helpbase ships as a scaffolder that creates a standalone Next.js project. No runtime dependency on the helpbase monorepo.
Prerequisites
- Node.js 18+
- pnpm (recommended) or npm
Create a new project
Run the scaffolder
npx create-helpbase my-docsThis creates a new directory with a complete help center project.
Pick a content source
The scaffolder asks where to seed content from. Three options:
- A website — paste a URL, the scraper pulls articles from the page copy.
- A code repository — paste a local path (or a
github.comURL to clone + generate). The scaffolder walks your source, synthesizes cited how-to guides with file + line references, and writes them intocontent/. Requires a helpbase login (free, 500k tokens/day) or anAI_GATEWAY_API_KEY. - Skip — scaffold with the shipped sample articles so you can start from a known-good layout.
Start the dev server
The scaffolder installs dependencies and opens http://localhost:3000 automatically once Next.js is ready. Your generated (or sample) articles are live.
Pointed at a repo and hit a token budget error? Scope down to a subdirectory with --source ./apps/web. The walker already skips common codegen dirs (generated/, .next/, dist/, target/) and lockfiles automatically, but enormous monorepos may still need a narrower path.
What the scaffolder creates
The scaffolder copies a production-ready help center with:
- 8 MDX components (Callout, Accordion, Steps, Tabs, CardGroup, CtaCard, Figure, Video)
- Sample content with getting started, customization, and component reference articles
- Search powered by client-side indexing (Cmd+K)
- Dark mode with next-themes
- Responsive sidebar with mobile support
- SEO metadata with Open Graph tags
The scaffolded project is completely standalone. It has no dependency on the helpbase monorepo or any workspace packages.
Adding to an existing project
If you already have a Next.js + shadcn project, use the registry instead:
npx shadcn add https://helpbase.dev/r/help-center.jsonThis adds the help center components, content pipeline, and routes to your existing project without replacing your layout or configuration.