🦕 Denote

Documentation that speaks to machines and humans.

Live demo: denote.sh

The open-source docs framework with llms.txt, MCP server, and structured JSON API built in. Every AI feature free.

Open Source · AI-Native · Self-Hostable

Why Denote?

Traditional docs tools weren't built for a world where AI agents read your documentation too. Denote is:

• 🤖 AI-Native — Built-in MCP server, llms.txt, and JSON API. Your docs are a first-class data source for AI agents — not an afterthought.
• 📝 Markdown First — Write docs in Markdown with frontmatter. No MDX compilation step. Just files.
• ⚡ Lightning Fast — Minimal client JavaScript. Fast page loads, no bloat.
• 🚀 Deploy Anywhere — Docker, Deno Deploy, or any server. One-click cloud or self-host.

Quick Start

deno run -Ar jsr:@denote/init

That's it. You'll have a docs site running locally in under a minute.

AI Features

Every Denote site ships with these endpoints out of the box — zero config:

Endpoint	What it does
GET /llms.txt	AI discovery file following the open standard
GET /llms-full.txt	Full documentation context for LLMs
GET /api/docs	Structured JSON API for RAG, embeddings, or direct context
MCP server	Expose docs as tools/resources for Cursor, Claude, ChatGPT

MCP Setup

Enable MCP in your config, then point any MCP client at your site:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "my-docs": {
      "url": "https://docs.example.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Features

• 🔍 ⌘K Search — Ranked full-text search powered by MiniSearch with fuzzy and prefix matching. Lazily loaded, no external service needed.
• 📱 Mobile Responsive — Collapsible sidebar, touch-friendly navigation.
• 📑 Table of Contents — Auto-generated from headings.
• 🧭 Config-driven Navigation — Define your sidebar in TypeScript.

Writing Docs

Create .md files in content/docs/:

---
title: My Page
description: A brief description for search and SEO
---

# My Page

Write your documentation here with full Markdown support.

Configuration

Edit denote.config.ts to customize navigation, branding, and more:

import type { DenoteConfig } from "@denote/core";

export const config: DenoteConfig = {
  name: "My Docs",
  colors: {
    primary: "#6366f1",
  },
  navigation: [
    {
      title: "Getting Started",
      children: [
        { title: "Introduction", href: "/docs/introduction" },
        { title: "Installation", href: "/docs/installation" },
      ],
    },
  ],
  social: {
    github: "https://github.com/your-org/your-docs",
  },
};

Deploy

Deno Deploy

Connect your GitHub repo to Deno Deploy for automatic deployments on every push. See the Fresh deployment guide.

Docker

docker build -t my-docs .
docker run -p 8000:8000 my-docs

Project Structure

denote/
├── packages/
│   ├── denote/           # Core library (@denote/core)
│   │   ├── components/   # Server-rendered Preact components
│   │   ├── islands/      # Client-side interactive components
│   │   ├── lib/          # Core utilities (markdown, docs, AI)
│   │   ├── routes/       # Fresh file-based routes
│   │   ├── denote.config.ts  # Config type definitions
│   │   └── mod.ts        # Library entry point
│   └── denote-init/      # Scaffolding CLI (@denote/init)
├── docs/                 # Documentation site (denote.sh)
│   ├── content/docs/     # Markdown documentation files
│   ├── denote.config.ts  # Site configuration
│   └── vite.config.ts    # Vite build configuration
├── deno.json             # Workspace root config
└── Dockerfile

Tech Stack

• Deno — Runtime
• Fresh — Web framework
• Preact — UI rendering
• Tailwind CSS v4 — Styling
• Vite — Dev server & bundler

License

MIT