This quickstart is the fastest path from zero to a running documentation site. By the end you’ll have a local dev server with hot reload, a project structure you can start editing immediately, and a deployed site live on the Jamdesk CDN. You need no prior experience with Jamdesk — just a terminal and Node.js installed.Documentation Index
Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/jamdesk/jamdesk-cli/llms.txt
Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
Prerequisites
- Node.js v20.0.0 or later — check with
node --version - npm v8 or later — check with
npm --version
Steps
Install Jamdesk
Install the Jamdesk CLI globally so the Verify the installation succeeded:
jamdesk command is available in any terminal session.Create a project
Use The command creates a
jamdesk init to scaffold a new docs project. Replace my-docs with whatever name you’d like — it becomes the project directory name.my-docs/ directory containing:docs.json— your site configuration (theme, navigation, branding, and more)- MDX files — a set of starter pages wired into the navigation so you can see the structure right away
- Starter content — example usage of components like callouts, tabs, and code groups to help you learn by example
Start the dev server
Move into your new project directory and start the local development server.Your docs site is now running at http://localhost:3000. The dev server uses Turbopack by default, which compiles roughly 5× faster than Webpack. Changes to any
.mdx file or docs.json appear instantly in the browser without a manual refresh — no need to restart the server.Edit your content
Open any
.mdx file in your editor and make a change — update a heading, add a sentence, drop in a component. Save the file and switch back to your browser. The page updates immediately, reflecting your change with no extra steps needed.All 50+ Jamdesk components work in the local dev server exactly as they do on your hosted site, so what you see locally is what your readers will see.Deploy your site
When you’re ready to go live, authenticate with Jamdesk and run the deploy command.
jamdesk login opens dashboard.jamdesk.com/cli-auth in your browser. Sign in with your email, Google, or GitHub account. Your credentials are saved to ~/.jamdeskrc so you only need to log in once.jamdesk deploy packages your project files, uploads them to Jamdesk, and triggers a cloud build. Live status updates are printed as each build phase completes. Your docs are live on a *.jamdesk.app subdomain with SSL — typically within seconds of the upload finishing.What’s Next
Now that your site is up and running, explore what Jamdesk can do.Dev Server
Learn all the dev server options: custom ports, Webpack mode, cache clearing, and using the
~/.jamdeskrc defaults file.Configuration
Dig into
docs.json to customize your theme, navigation structure, branding, and integrations.Components
Browse all 50+ MDX components — accordions, tabs, code groups, steps, cards, callouts, and more.
Deploy
Explore advanced deploy options: detached mode, full rebuilds, GitHub auto-deploy, and Cloudflare subpath hosting.