Maestro/CONTRIBUTING.md

Contributing to Maestro

NOTE: The project is currently changing rapidly, there's a high likelihood that PRs will be out of sync with latest code versions and may be hard to rebase.

Thank you for your interest in contributing to Maestro! This document provides guidelines, setup instructions, and practical guidance for developers.

For architecture details, see ARCHITECTURE.md. For quick reference while coding, see CLAUDE.md.

Core Goals

Snappy interface and reduced battery consumption are fundamental goals for Maestro. Every contribution should consider:

• Responsiveness: UI interactions should feel instant. Avoid blocking the main thread.
• Battery efficiency: Minimize unnecessary timers, polling, and re-renders.
• Memory efficiency: Clean up event listeners, timers, and subscriptions properly.

See Performance Guidelines for specific practices.

Table of Contents

• Development Setup
• Project Structure
• Development Scripts
• Testing
• Linting & Pre-commit Hooks
• Common Development Tasks
• Adding a New AI Agent
• Code Style
• Performance Guidelines
• Debugging Guide
• Commit Messages
• Pull Request Process
• Building for Release
• Documentation

Development Setup

Prerequisites

• Node.js 20+
• npm or yarn
• Git

Getting Started

# Fork and clone the repository
git clone <your-fork-url>
cd maestro

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Run in development mode with hot reload
npm run dev

Project Structure

maestro/
├── src/
│   ├── main/              # Electron main process (Node.js backend)
│   │   ├── index.ts       # Entry point, IPC handlers
│   │   ├── process-manager.ts
│   │   ├── preload.ts     # Secure IPC bridge
│   │   └── utils/         # Shared utilities
│   ├── renderer/          # React frontend (Desktop UI)
│   │   ├── App.tsx        # Main coordinator
│   │   ├── components/    # React components
│   │   ├── hooks/         # Custom React hooks
│   │   ├── services/      # IPC wrappers (git, process)
│   │   ├── contexts/      # React contexts
│   │   ├── constants/     # Themes, shortcuts, priorities
│   │   ├── types/         # TypeScript definitions
│   │   └── utils/         # Frontend utilities
│   ├── cli/               # CLI tool (maestro-cli)
│   │   ├── index.ts       # CLI entry point
│   │   ├── commands/      # Command implementations
│   │   ├── services/      # CLI services (storage, batch processor)
│   │   └── output/        # Output formatters (human, JSONL)
│   ├── shared/            # Shared code across processes
│   │   ├── theme-types.ts # Theme type definitions
│   │   └── templateVariables.ts # Template variable system
│   └── web/               # Web interface (Remote Control)
│       └── ...            # Mobile-optimized React app
├── docs/                  # Mintlify documentation (hosted at docs.runmaestro.ai)
│   ├── docs.json          # Mintlify configuration and navigation
│   ├── screenshots/       # All documentation screenshots
│   ├── assets/            # Logos, icons, and static assets
│   └── *.md               # Documentation pages
├── build/                 # Application icons
├── .github/workflows/     # CI/CD automation
└── dist/                  # Build output (generated)

Development Scripts

npm run dev            # Start dev server with hot reload (isolated data directory)
npm run dev:prod-data  # Start dev server using production data (requires closing production app)
npm run dev:demo       # Start in demo mode (fresh settings, isolated data)
npm run dev:web        # Start web interface dev server
npm run build          # Full production build (main + renderer + web + CLI)
npm run build:main     # Build main process only
npm run build:renderer # Build renderer only
npm run build:web      # Build web interface only
npm run build:cli      # Build CLI tool only
npm start              # Start built application
npm run clean          # Clean build artifacts
npm run lint           # Run TypeScript type checking
npm run package        # Package for all platforms
npm run package:mac    # Package for macOS
npm run package:win    # Package for Windows
npm run package:linux  # Package for Linux

Development Data Directories

By default, npm run dev uses an isolated data directory (~/Library/Application Support/maestro-dev/) separate from production. This allows you to run both dev and production instances simultaneously—useful when using the production Maestro to work on the dev instance.

Command	Data Directory	Can Run Alongside Production?
npm run dev	maestro-dev/	✅ Yes
npm run dev:prod-data	maestro/ (production)	❌ No - close production first
npm run dev:demo	/tmp/maestro-demo/	✅ Yes

When to use each:

• npm run dev — Default for most development. Start fresh or use dev-specific test data.
• npm run dev:prod-data — Test with your real sessions and settings. Must close production app first to avoid database lock conflicts.
• npm run dev:demo — Screenshots, demos, or testing with completely fresh state.

Demo Mode

Use demo mode to run Maestro with a fresh, isolated data directory - useful for demos, testing, or screenshots without affecting your real settings:

npm run dev:demo

Demo mode stores all data in /tmp/maestro-demo. For a completely fresh start each time:

rm -rf /tmp/maestro-demo && npm run dev:demo

You can also specify a custom demo directory via environment variable:

MAESTRO_DEMO_DIR=~/Desktop/my-demo npm run dev

Running Multiple Instances (Git Worktrees)

When working with multiple git worktrees, you can run Maestro instances in parallel by specifying different ports using the VITE_PORT environment variable:

# In the main worktree (uses default port 5173)
npm run dev

# In worktree 2 (in another directory and terminal)
VITE_PORT=5174 npm run dev

# In worktree 3
VITE_PORT=5175 npm run dev

This allows you to develop and test different branches simultaneously without port conflicts.

Note: The web interface dev server (npm run dev:web) uses a separate port (default 5174) and can be configured with VITE_WEB_PORT if needed.

Testing

Run the test suite with Jest:

npm test                              # Run all tests
npm test -- --watch                   # Watch mode (re-runs on file changes)
npm test -- --testPathPattern="name"  # Run tests matching a pattern
npm test -- --coverage                # Run with coverage report

Watch Mode

Watch mode keeps Jest running and automatically re-runs tests when you save changes:

• Watches source and test files for changes
• Re-runs only tests affected by changed files
• Provides instant feedback during development

Interactive options in watch mode:

• a - Run all tests
• f - Run only failing tests
• p - Filter by filename pattern
• t - Filter by test name pattern
• q - Quit watch mode

Test Organization

Tests are located in src/__tests__/ and organized by area:

src/__tests__/
├── cli/           # CLI tool tests
├── main/          # Electron main process tests
├── renderer/      # React component and hook tests
├── shared/        # Shared utility tests
└── web/           # Web interface tests

Linting & Pre-commit Hooks

Pre-commit Hooks

This project uses Husky and lint-staged to automatically format and lint staged files before each commit.

How it works:

1. When you run git commit, Husky triggers the pre-commit hook
2. lint-staged runs Prettier and ESLint only on your staged files
3. If there are unfixable errors, the commit is blocked
4. Fixed files are automatically re-staged

Setup is automatic — hooks are installed when you run npm install (via the prepare script).

Bypassing hooks (emergency only):

git commit --no-verify -m "emergency fix"

Running lint-staged manually:

npx lint-staged

Troubleshooting:

• Hooks not running — Check if .husky/pre-commit has executable permissions: chmod +x .husky/pre-commit
• Wrong tool version — Ensure npx is using local node_modules: delete node_modules and run npm install
• Hook fails in CI/Docker — The prepare script uses husky || true to gracefully skip in environments without .git

Manual Linting

Run TypeScript type checking and ESLint to catch errors before building:

npm run lint           # TypeScript type checking (all configs: renderer, main, cli)
npm run lint:eslint    # ESLint code quality checks (React hooks, unused vars, etc.)
npm run lint:eslint -- --fix  # Auto-fix ESLint issues where possible

TypeScript Linting

The TypeScript linter checks all three build configurations:

• tsconfig.lint.json - Renderer, web, and shared code
• tsconfig.main.json - Main process code
• tsconfig.cli.json - CLI tooling

ESLint

ESLint is configured with TypeScript and React plugins (eslint.config.mjs):

• react-hooks/rules-of-hooks - Enforces React hooks rules
• react-hooks/exhaustive-deps - Enforces correct hook dependencies
• @typescript-eslint/no-unused-vars - Warns about unused variables
• prefer-const - Suggests const for never-reassigned variables

When to run manual linting:

• Pre-commit hooks handle staged files automatically
• Run full lint after significant refactors: npm run lint && npm run lint:eslint
• When CI fails with type errors

Common lint issues:

