Let an agent set Expand up from start.md, and give an agent Expand's docs as Markdown, one page or all of it.
Every Expand doc is readable by an agent. Hand it the file for the job: a setup guide, an index, the whole docs bundle, or one page as Markdown.
| Need | Use |
|---|---|
| Set up Expand in a coding agent | /start.md |
| First orientation |
/llms.txt |
| The docs table of contents | /docs/llms.txt |
| Every docs page, in one pull | /docs/llms-full.txt |
| One docs page | The page's URL with .md added |
| One API reference page, with exact schemas | The page's URL with .md added, under /api-reference/ |
https://expand.ai/start.md is the setup guide for coding agents. It holds the whole procedure in one document, served as text/markdown and never cached, so an agent fetches it once and starts. Paste this into any coding agent:
Read https://expand.ai/start.md and set up Expand. Fetch it as raw text with curl. A summarizing web-fetch tool drops the exact commands.The same prompt is at the end of /llms.txt. The Copy setup prompt button in the app produces it too, with a fresh single-use setup token attached, so the agent can authorize setup without a browser step.
What the guide walks the agent through:
| Section | What the agent does |
|---|---|
| Fastest path | Adds the hosted MCP server, https://api.expand.ai/v1/mcp, when the user only wants fetches. Then stops. |
| Setup | Names the agent it is running in, runs expandai init --detect --json, asks which agents to configure, and runs one expandai init with --harnesses, --scope, and --json. |
| Authorization | Passes the setup token when the prompt carried one. Otherwise relays the browser URL and code from , and runs the same command again once the user approves. |
The exact commands live in the guide. init configures only the agents the user picks and leaves the rest alone. What each agent receives is on CLI: Commands.
Use the guide whenever you want Expand set up in a coding agent. Use Connect your agent (MCP) when you would rather add the hosted server by hand.
expand://start is an MCP resource that points at /start.md and carries the same prompt. The hosted MCP server always serves it. A local expandai mcp run serves it only with --docs. See MCP tools & resources./llms.txt is a short, hand-written entry point. It links the start guide, the docs, the API reference, and the full docs bundle, and ends with the setup prompt above. Give it to an agent that needs to find its way around before it does anything.
/docs/llms.txt is a different file. It is generated from the docs and lists every docs page as a Markdown link with the page's title and one-line description. Give it to an agent that needs a table of contents. It does not list API reference pages.
/docs/llms-full.txt is every docs page as Markdown, one after another. Each page opens with a heading that carries its title and canonical URL, then the page body, then a --- rule before the next page, so an agent can cite or revisit the source page.
# Quickstart (https://expand.ai/docs/quickstart)
...
---
# Fetching a URL (https://expand.ai/docs/fetch/fetching-a-url)
...Use it when the agent needs the docs as a whole and has the context budget for them. It does not contain the API reference, and it can be too large for a small context window.
.md URL instead of the bundle.Every docs page and every API reference page is available as Markdown. Append .md to the URL.
| Page | Markdown |
|---|---|
/docs/quickstart | /docs/quickstart.md |
/api-reference/fetch/fetch.fetchJson | /api-reference/fetch/fetch.fetchJson.md |
curl https://expand.ai/docs/quickstart.mdThe response is text/markdown. It opens with the page title and its canonical URL, then the content with code blocks, tables, links, and all tab examples in plain Markdown. Interactive examples have static instructions in the Markdown export. API endpoint pages include request and response schemas from the OpenAPI document. .mdx in the URL returns the same thing.
# Quickstart (https://expand.ai/docs/quickstart)
...A tool that can set request headers can ask the human URL for Markdown instead, with Accept: text/markdown. This works for /docs and /api-reference pages, not for every route on the site.
curl -H "Accept: text/markdown" https://expand.ai/docs/quickstartOn every docs page, the Copy as Markdown button copies the same Markdown the .md URL serves, and its menu opens the page in ChatGPT or Claude, or shows the Markdown itself.
One .md page when the agent needs help with one feature. Two or three when the task spans a workflow. The full bundle only when it needs everything.
Read these Expand docs before answering:
- https://expand.ai/docs/fetch/fetching-a-url.md
- https://expand.ai/docs/highlights/two-ways-to-highlight.md
Then explain how to build a research agent whose answers carry citation links.The docs explain how to use Expand. The API reference holds the exact request and response schemas, parameters, and errors. When the agent needs that precision, give it the API reference page's .md URL.
.md page before pulling the full bundle.start.md installs, and what the Skill teaches.authorization_required| Confirm Expand works | Runs one expandai fetch --highlights against a live page and answers with the exact captured sentence and its citation link. |
| Next steps | Says which agents to restart, offers a first fetch, and offers to set up the TypeScript SDK when the conversation is inside a project. |
| Beyond agent setup | The SDK, the HTTP API, and the CLI, for callers that are not coding agents. |