Recommended Layout

This is the section structure we recommend for most projects. It maps each doc type to a clear section in the sidebar.

The layout

import { defineConfig } from 'ciderpress'

export default defineConfig({
  sections: [
    // Onboarding — tutorials and quickstarts
    {
      title: 'Getting Started',
      icon: 'pixelarticons:speed-fast',
      path: '/getting-started',
      items: [
        {
          title: 'Introduction',
          path: '/getting-started/intro',
          include: 'docs/getting-started/intro.md',
        },
        {
          title: 'Quick Start',
          path: '/getting-started/quick-start',
          include: 'docs/getting-started/quick-start.md',
        },
      ],
    },

    // Task-oriented how-tos
    {
      title: { from: 'heading' },
      icon: 'pixelarticons:article',
      path: '/guides',
      include: 'docs/guides/*.md',
      sort: 'alpha',
    },

    // Conceptual explanations
    {
      title: { from: 'heading' },
      icon: 'pixelarticons:label',
      path: '/concepts',
      include: 'docs/concepts/**/*.md',
      recursive: true,
      sort: 'alpha',
    },

    // API, config, CLI reference
    {
      title: { from: 'heading' },
      icon: 'pixelarticons:list-box',
      path: '/reference',
      include: 'docs/reference/**/*.md',
      recursive: true,
      sort: 'alpha',
    },

    // Rules and conventions
    {
      title: { from: 'heading' },
      icon: 'pixelarticons:clipboard',
      path: '/standards',
      include: 'docs/standards/**/*.md',
      recursive: true,
      sort: 'alpha',
    },

    // Common problems and fixes
    {
      title: { from: 'heading' },
      icon: 'pixelarticons:alert',
      path: '/troubleshooting',
      include: 'docs/troubleshooting/*.md',
      sort: 'alpha',
    },
  ],
})

Section-to-type mapping

SectionDoc typesDirectory
Getting StartedTutorials, Quickstartsdocs/getting-started/
GuidesGuidesdocs/guides/
ConceptsExplanationsdocs/concepts/
ReferenceReferencedocs/reference/
StandardsStandardsdocs/standards/
TroubleshootingTroubleshooting, Runbooksdocs/troubleshooting/

Monorepo additions

For monorepos with multiple apps or packages, add isolated sections for each workspace:

{
  title: 'Apps',
  icon: 'pixelarticons:device-laptop',
  path: '/apps',
  standalone: true,
  items: [
    {
      title: { from: 'heading' },
      path: '/apps/api',
      include: 'apps/api/docs/**/*.md',
      recursive: true,
      sort: 'alpha',
    },
    {
      title: { from: 'heading' },
      path: '/apps/web',
      include: 'apps/web/docs/**/*.md',
      recursive: true,
      sort: 'alpha',
    },
  ],
},
{
  title: 'Packages',
  icon: 'pixelarticons:archive',
  path: '/packages',
  standalone: true,
  items: [
    {
      title: { from: 'heading' },
      path: '/packages/ui',
      include: 'packages/ui/docs/**/*.md',
      recursive: true,
      sort: 'alpha',
    },
  ],
},

Using standalone: true gives each app or package its own sidebar, keeping navigation focused.

File structure

The recommended directory layout mirrors the sections:

docs/
├── getting-started/
│   ├── intro.md
│   └── quick-start.md
├── guides/
│   ├── add-a-plugin.md
│   ├── configure-ci.md
│   └── deploy-to-vercel.md
├── concepts/
│   ├── authentication.md
│   └── data-flow.md
├── reference/
│   ├── configuration.md
│   ├── cli.md
│   └── api/
│       ├── overview.md
│       └── endpoints.md
├── standards/
│   ├── typescript.md
│   └── git-commits.md
└── troubleshooting/
    └── deployments.md

Adapting the layout

Not every project needs all sections. Start with what you have:

Project sizeRecommended sections
SmallGetting Started, Reference
MediumGetting Started, Guides, Concepts, Reference
LargeAll sections
MonorepoAll sections + standalone Apps/Packages

Add sections as your docs grow. Removing an empty section is easier than reorganizing a flat pile of docs later.

References

  • Overview — why this framework exists
  • Types — the seven doc types in detail
  • Scaling — how the layout evolves over time
  • Content — ciderpress section configuration