• Unused imports or variables
• Type mismatches in function calls
• Missing required properties on interfaces
• React hooks called conditionally (must be called in same order every render)
• Missing dependencies in useEffect/useCallback/useMemo

Common Development Tasks

Adding a New UI Feature

1. Plan the state - Determine if it's per-session or global
2. Add state management - In useSettings.ts (global) or session state
3. Create persistence - Use wrapper function pattern for global settings
4. Implement UI - Follow Tailwind + theme color pattern
5. Add keyboard shortcuts - In shortcuts.ts and App.tsx
6. Test focus flow - Ensure Escape key navigation works

Adding a New Modal

1. Create component in src/renderer/components/
2. Add priority in src/renderer/constants/modalPriorities.ts:

   MY_MODAL: 600,
   

3. Register with layer stack (see ARCHITECTURE.md)
4. Use proper ARIA attributes:

   <div role="dialog" aria-modal="true" aria-label="My Modal">
   

Adding Keyboard Shortcuts

1. Add definition in src/renderer/constants/shortcuts.ts:

   myShortcut: { id: 'myShortcut', label: 'My Action', keys: ['Meta', 'k'] },
   

2. Add handler in App.tsx keyboard event listener:

   else if (isShortcut(e, 'myShortcut')) {
     e.preventDefault();
     // Handler code
   }
   

Supported modifiers: Meta (Cmd/Win), Ctrl, Alt, Shift Arrow keys: ArrowLeft, ArrowRight, ArrowUp, ArrowDown

Adding a New Setting

1. Add state in useSettings.ts:

   const [mySetting, setMySettingState] = useState(defaultValue);
   

2. Create wrapper function:

   const setMySetting = (value) => {
     setMySettingState(value);
     window.maestro.settings.set('mySetting', value);
   };
   

3. Load in useEffect:

   const saved = await window.maestro.settings.get('mySetting');
   if (saved !== undefined) setMySettingState(saved);
   

4. Add to return object and export.

Adding a Slash Command

Slash commands are now Custom AI Commands defined in Settings, not in code. They are prompt macros that get substituted and sent to the AI agent.

To add a built-in slash command that users see by default, add it to the Custom AI Commands default list in useSettings.ts. Each command needs:

{
  command: '/mycommand',
  description: 'Does something useful',
  prompt: 'The prompt text with {{TEMPLATE_VARIABLES}}',
}

For commands that need programmatic behavior (not just prompts), handle them in App.tsx where slash commands are processed before being sent to the agent.

Adding Bundled AI Command Sets (Spec-Kit / OpenSpec Pattern)

Maestro bundles two spec-driven workflow systems. To add a similar bundled command set:

1. Create prompts directory: src/prompts/my-workflow/
2. Add command markdown files: my-workflow.command1.md, my-workflow.command2.md
3. Create index.ts: Export command definitions with IDs, slash commands, descriptions, and prompts
4. Create metadata.json: Track source version, commit SHA, and last refreshed date
5. Create manager: src/main/my-workflow-manager.ts (handles loading, saving, refreshing)
6. Add IPC handlers: In src/main/index.ts for get/set/refresh operations
7. Add preload API: In src/main/preload.ts to expose to renderer
8. Create UI panel: Similar to OpenSpecCommandsPanel.tsx or SpecKitCommandsPanel.tsx
9. Add to extraResources: In package.json build config for all platforms
10. Create refresh script: scripts/refresh-my-workflow.mjs

Reference the existing Spec-Kit (src/prompts/speckit/, src/main/speckit-manager.ts) and OpenSpec (src/prompts/openspec/, src/main/openspec-manager.ts) implementations.

Adding a New Theme

Maestro has 16 themes across 3 modes: dark, light, and vibe.

Add to src/renderer/constants/themes.ts:

'my-theme': {
  id: 'my-theme',
  name: 'My Theme',
  mode: 'dark',  // 'dark', 'light', or 'vibe'
  colors: {
    bgMain: '#...',           // Main background
    bgSidebar: '#...',        // Sidebar background
    bgActivity: '#...',       // Activity/hover background
    border: '#...',           // Border color
    textMain: '#...',         // Primary text
    textDim: '#...',          // Secondary/dimmed text
    accent: '#...',           // Accent color
    accentDim: 'rgba(...)',   // Dimmed accent (with alpha)
    accentText: '#...',       // Text in accent contexts
    accentForeground: '#...', // Text ON accent backgrounds (contrast)
    success: '#...',          // Success state (green)
    warning: '#...',          // Warning state (yellow/orange)
    error: '#...',            // Error state (red)
  }
}

Then add the ID to ThemeId type in src/shared/theme-types.ts and to the isValidThemeId function.

Adding an IPC Handler

1. Add handler in src/main/index.ts:

   ipcMain.handle('myNamespace:myAction', async (_, arg1, arg2) => {
     // Implementation
     return result;
   });
   

2. Expose in src/main/preload.ts:

   myNamespace: {
     myAction: (arg1, arg2) => ipcRenderer.invoke('myNamespace:myAction', arg1, arg2),
   },
   

3. Add types to MaestroAPI interface in preload.ts.

Adding a New AI Agent

Maestro supports multiple AI coding agents. Each agent has different capabilities that determine which UI features are available. For detailed architecture, see AGENT_SUPPORT.md.

Agent Capability Checklist

Before implementing, investigate the agent's CLI to determine which capabilities it supports:

Capability	Question to Answer	Example
Session Resume	Can you continue a previous conversation?	--resume <id>, --session <id>
Read-Only Mode	Is there a plan/analysis-only mode?	--permission-mode plan, --agent plan
JSON Output	Does it emit structured JSON?	--output-format json, --format json
Session ID	Does output include a session identifier?	session_id, sessionID in JSON
Image Input	Can you send images to the agent?	--input-format stream-json, -f image.png
Slash Commands	Are there discoverable commands?	Emitted in init message
Session Storage	Does it persist sessions to disk?	~/.agent/sessions/
Cost Tracking	Is it API-based with costs?	Cloud API vs local model
Usage Stats	Does it report token counts?	tokens, usage in output
Batch Mode	Does it run per-message or persistently?	--print vs interactive

Implementation Steps

1. Add Agent Definition

In src/main/agent-detector.ts, add to AGENT_DEFINITIONS:

{
  id: 'my-agent',
  name: 'My Agent',
  binaryName: 'myagent',
  command: 'myagent',
  args: ['--json'],  // Base args for batch mode
},

2. Define Capabilities

In src/main/agent-capabilities.ts (create if needed):

'my-agent': {
  supportsResume: true,              // Set based on investigation
  supportsReadOnlyMode: false,       // Set based on investigation
  supportsJsonOutput: true,
  supportsSessionId: true,
  supportsImageInput: false,
  supportsSlashCommands: false,
  supportsSessionStorage: false,
  supportsCostTracking: false,       // true for API-based agents
  supportsUsageStats: true,
  supportsBatchMode: true,
  supportsStreaming: true,
},

3. Implement Output Parser

In src/main/agent-output-parser.ts, add a parser for the agent's JSON format:

class MyAgentOutputParser implements AgentOutputParser {
  parseJsonLine(line: string): ParsedEvent {
    const msg = JSON.parse(line);
    return {
      type: msg.type,
      sessionId: msg.session_id,  // Agent-specific field name
      text: msg.content,          // Agent-specific field name
      tokens: msg.usage,          // Agent-specific field name
    };
  }
}

4. Configure CLI Arguments

Add argument builders for capability-driven flags:

// In agent definition
resumeArgs: (sessionId) => ['--resume', sessionId],
readOnlyArgs: ['--read-only'],  // If supported
jsonOutputArgs: ['--format', 'json'],
batchModePrefix: ['run'],  // If needed (e.g., 'myagent run "prompt"')

5. Implement Session Storage (Optional)

If the agent persists sessions to disk:

class MyAgentSessionStorage implements AgentSessionStorage {
  async listSessions(projectPath: string): Promise<AgentSession[]> {
    // Read from agent's session directory
  }

  async readSession(projectPath: string, sessionId: string): Promise<Message[]> {
    // Parse session file format
  }
}

6. Test the Integration

# 1. Verify agent detection
npm run dev
# Check Settings → AI Agents shows your agent

# 2. Test new session
# Create session with your agent, send a message

# 3. Test JSON parsing
# Verify response appears correctly in UI

# 4. Test resume (if supported)
# Close and reopen tab, send follow-up message

# 5. Test read-only mode (if supported)
# Toggle read-only, verify agent refuses writes

UI Feature Availability

Based on capabilities, these UI features are automatically enabled/disabled:

