# Administer projects

Use this page to find a project, review its administrative surface, change project
settings, and handle project removal.

## Projects administration

A project is the administrative container for the organization's documentation work.
Project administration brings together the project list and the settings for an existing
project.

| If you need to… | Go to |
|---|---|
| Find, filter, sort, create, or open a project | [Find and open a project](#find-and-open-a-project) |
| Review the list columns and project settings | [Understand the project surface](#understand-the-project-surface) |
| Change project details or generation settings | [Update project settings](#update-project-settings) |
| Remove a project | [Delete a project](#delete-a-project) |
| Resolve a loading, empty, or error message | [When project administration goes wrong](#when-project-administration-goes-wrong) |
| Continue to related project work | [Continue after project administration](#continue-after-project-administration) |
| Create a new project | [Create a project](doc:create-a-project) |
| Manage broader project settings | [Manage project settings](doc:manage-project-settings) |
| Review project administration and audit information | [Project administration reference](doc:project-administration-reference) |

## Before you start

You need an existing project before you can open its detail settings. The project detail
route uses a project identifier, so start from the project list when you do not have the
project already open.

Project settings do not have a required marker or a required validation pattern.

## Find and open a project

The project list is where you choose an existing project or start project creation. Use
the filters to narrow the list before opening a row.

**Prerequisites**

- You are on the project list.

**Steps**

1. In **Search projects…**, enter part of the project name or description.
2. In the first filter, choose a status, or in the second filter, choose a sort order.

   | If you need to… | Control | Select |
   |---|---|---|
   | Include every status | Status | **All statuses** |
   | Show active projects | Status | **Active** |
   | Show draft projects | Status | **Draft** |
   | Show published projects | Status | **Published** |
   | Show archived projects | Status | **Archived** |
   | See the most recently updated projects first | Sort | **Last updated** |
   | Sort names from A to Z | Sort | **Name A–Z** |
   | Sort names from Z to A | Sort | **Name Z–A** |
   | Sort by creation date | Sort | **Date created** |

3. Select the project row to open that project.
4. Select **New project** when you need to create a project instead of opening an
   existing one.

**Result:** The selected project opens, or the **New project** route opens for project
creation. If the filters return no rows, the list shows `Nothing matches` and
`No project matches …` for the current search or status selection.

## Understand the project surface

The project surface has a list for finding records and a settings view for maintaining
one selected project. The list columns are **Project**, **Source**, **Docs**,
**Categories**, **Status**, and **Updated**.

The settings view groups project information, publishing information, documentation
generation, and retention settings. **Project Name**, **Description**, **Slug**,
**Repository URL**, and **Default Branch** are in the basic project information area.
**Site URL (for screenshots)** is also a project setting. **Manual Style** and
**Let documentation create records in this application** are in documentation generation
settings. Retention uses **Auto-archive after (days)**, **Auto-delete archived after
(days)**, and **Keep minimum versions**.

When the settings view is active, the page shows **Project Settings**. A published
project with a public URL can also show a **Published URL** area with **Copy** and
**Open**. The Site URL field appears after its configuration has loaded.

## Update project settings

Use project settings when you need to maintain the project's identity, source
repository, documentation style, documentation write permission, or retention policy.

**Prerequisites**

- You have opened the project settings view.
- You know the project values you want to maintain.

**Steps**

1. In **Project Name**, **Description**, or **Slug**, enter the new value.
2. In **Repository URL**, enter the source repository address.
3. In **Default Branch**, enter the branch used for documentation generation.
4. In **Manual Style**, select one of **Enterprise**, **Mid-market**, **Corporate**, or
   **SaaS**.
5. Select **Let documentation create records in this application** when the project
   setting needs to be enabled.
6. In the retention fields, enter values for **Auto-archive after (days)**,
   **Auto-delete archived after (days)**, and **Keep minimum versions**.
7. Select **Save Retention Policy**.

The project name, description, and slug save after a one-second delay when their values
change. **Repository URL** and **Default Branch** also save after a one-second delay.
The retention action is disabled while it is saving.

**Result:** The page reports `Saved` after a successful automatic or retention save. While
an automatic save is in progress it reports `Saving…`; after a changed value that has not
saved it reports `Unsaved changes`.

## Delete a project

Deleting a project is a destructive branch. The confirmation dialog shows
`This action is permanent and cannot be undone`. It requires the exact project name
before **Delete Project** becomes available.

**Prerequisites**

- You have opened the project list.
- The project row you intend to remove is visible.

**Steps**

1. In the project row, select the delete icon action for that project.
2. Read the **Delete Project** dialog before confirming the removal.
3. In the confirmation text input, enter the exact project name shown in the dialog.
4. Choose the outcome you need.

   | If you need to… | Select |
   |---|---|
   | Leave the project unchanged | **Cancel** |
   | Remove the project after the exact-name match | **Delete Project** |

If the entered text does not match, the dialog shows `Name doesn't match` and the delete
action remains unavailable. During removal, the action shows `Deleting...`.

**Result:** **Cancel** closes the dialog without removing the project. A matching
confirmation starts project removal.

## When project administration goes wrong

Use the message on screen to choose the next action. The list and project detail view
have separate loading and error states.

| What you see | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| `Loading projects…` | The project list is loading. | Wait for the project list to finish loading. |
| `Projects failed to load.` | The project list could not load. | Retry the project-list request. |
| `No projects yet` | No projects are currently in the list. | Select **New project** to open project creation. |
| `Nothing matches` | The current search or status filter returns no rows. | Clear **Search projects…** or choose **All statuses**. |
| `No project matches …` | The current search or status selection returns no project. | Change the search text or status selection. |
| `Loading project…` | The selected project is loading. | Wait for the project detail view to finish loading. |
| `Project failed to load.` | The project detail view could not load. | Check that you opened the intended project from the list. |
| `Project not found` | The project detail view has no project to display. | Return to the project list and open the project again. |

## Continue after project administration

After you finish project administration, continue with the task that matches your next
goal.

**Prerequisites**

- You have finished the project-list or project-settings task you started.

**Steps**

1. Select **Audit trail →** to review project audit information.
2. In a project with a public URL, select **Copy** to copy the URL.
3. In the same public URL area, select **Open** to open the URL in a new window.
4. Continue with [Manage project settings](doc:manage-project-settings) for broader
   project settings work.
5. Continue with [Project administration reference](doc:project-administration-reference)
   for project administration and audit information.
6. Continue with [Projects overview](doc:projects-overview) for the wider project
   workspace.

After **Copy**, the button label changes to `Copied!` temporarily.

**Result:** You are on the audit surface, have the public URL available, or have moved to
the related project page for the next task.