Jun 2, 2026 · Frontend Stacks · 1min read

Docusaurus Local Development Guide

Build documentation and blog sites using Docusaurus, based on React and MDX, with hot reloading on the default localhost:3000.

Docusaurus is an open-source static site generator by Meta, designed specifically for technical documentation, API references, and blogs. It is based on React and supports MDX, versioned documentation, search plugins, and internationalization.

Quick Start

npx create-docusaurus@latest my-website classic
cd my-website
npm install
npm start

Default localhost Access

Purpose	Address
Development Server	http://localhost:3000
Preview Production Build	http://localhost:3000 (`npm run serve`)

To change the port: npm start -- --port 3001.

Common Commands

Command	Description
`npm start`	Development mode with hot reloading
`npm run build`	Generate static site in `build/`
`npm run serve`	Preview the build results locally
`npm run clear`	Clear the cache

Content Organization

Documentation is placed in the docs/ directory, and blogs in the blog/
Supports MDX, allowing React components to be embedded in Markdown
Configure navigation, themes, and plugins through docusaurus.config.js

Deployment

The build output in build/ can be deployed to static hosting services such as GitHub Pages, Cloudflare Pages, and Netlify.

Summary

Docusaurus is one of the preferred solutions for documentation sites. Local development can be accessed at http://localhost:3000, making it suitable for open-source project documentation, internal knowledge bases, and technical blogs.