Feature	Required Capability	Component
Read-only toggle	supportsReadOnlyMode	InputArea
Image attachment	supportsImageInput	InputArea
Session browser	supportsSessionStorage	RightPanel
Resume button	supportsResume	AgentSessionsBrowser
Cost widget	supportsCostTracking	MainPanel
Token display	supportsUsageStats	MainPanel, TabBar
Session ID pill	supportsSessionId	MainPanel
Slash autocomplete	supportsSlashCommands	InputArea

Supported Agents Reference

Agent	Resume	Read-Only	JSON	Images	Sessions	Cost	Status
Claude Code	✅ --resume	✅ --permission-mode plan	✅	✅	✅ ~/.claude/	✅	✅ Complete
Codex	✅ exec resume	✅ --sandbox read-only	✅	✅	✅ ~/.codex/	❌ (tokens only)	✅ Complete
OpenCode	✅ --session	✅ --agent plan	✅	✅	✅ ~/.local/share/opencode/	✅	✅ Complete
Factory Droid	✅ -s, --session-id	✅ (default mode)	✅	✅	✅ ~/.factory/	❌ (tokens only)	✅ Complete
Gemini CLI	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	✅	📋 Planned

For detailed implementation guide, see AGENT_SUPPORT.md.

Code Style

TypeScript

• Strict mode enabled
• Interface definitions for all data structures
• Export types via preload.ts for renderer

React Components

• Functional components with hooks
• Keep components focused and small
• Use Tailwind for layout, inline styles for theme colors
• Maintain keyboard accessibility
• Use tabIndex={-1} + outline-none for programmatic focus

Security

• Always use execFileNoThrow for external commands (never shell-based execution)
• Keep context isolation enabled
• Use preload script for all IPC
• Sanitize all user inputs
• Use spawn() with shell: false

Performance Guidelines

Maestro prioritizes a snappy interface and minimal battery consumption. Follow these guidelines:

React Rendering

• Memoize expensive computations with useMemo - especially sorting, filtering, and transformations
• Use Maps for lookups instead of Array.find() in loops (O(1) vs O(n))
• Batch state updates - use the useBatchedSessionUpdates hook for high-frequency IPC updates
• Avoid creating objects/arrays in render - move static objects outside components or memoize them

// Bad: O(n) lookup in every iteration
sessions.filter(s => {
  const group = groups.find(g => g.id === s.groupId); // O(n) per session
  return group && !group.collapsed;
});

// Good: O(1) lookup with memoized Map
const groupsById = useMemo(() => new Map(groups.map(g => [g.id, g])), [groups]);
sessions.filter(s => {
  const group = groupsById.get(s.groupId); // O(1)
  return group && !group.collapsed;
});

Timers & Intervals

• Prefer longer intervals - 3 seconds instead of 1 second for non-critical updates
• Use setTimeout sparingly - consider if the delay is truly necessary
• Clean up all timers in useEffect cleanup functions
• Avoid polling - use event-driven updates via IPC when possible

// RightPanel.tsx uses 3-second intervals for elapsed time updates
intervalRef.current = setInterval(updateElapsed, 3000); // Not 1000ms

Memory & Cleanup

• Remove event listeners in cleanup functions
• Clear Maps and Sets when no longer needed
• Use WeakMap/WeakSet for caches that should allow garbage collection
• Limit log buffer sizes - truncate old entries when buffers grow large

IPC & Data Transfer

• Batch IPC calls - combine multiple small calls into fewer larger ones
• Debounce persistence - use useDebouncedPersistence for settings that change frequently
• Stream large data - don't load entire files into memory when streaming is possible

Profiling

React DevTools (Standalone): For profiling React renders and inspecting component trees:

# Install globally (once)
npm install -g react-devtools

# Launch the standalone app
npx react-devtools

Then run npm run dev — the app auto-connects (connection script in src/renderer/index.html).

