Links

Your sidebar is for documentation pages, but readers often need a link that is not a doc page. A source repository, issue tracker, or sign-in URL does not belong in a navigation group. Anchor links place those shortcuts in the sidebar so they stay visible without reshaping the sidebar tree.

Anchor links (configured under the anchors key in docs.json) are icon shortcuts that appear at the top of the sidebar, above navigation groups. Each entry shows a Font Awesome icon beside a short title and links to any internal or external URL.

They are separate from sidebar groups, header CTAs, and social links. Sidebar groups organize doc pages; anchors are persistent shortcuts for destinations outside that hierarchy.

The site renders anchor links inside the sidebar column, directly below the locale switcher (when locales are enabled) and above the first navigation group. Each link is an outline icon button with a title label. When no anchors match the current view, the block is omitted entirely.

Add an anchors array to docs.json. Each object needs an icon, title, and href:

{
  "anchors": [
    {
      "icon": "github",
      "title": "GitHub",
      "href": "https://github.com/acme/handbook"
    },
    {
      "icon": "message",
      "title": "Discord",
      "href": "https://discord.gg/acme"
    }
  ]
}

Use any icon name from the Icon component reference. href accepts site-relative paths (for example /reference) or full external URLs.

When your site uses locales or tabs, you can limit which anchors appear in a given context:

• locale: show the anchor only when the reader is viewing that locale. Anchors without a locale field appear for every locale.
• tab: show the anchor only when that tab is active. Anchors without a tab field appear on every tab.

This keeps API-reference shortcuts on the API tab, or community links on a specific translation, without duplicating the entire sidebar.

Reach for anchors when a link should stay visible across every page but is not part of your doc hierarchy: repository source, changelog, status page, or a link back to your product dashboard. For actions that belong in the top bar, use header links instead. For social profile metadata and Open Graph tags, use social links.