Because docmd generates a high-performance static website, it can be hosted on any environment that serves HTML. Simply run the build command and deploy the output directory (Default: site/).

docmd build

Hosting Providers

GitHub Pages
Vercel
Netlify
Cloudflare Pages
Firebase
Static Server
Docker

The recommended method is using GitHub Actions to automate your deployments on every push.

Create .github/workflows/deploy.yml:

name: Deploy docmd
on:
  push:
    branches: ["main"]
permissions:
  contents: read
  pages: write
  id-token: write
jobs:
  deploy:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
        with: { node-version: '22' }
      - run: npx @docmd/core build
      - uses: actions/upload-pages-artifact@v3
        with: { path: ./site }
      - uses: actions/deploy-pages@v4
  1. Connect your repository to Vercel.
  2. In the project Build Settings:
    • Framework Preset: Other
    • Build Command: npx @docmd/core build
    • Output Directory: site
  3. Deploy. Vercel automatically detects the static output and serves it globally.
  1. Import your project from GitHub/GitLab/Bitbucket.
  2. Configure your build settings:
    • Build command: npx @docmd/core build
    • Publish directory: site
  3. Click Deploy site. Netlify’s CDN will handle the routing and asset delivery.
  1. Create a new project in the Cloudflare Dashboard under Pages.
  2. Connect your git provider and select your repository.
  3. Configure the build settings:
    • Framework preset: None
    • Build command: npx @docmd/core build
    • Build output directory: site
  4. Save and Deploy.
  1. Install the Firebase CLI: npm install -g firebase-tools.
  2. Build your site: npx @docmd/core build.
  3. Run firebase init hosting and select your project.
  4. Set the public directory to site.
  5. Configure as a single-page app: Yes (this handles the 404 behavior).
  6. Deploy using firebase deploy.

For traditional web servers (NGINX, Apache, IIS):

  1. Generate the site: npx @docmd/core build.
  2. Upload the contents of the site/ folder to your server via SFTP, SCP, or your preferred CI/CD tool.
  3. Ensure your server is configured to serve index.html for directories (the default for most).

For self-hosting within a containerized environment, you can use a simple Nginx-based Dockerfile:

# Build Stage
FROM node:22-alpine AS builder
WORKDIR /app
COPY . .
RUN npx @docmd/core build

# Serve Stage
FROM nginx:alpine
COPY --from=builder /app/site /usr/share/nginx/html
EXPOSE 80
CMD ["nginx", "-g", "daemon off;"]

SPA Routing Considerations

docmd implements a micro-SPA router that handles internal navigation smoothly. Unlike React-based SPAs, every page in docmd is generated as its own index.html file on the filesystem. This means:

  • No Rewrite Rules: You don’t need to configure index.html rewrites on your server for most platforms.
  • Deep Linking: Direct access to URLs like /guide/setup works out of the box because the server finds /guide/setup/index.html.

Production Checklist

  1. Site URL: Ensure the url property is set in your docmd.config.js. This is critical for generating correct canonical tags, sitemaps, and social preview images.
  2. Redirects: If you are migrating from another tool, use the redirects config to maintain your SEO rankings.
  3. Analytics: Enable the analytics plugin to track user engagement and search queries.
  4. AI Ingress: Enable the llms plugin to generate llms.txt. This allows AI agents to ingest your documentation more efficiently, providing better answers to your users.
Custom 404 Pages

docmd automatically generates a 404.html in your output directory. Most hosting providers (GitHub Pages, Netlify, Vercel) will automatically use this file when a user hits a missing route.

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