Contributing

How to contribute to the PlexAPI.dev documentation and OpenAPI specification

The PlexAPI.dev documentation and SDKs are open source, and contributions are welcome. This page covers how to suggest edits, report issues, and validate changes.

Repositories

Project	Repository	What it contains
Docs site	plex-mintlify-docs	This Mintlify documentation site.
Monorepo	plexapi-dev-docs	Canonical OpenAPI specification, SDKs, VitePress docs, and tooling.

Editing this site

This site is built with Mintlify. Content is written in MDX and configured in docs.json.

1. Clone the plex-mintlify-docs repository.
2. Install the Mintlify CLI:
   npm i -g mintlify
   
3. Start the local preview server:
   mintlify dev
   
4. Edit the relevant .mdx files and verify your changes in the browser.

Contributing to the OpenAPI specification

The canonical specification lives in the PlexAPI.dev monorepo at spec/plex-media-server.openapi.json.

Before submitting changes:

1. Validate the spec:
   pnpm spec:validate
   
2. Lint the spec:
   pnpm spec:lint
   
3. Regenerate the reference docs and SDKs if endpoints changed:
   pnpm spec:generate-reference
   pnpm sdk:generate
   

Content style rules

• Use sentence case for headings: “Quick start”, not “Quick Start”.
• Write for the reader: start each guide with what they will accomplish and what they need first.
• Keep examples copy-pasteable, with placeholders such as <your-token> for sensitive data.
• Never include real Plex tokens, server addresses, or user metadata in examples or screenshots.
• Prefer the X-Plex-Token header over query parameters in examples.
• Use American English spelling and avoid jargon where possible.

Detailed content style rules

• Sentence case for headings. Use “Quick start”, not “Quick Start”.
• Write for the reader. Start each guide with what the reader will accomplish and what they need first.
• Keep examples copy-pasteable. Provide complete commands and include placeholders like <your-token> where sensitive data belongs.
• No real credentials. Never include real Plex tokens, server addresses, or user metadata in examples or screenshots.
• Use relative links for internal pages. For example, use /quick-start or /concepts/library instead of absolute URLs.
• Prefer the X-Plex-Token header. Do not show tokens as query parameters unless the example specifically explains query-parameter usage.
• One sentence per line in source Markdown. This makes diffs easier to read and review.
• Use American English spelling and avoid jargon where possible.
• Check the build. mintlify validate and mintlify broken-links catch structural and link errors before CI.

Review process

1. Open a pull request with a clear summary of the change.
2. Ensure any Mintlify or monorepo build checks pass.
3. Address reviewer feedback and keep the scope focused.

For questions or quick discussion, join the Plex API Discord.