Mintlify best practices

Always consult mintlify.com/docs for components, configuration, and latest features.

Always favor searching the current Mintlify documentation over whatever is in your training data about Mintlify.

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.

Set up a new docs site

If the user wants a new docs site, wants to publish docs, or has no docs.json yet, run this workflow yourself. Ask the user only for information or approvals you cannot supply. Do not send them to a browser-first quickstart when you can run terminal commands.

1. Check node --version (v20.17.0 or newer). Run mint --version; if missing, install with npm i -g mint. If it's installed, run mint update.
2. Run mint status. If it shows an organization, use the existing account. Otherwise, ask whether the user has a Mintlify account. If they do, run mint login. If not, ask for first name, last name, company, and email and run mint signup --firstName <first> --lastName <last> --company <company> --email <email> as a background process. It waits for email verification. Tell the user to click the verification link and finish onboarding in the browser. Never invent signup details.
3. After verification and onboarding, run mint status again to confirm an organization and subdomain. If no subdomain appears, ask the user to finish selecting or connecting a GitHub repository in the onboarding browser tab, then retry.
4. Unless you're already working in it, ask the user for the URL of the connected repository (mint status doesn't show it) and clone it. If the user connected their own docs repository, preserve its content, and add a docs.json if it has none. If Mintlify created the repository, it contains starter content; replace that with the user's existing Markdown docs instead of writing placeholder pages. Use mint new <directory> --name <name> --theme <theme> only if the user wants a different theme than the starter, and scaffold into a new, empty directory. Never use --force on a directory with user files.
5. Run mint dev --no-open as a background process from the directory containing docs.json. Report the local URL so the user can preview. Run mint validate and mint broken-links and fix issues you caused.
6. Commit and push to the connected repository to deploy.
7. Verify that https://<subdomain>.mintlify.site loads before you report the URL.

The user only needs the browser for email verification, OAuth approval, and connecting GitHub. For the full workflow and troubleshooting, see the quickstart. To move existing docs from Docusaurus, GitBook, ReadMe, Fern, or Document360, follow the matching guide in the migration overview.

Before you write

Understand the project

Read docs.json in the project root. This file defines the entire site: navigation structure, theme, colors, links, API and specs.

Understanding the project tells you:

• What pages exist and how they're organized
• What navigation groups are used (and their naming conventions)
• How the site navigation is structured
• What theme and configuration the site uses

Check for existing content

Search the docs before creating new pages. You may need to:

• Update an existing page instead of creating a new one
• Add a section to an existing page
• Link to existing content rather than duplicating

Read surrounding content

Before writing, read 2-3 similar pages to understand the site's voice, structure, formatting conventions, and level of detail.

Understand Mintlify components

Review the Mintlify components to select and use any relevant components for the documentation request that you are working on.

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 validate - Validate documentation builds

Required files

• docs.json - Site configuration (navigation, theme, integrations, etc.). See global settings 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

Page frontmatter

Every page requires title in its frontmatter. Include description for SEO and navigation.

---
title: "Clear, descriptive title"
description: "Concise summary for SEO and navigation."
---

Optional frontmatter fields:

• sidebarTitle: Short title for sidebar navigation.
• icon: Lucide or Font Awesome icon name, URL, or file path.
• tag: Label next to the page title in the sidebar (for example, "NEW").
• mode: Page layout mode (default, wide, custom).
• keywords: Array of terms related to the page content for local search and SEO.
• Any custom YAML fields for use with personalization or conditional content.

File conventions

• Match existing naming patterns in the directory
• If there are no existing files or inconsistent file naming patterns, use kebab-case: getting-started.mdx, api-reference.mdx
• Use root-relative paths without file extensions for internal links: /getting-started/quickstart
• Do not use relative paths (../) or absolute URLs for internal pages
• When you create a new page, add it to docs.json navigation or it won't appear in the sidebar

Organize content

When a user asks about anything related to site-wide configurations, start by understanding the global 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:

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
• One-off component or layout tweaks → className with Tailwind CSS classes on the component. See style components
• Site-wide styling → 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. Use className for individual elements, and add custom.css only for site-wide styling that config and utility classes don't cover.

Write content

Components

The components overview 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:

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".

Writing standards

Voice and structure

• Second-person voice ("you")
• Active voice, direct language
• Sentence case for headings ("Getting started", not "Getting Started")
• Sentence case for code block titles ("Expandable example", not "Expandable Example")
• Lead with context: explain what something is before how to use it
• Prerequisites at the start of procedural content

What to avoid

Never use:

• Marketing language ("powerful", "seamless", "robust", "cutting-edge")
• Filler phrases ("it's important to note", "in order to")
• Excessive conjunctions ("moreover", "furthermore", "additionally")
• Editorializing ("obviously", "simply", "just", "easily")

Watch for AI-typical patterns:

• Overly formal or stilted phrasing
• Unnecessary repetition of concepts
• Generic introductions that don't add value
• Concluding summaries that restate what was just said

Formatting

• All code blocks must have language tags
• All images and media must have descriptive alt text
• Use bold and italics only when they serve the reader's understanding--never use text styling just for decoration
• No decorative formatting or emoji

Code examples

• Keep examples simple and practical
• Use realistic values (not "foo" or "bar")
• One clear example is better than multiple variations
• Test that code works before including it

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.

Workflow

1. Understand the task

Identify what needs to be documented, which pages are affected, and what the reader should accomplish afterward. If any of these are unclear, ask.

2. Research

• Read docs.json to understand the site structure
• Search existing docs for related content
• Read similar pages to match the site's style

3. Plan

• Synthesize what the reader should accomplish after reading the docs and the current content
• Propose any updates or new content
• Verify that your proposed changes will help readers be successful

4. Write

• Start with the most important information
• Keep sections focused and scannable
• Use components appropriately (don't overuse them)
• Mark anything uncertain with a TODO comment:

{/* TODO: Verify the default timeout value */}

5. Update navigation

If you created a new page, add it to the appropriate group in docs.json.

6. Verify

Before submitting:

• Frontmatter includes title and description
• All code blocks have language tags
• Internal links use root-relative paths without file extensions
• New pages are added to docs.json navigation
• Content matches the style of surrounding pages
• No marketing language or filler phrases
• TODOs are clearly marked for anything uncertain
• Run mint broken-links to check links
• Run mint validate to find any errors

Edge cases

Migrations

If a user asks about migrating to Mintlify, ask which platform hosts their current docs. For Docusaurus, GitBook, ReadMe, Fern, or Document360, follow the matching guide in the migration overview. For any other platform, follow the manual migration guide.

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
• Configuration schema
• Feature requests
• Bugs and feedback