5 Free Static Documentation Generators You Must Check Out.
Tags: documentation, development, software, javascript
Published: 2019-12-20 16:12:40

---
title: 5 Free Static Documentation Generators You Must Check Out.
published: true
description: 
tags: documentation, development, software, javascript
cover_image: https://thepracticaldev.s3.amazonaws.com/i/xutva5fbex3p6do2874e.jpg
---

Documentation is an important aspect of development. Almost every codebase, regardless of how big/small requires some form of documentation. From a few simple READMEs and contribution guidelines to full-fledged ones. In most projects, however, it becomes necessary to use a nice & robust system for generating, maintaining and deploying the documentations. That's where *"Static Documentation Generators"* come handy. They are easy to use, versatile and extremely user-friendly. They are mostly used to document APIs, database schemas, and other information by organizations. 

So, here's a list of 5 static site generators that you can use in your projects.

# 1. Docsify

<img src="https://img.shields.io/github/stars/docsifyjs/docsify?style=for-the-badge" alt="docsify stars" />

Website: https://docsify.js.org
Github Repo: https://github.com/docsifyjs/docsify

### Features
- No statically built html files
- Simple and lightweight (~21kB gzipped)
- Smart full-text search plugin
- Multiple themes
- Useful plugin API
- Compatible with IE11
- Support SSR
- Support embedded files

# 2. Docusaurus

<img src="https://img.shields.io/github/stars/facebook/docusaurus?style=for-the-badge" alt="docsify stars" />

Website: https://docusaurus.io/
Github: https://github.com/facebook/docusaurus/

### Features
- Powered by Markdown
- Built Using React
- Ready for Translations
- Document Versioning
- Document Search
- Quick Setup


# 3. VuePress

<img src="https://img.shields.io/github/stars/vuejs/vuepress?style=for-the-badge" alt="docsify stars" />

Website: https://vuepress.vuejs.org/
Github Repo: https://github.com/vuejs/vuepress

### Features
- Minimal setup
- Markdown-centered project structure
- Custom themes with Vue
- Pre-rendered static HTML
- Runs as a SPA
- Developed and maintained by the Vue community


# 4. Slate

<img src="https://img.shields.io/github/stars/slatedocs/slate?style=for-the-badge" alt="docsify stars" />

Website: https://slatedocs.github.io/slate
Github: https://github.com/slatedocs/slate

### Features
- Clean, intuitive design
- Single page documentation
- Markdown support
- Out-of-the-box syntax highlighting
- Write code samples in multiple languages
- Automatic, smoothly scrolling table of contents
- Documentation is editable by users via Github
- RTL Support


# 5. Docute

<img src="https://img.shields.io/github/stars/egoist/docute?style=for-the-badge" alt="docsify stars" />

Website: https://docute.org/
Github Repo: https://github.com/egoist/docute

### Features

- Site generated on the fly.
- Simple, elegant UI
- Leveraging the power of Markdown and Vue.
- Extensible plugin system
- Good community support

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What do you use for documentation? I know that I am definitely missing out on some great ones, so feel free to comment below.

** Please Note: The order is simply arbitrary and doesn't represent a ranking. Do your own research before choosing the best one for your project. **