# Accessing previous docs versions
Source: https://www.meilisearch.com/docs/learn/update_and_migration/previous_docs_version

Meilisearch documentation only covers the engine's latest stable release. Learn how to access the docs for previous Meilisearch versions.

This documentation website only covers the latest stable release of Meilisearch. However, it is possible to view the documentation of previous Meilisearch versions stored in [our GitHub repository](https://github.com/meilisearch/documentation).

This guide shows you how to clone Meilisearch's documentation repository, fetch the content for a specific version, and read it on your local machine.

<Warning>
  While this guide's goal is to help users of old versions accomplish their bare minimum needs, it is not intended as a long-term solution or to encourage users to continue using outdated versions of Meilisearch. In almost every case, **it is better to upgrade to the latest Meilisearch version**.

  Depending on the version in question, the process of accessing old documentation may be difficult or error-prone. You have been warned!
</Warning>

## Prerequisites

To follow this guide, you should have some familiarity with the command line. Before beginning, make sure the following tools are installed on your machine:

* [Git](https://git-scm.com/)
* [Node v14](https://nodejs.org/en/)
* [Yarn](https://classic.yarnpkg.com/en/)
* [Python 3](https://www.python.org)

## Clone the repository

To access previous versions of the Meilisearch documentation, the first step is downloading the documentation repository into your local machine. In Git, this is referred to as cloning.

Open your console and run the following command. It will create a `documentation` directory in your current location containing the Meilisearch documentation site project files:

```sh theme={null}
git clone https://github.com/meilisearch/documentation.git
```

Alternatively, you may [clone the repository using an SSH URL](https://docs.github.com/en/get-started/getting-started-with-git/about-remote-repositories#cloning-with-ssh-urls).

## Select a Meilisearch version

The documentation repository contains tags for versions from `v0.8` up to the latest release. Use these tags together with `git checkout` to access a specific version.

For example, the following command retrieves the Meilisearch v0.20 documentation:

```sh theme={null}
git checkout v0.20
```

Visit the repository on GitHub to [view all documentation tags](https://github.com/meilisearch/documentation/tags).

## Access the documentation

There are different ways of accessing the documentation of previous Meilisearch releases depending on the version you checked out.

<Warning>
  The site search bar is not functional in local copies of the documentation website.
</Warning>

### >= v1.2: read `.mdx` files

Starting with v1.2, Meilisearch's documentation content and build code live in separate repositories. Because of this, it is not possible to run a local copy of the documentation website.

To access the Meilisearch documentation for versions 1.2 and later, read the `.mdx` files directly, either locally with the help of a modern text editor or remotely using GitHub's interface.

### v0.17-v1.1: run a local Vuepress server

#### Install dependencies

This version of the Meilisearch documentation manages its dependencies with Yarn. Run the following command to install all required packages:

```sh theme={null}
yarn install
```

#### Start the local server

After installing dependencies, use Yarn to start the server:

```sh theme={null}
yarn dev
```

Yarn will build the website from the markdown source files. Once the server is online, use your browser to navigate to `http://localhost:8080`.

<Warning>
  SDK code samples are not available in local copies of the documentation for Meilisearch v0.17 - v1.1.
</Warning>

### v0.11-v0.16: run a simple Python server

Accessing Meilisearch documentation from v0.11 to v0.16 requires launching an HTTP server on your local machine. Run the following command on your console:

```sh theme={null}
python3 -m http.server 8080
```

Once the server is online, use your browser to navigate to `http://localhost:8080`.

The above example uses Python to launch a local server, but alternatives such as `npx serve`  work equally well.

### v0.8 to v0.10: read markdown source files

The build workflow on early versions of the documentation website involves multiple deprecated tools and libraries. Browse the source markdown files, either locally with the help of a modern text editor or remotely using GitHub's interface.