From ab3f69c8aef180228037ecef5d3c601609395efa Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: "mintlify[bot]" <109931778+mintlify[bot]@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 2026 10:09:14 +0000
Subject: [PATCH 1/2] docs: clarify beta gating and validation failures for
 group rules

---
 deploy/exclude-groups.mdx | 6 ++++--
 1 file changed, 4 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

diff --git a/deploy/exclude-groups.mdx b/deploy/exclude-groups.mdx
index f100e1c5a..1b65c442c 100644
--- a/deploy/exclude-groups.mdx
+++ b/deploy/exclude-groups.mdx
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ hidden: true
 <Note>
   Include and exclude group rules are in closed beta. Contact your Mintlify account team to enable them for your deployment.
   
-  During the beta period, deployments fail if any page uses the rule form of `groups`.
+  Until Mintlify enables them for your deployment, deployments fail if any page uses the rule form of `groups`.
 </Note>
 
 When you use OAuth or JWT [authentication](/deploy/authentication-setup), the `groups` frontmatter property controls which users can access a page. In addition to a list of group names, `groups` accepts a list of rules with `includes` and `excludes`. Use `excludes` to block specific groups from a page, including pages that are otherwise public.
@@ -81,12 +81,14 @@ Mintlify applies include and exclude rules everywhere it applies `groups`:
 
 Mintlify rejects `groups` values that it can't evaluate safely:
 
-- `includes` can't be empty. Omit `includes` to allow every group.
+- `includes` can't be empty. Omit `includes` to allow every group, or set `groups: []` to deny access to everyone.
 - `excludes` can't contain the `*` wildcard.
 - Group names can't be empty strings.
 - Rules can only contain `includes` and `excludes`.
 - A single `groups` list can't mix group names and rule objects.
 
+If any page has an invalid `groups` value, Mintlify fails the deployment and doesn't update your site. The deployment error lists each affected page path.
+
 <CodeGroup>
 
 ```mdx Valid

From 79880a36a42dbe300a6c43e1763f232c9c08a670 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Ethan Palm <56270045+ethanpalm@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 2026 10:30:25 -0700
Subject: [PATCH 2/2] Update deploy/exclude-groups.mdx

---
 deploy/exclude-groups.mdx | 2 +-
 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/deploy/exclude-groups.mdx b/deploy/exclude-groups.mdx
index 1b65c442c..749bebb09 100644
--- a/deploy/exclude-groups.mdx
+++ b/deploy/exclude-groups.mdx
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ hidden: true
 <Note>
   Include and exclude group rules are in closed beta. Contact your Mintlify account team to enable them for your deployment.
   
-  Until Mintlify enables them for your deployment, deployments fail if any page uses the rule form of `groups`.
+  During the beta period, deployments fail if any page uses the rule form of `groups`.
 </Note>
 
 When you use OAuth or JWT [authentication](/deploy/authentication-setup), the `groups` frontmatter property controls which users can access a page. In addition to a list of group names, `groups` accepts a list of rules with `includes` and `excludes`. Use `excludes` to block specific groups from a page, including pages that are otherwise public.