mkdocs-section-index
MkDocs plugin to allow clickable sections that lead to an index page
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes. The plugin solves a genuine UX gap in MkDocs with low install friction, active maintenance, permissive licensing, and no security vulnerabilities. Install it if you use material, readthedocs, or nature themes and want clickable section headers. If you use a different theme, verify that template patching will work or that your theme already supports hybrid section-page items.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Requires Python 3.10 or later.
- Theme support is limited to material, readthedocs, and nature; other themes require custom template patches.
- Low friction: pure Python wheel with only mkdocs and properdocs as runtime dependencies.
License · maintenance · safety
MIT (permissive) — MIT license (permissive) means you can use, modify, and distribute this plugin freely with minimal restrictions, making it safe for both commercial and open-source documentation projects.
last release 2026-04-16 (120 days) · last repo commit 2026-04-17 · 96 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 1,686,302 downloads/mo, #3,652 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install mkdocs-section-index
# In mkdocs.yml, add to plugins:
plugins:
- search
- section-index
# Then structure nav with index.md as first child of a section:
nav:
- Borgs:
- borgs/index.md
- Bar: borgs/bar.md- Whether the plugin works with MkDocs versions beyond the current stable release
- Performance impact on large documentation sites with many sections
- Compatibility with other MkDocs plugins beyond search
What it is and what it does
This MkDocs plugin solves a core limitation of MkDocs navigation: normally, section headers are not clickable and cannot link to a page. The plugin enables a hybrid nav item that acts as both a section container and a clickable page by merging an index.md file into the section itself. When you structure your nav with a section containing an index.md as its first child, the plugin combines them into a single nav item that is both clickable (linking to the index page) and able to hold subsections and child pages.
The plugin works by introducing a special "section-page" object into MkDocs' nav structure and then patching the templates of supported themes (material, readthedocs, nature) to render these hybrid items correctly. It requires Python 3.10 or later and depends on mkdocs and properdocs. The codebase is actively maintained and carries no known security vulnerabilities.
Use it for
- Create documentation where category headers are clickable landing pages with overview content and links to subcategories
- Build hierarchical docs where each section has both an introduction page and nested child pages
- Migrate documentation from systems that support clickable sections without restructuring your entire nav
- Use index.md files as section introductions that are also accessible via the nav hierarchy
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes.
The plugin solves a genuine UX gap in MkDocs with low install friction, active maintenance, permissive licensing, and no security vulnerabilities. Install it if you use material, readthedocs, or nature themes and want clickable section headers. If you use a different theme, verify that template patching will work or that your theme already supports hybrid section-page items.
Install
mkdocs-section-index on PyPI
Before you install
Low friction: pure Python wheel with only mkdocs and properdocs as runtime dependencies. Active maintenance with a recent release (120 days ago) and a stable codebase (96 stars, no archived status).
Requires Python 3.10 or later. Theme support is limited to material, readthedocs, and nature; other themes require custom template patches.
License in practice
MIT license (permissive) means you can use, modify, and distribute this plugin freely with minimal restrictions, making it safe for both commercial and open-source documentation projects.
Quickstart
pip install mkdocs-section-index
# In mkdocs.yml, add to plugins:
plugins:
- search
- section-index
# Then structure nav with index.md as first child of a section:
nav:
- Borgs:
- borgs/index.md
- Bar: borgs/bar.mdVerify before relying
- Whether the plugin works with MkDocs versions beyond the current stable release
- Performance impact on large documentation sites with many sections
- Compatibility with other MkDocs plugins beyond search
Package facts
| License | MIT permissive |
| Python support | Supports the current Python release >=3.10 |
| Install friction | Low. Pure-Python wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | 2 packagesmkdocsproperdocs |
| Maintenance | Actively maintained 120 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 1,686,302 / month, #3,652 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | Development Status :: 5 - Production/StableEnvironment :: ConsoleEnvironment :: Web EnvironmentIntended Audience :: Information TechnologyLicense :: OSI Approved :: MIT LicenseOperating System :: OS IndependentProgramming Language :: PythonProgramming Language :: Python :: 3.10Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12Programming Language :: Python :: 3.13Programming Language :: Python :: 3.14Topic :: DocumentationTopic :: Software Development :: DocumentationTopic :: Text Processing :: Markup :: MarkdownTyping :: Typed |
Evidence: mkdocs_section_index-0.3.12-py3-none-any.whl
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See also mkdocs-awesome-pages-plugin · mkdocs-literate-nav · mkdocs-awesome-nav · mkdocs-same-dir · mkdocs-monorepo-plugin · mkdocs-multirepo-plugin · mkdocs-print-site-plugin · mkdocs-include-dir-to-nav · mkdocs-gen-files · mkdocs-simple-hooks