Pages and navigation

Writing•4 min read||

DocsLit generates your site navigation from docslit.json. You control the sidebar structure, page ordering, and pagination through a single configuration file.

Sidebar structure

The sidebar array in docslit.json defines groups of pages:

{ "sidebar": [ { "group": "Getting started", "pages": ["introduction", "installation", "quickstart"] }, { "group": "Guides", "pages": ["authentication", "deployment", "custom-domains"] } ] }

Each group creates a collapsible section in the sidebar. Pages appear in the order you list them.

Page slugs

Each entry in the pages array is a slug — the filename without the .md extension:

Slug File Sidebar label
introduction docs/introduction.md Introduction
getting-started docs/getting-started.md Getting Started
api-reference docs/api-reference.md Api Reference

DocsLit converts kebab-case slugs to title case automatically. To override the sidebar label, use the sidebar_title frontmatter field.

Nested page IDs

You can organize pages in subdirectories within docs/:

{ "sidebar": [ { "group": "API", "pages": ["api/overview", "api/authentication", "api/endpoints"] } ] }

This maps to files at docs/api/overview.md, docs/api/authentication.md, and so on.

Pagination

DocsLit automatically adds previous and next navigation links at the bottom of each page. The order follows the sidebar — the page after the last entry in a group continues to the first page of the next group.

Arrange your pages in the order a new reader would follow. The sidebar defines both navigation and learning path.

Sidebar features

Collapsible groups

Each sidebar group is collapsible. Readers can expand or collapse sections to focus on the content that matters to them.

Keyboard navigation

The sidebar supports full keyboard navigation:

Key Action
↑ ↓ Move between sidebar items
Enter Navigate to the selected page
Home Jump to the first item
End Jump to the last item

Filter

The sidebar includes a search filter at the top. Readers type to filter pages by title, making it easy to find pages in large documentation sites.

Table of contents

DocsLit generates a table of contents from ## and ### headings on each page. This appears as a right-side panel on wide screens.

Write descriptive headings that help readers scan the page. Each heading becomes a clickable anchor link.

Next steps