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Open Existing Project

If you already have an MkDocs project, you can open it directly in MkLume.

Opening a project

From the Welcome Screen, click Open Existing Project and select the folder that contains your mkdocs.yml file.

MkLume looks for a mkdocs.yml in the root of the folder you select. If it doesn't find one, it will let you know.

Tip

Point MkLume at the root folder of your MkDocs project — the one that directly contains mkdocs.yml, not a subfolder inside it.

Recent projects

MkLume remembers projects you've opened before. The Welcome Screen shows your recent projects so you can reopen them with a single click.

If a recent project's folder has been moved or deleted, MkLume will flag it as unavailable.

What MkLume reads from your project

When you open a project, MkLume reads your mkdocs.yml to understand your site's configuration:

What MkLume reads How it's used
site_name Displayed in the editor header
site_description Shown in the Settings panel
docs_dir Where MkLume looks for your Markdown files (defaults to docs/)
nav Used to build the sidebar page tree
theme Theme settings shown in the Settings panel
extra Extras & integrations shown in Settings
markdown_extensions Informs editor behavior and preview rendering

If your mkdocs.yml contains settings that MkLume doesn't have a visual editor for, those settings are preserved as-is. MkLume won't remove or overwrite configuration it doesn't manage.

Projects without a nav section

If your mkdocs.yml doesn't include a nav section, MkLume reads the file structure inside your docs_dir and builds the sidebar from the files it finds. MkDocs itself does the same thing when no nav is defined.

Compatibility notes

MkLume is designed for projects that use the MkDocs Material theme. Projects using other MkDocs themes will open, but some features — particularly the visual preview and theme settings — may not work as expected.

Note

MkLume reads and writes standard mkdocs.yml files. Your project remains a normal MkDocs project that you can build and serve with the mkdocs CLI at any time. MkLume doesn't lock you in.

Next steps