erikt/docgen

A minimal documentation site generator built on Node.js native TypeScript. Point it at a folder of markdown files and get a running site with zero configuration.

Features

• File-based routing — .md and .ts files in pages/ become routes automatically
• Markdown — full CommonMark with syntax highlighting via Shiki
• No build step — runs TypeScript directly via Node.js >=23.6.0
• Static output — docgen build generates a GitHub Pages-compatible dist/
• Sidebar navigation — nested directories automatically produce section sidebars
• Table of contents — headings on each page are linked in a right-hand column
• Light / dark / system colour scheme with localStorage persistence

Quick start

pnpm add @erikt/docgen

Create docs.config.ts in your project root:

import { defineDocs } from "@erikt/docgen";

export default defineDocs({
  structure: [{ label: "Guide", path: "/guide", icon: "book" }],
});

Add scripts to package.json:

{
  "scripts": {
    "dev": "docgen dev",
    "build": "docgen build"
  }
}

Then run:

pnpm dev
# Listening on http://localhost:5151

Introduction

docgen is a documentation site generator for people who want a fast, readable site without pulling in a framework. It is intentionally small — it does one thing and tries to stay out of your way.

What it does

You give it a folder of Markdown files. It gives you a working website with routing, navigation, syntax highlighting, a table of contents, and light/dark mode. During development it runs a local server that restarts on file changes. When you're ready to ship, it writes a folder of static HTML files that can be deployed anywhere static files are served.

Who it's for

docgen is aimed at developers who are documenting libraries, tools, or internal projects and want something they can understand end-to-end. If you've ever wanted to just write Markdown and not spend an afternoon configuring webpack, this is for that.

The philosophy

No build step

docgen runs TypeScript directly using Node.js >=23.6.0's native strip-only mode. There is no tsc, no esbuild, no babel. The source files you write are the files that run. This keeps the feedback loop short and the dependency count low.

Lean on the platform

Where possible, docgen uses what the runtime already provides — node:http for the server, node:fs for file watching, node:path for routing. On the browser side, modern CSS features like color-scheme, light-dark(), and CSS custom properties replace what would otherwise be JavaScript-managed theme logic.

Minimal dependencies

The dependency list is short on purpose. Markdown processing uses the unified/remark/rehype ecosystem. Syntax highlighting uses Shiki. Icons are loaded on demand from a CDN and disk-cached. Nothing is bundled that doesn't need to be.

Output you can read

The generated HTML is straightforward. There is no hydration, no client-side routing, no virtual DOM. A page is a file. A link is a link. The result deploys to GitHub Pages or any static host with no special configuration.