Configuration

Every ShellDocs site configures itself through AddShellDocs(o => { … }) in Program.cs. The options object is where you set the site name, wire the header nav, declare your package family for the sidebar selector, drop in a brand logo, choose a layout variant, and register components for markdown authors to reference inline.

The minimum

csharp 
builder.Services.AddShellDocs(o =>
{
    o.ContentRoot = Path.Combine(builder.Environment.ContentRootPath, "content");
    o.SiteName = "MyDocs";
    o.GitHubRepo = "my-org/my-docs";
});

That's a working site. AddShellDocs registers all the shipped content primitives automatically (Callout, Card, Steps, FileTree, CodeGroup, TypeTable, ComponentPreview) : you don't need to opt in.

The full surface

Site metadata

Prop Type Default Description
SiteNameRequired string — Brand name shown in the header and sidebar.
SiteTagline string? null One-line description shown in the footer.
GitHubRepo string? null
ContentRoot string — Path to the content folder. Almost always set to `Path.Combine(builder.Environment.ContentRootPath, \

Layout

Prop Type Default Description
LayoutVariant DocsLayoutVariant TopNav `TopNav` = classic header + sidebar. `Sidebar` = floating card sidebar (this site uses it).
csharp 
o.LayoutVariant = DocsLayoutVariant.Sidebar;

Header navigation

Prop Type Default Description
AddNavLink(label, href) fluent — Simple link in the primary nav.
AddNavMenu(label, items[]) fluent — Hover mega-menu with icon-labelled child links.
csharp 
o.AddNavLink("Docs", "/docs/introduction");
o.AddNavLink("Components", "/docs/components/callout");

o.AddNavMenu("Learn",
    new NavMenuItem("Getting Started", "/docs/getting-started/installation", "Install and scaffold your first site."),
    new NavMenuItem("Authoring", "/docs/authoring/markdown", "How the markdown pipeline works."));
Prop Type Default Description
AddPackage(id, title, description, rootUrl, iconPath?) fluent — Declares one package family entry. Selector renders in the sidebar when 2+ packages are declared; hides entirely when 0 or 1.
csharp 
o.AddPackage("shellui.components",  "ShellUI.Components",  "Widgets and primitives.",  "/docs/components/button");
o.AddPackage("shellui.blocks",      "ShellUI.Blocks",      "Page-level blocks.",       "/docs/blocks/hero");
o.AddPackage("shellui.charts",      "ShellUI.Charts",      "Data visualisation.",      "/docs/charts/line");
Prop Type Default Description
LogoSvg string? null
LogoLight / LogoDark string? null URL pair for pre-rasterized theme-specific logos. Use when you have full-color logos with hardcoded palettes.
LogoAlt string? SiteName Accessibility label for the logo image.
LogoHeight double 1.375 Height in rem. Applied as inline style.
SetLogo(url) fluent — Convenience : same URL for both themes.
SetLogo(light, dark, alt?) fluent — Convenience : set both themes at once.
csharp 
// Monochrome mark (recommended for stroke logos):
o.LogoSvg = File.ReadAllText(Path.Combine(builder.Environment.WebRootPath, "brand/logo.svg"));

// Or the URL path:
o.SetLogo("/img/logo-light.svg", "/img/logo-dark.svg", alt: "MyBrand");

Registering components

By default AddShellDocs registers ShellDocs' own content primitives. To let markdown authors reference your components in razor:preview blocks and <ComponentPreview>:

Prop Type Default Description
RegisterComponent&lt;T&gt;() fluent — Explicit single-component registration.
RegisterComponentsFromAssembly&lt;TMarker&gt;(filter?) fluent — Bulk-register every public ComponentBase subclass in TMarker's assembly. Optional filter predicate.
[ShellDocsIgnore] attribute — Opt-out marker for public components that shouldn't be reachable from markdown.
csharp 
// One line to expose an entire component library:
o.RegisterComponentsFromAssembly<ShellUI.Components.Button>();

// Or scoped:
o.RegisterComponentsFromAssembly(typeof(ShellUI.Components.Button).Assembly,
    t => t.Namespace?.StartsWith("ShellUI.Components") == true);

Full example : this site's Program.cs

csharp 
builder.Services.AddShellDocs(o =>
{
    o.ContentRoot = Path.Combine(builder.Environment.ContentRootPath, "content");
    o.SiteName = "ShellDocs";
    o.SiteTagline = "The docs framework for .NET.";
    o.GitHubRepo = "shellui-dev/shelldocs";
    o.LayoutVariant = DocsLayoutVariant.Sidebar;

    o.AddNavLink("Docs", "/docs/introduction");
    o.AddNavLink("Components", "/docs/components/callout");
    o.AddNavLink("CLI", "/docs/cli/init");

    o.AddPackage("shelldocs",           "ShellDocs",           "The framework.",           "/docs/introduction");
    o.AddPackage("shelldocs.markdown",  "ShellDocs.Markdown",  "The markdown pipeline.",   "/docs/authoring/markdown");
    o.AddPackage("shelldocs.core",      "ShellDocs.Core",      "Nav graph + search.",      "/docs/configuration/registering-components");
    o.AddPackage("shelldocs.cli",       "ShellDocs.CLI",       "The CLI.",                 "/docs/cli/init");
    o.AddPackage("shelldocs.components","ShellDocs.Components","The primitives.",          "/docs/components/callout");
});

Next

Authoring guide
How the markdown pipeline works : frontmatter, code fences, razor:preview.
Component reference
Every shipped primitive : Callout, Card, Steps, CodeGroup, and more.