Tabs:

• Components — Inspect React component tree, props, state, hooks
• Profiler — Record and analyze render performance, identify unnecessary re-renders

Profiler workflow:

1. Click the record button (blue circle)
2. Interact with the app (navigate, type, scroll)
3. Stop recording
4. Analyze the flame graph for:
   • Components that render too often
   • Render times per component
   • Why a component rendered (props/state/hooks changed)

Chrome DevTools Performance tab (Cmd+Option+I → Performance):

1. Record during the slow operation
2. Look for long tasks (>50ms) blocking the main thread
3. Identify expensive JavaScript execution or layout thrashing

Debugging Guide

Focus Not Working

1. Add tabIndex={0} or tabIndex={-1} to element
2. Add outline-none class to hide focus ring
3. Use ref={(el) => el?.focus()} for auto-focus
4. Check for e.stopPropagation() blocking events

Settings Not Persisting

1. Ensure wrapper function calls window.maestro.settings.set()
2. Check loading code in useSettings.ts useEffect
3. Verify the key name matches in both save and load

Modal Escape Not Working

1. Register modal with layer stack (don't handle Escape locally)
2. Check priority in modalPriorities.ts
3. Use ref pattern to avoid re-registration:

   const onCloseRef = useRef(onClose);
   onCloseRef.current = onClose;
   

Theme Colors Not Applying

1. Use style={{ color: theme.colors.textMain }} instead of Tailwind color classes
2. Check theme prop is passed to component
3. Never use hardcoded hex colors for themed elements

Process Output Not Showing

1. Check session ID matches (with -ai or -terminal suffix)
2. Verify onData listener is registered
3. Check process spawned successfully (check pid > 0)
4. Look for errors in DevTools console

DevTools

Electron DevTools: Open via Quick Actions (Cmd+K → "Toggle DevTools") or set DEBUG=true env var.

Commit Messages

Use conventional commits:

feat: new feature
fix: bug fix
docs: documentation changes
refactor: code refactoring
test: test additions/changes
chore: build process or tooling changes

Example: feat: add context usage visualization

Pull Request Process

Before Opening a PR

All PRs must pass these checks before review:

1. Linting passes — Run both TypeScript and ESLint checks:

   npm run lint           # TypeScript type checking
   npm run lint:eslint    # ESLint code quality
   

2. Tests pass — Run the full test suite:

   npm test
   

3. Manual testing — Test affected features in the running app:

   npm run dev
   

   Verify that:

   • Your feature works as expected
   • Related features still work (keyboard shortcuts, focus flow, themes)
   • No console errors in DevTools (Cmd+Option+I)
   • UI renders correctly across different themes (try at least one dark and one light)

PR Checklist

• Linting passes (npm run lint && npm run lint:eslint)
• Tests pass (npm test)
• Manually tested affected features
• No new console warnings or errors
• Documentation updated if needed (code comments, README, or docs/)
• Commit messages follow conventional format

Opening the PR

1. Create a feature branch from main
2. Make your changes following the code style
3. Complete the checklist above
4. Push and open a PR with a clear description:
   • What the change does
   • Why it's needed
   • How to test it
   • Screenshots for UI changes
5. Wait for review — maintainers may request changes

Building for Release

0. Refresh AI Command Prompts (Optional)

Before releasing, check if the upstream spec-kit and OpenSpec repositories have updates:

# Refresh GitHub's spec-kit prompts
npm run refresh-speckit

# Refresh Fission-AI's OpenSpec prompts
npm run refresh-openspec

These scripts fetch the latest prompts from their respective repositories:

• Spec-Kit: github/spec-kit → src/prompts/speckit/
• OpenSpec: Fission-AI/OpenSpec → src/prompts/openspec/

Custom Maestro-specific prompts (/speckit.implement, /openspec.implement, /openspec.help) are never overwritten by the refresh scripts.

Review any changes with git diff before committing.

1. Prepare Icons

Place icons in build/ directory:

• icon.icns - macOS (512x512 or 1024x1024)
• icon.ico - Windows (256x256)
• icon.png - Linux (512x512)

2. Update Version

Update in package.json:

{
  "version": "0.1.0"
}

3. Build Distributables

npm run package           # All platforms
npm run package:mac       # macOS (.dmg, .zip)
npm run package:win       # Windows (.exe)
npm run package:linux     # Linux (.AppImage, .deb, .rpm)

Output in release/ directory.

