Exclude files from publishing

Exclude specific files and directories from your published documentation using a .mintignore file with glob patterns, similar to .gitignore syntax.

The .mintignore file lets you exclude specific files and directories in your documentation repository from processing and publishing to your documentation site.

Use .mintignore to keep drafts, internal notes, and source files out of your public documentation while maintaining them in your repository.

Create a .mintignore file in the root of your docs directory. This file uses the same pattern syntax as .gitignore.

# Exclude draft documents
drafts/
*.draft.mdx

# Exclude internal documentation
internal/

# Exclude specific files
private-notes.md

When Mintlify builds your documentation, it reads the .mintignore file and excludes any matching files or directories from processing.

Excluded files:

• Don't appear in your published documentation.
• Aren't indexed for search.
• Aren't accessible to visitors.
• Don't have their outgoing links checked by mint broken-links.
• Cause any links pointing to them from other pages to appear as broken by mint broken-links checks.

Mintlify automatically ignores the following directories and files without requiring any configuration:

• .git
• .github
• .claude
• .agents
• .idea
• .vscode
• .cursor
• .mintlify (except skills and JSON or YAML configuration files)
• node_modules
• README.md
• LICENSE.md
• CHANGELOG.md
• CONTRIBUTING.md

You don't need to add these to your .mintignore file.

The .mintignore file follows .gitignore syntax. Some common patterns include:

• Fix a static file that returns 404 on your docs site
• SEO
• Mintlify CLI command reference