Manual Creation Use Cases
Manual configuration shines when order, wording, or visibility need deliberate control.
Common Scenarios
- Narrative guides: Tutorials, onboarding, and curricula that must be read in sequence.
- Compliance flows: Policies, legal terms, and security checklists that should precede how-to guides.
- Launch playbooks: Release plans or migration guides where steps must be executed in order.
- Product positioning: Highlight flagship features before niche ones.
- Controlled experiments: Temporarily feature A/B content without renaming files.
What Manual Control Gives You
- Precise ordering via the
entriesarray - Custom labels/icons through frontmatter (
navLabel,navIcon) - The ability to hide drafts with
navHidden: true - Stable URLs even if display order changes
Example Structure
{
id: "rollout-guide",
label: "Rollout Guide",
entries: [
{ slug: "rollout/01-plan" },
{ slug: "rollout/02-dry-run" },
{ slug: "rollout/03-launch" },
{ slug: "rollout/04-follow-up" },
],
}
Anti-Patterns
- Using manual ordering for very large sections (hundreds of pages)
- Duplicating the same slug in multiple groups
- Relying on file name prefixes when the config already defines order
Next Steps
- Control ordering details in Ordering Content Manually
- Mix manual pins with discovery in Hybrid: Pin and Expand