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Documentation project instructions

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About this project

  • Novu is the open-source notification infrastructure for in-app (Inbox), email, SMS, push, and chat
  • This is a documentation site built on Mintlify
  • Pages are MDX files with YAML frontmatter
  • Configuration lives in docs.json
  • Use the Mintlify MCP server, https://mcp.mintlify.com, to edit content and settings via MCP
  • Use the Mintlify docs MCP server, https://www.mintlify.com/docs/mcp, to query information about using Mintlify via MCP

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Terminology

Use Novu-specific terms consistently. For full definitions, see the glossary.
  • Use subscriber (not “user”) for notification recipients, identified by subscriberId
  • Use workflow for the notification flow definition; step for individual nodes; trigger for invocation
  • Use channel for delivery mediums: in-app/Inbox, email, SMS, push, and chat
  • Use provider for the delivery service behind a channel (for example, SendGrid for email, Twilio for SMS)
  • Use Inbox (capitalized) for the in-app notification component; avoid “notification center”
  • Use topic for grouping subscribers for bulk notifications
  • Use tenant for multi-tenant isolation when relevant using contexts feature
  • Use integration for a configured provider connection in Novu
  • Use environment for Development or Production contexts
  • Use organization for the top-level account in the Novu Dashboard
  • Use layout for email HTML wrappers; digest for aggregated notification batches
  • Distinguish Novu Cloud from self-hosted deployments, and Community vs Enterprise editions where relevant

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Style preferences

  • Use active voice and second person (“you”)
  • Keep sentences concise — one idea per sentence
  • Use sentence case for headings
  • Bold for UI elements: Click Settings
  • Code formatting for file names, commands, paths, and code references
  • Capitalize Novu and product names: Inbox, Framework, Dashboard
  • Include frontmatter title and description on MDX pages
  • Use sidebarTitle for short navigation labels when the page title is long (for example, SEO question-format titles)
  • API endpoint pages must include a description and a 1–2 sentence intro before the OpenAPI block
  • Provider integration pages use the title pattern {Provider} {Channel} Integration with Novu with sidebarTitle for the short provider name
  • Use descriptive alt text on all diagrams and screenshots
  • See SEO and GEO maintenance for the ongoing review checklist
  • Use icons on top-level navigation section titles only (set "icon" on groups in docs.json), not on individual pages or nested collapsible groups
  • For icons we use the Lucide library.
  • Prefer Mintlify components (<Card>, <Columns>, <Steps>, <CodeGroup>) over raw HTML

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AI prompt blocks

Use the Mintlify <Prompt> component for pre-built AI prompts users can copy or open in Cursor. Write prompt text directly inside <Prompt> children — do not use <Snippet />, which copies as JSX instead of the prompt text. 
<Prompt description="Add Novu Inbox to my Next.js app" icon="sparkles" actions={["copy", "cursor"]}>
# Add Novu Inbox to Next.js App

Install `@novu/nextjs`...
</Prompt>
When to use <Prompt>
  • Integration setup where an AI assistant can implement code in the user’s repo (Inbox, workflow triggers, webhooks, agent connect buttons)
  • MCP or skills pages where users paste operational prompts into connected AI tools
  • Do not use for in-product Copilot-style chat or one-line examples better suited to prose
Conventions
  • Always set actions={["copy", "cursor"]} to match the Novu dashboard
  • Use Lucide icons: sparkles (integration), bot (MCP/skills), zap (workflows), plug (agents)
  • Use YOUR_* placeholders for dashboard-specific values (application identifier, subscriber ID, workflow ID)
  • Add a <Note> near the first prompt on a page telling users to substitute values from API Keys, Subscribers, or Workflows in the dashboard
  • Place prompts after prerequisites and adjacent to the code or setup steps they help implement

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Server-side SDK code examples

When documenting REST API operations that developers call from backend code, show examples for all official server-side SDKs plus cURL. Do not default to Node.js and cURL only. Official server-side SDKs (see SDK overview and API reference):
LanguagePackageDoc page
TypeScript / Node.js@novu/api/platform/sdks/server/typescript
Pythonnovu-py/platform/sdks/server/python
Gogithub.com/novuhq/novu-go/platform/sdks/server/go
PHPnovuhq/novu/platform/sdks/server/php
.NETNovu/platform/sdks/server/dotnet
Javaco.novu:novu-java/platform/sdks/server/java
Tab order — use <Tabs> with this consistent order:
  1. Node.js
  2. Python
  3. Go
  4. PHP
  5. .NET
  6. Java
  7. cURL
Conventions
  • Derive SDK examples from the corresponding SDK reference page and the OpenAPI specification. The REST field name maps to workflowId in SDKs.
  • Keep examples minimal and aligned across tabs — same workflow ID, subscriber ID, and payload shape.
  • Use <YOUR_SECRET_KEY_HERE> or NOVU_SECRET_KEY placeholders; never hardcode real keys.
  • Community SDKs (Kotlin, Laravel, Ruby) do not need tabs on platform pages unless the page is SDK-specific.
  • Do not edit files under docs/.mintlify/skills/ in this repo — they are synced from novuhq/skills. Update trigger, subscriber, or preference skill examples there instead.

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Content boundaries

  • Document public platform features, SDKs, and API reference
  • Do not document internal admin features, enterprise-only implementation details, or unreleased features
  • Link to the glossary for term definitions rather than redefining them inline