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1

Install

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Install the DotNetDocs CLI

dotnet tool install DotNetDocs --global

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Add DotNetDocs to your Solution

Navigate to your solution folder and create a new documentation project:
dotnet docs add
By default, this creates a Mintlify documentation project using the latest stable SDK version from NuGet. To use a different documentation type or prerelease SDK:
# Use a different documentation type
dotnet docs add --type DocFX

# Use the latest prerelease SDK version
dotnet docs add --prerelease
The CLI automatically queries NuGet.org for the latest SDK version. See more options in the CLI Reference docs.
This automatically:
  • locates the solution
  • creates a new {SolutionName}.Docs\{SolutionName}.Docs.docsproj file that centralizes your documentation
  • adds the new project to your solution
The new project is pre-configured with sensible defaults. For Mintlify projects, it looks like this:
<Project Sdk="DotNetDocs.Sdk/1.0.1">

    <PropertyGroup>
	    <DocumentationType>Mintlify</DocumentationType>
	    <GenerateDocumentation>true</GenerateDocumentation>
	    <NamespaceMode>Folder</NamespaceMode>
	    <ShowDocumentationStats>true</ShowDocumentationStats>

	    <ConceptualDocsEnabled>false</ConceptualDocsEnabled>
	    <ShowPlaceholders>false</ShowPlaceholders>

	    <MintlifyNavigationMode>Unified</MintlifyNavigationMode>
	    <MintlifyTemplate>
		    <Name>{solutionName}</Name>
		    <Theme>maple</Theme>
		    <Colors>
			    <Primary>#419AC5</Primary>
			    <Light>#419AC5</Light>
			    <Dark>#3CD0E2</Dark>
		    </Colors>
	    </MintlifyTemplate>
    </PropertyGroup>

</Project>
You can see more of how to configure your .docsproj file in the .docsproj Reference docs.
Now your documentation lives right next to your code - no more context switching! Edit your doc files in Visual Studio with full IntelliSense support.
Your documentation project is now part of your solution and will stay in sync with your codebase.
2

Integrate

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Adjust your .docsproj settings

Change the documentation type, shut off API Reference generation, turn off conceptual docs, and adjust any other settings as necessary.

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Enable XML Documentation Comment compilation

Add this to the projects where you want to extract the XML Documentation comments from your code:
<PropertyGroup>
    <GenerateDocumentationFile>true</GenerateDocumentationFile>
    <DocumentationFile>bin\$(Configuration)\$(TargetFramework)\$(AssemblyName).xml</DocumentationFile>
</PropertyGroup>

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Exclude unnecessary projects

Test projects are excluded by default. If there are other projects you’d like to exclude, update your .docsproj with the following property:
<PropertyGroup>
    <ExcludePatterns>pattern1;pattern2</ExcludePatterns>
</PropertyGroup>

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Generate API Documentation

Run the documentation generator:
dotnet build
DotNetDocs will:
  • Parse your assembly XML documentation
  • Extract all public types, methods, properties, and events
  • Combine it with any conceptual docs you’ve written
  • Render files in the format of your choice in the folder you specified
Your API documentation now stays in sync with every build - no more stale docs!
3

Deploy

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Local Development with Mintlify

Preview your docs locally with Mintlify’s dev server:
npm i mint -g
cd {SolutionName}.Docs
mint dev
Open http://localhost:3000 to see your docs with hot-reload.

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Deploy to Mintlify

Connect your GitHub repository to Mintlify for automatic deployments:
  1. Push your docs to GitHub
  2. Go to mintlify.com and connect your repo
  3. Mintlify automatically deploys on every push to main

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Deploy to GitHub Pages

Add a GitHub Actions workflow (.github/workflows/docs.yml):
name: Deploy Docs
on:
  push:
    branches: [main]

jobs:
  deploy:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
      - uses: actions/setup-dotnet@v3
        with:
          dotnet-version: '9.0'
      - name: Generate Docs
        run: |
          dotnet tool restore
          dotnet docs generate
      - name: Deploy to GitHub Pages
        uses: peaceiris/actions-gh-pages@v3
        with:
          github_token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
          publish_dir: ./MyProject.Docs

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CI/CD Integration

DotNetDocs integrates with your existing build pipeline:
# In your CI/CD pipeline
dotnet restore
dotnet build --configuration Release
Your documentation is now deployed and accessible to your users!