Guides
External Docs (Webmaster)
betaTurn company Brain context into a customer-facing docs corpus — structure, transform, human-reviewed publish into your host (Mintlify, Next.js, or Content API).
External Docs (product UI: Webmaster, stable id external_docs) is HiveBase’s
customer product for keeping a public or partner-facing docs corpus current from
your company Brain — not a replacement for hivebase.ai’s
own documentation host.
HiveBase intelligence (scan, structure, transform, stale detection, quality gates) lives here. Rendering and hosting still belong to your docs framework or site (Mintlify, Nextra, a Next.js App Router repo, or any consumer of the Content API).
Beta — publish stays human-gated
Treat External Docs as operator-assisted publishing, not set-and-forget autopilot for your brand. Structure, transforms, and PRs are designed so a human reviews before customer-facing copy ships. Auto-sync and traffic-backed refresh exist in the product loop; do not assume every environment has every delivery table enabled until you verify publish and queue behavior in your workspace.
What problem it solves
Internal truth moves faster than static docs. External Docs closes that gap without turning documentation into a second CMS you babysit by hand:
| Without External Docs | With External Docs |
|---|---|
| Someone rewrites product truth into marketing | Brain sources → governed external pages |
| Stale pages until a human notices | Stale badges + optional refresh when linked Brain docs change |
| Hosting tool = content brain | Host is commodity; context + quality stay in HiveBase |
| Agents and humans read different stories | Same Brain spine; external transform for audience + SEO fields |
How the loop works
- 01Company BrainInternal corpus
- 02Scan & structureFolders · pages · sources
- 03TransformExternal voice · SEO
- 04Human reviewApprove before publish
- 05Your hostMDX · TSX · Content API
- 01
Company Brain
Internal corpus
- 02
Scan & structure
Folders · pages · sources
- 03
Transform
External voice · SEO
- 04
Human review
Approve before publish
- 05
Your host
MDX · TSX · Content API
- Scan Brain — propose a docs tree from internal corpus (folders, page types, source links).
- Review & edit — reorder, rename, toggle pages, inspect which Brain doc sources each page.
- Generate / transform — rewrite for external readers (less jargon, more context, SEO fields).
- Publish — open a PR or push content into your framework:
- MDX for Mintlify / Nextra-class hosts
- TSX for Next.js App Router pages (primary investment path in product)
- Content API so any host can pull by API key
- Import (optional) — reverse-scan an existing GitHub
/docstree and merge with control. - Maintain — stale source links, optional auto-sync PRs, traffic/queue signals when configured.
What External Docs is not
| Claim to avoid | Reality |
|---|---|
| “HiveBase hosts our public brand docs for free forever” | You still need a host (or Content API consumer). |
| “Mintlify is obsolete” | Mintlify remains a valid publish target. Intelligence is the moat. |
| “hivebase.ai/docs runs on Webmaster auto-publish” | Public HiveBase docs are the first-party DIY corpus under /docs. |
| “AI ships customer docs unattended” | Default posture is review before publish — same trust spine. |
Operator path
Open Webmaster
In the app, open External Docs / Webmaster (/external_docs). You
need a workspace with Brain material worth externalizing — product,
onboarding, or support truth, not raw private chat dumps.
Scan and shape the tree
Run a Brain structure scan. Edit the plan: folders, slugs, which pages are on, which internal docs source each page.
Transform for the external reader
Generate external-facing copy. Check voice, claims, and that secrets or internal-only language did not leak.
Publish into your host
Connect the GitHub repo (or Content API consumer). Choose MDX or TSX as appropriate. Open the PR, review the diff, merge on your cadence.
Keep the loop warm
When Brain sources change, stale markers and the update queue tell you what to refresh. Prefer evidence-backed refreshes over bulk regeneration.
Delivery modes (honest map)
| Mode | When it fits | You still own |
|---|---|---|
| Mintlify MDX | Existing Mintlify / MDX docs repo | Theme, deploy, domain, nav config |
| Next.js TSX | App Router site you control | Design system, hosting, CI |
| Content API | Custom host or multi-channel publish | Fetch, cache, render, auth to API keys |
| Standalone | Working primarily inside HiveBase before a host | Choosing a durable publish path later |
Trust boundaries
External Docs inherits HiveBase governance:
- Reads of Brain and linked sources power structure and transform.
- Publish is an outbound, brand-impacting action — review PRs and gates before merge.
- Quality gates exist so low-grounded or leaky external output can be blocked or held.
- Disconnecting integrations or revoking GitHub/API access stops future publish paths; it does not silently unpublish already-merged host content.
See Trust & safety and Action receipts for the company-wide approval model that also covers high-impact publish steps.