--- title: "Markdrop Guides FAQ and troubleshooting" description: "Answers about Markdrop Guides, and what to do when a publish or import fails, a guide isn't public yet, or you can't edit or see a guide." canonical_url: https://docs.markdrop.in/guides/faq last_updated: 2026-10-31 site: "Markdrop Docs" index: https://docs.markdrop.in/llms.txt --- # Markdrop Guides FAQ and troubleshooting ## About Markdrop Guides **What's the difference between Markdrop Guides and the Markdrop docs?** Markdrop Guides, at [markdrop.in/guides](https://markdrop.in/guides), is where you build guides for your own product. The Markdrop docs, at docs.markdrop.in, are Markdrop's own documentation: the site you're reading. The pages in its Markdrop Guides tab explain the product; everything else here is about Markdrop's documents, files, sharing and workspaces. **What does it cost?** Markdrop Guides is free while it's in beta. During the beta there are limits on how many guides a workspace can have and how much each guide can do; when you reach one, the app tells you. **Do my readers need an account?** No. Every published guide is public and opens in any browser. Password-protected and members-only guides are [coming soon](https://docs.markdrop.in/guides/site-settings#who-can-read-it). **Can I keep my guide out of search engines?** Yes. Turn off **Let search engines index the guide** in [Settings](https://docs.markdrop.in/guides/site-settings#who-can-read-it) and publish. The guide stays public for anyone with the link, but asks search engines not to index it. **Can readers ask questions about my guide?** Yes, with [Ask AI](https://docs.markdrop.in/guides/ask-ai). Turn it on in Settings and publish: readers get answers from your published pages, with links to the sections they came from. Each guide has a monthly number of answers during the beta. **Can I generate an API reference from an OpenAPI file?** Yes. Upload an OpenAPI 3.0 or 3.1 file, or give its address, in **Settings › API reference** and publish: every endpoint gets a page with code samples and Try it. See [API reference from an OpenAPI file](https://docs.markdrop.in/guides/api-reference). **Can I use my own domain?** Yes. Add a subdomain such as `help.acme.com` under **Settings** › **Your own domain**, then add one `CNAME` record at your DNS provider. The certificate is handled for you, and the free `
.guides.markdrop.in` address keeps working. See [Use your own domain](https://docs.markdrop.in/guides/site-settings#use-your-own-domain). **Can I keep my pages in Git?** [GitHub sync](https://docs.markdrop.in/guides/github-sync) is coming soon. Until then the editor's Markdown mode shows each page as a file, and the engine can be [self-hosted](https://docs.markdrop.in/guides/self-hosting) from a folder. **Can I get my content out?** Every published page is available as Markdown at its address plus `.md`, and the whole guide is in `/llms-full.txt`. In the editor, Markdown mode shows each page's source. ## Troubleshooting ### My guide isn't public yet - **It hasn't been published.** New guides are drafts: the home page card says **Draft** and the Publishes tab says **Nothing is public until the first publish**. [Publish](https://docs.markdrop.in/guides/publishing) it. - **The publish is still running or failed.** Check its row on the **Publishes** tab. - **It's waiting for a review.** The card says **In review**. A reviewer or admin has to [approve it](https://docs.markdrop.in/guides/reviews#approve-or-request-changes). - **It was unpublished.** The card says **Unpublished**. Publish again to put it back. - **You changed the address.** The new address goes live with the next publish, and the old one stops working. ### My own domain isn't working See [When a domain doesn't go live](https://docs.markdrop.in/guides/site-settings#when-a-domain-doesnt-go-live). Most often the `CNAME` record has a typo, its name was doubled by the DNS provider, or another record already uses that name. ### My changes aren't on the guide Saved drafts aren't public until you publish. The page tree marks pages with unpublished changes with a dot, and the Publishes tab lists every change since the last publish. Theme, Ask AI, redirect and sidebar changes also need a publish. ### A publish failed The publish is marked **Failed** with the reason, and readers keep the last live version. Common causes: - **"Add a page before publishing."** The guide has no pages. - **The day's publishes are used up.** Try again tomorrow (UTC), or [restore](https://docs.markdrop.in/guides/publishing#restore-an-earlier-publish) an earlier publish, which doesn't count. - **"Password and members-only guides are coming soon."** Set **Who can read it** back to **Anyone** in Settings. - **"This guide is too large to publish in one snapshot."** Split very long pages. If it fails again with the same reason, contact Markdrop using the address in the [privacy policy](https://markdrop.in/privacy), with the guide's address. ### Try it says the browser blocked the request Your API doesn't allow requests from the guide's address (CORS), or it couldn't be reached. Allow your guide's address, like `https://acme.guides.markdrop.in`, in your API's `Access-Control-Allow-Origin`, along with the headers the request sends. Until then, readers can copy the request as a `curl` command. See [Try it and CORS](https://docs.markdrop.in/guides/api-reference#try-it-and-cors). ### An OpenAPI file isn't accepted The card says why. The usual reasons: it's Swagger 2.0 (convert it to OpenAPI 3 first), it's larger than 5 MB or has more than 1,000 endpoints, or the address isn't a public `https://` address. See [the limits](https://docs.markdrop.in/guides/api-reference#limits). ### An import failed The import screen says **The import stopped** with the reason. Check that the address is the GitBook site's public address (`https://…`), that it opens in a private browser window, and that it's a GitBook site. Then choose **Start again**. A private GitBook space can't be imported. ### Some imported pages need fixing That's what the report is for: [check the report](https://docs.markdrop.in/guides/import-from-gitbook#check-the-report) before you publish. Its rows link to each page. ### The page is Read only Someone else has it open: the banner and the page tree show who. It opens for editing when they're done, or two minutes after they close their browser. A Guides admin can **Take over**. If the bar says **View only**, your role is Viewer: ask an admin for the Editor role. ### I can't see a workspace's guides Your Guides role there is **No access**, or a guide gives you **No access**. Workspace membership alone doesn't give access: a Guides admin of the workspace has to [give you a role](https://docs.markdrop.in/guides/members-and-roles#give-someone-a-role). ### I can't create a guide In a workspace, only Guides admins create guides. The workspace may also have its most guides for the beta: delete one to make room, or create a personal guide. ### The design didn't change on the guide **Save design**, then publish. Custom CSS that has a problem can't be saved: the box says what's wrong. See [Custom CSS](https://docs.markdrop.in/guides/brand-and-style#custom-css).