Projects and repositories
Why it matters
A project is your main container. It holds documentation pages, a
team with permissions, version history, and (optionally) links to code
repositories.
A single project usually maps to one of three things:
One microservice / library — API docs, internal-logic notes,
READMEs for developers.One product / feature — mixed documentation for product, design,
and engineering teams.One team or department — internal knowledge base, processes,
onboarding, retros.
A repository is a link to a GitHub repo. One project can link to
multiple repositories at once (monorepos, tightly related services),
and vice versa — one repo can appear in several projects (e.g. a
utility library used by three teams).
How to create a project
Open
/projects— the same place where you see cards for all your
projects.Click Create New Project.
Pick a type in the modal:
Blank project — an empty project with a single empty page.
Best for documentation written from scratch.From GitHub — pick a repository from your installed list
(see the Integrations section). Nextdocs clones it, auto-generates
the first version of documentation from the code, and places it
into the page tree. Use this when you want a "starter" knowledge
base for existing code without manual entry.From ZIP archive — upload a
.zipwith sources. Same flow as
GitHub but without the integration.From Confluence export — import Confluence documentation as a
.ziparchive exported in HTML.
For all options, set a name, description, and visibility:
private(invited-only) orpublic(accessible via link, no login
required).
After creation you land on the project page — page tree on the left,
editor in the middle, tabs with comments, table of contents, and
history on the right.
Managing a project
From the project menu (gear icon on the card or in the page header):
Rename — change the name. Every link to the project picks up the
new name automatically.Visibility — toggle public/private. Switching to
publicmakes
pages indexable by search engines (Google etc.) and accessible
without login.Delete — remove the project. This is irreversible: all
pages, comments, and history are removed. Private repositories
connected to the project remain — only the link is removed.
Pages inside a project
The page tree is a hierarchy, like folders and files. Any page can be:
created via the "+" button in the tree — the page appears at
the root or as a child (pick the spot with your cursor);renamed by double-clicking the name — everyone who has the
project open sees the change within the same second;dragged with the mouse to another location in the tree —
standard drag & drop, synced live;deleted via right-click context menu — a deleted page can be
restored from the project history.
Each page has a URL like /projects/{id}/{pageId} that's handy to
share in Slack or email — the recipient lands directly on the page
(assuming they have access).
Connecting repositories
The /repositories screen lists every repository you have access to.
Add from GitHub — clones a new repository (requires the GitHub
App to be installed; see Integrations).Attach to project — links an already-loaded repository with an
existing project. A "Generate from repo" button appears on the
project page that kicks off AI-driven documentation generation from
the sources.Detach — removes the link. The repository stays in Nextdocs, the
project stays too; only the generation path disappears.Share — give colleagues access to the repository (so they can
attach it to their own projects).
Typical scenarios
New team joining, need a wiki from scratch. Blank project → create
pages by hand → structure in the tree by department / topic.
You have code, need API documentation. From GitHub → pick the repo →
Nextdocs generates the first version → edit the key pages → connect
the AI chat to search across code.
You have a Confluence base and you're migrating. Export the
Confluence space as an HTML archive → From Confluence export → get a
mirror of the old structure in Nextdocs.
Microservice project, 5 repos for one product. Create one project
→ on the Repositories screen add all 5 repos → on the project page
attach each of them → AI chat searches across all attached repos at
once.
Limitations
1 MB max per page (Yjs document). If you're planning to store a book
— split it into chapter-pages.Bulk operations (mass delete, moving several pages at once) are not
yet supported — only one at a time.Public-visibility projects aren't backed up separately from the
project — a snapshot is taken automatically, but if the project is
deleted, the public copy disappears too.