Choose Your Docs Type
Every collection in DocStar has a type. The type decides what you can add to the collection and which settings it offers. You choose it under Select Type when you create the collection.
The four collection types
| Type | Best for | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Doc | Guides, help centers, product manuals, internal wikis, onboarding docs | Standard documentation pages and subpages, plus a Gallery View setting for card-style layouts |
| API | Developer portals, API references, SDK docs | Everything in Doc, plus API endpoints you can document and test, and a Public Environment setting for your live docs |
| Blogs | Product updates, articles, announcements | Blog posts with Categories, blog templates and a blog heading on the public page |
| Embed | Putting a DocStar editor inside your own product | A configurable editor you embed in your app, instead of a docs site |
All types except Embed can be published as a live site and get the same branding, domain, SEO, redirects, webhooks and MCP settings.
Doc
Choose Doc when your content is mostly written pages.
Use it to:
- Build product documentation or onboarding guides.
- Run an internal knowledge base or a customer-facing help center.
- Organize structured content without technical setup.
Examples: product manuals, employee handbooks, knowledge base articles.
API
Choose API when you need to document an API alongside your guides.
When you click Add Page in an API collection, you choose between a Page and an Endpoint. Endpoints hold the method, URL, parameters, headers, body and sample responses, and readers can send real requests from your docs.
Use it to:
- Combine general documentation with interactive API references.
- Help developers integrate with your product.
- Show code examples, endpoints and request/response samples.
Examples: developer portals, API reference sites, SDK docs. See Document an API.
Blogs
Choose Blogs to publish articles. A blog collection lets you group posts into categories and pick a blog layout. See Blogs.
Embed
Choose Embed when you want your own users to write content inside your app using the DocStar editor. You configure which tools the editor shows, then add it to your product. Embed collections don't have a sidebar of pages or a public docs site. See Embed Editor.
Still not sure?
- If your project is mainly user guides or tutorials, start with Doc.
- If your product has an API, SDK or developer tools, choose API. It includes everything Doc does.
- You can create as many collections as you need, so you can use different types side by side, for example a Doc help center and a Blogs collection for release notes.
Tips
- The Collection Slug you set during creation is permanent. It is used by AI agents (MCP) and the CLI, so pick something short and stable.
- Already have an OpenAPI, Swagger or Postman file? Import it instead of starting from scratch. See Import Content.