CLI Commands

MinimalDoc command-line interface reference.

Commands

Command	Description
build	Build documentation site
init	Initialize new documentation
version	Show version
help	Show help

build

Generate static HTML from Markdown files.

minimaldoc build [docs-directory] [flags]

Arguments

Argument	Default	Description
docs-directory	.	Path to documentation source or a single .md file

Single File Mode

Build a single markdown file as a standalone page:

minimaldoc build README.md

When a .md file is passed instead of a directory, MinimalDoc generates only that file as index.html.

Flags

Flag	Short	Type	Default	Description
--output	-o	string	public	Output directory
--theme	-t	string	default	Theme name
--title		string	Documentation	Site title
--description		string		Site description
--base-url		string		Base URL for absolute links
--llms	-l	bool	true	Generate llms.txt
--clean-urls		bool	false	Use clean URLs
--openapi		bool	false	Enable OpenAPI docs
--openapi-dir		string	api	OpenAPI specs directory
--status		bool	false	Enable status page
--status-title		string	Service Status	Status page title
--status-path		string	status	Status page output path
--changelog		bool	false	Enable changelog
--changelog-title		string	Changelog	Changelog page title
--changelog-path		string	changelog	Changelog output path
--stale-warning		bool	false	Enable stale warnings
--stale-threshold		int	365	Days before stale
--link-check		string	warn	Link check mode: error, warn, ignore
--check-external		bool	false	Validate external URLs
--mcp		bool	false	Enable MCP server documentation
--mcp-dir		string	mcp	MCP manifests directory

Examples

Basic build:

minimaldoc build

Specify source directory:

minimaldoc build ./docs

Custom output:

minimaldoc build ./docs --output dist

Production build:

minimaldoc build ./docs \
  --base-url "https://docs.example.com" \
  --output dist

Full featured:

minimaldoc build ./docs \
  --title "My Project" \
  --description "Project documentation" \
  --base-url "https://docs.example.com" \
  --output dist \
  --theme default \
  --openapi \
  --status \
  --changelog \
  --clean-urls

Disable features:

minimaldoc build ./docs \
  --llms=false \
  --stale-warning=false

Strict link checking (CI/CD):

minimaldoc build ./docs --link-check=error

Skip link checking:

minimaldoc build ./docs --link-check=ignore

Check external URLs:

minimaldoc build ./docs --check-external

init

Initialize a new documentation site with example files and optional features.

minimaldoc init [directory] [flags]

Arguments

Argument	Default	Description
directory	docs	Target directory

Flags

Flag	Description
--with-toc	Create TOC.md for custom navigation
--with-status	Create status page structure
--with-changelog	Create changelog structure
--with-openapi	Create OpenAPI specification example
--full	Include all optional features

Generated Structure

Basic (default):

docs/
├── config.yaml
├── index.md
├── getting-started/
│   ├── installation.md
│   └── quick-start.md
└── guides/
    └── deployment.md

Full (--full flag):

docs/
├── config.yaml
├── TOC.md
├── index.md
├── getting-started/
│   ├── installation.md
│   └── quick-start.md
├── guides/
│   └── deployment.md
├── api/
│   └── openapi.yaml
├── __status__/
│   ├── components.yaml
│   ├── incidents/
│   │   └── YYYY-MM-DD-example-incident.md
│   └── maintenance/
└── __changelog__/
    └── releases/
        └── 0.1.0.md

Examples

Basic site:

minimaldoc init

Custom directory:

minimaldoc init my-docs

With all features:

minimaldoc init my-docs --full

With specific features:

minimaldoc init my-docs --with-status --with-openapi

API documentation project:

minimaldoc init api-docs --with-openapi --with-changelog

version

Show MinimalDoc version and check for updates.

minimaldoc version [flags]

Output:

minimaldoc version 1.0.0

Flags

Flag	Description
--check	Check GitHub for newer releases

Examples

Show version:

minimaldoc version

Check for updates:

minimaldoc version --check

When an update is available:

minimaldoc version 1.0.0

Checking for updates...

Update available: 1.0.0 -> 1.1.0
Release URL: https://github.com/studiowebux/minimaldoc/releases/tag/v1.1.0

To update:
  go install github.com/studiowebux/minimaldoc/cmd/minimaldoc@latest

Or download from GitHub releases.

help

Show help for any command.

minimaldoc help [command]

Examples

minimaldoc help
minimaldoc help build
minimaldoc build --help

Global Flags

Available for all commands:

Flag	Description
--help	Show help
--version	Show version

Exit Codes

Code	Description
0	Success
1	General error
2	Invalid arguments
3	File not found
4	Build error

Environment Variables

Variable	Description
MINIMALDOC_CONFIG	Path to config file
MINIMALDOC_THEME	Theme name
NO_COLOR	Disable colored output

Configuration Precedence

1. CLI flags (highest priority)
2. Environment variables
3. config.yaml
4. Defaults (lowest priority)

Shell Completion

Generate completion scripts:

# Bash
minimaldoc completion bash > /etc/bash_completion.d/minimaldoc

# Zsh
minimaldoc completion zsh > "${fpath[1]}/_minimaldoc"

# Fish
minimaldoc completion fish > ~/.config/fish/completions/minimaldoc.fish

# PowerShell
minimaldoc completion powershell > minimaldoc.ps1

Common Patterns

Development

# Quick build for local preview
minimaldoc build ./docs

# Serve locally
python -m http.server -d public 8080

CI/CD

# Production build with all features
minimaldoc build ./docs \
  --base-url "$DOCS_URL" \
  --output dist \
  --openapi \
  --status \
  --changelog

Docker

# Build in container
docker run -v $(pwd):/app -w /app golang:1.24-alpine sh -c \
  "go install github.com/studiowebux/minimaldoc/cmd/minimaldoc@latest && \
   minimaldoc build ./docs --output dist"