Starlight Starter Kit: Basics

🚀 Project Structure

Inside of your Astro + Starlight project, you'll see the following folders and files:

.
├── docs/                     # Internal project and maintenance guides
├── public/
├── src/
│   ├── assets/
│   ├── content/
│   │   └── docs/             # Content published on the website
│   └── content.config.ts
├── astro.config.ts
├── navigation.config.ts
├── package.json
└── tsconfig.json

Starlight looks for .md or .mdx files in the src/content/docs/ directory. Each file is exposed as a route based on its file name.

Images can be added to src/assets/ and embedded in Markdown with a relative link.

Static assets, like favicons, can be placed in the public/ directory.

Astro 7.4 upgrade

The site uses Astro 7.4.x and Starlight 0.42 with Node.js 24.13.1, pinned in .node-version and Volta. The upgrade preserves Unified Markdown rendering, the existing content schemas, sidebar organization and collapse behavior, reverse-chronological sorting, and previous/next navigation.

Unused dependencies were removed after checking code and configuration references. Navigation regression tests were added, and pull requests now run a validation-only CI workflow.

Validation passed: 168 generated pages, all internal links valid, two navigation tests, and Astro type checking with no errors. Routes, sidebar output, and parsed content were compared against the Astro 5 baseline. Local browser testing was also completed by the maintainer.

Project documentation

Documentation for developing and maintaining this repository is stored in docs/. It is separate from src/content/docs/, which holds content published on the website.

• Local setup
• Local Decap CMS testing
• Conference map gallery maintenance
• Data Citation Generator overview
• Data Citation Generator autofill crosswalk

🧞 Commands

All commands are run from the root of the project, from a terminal:

Command	Action
npm install	Installs dependencies
npm run dev	Starts local dev server at localhost:4321
npm run decap	Starts the Decap local backend proxy
npm run build	Build your production site to ./dist/
npm run preview	Preview your build locally, before deploying
npm run test:navigation	Check navigation in the built site; run after build
npm run astro ...	Run CLI commands like astro add, astro check
npm run astro -- --help	Get help using the Astro CLI

Decap Local Testing

For local Decap CMS evaluation, use two terminals:

1. Run npm run dev
2. Run npm run decap
3. Open http://localhost:4321/admin/index.html

The exact admin URL matters here: use /admin/index.html during local development.

See Local Decap CMS testing for the full workflow.

🔄 Updating Navigation

All primary navigation (desktop tabs, mobile drawer, and sidebar groupings) is defined in one place:

• navigation.config.ts — each entry in NAV_GROUPS describes a top-level section (id, label, landing page, and the sidebar items that belong to the group). Update this file when you add or remove a section.
• astro.config.ts consumes NAV_GROUPS to build Starlight’s sidebar automatically; no manual edits needed here unless you change config structure.
• UI components (src/components/HeaderWithCompactSearch.astro and src/components/SidebarWithFilters.astro) import the same data, so they reflect changes instantly.

Typical update flow:

1. Add your new docs pages under src/content/docs/….
2. Edit navigation.config.ts:
   • Add or update a NAV_GROUPS entry.
   • Use kind: 'autogenerate' to point at a docs directory, or kind: 'group' / kind: 'link' for manual lists.
3. Run npm run astro -- check and npm run dev to verify the header tabs, mobile drawer, and sidebar all show the new structure.

Need a quick reference? Leave a comment near your new NAV_GROUPS entry noting the related content directory.

👀 Want to learn more?

Check out Starlight’s docs, read the Astro documentation, or jump into the Astro Discord server.