Quickstart

Deploy your documentation site and make your first change.

After you complete this guide, you’ll have a live documentation site ready to customize and update.

Before you begin

Mintlify uses a docs-as-code approach to manage your documentation. Every page on your site has a corresponding file stored in your documentation repository. You can use your own Git repository or a Mintlify-hosted repository.

Choose your repository approach.

Mintlify-hosted

Mintlify creates a private GitHub repository connected to your Mintlify deployment.

Choose this option if:

• You will only work in the web editor and don’t want to use Git locally.
• You want to get started quickly without connecting a repository.
• You want Mintlify to manage your documentation repository for you.

Your own repository

Connect your own Git repository to your Mintlify deployment.

Choose this option if:

• You will work locally and want to sync to your remote repository.
• You already have a repository for your documentation.
• You want your documentation to be under your own GitHub organization.

Not sure which to choose? Start with Mintlify-hosted. You can migrate to your own repository anytime if it better suits your needs.

Deploy your documentation site

Mintlify-hosted

1. Create your account

   Go to mintlify.com/start and create your account.

2. Skip GitHub connection

   When prompted to connect GitHub, click Skip to use a Mintlify-hosted repository.

3. Complete onboarding

   Follow the onboarding prompts to set up your documentation. Mintlify automatically creates a private repository in the mintlify-community organization and configures the GitHub app for you.

4. Your site is deployed

   Your documentation is immediately deployed and accessible at your .mintlify.app URL.

Your own repository

1. Create your account

   Go to mintlify.com/start and create your account.

2. Connect GitHub

   When prompted, log in to your GitHub account and authenticate.

3. Complete onboarding

   Follow the remaining onboarding prompts to create a repository and continue to your dashboard.

4. Install the GitHub App

   Install the Mintlify GitHub App to enable automatic deployments. This allows Mintlify to sync with your repository and deploy changes automatically when you push.

5. Optional: Select a repository

   If you want to use a different repository than the one created during onboarding for your documentation, select it on the Git settings page of your dashboard. Your documentation repository must have a valid docs.json file to deploy.

6. Your site is deployed

   Your documentation is deployed and accessible at your .mintlify.app URL. Future changes pushed to your repository will automatically trigger new deployments.

To learn more about the GitHub App and its permissions, see GitHub.

View your deployed site

Your documentation site is now deployed at https://<your-project-name>.mintlify.app.

Find your exact URL on the Overview page of your dashboard.

Your site is ready to view immediately. Use this URL for testing and sharing with your team. Before sharing with your users, you may want to add a custom domain.

Make your first change

1. Open the web editor

   Navigate to the web editor in your dashboard.

2. Edit a page

   Open index.mdx and update the description in the frontmatter:

   ---
   title: "Introduction"
   description: "Your custom description here"
   ---
   
3. Publish

   Click the Publish button in the top-right of the web editor toolbar.

4. View live

   On the Overview page of your dashboard, you can see your site’s deployment status. When it finishes deploying, refresh your documentation site to see your changes live.

Next steps

Learn about the web editor

Explore editing features and workflows.

Set up local development

Use the CLI to preview your documentation locally as you write and edit.

Add a custom domain

Use your own domain for your documentation site.