Rspress Description Generator
The description field in Rspress frontmatter generates <meta name="description" content="..."> tags, which are used for search engine snippets, social media previews, and AI-oriented formats like llms.txt.
Step 1 — Locate the docs root
- Find the Rspress config file. Search for
rspress.config.ts,.js,.mjs, or.cjs. It may be at the project root or inside a subdirectory likewebsite/. - Read the config and extract the
rootoption.- The value might be a plain string (
root: 'docs') or a JS expression (root: path.join(__dirname, 'docs')). In either case, determine the resolved directory path. - If
rootis set, resolve it relative to the config file's directory. - If
rootis not set, default todocsrelative to the config file's directory.
- The value might be a plain string (
- Confirm the directory exists. If neither
docsnor the configured root exists, check fordocas a fallback.
Step 2 — Detect i18n structure
Rspress i18n projects place language subdirectories (e.g., en/, zh/) directly under the docs root:
docs/
├── en/
│ ├── guide/
│ └── index.md
└── zh/
├── guide/
└── index.md
Check if the docs root contains language subdirectories (two-letter codes like en, zh, ja, ko, etc.). If so, process each language directory separately — the description language should match the content language.
If there are no language subdirectories, treat the entire docs root as a single-language site.
Step 3 — Scan and process files
Glob for **/*.md and **/*.mdx under the docs root. Exclude:
node_modules, build output (doc_build,.rspress,dist)_meta.json/_nav.json(sidebar/nav config files, not doc pages)**/shared/**directories (reusable snippets included via@import, not standalone pages)
For each file:
- Read the file.
- Check for existing
descriptionin frontmatter. If it exists and is non-empty, skip. - Check
pageTypein frontmatter. Forhomepages, derive the description from thehero.text/hero.taglinefields or the features list, not from body content. - Generate a description following the writing guidelines below.
- Insert
descriptioninto frontmatter:-
If the file has frontmatter with a
titlefield, insertdescriptionon the line aftertitle. -
If the file has frontmatter without
title, insertdescriptionas the first field. -
If the file has no frontmatter block, add one:
--- description: Your generated description here ---
-
YAML formatting
Most descriptions can be bare YAML strings:
description: Step-by-step guide to setting up your first Rspress site
If the description contains colons, quotes, or other special YAML characters, wrap in double quotes:
description: 'API reference for Rspress configuration: plugins, themes, and build options'
Step 4 — Batch processing
For sites with many files, use parallel agent calls to process independent files simultaneously. Group by directory (e.g., all files in guide/, then all in api/) to maintain focus and consistency within each section.
After processing all files, do a quick scan to ensure no files were missed — re-glob and check for any remaining files without description.
Description Writing Guidelines
The description serves three audiences: search engines (Google snippet), AI systems (llms.txt, summarization), and humans (scanning search results). A good description helps all three.
Rules
- Length: 50–160 characters. Under 50 is too vague for search engines; over 160 gets truncated in snippets.
- Language: Match the document content. Chinese docs get Chinese descriptions, English docs get English descriptions.
- Be direct: State what the page covers. Avoid starting with "This document", "This page", "Learn about" — jump straight to the substance.
- Be specific: Mention concrete technologies, APIs, or concepts the page covers. "Configure Rspress plugins for search, analytics, and internationalization" beats "How to use plugins."
- No markdown: Plain text only, no formatting syntax.
Examples
Good:
| Content | Description |
|---|---|
| Plugin development guide | Create custom Rspress plugins using the Node.js plugin API and runtime hooks |
| MDX component usage | Import and use React components in MDX documentation files |
| Rspress 快速开始 | 从安装到本地预览,搭建 Rspress 文档站点的完整流程 |
| 主题配置 | 自定义 Rspress 主题的导航栏、侧边栏、页脚和暗色模式 |
| Home page (pageType: home) | Rspress documentation framework — fast, MDX-powered static site generator |
Bad:
| Description | Why |
|---|---|
| "About plugins" | Too vague — which plugins? what about them? |
| "This page explains how to configure the Rspress theme" | Wastes characters on "This page explains how to" |
| "Learn everything about Rspress!" | Marketing fluff, says nothing specific |
Documentation
- Frontmatter fields: https://rspress.rs/api/config/config-frontmatter
- Basic config (
rootoption): https://rspress.rs/api/config/config-basic - Full Rspress docs: https://rspress.rs/llms.txt