GitHub Actions

Create a release tag to trigger automated builds:

git tag v0.1.0
git push origin v0.1.0

GitHub Actions will build for all platforms and create a release.

Documentation

User documentation is hosted on Mintlify at docs.runmaestro.ai. The source files live in the docs/ directory.

Documentation Structure

docs/
├── docs.json              # Mintlify configuration (navigation, theme, links)
├── index.md               # Homepage
├── screenshots/           # All documentation screenshots (PNG format)
├── assets/                # Logos, icons, favicons
├── about/                 # Overview and background pages
│   └── overview.md
└── *.md                   # Feature and reference pages

Page Organization

Pages are organized by topic in docs.json under navigation.dropdowns:

Group	Pages	Purpose
Overview	index, about/overview, features, screenshots	Introduction and feature highlights
Getting Started	installation, getting-started	Onboarding new users
Usage	general-usage, history, context-management, autorun-playbooks, git-worktrees, group-chat, remote-access, slash-commands, speckit-commands, configuration	Feature documentation
CLI & Providers	cli, provider-nuances	Command line and agent-specific docs
Reference	achievements, keyboard-shortcuts, troubleshooting	Quick reference guides

Adding a New Documentation Page

1. Create the markdown file in docs/:

   ---
   title: My Feature
   description: A brief description for SEO and navigation.
   icon: star
   ---
   
   Content goes here...
   

2. Add to navigation in docs/docs.json:

   {
     "group": "Usage",
     "pages": [
       "existing-page",
       "my-feature"
     ]
   }
   

3. Reference from other pages using relative links:

   See [My Feature](./my-feature) for details.
   

Frontmatter Fields

Every documentation page needs YAML frontmatter:

Field	Required	Description
title	Yes	Page title (appears in navigation and browser tab)
description	Yes	Brief description for SEO and page previews
icon	No	Mintlify icon for navigation

Screenshots

All screenshots are stored in docs/screenshots/ and referenced with relative paths.

Adding a new screenshot:

1. Capture the screenshot using Maestro's demo mode for clean, consistent visuals:

   rm -rf /tmp/maestro-demo && npm run dev:demo
   

2. Save as PNG in docs/screenshots/ with a descriptive kebab-case name:

   docs/screenshots/my-feature-overview.png
   docs/screenshots/my-feature-settings.png
   

3. Reference in markdown using relative paths:

   ![My Feature](./screenshots/my-feature-overview.png)
   

Screenshot guidelines:

• Use PNG format for UI screenshots (better quality for text)
• Capture at standard resolution (avoid Retina 2x for smaller file sizes, or use 2x for crisp details)
• Use a consistent theme (Pedurple is used in most existing screenshots)
• Crop to relevant area — don't include unnecessary whitespace or system UI
• Keep file sizes reasonable (compress if over 1MB)

Assets

Static assets like logos and icons live in docs/assets/:

File	Usage
icon.png	Main logo (used in light and dark mode)
icon.ico	Favicon
made-with-maestro.svg	Badge for README
maestro-app-icon.png	High-res app icon

Reference assets with /assets/ paths in docs.json configuration.

Mintlify Features

Documentation supports Mintlify components:

<Note>
This is an informational note.
</Note>

<Warning>
This is a warning message.
</Warning>

<Tip>
This is a helpful tip.
</Tip>

Embed videos:

<iframe width="560" height="315"
  src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VIDEO_ID"
  title="Video Title"
  frameborder="0"
  allowfullscreen>
</iframe>

Tables, code blocks, and standard markdown all work as expected.

Local Preview

Mintlify provides a CLI for local preview. Install and run:

npm i -g mintlify
cd docs
mintlify dev

This starts a local server at http://localhost:3000 with hot reload.

MCP Server

Maestro provides a hosted MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that allows AI applications to search the documentation:

Server URL: https://docs.runmaestro.ai/mcp

Available Tools:

• SearchMaestro - Search the Maestro knowledge base for documentation, code examples, and guides

To connect from Claude Desktop or Claude Code, add to your MCP configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "maestro": {
      "url": "https://docs.runmaestro.ai/mcp"
    }
  }
}

See MCP Server documentation for full details.

Deployment

Documentation is automatically deployed when changes to docs/ are pushed to main. Mintlify handles the build and hosting.

Questions?

Open a GitHub Discussion or create an Issue.