# DocHub
Write Markdown. Ship beautiful documentation.
DocHub is a zero-config documentation tool that turns a folder of Markdown files into a modern, searchable, themeable documentation site. Use it as a live-reload dev server during writing, then export a fully self-contained static site for deployment.
---
## Features
| | |
|---|---|
| **Live preview** | Dev server with instant reload on file changes |
| **Static export** | Build a portable HTML site with clean URLs (`/guide`, `/api/auth`) |
| **Full-text search** | Client-side search across all pages with relevance scoring |
| **Dark mode** | Light/dark toggle with persistent preference |
| **Syntax highlighting** | 190+ languages via Highlight.js |
| **File-tree sidebar** | Auto-generated navigation from your folder structure |
| **Responsive** | Works on desktop, tablet, and mobile |
| **Self-contained** | Zero external CDN dependencies in the output |
## Install
```bash
npm install -g dochub
```
## Quick start
```bash
# Scaffold a new project
dochub init my-docs
# Start writing — open http://localhost:3000
cd my-docs && dochub serve
# Build for production
dochub build
```
## Project structure
```
my-docs/
├── markdown/ # Your content — add .md files here
│ ├── README.md # Home page (/)
│ ├── guide.md # /guide
│ ├── api/
│ │ ├── README.md # /api
│ │ └── authentication # /api/authentication
│ └── deployment/
│ └── README.md # /deployment
└── dochub.config.js # Site configuration
```
Every folder becomes a collapsible sidebar section. `README.md` inside a folder becomes the folder's index page at a clean URL (`/api` not `/api/readme`).
## Commands
### `dochub init [directory]`
Scaffolds a new documentation project with a `markdown/` folder containing starter pages and a `dochub.config.js`.
```bash
dochub init my-project # Creates ./my-project
```
### `dochub serve [directory]`
Starts a development server with WebSocket live reload. Changes to any `.md` file instantly refresh the browser.
```bash
dochub serve # Serve current directory
dochub serve my-project # Serve a specific project
dochub serve -p 4000 # Custom port
```
### `dochub build [directory]`
Generates a static HTML site with clean URLs. Each page becomes a directory with `index.html` — deployable to any static host (Netlify, Vercel, GitHub Pages, S3, etc.).
```bash
dochub build # Build to ./dist
dochub build -o docs # Build to ./docs
```
## Configuration
Edit `dochub.config.js` in your project root:
```js
module.exports = {
title: 'My API Docs',
description: 'Everything you need to build with our API',
};
```
The title appears in the browser tab, page header, and search metadata.
## Writing documentation
DocHub uses standard Markdown. All files go in `markdown/` and URLs are derived from the file path:
| File | URL |
|---|---|
| `markdown/README.md` | `/` |
| `markdown/guide.md` | `/guide` |
| `markdown/api/README.md` | `/api` |
| `markdown/api/authentication.md` | `/api/authentication` |
### Supported syntax
- Headers (h1–h6), bold, italic, strikethrough, inline code
- Fenced code blocks with syntax highlighting
- Ordered and unordered lists (nested too)
- Links, images, blockquotes, horizontal rules
- Tables with header alignment
## Deployment
The `build` command outputs a static `dist/` folder:
```
dist/
├── index.html
├── guide/
│ └── index.html
├── api/
│ └── index.html
├── folder/
│ └── index.html
└── 404.html
```
Deploy the entire `dist/` folder to any static file host:
Netlify
```bash
dochub build
# Drag dist/ onto Netlify Drop, or
npx netlify-cli deploy --dir=dist --prod
```
Vercel
```bash
dochub build
npx vercel dist --prod
```
GitHub Pages
```bash
dochub build
# Push dist/ contents to gh-pages branch, or
# use actions/upload-pages-artifact
```
Any static server
```bash
dochub build
npx serve dist
```
## Why DocHub?
There are many documentation tools. Here's where DocHub fits:
| | DocHub | Docusaurus | VitePress |
|---|---|---|---|
| Setup time | seconds | minutes | minutes |
| Language | Markdown | MDX + React | Markdown + Vue |
| Build output | ~20KB pages | ~200KB+ JS bundle | ~100KB+ JS bundle |
| Dependencies | 5 packages | 200+ packages | 100+ packages |
| Config | 5-line JS file | Full Docusaurus config | Full VitePress config |
DocHub is for teams that want to write Markdown and ship docs without learning a framework or managing hundreds of dependencies.
## License
MIT