LLM Context Guide for Apache Superset Documentation

This guide helps LLMs work with the Apache Superset documentation site built with Docusaurus 3.

📍 Current Directory Context

You are currently in the /docs subdirectory of the Apache Superset repository. When referencing files from the main codebase, use ../ to access the parent directory.

/Users/evan_1/GitHub/superset/     # Main repository root
├── superset/                      # Python backend code
├── superset-frontend/             # React/TypeScript frontend
└── docs/                         # Documentation site (YOU ARE HERE)
    ├── docs/                     # Main documentation content
    ├── developer_portal/         # Developer guides (currently disabled)
    ├── components/               # Component playground (currently disabled)
    └── docusaurus.config.ts      # Site configuration

🚀 Quick Commands

# Development
yarn start                 # Start dev server on http://localhost:3000
yarn stop                 # Stop running dev server
yarn build                # Build production site
yarn serve                # Serve built site locally

# Version Management (USE THESE, NOT docusaurus commands)
yarn version:add:docs <version>              # Add new docs version
yarn version:add:developer_portal <version>  # Add developer portal version  
yarn version:add:components <version>        # Add components version
yarn version:remove:docs <version>           # Remove docs version
yarn version:remove:developer_portal <version> # Remove developer portal version
yarn version:remove:components <version>      # Remove components version

# Quality Checks
yarn typecheck            # TypeScript validation
yarn eslint              # Lint TypeScript/JavaScript files

📁 Documentation Structure

Main Documentation (`/docs`)

The primary documentation lives in /docs with this structure:

docs/
├── intro.md                # Auto-generated from ../README.md
├── quickstart.mdx          # Getting started guide
├── api.mdx                 # API reference with Swagger UI
├── faq.mdx                 # Frequently asked questions
├── installation/           # Installation guides
│   ├── installation-methods.mdx
│   ├── docker-compose.mdx
│   ├── docker-builds.mdx
│   ├── kubernetes.mdx
│   ├── pypi.mdx
│   └── architecture.mdx
├── configuration/          # Configuration guides
│   ├── configuring-superset.mdx
│   ├── alerts-reports.mdx
│   ├── caching.mdx
│   ├── databases.mdx
│   └── [more config docs]
├── using-superset/         # User guides
│   ├── creating-your-first-dashboard.md
│   ├── exploring-data.mdx
│   └── [more user docs]
├── contributing/           # Contributor guides
│   ├── development.mdx
│   ├── testing-locally.mdx
│   └── [more contributor docs]
└── security/              # Security documentation
    ├── security.mdx
    └── [security guides]

Developer Portal (`/developer_portal`) - Currently Disabled

When enabled, contains developer-focused content:

API documentation
Architecture guides
CLI tools
Code examples

Component Playground (`/components`) - Currently Disabled

When enabled, provides interactive component examples for UI development.

📝 Documentation Standards

File Types

.md files: Basic Markdown documents
.mdx files: Markdown with JSX - can include React components
.tsx files in /src: Custom React components and pages

Frontmatter Structure

Every documentation page should have frontmatter:

---
title: Page Title
description: Brief description for SEO
sidebar_position: 1  # Optional: controls order in sidebar
---

MDX Component Usage

MDX files can import and use React components:

import Tabs from '@theme/Tabs';
import TabItem from '@theme/TabItem';

<Tabs>
  <TabItem value="npm" label="npm" default>
    ```bash
    npm install superset
    ```
  </TabItem>
  <TabItem value="yarn" label="yarn">
    ```bash
    yarn add superset
    ```
  </TabItem>
</Tabs>

Code Blocks

Use triple backticks with language identifiers:

```python
def hello_world():
    print("Hello, Superset!")
```

```sql title="Example Query"
SELECT * FROM users WHERE active = true;
```

```bash
# Installation command
pip install apache-superset
```

Admonitions

Docusaurus supports various admonition types:

:::note
This is a note
:::

:::tip
This is a tip
:::

:::warning
This is a warning
:::

:::danger
This is a danger warning
:::

:::info
This is an info box
:::

🔄 Version Management

Version Configuration

Versions are managed through versions-config.json:

{
  "docs": {
    "disabled": false,
    "lastVersion": "6.0.0",        // Default version shown
    "includeCurrentVersion": true,  // Show "Next" version
    "onlyIncludeVersions": ["current", "6.0.0"],
    "versions": {
      "current": {
        "label": "Next",
        "path": "",
        "banner": "unreleased"     // Shows warning banner
      },
      "6.0.0": {
        "label": "6.0.0",
        "path": "6.0.0",
        "banner": "none"
      }
    }
  }
}

Creating New Versions

IMPORTANT: Always use the custom scripts, NOT native Docusaurus commands:

# ✅ CORRECT - Updates both Docusaurus and versions-config.json
yarn version:add:docs 6.1.0

# ❌ WRONG - Only updates Docusaurus, breaks version dropdown
yarn docusaurus docs:version 6.1.0

Version Files Created

When versioning, these files are created:

versioned_docs/version-X.X.X/ - Snapshot of current docs
versioned_sidebars/version-X.X.X-sidebars.json - Sidebar config
versions.json - List of all versions

🎨 Styling and Theming

Custom CSS

Add custom styles in /src/css/custom.css:

