Summary:
Introduce a contextual documentation sidebar to provide inline, non-blocking help throughout the dFlow application. This will improve the user experience by offering just-in-time documentation access via info buttons placed near key UI components (e.g., onboarding process, deploy button, S3 backup toggle). The sidebar should be non-modal, allowing users to continue interacting with the main UI while the documentation is open.
Background & Motivation:
As dFlow grows, users (especially new ones) may encounter confusion when interacting with deployment flows, environment variables, backup settings, etc. A lightweight, always-accessible help system is needed to reduce friction and support self-serve onboarding — without redirecting users to an external documentation site or blocking their interaction.
We want to keep the experience clean, contextual, and embedded into the app.
Feature Requirements:
Implementation Details:
- Build a lightweight custom sidebar (avoid using shadcn/ui Sheet due to its modal overlay nature)
- Suggested tech stack:
- framer-motion for slide-in animation
- TailwindCSS for layout/styling
- Use MDX content from the content/docs collection
- Info buttons should pass a unique slug or docId to open the correct help entry
- Render content dynamically (lazy-load or preload)
- Consider wrapping the sidebar in a shared layout component for global access
Summary:
Introduce a contextual documentation sidebar to provide inline, non-blocking help throughout the dFlow application. This will improve the user experience by offering just-in-time documentation access via info buttons placed near key UI components (e.g., onboarding process, deploy button, S3 backup toggle). The sidebar should be non-modal, allowing users to continue interacting with the main UI while the documentation is open.
Background & Motivation:
As dFlow grows, users (especially new ones) may encounter confusion when interacting with deployment flows, environment variables, backup settings, etc. A lightweight, always-accessible help system is needed to reduce friction and support self-serve onboarding — without redirecting users to an external documentation site or blocking their interaction.
We want to keep the experience clean, contextual, and embedded into the app.
Feature Requirements:
Implementation Details: