The NetBird documentation

This repository contains assets required to build the documentation website for NetBird. It is built using Next.js with MDX support, a modern React framework for building static and dynamic websites.

We're glad that you want to contribute!

• Reporting bugs and requesting features
• Contributing to the docs

Reporting bugs and requesting features

NetBird uses a discussion-first workflow across all its repositories. Bug reports and feature requests for the docs start in netbird Discussions, not as issues here.

What you want to do	Where to go
Report a bug, regression, or unexpected behavior	Issue Triage
Request a feature or share an idea	Ideas & Feature Requests
Ask about setup, configuration, or self-hosting	Q&A / Support
Report a security vulnerability	Security policy, never a public thread

Our team triages each discussion. Validated reports become issues in this repository, linked back to the discussion. See How to use Discussions, Issues, and Pull Requests for the full workflow.

Small fixes like typos, broken links, or documentation corrections can go straight to a pull request.

Requirements

• node 16
• npm 8+

Installation

$ npm install

Local Development

$ npm run dev

This command starts a local development server and opens up a browser window. Most changes are reflected live without having to restart the server.

Contributing to the docs

You can click the Fork button in the upper-right area of the screen to create a copy of this repository in your GitHub account. This copy is called a fork. Make any changes you want in your fork, and when you are ready to send those changes to us, go to your fork and create a new pull request to let us know about it.

Once your pull request is created, a NetBird reviewer will take responsibility for providing clear, actionable feedback. As the owner of the pull request, it is your responsibility to modify your pull request to address the feedback that has been provided to you by the NetBird reviewer.

Also, note that you may end up having more than one NetBird reviewer provide you feedback or you may end up getting feedback from a NetBird reviewer that is different than the one initially assigned to provide you feedback.

Furthermore, in some cases, one of your reviewers might ask for a technical review from a NetBird author when needed. Reviewers will do their best to provide feedback in a timely fashion but response time can vary based on circumstances.

Code of conduct

Participation in the NetBird community is governed by the NetBirds' Code of Conduct.

Components and Use

This documentation uses several custom MDX components. Here's a guide to the most commonly used components:

Alert Components

Use these components to highlight important information:

Note

Displays informational content with an orange theme:

import {Note} from "@/components/mdx"

<Note>
    NetBird is an **[open-source](https://github.com/netbirdio/netbird)** project and can be self-hosted.
    See a comparison between the self-hosted and cloud-hosted versions [here](/selfhosted/self-hosted-vs-cloud-netbird).
</Note>

Warning

Displays warning content with a red theme:

import {Warning} from "@/components/mdx"

<Warning>
    The API is still in Beta state so some errors might not be handled properly yet.
</Warning>

Success

Displays success messages with a green theme:

import {Success} from "@/components/mdx"

<Success>
    Your configuration has been successfully applied.
</Success>

Tiles Component

Displays a grid of clickable cards with hover effects. Perfect for listing related resources or guides:

import {Tiles} from "@/components/Tiles"

<Tiles 
  title="About NetBird" 
  id="about-netbird" 
  items={[
    {
      href: '/about-netbird/how-netbird-works',
      name: 'How NetBird Works',
      description: 'Learn about NetBird concepts, architecture, protocols, and how it creates secure networks.',
    },
    {
      href: '/about-netbird/netbird-vs-traditional-vpn',
      name: 'NetBird vs. Traditional VPN',
      description: 'Discover how NetBird compares to traditional VPNs and understand the advantages of Zero Trust networking.',
    },
  ]} 
/>

Props:

• title (string, required): The heading title for the tiles section
• id (string, optional): Optional id for the heading anchor
• items (array, required): Array of objects with href, name, and description
• buttonText (string, optional): Button text (defaults to "Read more" - currently unused as cards are fully clickable)

YouTube Component

Embeds YouTube videos with customizable parameters:

import {YouTube} from "@/components/YouTube"

<YouTube videoId="CFa7SY4Up9k" />

// With custom parameters
<YouTube 
  videoId="CFa7SY4Up9k" 
  title="Video Title"
  start={175}
  color="white"
  modestbranding={1}
  rel={1}
/>

// Or use a URL instead of videoId
<YouTube url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFa7SY4Up9k" />

Props:

• videoId (string): YouTube video ID
• url (string): YouTube URL (alternative to videoId)
• title (string, optional): Video title
• start (number, optional): Start time in seconds
• color (string, optional): Progress bar color - 'white' or 'red' (default: 'white')
• modestbranding (number, optional): Reduces YouTube branding - 0 or 1 (default: 1)
• controls (number, optional): Show/hide controls - 0, 1, or 2 (default: 1)
• rel (number, optional): Show related videos - 0 or 1 (default: 1)

Button Component

Creates styled buttons with multiple variants:

import {Button} from "@/components/Button"

// Primary button (default)
<Button href="https://app.netbird.io/install" arrow="right">
  Get started
</Button>

// Secondary button
<Button href="/path" variant="secondary">
  Learn more
</Button>

// Outline button
<Button href="/path" variant="outline">
  Explore
</Button>

// Text button
<Button href="/path" variant="text" arrow="right">
  Read more
</Button>

// With left arrow
<Button href="/path" arrow="left">
  Back
</Button>

Props:

• variant (string, optional): Button style - 'primary', 'secondary', 'filled', 'outline', or 'text' (default: 'primary')
• href (string, optional): Link URL (creates a link if provided, otherwise renders as button)
• arrow (string, optional): Arrow icon - 'left' or 'right'
• children (required): Button text content

Other Common Components

Row and Col

Create two-column layouts:

import {Row, Col} from "@/components/mdx"

<Row>
  <Col>
    Left column content
  </Col>
  <Col sticky>
    Right column content (sticky on scroll)
  </Col>
</Row>

Properties and Property

Define API properties or configuration options:

import {Properties, Property} from "@/components/mdx"

<Properties>
  <Property name="apiKey" type="string" required>
    Your API key for authentication.
  </Property>
  <Property name="timeout" type="number" min={0} max={300}>
    Request timeout in seconds (default: 30).
  </Property>
</Properties>

Badge

Displays small status badges:

import {Badge} from "@/components/mdx"

<Badge>New</Badge>
<Badge variant="secondary">Beta</Badge>

Code Blocks

Code syntax highlighting (automatically available):

\`\`\`bash
npm install
npm run dev
\`\`\`

// Or use code groups for multiple languages
<CodeGroup>
  ```bash title="Installation"
  npm install

yarn install

```

Thank you

NetBird thrives on community participation, and we appreciate your contributions to our website and our documentation!