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mintlify[bot] e2787cfd93 Apply brand tone and writing style fixes (#6893)
* docs: standardize documentation writing style

* docs: apply brand tone and style fixes

* docs: refine brand tone and writing style

* Revert changelog.mdx changes

The changelog is generated content and shouldn't be rewritten by the
brand tone and writing style pass.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

* Update ai/model-context-protocol.mdx

* Update ai/model-context-protocol.mdx

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Co-authored-by: mintlify[bot] <109931778+mintlify[bot]@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: Ethan Palm <56270045+ethanpalm@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 5 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
2026-08-07 16:56:42 -07:00

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---
title: "Customize assistant behavior"
description: "Customize the AI assistant by adding an Assistant.md file with system instructions that shape its tone, persona, focus areas, and response behavior."
keywords: ["assistant", "custom instructions", "Assistant.md", "system prompt", "persona"]
---
Add a `.mintlify/Assistant.md` file at the root of your documentation project to give the assistant custom instructions that shape how it responds. The assistant also accepts `ASSISTANT.md` as a filename. It uses these instructions as system-level context for every response.
<Warning>
Place your `Assistant.md` file inside the `.mintlify/` directory, not at the root of your project. If you store the file at the root of your project, visitors can access your custom instructions at the `/assistant.md` path. Mintlify does not serve the `.mintlify/` directory publicly, so visitors cannot access your `Assistant.md` file there.
If you must store your `Assistant.md` file at the root of your project or any other directory, add it to your [`.mintignore`](/organize/mintignore) file to exclude it from your documentation site.
</Warning>
Instructions in an `Assistant.md` file add to the assistant's system prompt. They do not replace or override the assistant's default instructions.
To remove the custom instructions, remove the `Assistant.md` file.
Use `Assistant.md` to:
- Adjust the assistant's persona and tone
- Provide product-specific context
- Define support escalation paths
- Specify terminology preferences
- Restrict or scope the assistant's focus areas
- Provide version-specific guidance
<Tip>
Use assistant [skills](/assistant/skills) for topic-specific guidance that the assistant loads only when a user asks a relevant question.
</Tip>
## Example `Assistant.md` file
```markdown .mintlify/Assistant.md
You are a helpful assistant for Acme Corp's developer platform.
## Tone
- Be concise and direct. Getting to the point helps people more than being exhaustive.
- Use technical language appropriate for software developers. Most people asking you questions are familiar with Acme's products.
## Product context
- Acme SDK v3 is the current stable release. v2 is deprecated. If people ask about v2, remind them it's deprecated but answer their questions.
- Direct billing questions to support@acme.com.
## Terminology
- Use "workspace" instead of "project" or "organization".
- Use "access token" instead of "API key".
```