November 2024 Summaries

We're releasing AI Assistant to help with documentation maintenance by proposing updates based on the context of existing documentation. The goal is to lower the activation energy for writing and let people focus on creative touches, while AI handles grunt work tasks. This tool aims to improve documentation quality by simplifying writing, enforcing style guidelines, generating changelogs, and translating content.

Mintlify's AI Assistant is designed to automate the routine maintenance of documentation by allowing users to prompt AI to make changes and propose updates based on the existing documentation context. By leveraging the 80/20 rule, the tool efficiently handles basic tasks like fixing typos and updating terminology, enabling teams to concentrate on strategic improvements that enhance customer experience. The AI Assistant is not meant to automate documentation entirely but to reduce the initial workload, allowing human editors to focus on creative and strategic refinements. Users can employ the assistant for various tasks, such as renaming features, improving writing clarity, enforcing style guidelines, generating changelogs, and translating content into multiple languages. This tool aims to transform the perception of documentation maintenance from a chore into a strategic opportunity for enhancing customer interactions.

Mintlify has released support for /llms.txt and /llms-full.txt, which automatically generates and hosts documentation in plain text format for large language models (LLMs) to easily ingest. This simplifies the process of providing key information to LLMs, bypassing complex HTML or JavaScript parsing. By adopting a standardized file format, Mintlify aims to make documentation more accessible and useful for AI tools, enabling users to find product-specific information directly through general-purpose LLMs. The company plans to continue investing in new ways AI can enhance documentation, with upcoming updates expected to further improve the experience.

Mintlify has introduced an automated system for generating and hosting documentation files in plain text formats, optimized for large language model (LLM) ingestion, using the /llms.txt and /llms-full.txt file standards. These files facilitate better indexing and understanding of documentation content by AI tools such as ChatGPT and Perplexity. The /llms.txt file offers a streamlined navigation view for AI, while the /llms-full.txt file compiles comprehensive documentation into a single markdown file, enhancing the ability of AI coding assistants to provide context-aware suggestions. This development is part of a broader initiative to make documentation more accessible and searchable both for humans and AI, addressing challenges such as keyword dependency and navigation complexities. By adopting the /llms.txt standard, Mintlify aims to set a precedent for the widespread use of AI-friendly documentation formats across the industry, with further innovations anticipated in the future.

We all suffer from documentation lagging behind product updates. It’s a particularly hard problem because developers should own documentation since they know the details best, but they often hesitate to use tools outside their familiar git workflows or IDEs. A docs-as-code approach helps integrate docs management into existing developer processes, making it easier to keep everything up-to-date without feeling like a burden. Docs as Code means that you approach writing documentation like how you write code, with the same tools and workflows. This entails writing documentation in plain text like Markdown, using a version control system like Git, and reviewing changes before they’re deployed. Integrating into existing workflows reduces friction (and increases motivation) for developers to contribute to documentation. To make adoption easier, incorporate docs management into your rituals and rewards, such as adding it to main repositories or recognizing contributions in performance reviews. The right tech stack can also help, with options ranging from building an in-house tool to using a third-party solution like Mintlify. Docs as Code is key for modern teams to create smooth user experiences, taking a mix of cultural change and the right tools.

Docs as Code is an approach that integrates documentation management into developers' existing workflows using tools like Git and Markdown, promoting seamless collaboration and reducing the friction often associated with keeping documentation up-to-date. This method encourages developers to treat documentation with the same importance as code, using version control, pull requests, and automated processes to manage changes efficiently. Successful implementation requires cultural shifts, such as including documentation contributions in performance reviews, as seen in companies like Stripe, and selecting the right tech stack, whether building custom solutions or using third-party platforms like Mintlify, which offers features tailored to enhance the developer experience. By aligning documentation practices with existing development processes, Docs as Code can improve the quality and timeliness of documentation, making it a core component of the development lifecycle rather than an afterthought.

PostHog, an analytics platform, has built a brand among developers by prioritizing transparency in their operations, from open-source products to publicly documented processes on their website. This approach, known as "building in public," has helped them earn trust with users and establish a competitive advantage in the market. By sharing their thoughts, decisions, and processes openly, PostHog's founders have created a culture of accountability, which is reflected in their well-maintained company handbook and processes. They attribute their success to investing time and effort into documenting their website experience, which has become a key differentiator for the company. While building in public may not yield immediate results, it can lead to long-term benefits, such as increased trust with users, improved internal processes, and a competitive edge. The founders offer advice to startups considering this approach, emphasizing the importance of defining clear principles and approaches to avoid organizational debt, which can be costly in terms of time and resources.

PostHog, an analytics platform, stands out by embracing a transparent "build in public" approach, which has fostered trust, attracted talent, and provided a competitive edge since its founding in 2020. Co-founder James Hawkins highlights how treating their website as a product and documenting processes publicly via their handbook and GitHub has enabled PostHog to maintain high-quality standards and differentiate itself from competitors. This transparency extends to their internal operations, where regularly updated principles help keep the team aligned and efficient. By sharing their development journey openly, PostHog not only strengthens internal processes and recruitment efforts but also strategically positions itself in the market by setting trends rather than following them. Investing in a comprehensive and user-friendly website has proven to be a leap of faith that serves as a primary sales tool and brand ambassador, encouraging organic growth through word-of-mouth and social media mentions.

Introducing our revamped Web Editor allows you to create, edit and publish documentation using a Notion-like interface, making it easier for non-developers to contribute to documentation without needing extensive git knowledge. We built Mintlify with developers in mind but now aim to make documentation accessible to all team members regardless of their technical expertise. The new Web Editor simplifies editing processes, allowing developers to work in their preferred workflows while other teammates can easily update docs without requiring extensive knowledge of git. With the launch, we're also updating our Pro plan to $15 per seat after the first five seats. Our goal is to make documentation better for everyone involved.

Mintlify's new Web Editor introduces a Notion-like interface designed to make documentation accessible to non-technical team members while maintaining the git-based workflows familiar to developers. This shift aims to alleviate the burden on engineering teams by enabling marketers, product managers, and technical writers to seamlessly contribute to documentation, thereby enhancing its quality without hindering developer productivity. The founders of Mintlify, after multiple pivots and a focus on addressing developers' documentation challenges, have evolved their platform to support a wider range of collaborators by overcoming the barriers non-technical teams face with git. The Web Editor allows all team members to contribute to the documentation process through an intuitive interface, ensuring ease of use and flexibility, whether through a git-based workflow or a visual editor. With this launch, Mintlify also updates its Pro plan pricing to support continuous improvements, reinforcing its commitment to enhancing the documentation process for both developers and non-developers alike.