:root {
  --ifm-color-primary: #20a7c9;
  --ifm-code-font-size: 95%;
}

Custom Components

Create React components in /src/components/:

// src/components/FeatureCard.tsx
import React from 'react';

export default function FeatureCard({title, description}) {
  return (
    <div className="card">
      <h3>{title}</h3>
      <p>{description}</p>
    </div>
  );
}

Use in MDX:

import FeatureCard from '@site/src/components/FeatureCard';

<FeatureCard
  title="Fast"
  description="Lightning fast queries"
/>

📦 Key Dependencies

Docusaurus 3.8.1: Static site generator
React 18.3: UI framework
Ant Design 5.26: Component library
@superset-ui/core: Superset UI components
Swagger UI React: API documentation
Prism: Syntax highlighting

🔗 Linking Strategies

Internal Links

Use relative paths for internal documentation:

[Installation Guide](./installation/docker-compose)
[Configuration](../configuration/configuring-superset)

External Links

Always use full URLs:

[Apache Superset GitHub](https://github.com/apache/superset)

Linking to Code

Reference code in the main repository:

See the [main configuration file](https://github.com/apache/superset/blob/master/superset/config.py)

🛠️ Common Documentation Tasks

Adding a New Guide

Create the .mdx file in the appropriate directory
Add frontmatter with title and description
Update sidebar if needed (for manual sidebar configs)

Adding API Documentation

The API docs use Swagger UI embedded in /docs/api.mdx:

import SwaggerUI from "swagger-ui-react";
import "swagger-ui-react/swagger-ui.css";

<SwaggerUI url="/api/v1/openapi.json" />

Adding Interactive Examples

Use MDX to create interactive documentation:

import CodeBlock from '@theme/CodeBlock';
import MyComponentExample from '!!raw-loader!../examples/MyComponent.tsx';

<CodeBlock language="tsx">{MyComponentExample}</CodeBlock>

📋 Documentation Checklist

When creating or updating documentation:

[ ] Clear, descriptive title in frontmatter
[ ] Description for SEO in frontmatter
[ ] Proper heading hierarchy (h1 -> h2 -> h3)
[ ] Code examples with language identifiers
[ ] Links verified (internal and external)
[ ] Images have alt text
[ ] Admonitions used for important notes
[ ] Tested locally with yarn start
[ ] No broken links (check with yarn build)

🔍 Searching and Navigation

Sidebar Configuration

Sidebars are configured in /sidebars.js:

module.exports = {
  CustomSidebar: [
    {
      type: 'doc',
      label: 'Introduction',
      id: 'intro',
    },
    {
      type: 'category',
      label: 'Installation',
      items: [
        {
          type: 'autogenerated',
          dirName: 'installation',
        },
      ],
    },
  ],
};

Search

Docusaurus includes Algolia DocSearch integration configured in docusaurus.config.ts.

🚫 Common Pitfalls to Avoid

Never use yarn docusaurus docs:version - Use yarn version:add:docs instead
Don't edit versioned docs directly - Edit current docs and create new version
Avoid absolute paths in links - Use relative paths for maintainability
Don't forget frontmatter - Every doc needs title and description
Test builds locally - Run yarn build before committing

🔧 Troubleshooting

Dev Server Issues

yarn stop     # Kill any running servers
yarn clear    # Clear cache
yarn start    # Restart

Build Failures

# Check for broken links
yarn build

# TypeScript issues
yarn typecheck

# Linting issues
yarn eslint

Version Issues

If versions don't appear in dropdown:

Check versions-config.json includes the version
Verify version files exist in versioned_docs/
Restart dev server

📚 Resources

📖 Real Examples and Patterns

Example: Configuration Documentation Pattern

From docs/configuration/configuring-superset.mdx:

---
title: Configuring Superset
hide_title: true
sidebar_position: 1
version: 1
---

# Configuring Superset

## superset_config.py

Superset exposes hundreds of configurable parameters through its
[config.py module](https://github.com/apache/superset/blob/master/superset/config.py).

```bash
export SUPERSET_CONFIG_PATH=/app/superset_config.py


**Key patterns:**
- Links to source code for reference
- Code blocks with bash/python examples
- Environment variable documentation
- Step-by-step configuration instructions

### Example: Tutorial Documentation Pattern
From `docs/using-superset/creating-your-first-dashboard.mdx`:

```mdx
import useBaseUrl from "@docusaurus/useBaseUrl";

## Creating Your First Dashboard

:::tip
In addition to this site, [Preset.io](http://preset.io/) maintains an updated set of end-user
documentation at [docs.preset.io](https://docs.preset.io/).
:::

### Connecting to a new database

<img src={useBaseUrl("/img/tutorial/tutorial_01_add_database_connection.png")} width="600" />

Key patterns:

Import Docusaurus hooks for dynamic URLs
Use of admonitions (:::tip) for helpful information
Screenshots with useBaseUrl for proper path resolution
Clear section hierarchy with ### subheadings
Step-by-step visual guides

Example: API Documentation Pattern

From docs/api.mdx:

import SwaggerUI from "swagger-ui-react";
import "swagger-ui-react/swagger-ui.css";

## API Documentation

<SwaggerUI url="/api/v1/openapi.json" />