maintaining your documentation.

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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.

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Install the CLI

To work locally with your documentation, install the Command Line Interface (CLI), called mint, by running this command in your terminal:

npm install -g mint

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Edit the Documentation

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

Open your repository created during onboarding, find the index.mdx file, and find the top of the file:

---
title: "Introduction"
description: "This is the introduction to the documentation"
---

Update the title field to "Hello World".

---
title: "Hello World"
description: "This is the introduction to the documentation"
---

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Preview the Changes

To preview the changes locally, run this command:

mint dev

Your preview will be available at localhost:3000.

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Push the Changes

When you are ready to publish your changes, push the changes to your repository.

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.

After the deployment is complete, your latest update will be available at <your-project-name>.mintlify.app.

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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.

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Access the Web Editor

1. Log in to your dashboard.
2. Select Editor on the left sidebar.

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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”.

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Publish Your Changes

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

For more details about using the web editor, including using branches and pull request to collaborate and preview changes, see our web editor documentation.

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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, go to Settings > Custom Domain from the dashboard.

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

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Next Steps

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

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Troubleshooting

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