Quickstart

Get started with Mintlify by deploying your documentation site in minutes and making your first content change with the web editor or Git.

By the end of this guide, you’ll have a live documentation site deployed and your first content change published.

How Mintlify works

Mintlify uses a docs-as-code approach. Every page on your site is a file — usually MDX — stored in a Git repository. When you push a change to that repository, Mintlify automatically rebuilds and deploys your site.

You can edit documentation two ways:

Web editor

Edit in your browser — no local setup required. Changes publish directly to Git.

CLI + local editor

Clone your repo, preview locally with mint dev, and push to deploy.

Using an AI coding tool? Add the Mintlify skill and MCP server for better results when updating your docs.

Install the Mintlify skill to get context on Mintlify project structure, components, and documentation best practices:\n\nnpx skills add https://mintlify.com/docs\\n\\nThen add the Mintlify MCP server for access to documentation search. Follow the setup instructions at https://www.mintlify.com/docs/ai/model-context-protocol.md

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Deploy your documentation site

1. Create your project

   Go to mintlify.com/start and complete the onboarding flow. You’ll connect your GitHub account, select or create a repository, and install the GitHub App.

   Want to skip connecting a Git provider for now?

   During onboarding, you can skip the GitHub step. Mintlify will create a private repository under a managed organization and configure everything automatically — you can start using the web editor immediately.

   When you’re ready to move to your own repo, go to Git Settings in your dashboard and use the Git setup wizard. See Clone to your own repository for details.

2. View your live site

   After onboarding, your site deploys to https://<your-project-name>.mintlify.app.

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

   

   This URL is live immediately. Share it with your team for testing. When you’re ready to go public, add a custom domain.

Make your first change

Choose your preferred workflow:

Web editor

1. Open the web editor

   Go to the web editor in your dashboard.

2. Edit a page

   Open the Introduction page and update the description field.

   
3. Publish

   Click Publish in the top-right of the editor toolbar. The editor commits your change to Git and triggers a deployment.

4. Check deployment status

   On the Overview page of your dashboard, watch the deployment status. Refresh your documentation site once it finishes to see your change live.

CLI

1. Install the CLI

   The CLI requires Node.js v20.17.0 or higher. Use an LTS version for stability.

   npm

   npm i -g mint
   

   See Install the CLI for troubleshooting and full details.

2. Clone your repository

   If you haven’t cloned your docs repo locally yet, follow the steps in Clone your repository.

3. Edit a page

   Open index.mdx in your editor and change the description in the frontmatter:

   ---
   title: "Introduction"
   description: "Your custom description here"
   ---
   
4. Preview locally

   From your documentation directory, run:

   mint dev
   

   View your changes at http://localhost:3000 before pushing.

5. Push to deploy

   Commit and push to trigger a deployment:

   git add .
   git commit -m "Update description"
   git push
   

   Mintlify deploys automatically. Track the status on your dashboard Overview.

Next steps

Use the web editor

Edit, preview, and publish documentation directly in your browser.

Explore CLI commands

Find broken links, check accessibility, validate OpenAPI specs, and more.

Add a custom domain

Swap your .mintlify.app URL for your own domain.

Customize your site

Configure branding, navigation, colors, and page layouts.