> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://www.mintlify.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Editor settings for AI and publishing

> Configure editor appearance, AI instructions, and publishing defaults to control how the Mintlify web editor looks and how it commits and merges changes.

The editor [settings page](https://app.mintlify.com/settings/deployment/editor) controls the appearance, publishing behavior, and agent behavior.

* **Appearance**: Personal preferences for how the editor looks and behaves. These apply only to you.
* **Publishing**: Deployment-wide defaults for how the editor commits changes and opens pull requests. These apply to everyone who publishes.
* **Chat**: Persistent instructions for the editor's AI agent.
* **Danger zone**: Actions that can't be undone.

## Appearance

Appearance settings are personal preferences. They change the editor only for you and don't affect teammates or your published site.

* **Fit editor to full width**: Stretch the editing canvas edge-to-edge instead of the default 768px column.
* **Show breadcrumbs**: Show the page's location in the site navigation above the editing canvas.
* **Open live preview in new tab**: Open the rendered page in a new browser tab when you preview, instead of the split-pane preview.
* **Show all files**: Show every file in the sidebar, including dotfiles, code, PDFs, and other files hidden by default. You can also press <kbd>Cmd</kbd> + <kbd>Shift</kbd> + <kbd>.</kbd> (macOS) or <kbd>Ctrl</kbd> + <kbd>Shift</kbd> + <kbd>.</kbd> (Windows) to toggle.

## PR instructions

PR instructions guide the AI when it generates a pull request title and description. They apply whenever the editor opens a pull request on your behalf, including from **Create pull request** and **Merge and publish** flows.

Use PR instructions to standardize what reviewers see, for example:

* Required sections like **Summary** and **Changes**.
* A description template that links to a tracking system.
* Tone or length requirements for titles.

Example:

```text theme={null}
Title: imperative mood, under 70 characters, no trailing period.
Description: include a "## Summary" section (one sentence) and a
"## Changes" section as a bulleted list. Link any referenced page
using its relative path.
```

Instructions are limited to 20,000 characters.

## Main branch autocommits

Main branch autocommits push changes to your main branch automatically, shortly after you stop typing. If you enable this setting, the editor **hides branches and the publish step entirely**.

<Warning>
  With main branch autocommits on, there is no pending state and no chance to review. Every edit reaches your live site shortly after you stop typing.
</Warning>

## PR merge method

Choose how the editor merges pull requests when you click **Merge and publish**:

* **Merge**: Creates a merge commit that preserves the full branch history. This is the default.
* **Squash**: Combines all commits in the branch into a single commit on your deployment branch.
* **Rebase**: Replays each commit from the branch onto your deployment branch without a merge commit.

If you pass an explicit merge method through the API or your Git provider's UI, that choice takes precedence.

<Tip>
  Match your merge method to your Git provider's branch protection settings. If your deployment branch only allows squash merges, set the method to **Squash** to avoid failed merges from the editor.
</Tip>

## AI instructions

AI instructions are persistent guidance that the editor sends to the AI alongside your request. Use them to capture style and tone rules you don't want to repeat every time, like voice, terminology, or formatting conventions.

Your instructions apply to:

* **Edit with AI** actions on a selection, such as rewrite, expand, or fix.
* **Agent sessions** started from the editor.

Each teammate maintains their own instructions, scoped to their user account. Instructions are limited to 20,000 characters.

Add AI instructions when you find yourself repeating the same guidance in prompts, for example:

* Enforcing second-person voice or sentence case headings.
* Preferring specific product names or terminology.
* Banning marketing language or filler phrases.
* Requiring certain components, like always using `<Note>` for callouts.

Keep instructions short and specific. The AI follows them on every request, so vague or contradictory rules degrade results.

Example:

```text theme={null}
- Use second person ("you") and active voice.
- Use sentence case for all headings.
- Refer to the product as "Acme"—never "Acme Inc." or "the platform".
- Wrap notes and warnings in <Note> or <Warning> components.
- Do not add introductory filler like "In this guide" or "Let's explore".
```

Leave the field empty to remove your instructions.

## Reset editor

**Reset editor** forces the editor to discard its local state and sync with your Git repository. Reset the editor if it gets stuck out of sync with your repo, for example if the file tree is empty or shows errors like `Unable to find docs.json`. This can happen even though the file exists on your deployment branch and your live site builds normally.

<Warning>
  If you reset the editor, you discard any unpublished changes that you haven't committed to Git. If you have pending edits you want to keep, publish them first.
</Warning>


## Related topics

- [Roles](/docs/dashboard/roles.md)
- [Collect page feedback from users and AI agents](/docs/optimize/feedback.md)
- [Introduction](/docs/index.md)