Docs Configuration

https://promptless.docs.buildwithfern.com/

Requirements

• Node 18 or higher
• A GitHub account

Install the Fern CLI

Install the Fern CLI globally by running:

npm install -g fern-api

The CLI commands in the following steps must be run from within the root folder of your repository.

Generate your documentation

Run the following command:

fern generate --docs

You will be prompted to log in and connect your GitHub account.

Once the documentation is generated, you will receive the URL where your documentation is published. For example:

┌─
│ ✓  plantstore.docs.buildwithfern.com
└─

# OR

┌─
│ ✓  MY_ORGANIZATION_NAME.docs.buildwithfern.com
└─

Try local development

Preview your documentation locally. Run ​fern docs dev​ to access your docs on your local server at port 3000, hot-reloading as you edit your markdown and OpenAPI files. Learn more or watch a 10-second demo.

Customize your documentation

You must run fern generate --docs after any modifications to re-generate and publish your documentation site.

To preview updates to your documentation before publishing changes, run fern generate --docs --preview.

To use your own OpenAPI specification file or to update the existing one:

• Update or replace the OpenAPI specification file in the openapi/ folder.
• Note: Don't have an OpenAPI spec? Use Fern's simpler format to define your API. Learn more.

To modify the other docs pages:

• Update the Markdown files located in the docs/pages/ folder, such as welcome.mdx.

To modify site styles and navigation, or to add new pages:

• See Writing Content.

To learn about Fern's built-in component library you can use within MDX files:

• See the Component Library.

Set up a custom domain

If you wish to use a custom subdomain like https://docs.YOUR_ORGANIZATION.com or a subpath like https://YOUR_ORGANIZATION.com/docs, you can subscribe to the Starter plan. Once subscribed, update docs.yml with the custom domain configuration:

- url: plantstore.docs.buildwithfern.com
  custom-domain: plantstore.dev

Explore advanced features

For advanced documentation features and options, view the full project structure.

Good luck creating beautiful and functional documentation! 🌿

Customer Showcase

Get inspired by API documentation built with Fern: Hume | Webflow | Cartesia | Cohere | ElevenLabs

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Support

Need help? Set up a call with an expert or email us at support@buildwithfern.com.