whatisgithub

What is content?

mdn/content — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-06-24

★ 10,746MarkdownAudience · developerComplexity · 1/5Setup · easy

In one sentence

This is the source for MDN Web Docs, the reference website covering HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and browser APIs that developers use every day. Anyone can contribute by submitting a pull request.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((MDN Content))
    What it is
      Web docs source
      45000 articles
      Open source
    Topics covered
      HTML CSS JS
      Browser APIs
      HTTP reference
    Who contributes
      Web developers
      Technical writers
      Beginners welcome
    Setup
      Node.js required
      npm start preview
      GitHub pull requests
Click or tap to explore — scroll the page freely

Code map

Detail Auto

An interactive map of this repo's files and how they connect — its source is parsed live in your browser. Click Visualize to build it.

filefunction / class

What do people build with it?

USE CASE 1

Fix a mistake in an MDN documentation page by editing a Markdown file and submitting a pull request.

USE CASE 2

Add missing examples or explanations to a web API reference page without needing programming skills.

USE CASE 3

Run a local preview of MDN docs to review your edits in a browser before submitting.

What is it built with?

MarkdownNode.jsnpm

How does it compare?

mdn/contentmicrosoftdocs/azure-docsadambard/learnxinyminutes-docs
Stars10,74610,83612,251
LanguageMarkdownMarkdownMarkdown
Setup difficultyeasyeasyeasy
Complexity1/51/51/5
Audiencedeveloperdeveloperdeveloper

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you get it running?

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 30min

Requires Node.js, run npm install then npm start to preview docs locally.

So what is it?

This is the source repository for MDN Web Docs, the reference website that web developers use to look up how HTML, CSS, JavaScript, HTTP, and browser APIs work. Every article, tutorial, and reference page on developer.mozilla.org is stored here as a Markdown file, and changes go through the normal GitHub pull request process. MDN has been running since 2005. In that time, roughly 45,000 contributors have written and maintained more than 45,000 documents covering the full range of web technologies. The site serves both beginners learning web development for the first time and experienced developers checking the exact syntax or behavior of a specific API. Because it is open-source and community-maintained, anyone can fix a mistake or add missing information by filing an issue or submitting a pull request. The main repository covers documentation in English. Translation into other languages is handled by a separate effort, with over 35 volunteers coordinating localized versions in Chinese, French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish. If you want to run a local preview of the docs site, you need Node.js installed. After cloning the repository and running npm install followed by npm start, a development server starts at localhost and shows a live preview that updates as you edit files. Contributing to MDN does not require programming knowledge. Writing, editing, improving examples, and correcting technical errors are all valued contributions. The CONTRIBUTING.md file in the repository explains the process for getting started, and the project follows Mozilla's community participation guidelines for how contributors interact with each other.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
I found an error on the MDN page for the Fetch API. Show me how to clone mdn/content, fix the Markdown, and open a pull request.
Prompt 2
How do I run a local development server for mdn/content so I can preview my documentation changes live?
Prompt 3
Write a complete code example for Array.prototype.flatMap() in MDN Markdown format, following their contribution style.
Prompt 4
What is the process for adding a brand-new beginner tutorial page to MDN Web Docs from scratch?

Frequently asked questions

What is content?

This is the source for MDN Web Docs, the reference website covering HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and browser APIs that developers use every day. Anyone can contribute by submitting a pull request.

What language is content written in?

Mainly Markdown. The stack also includes Markdown, Node.js, npm.

How hard is content to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated easy, with roughly 30min to a first successful run.

Who is content for?

Mainly developer.

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