DocsForge
The drop-in replacement for MkDocs + Material for MkDocs. One package. One command. Beautiful docs. Zero CDN calls.
DocsForge is a self-contained, actively-maintained documentation engine. If you use MkDocs, Material for MkDocs, or are looking for a modern alternative, you're in the right place.
๐ Documentation | ๐ฆ PyPI | ๐ GitHub | ๐ Migrate from MkDocs
Why DocsForge?
| MkDocs + Material | DocsForge | |
|---|---|---|
| Maintenance | โ ๏ธ MkDocs is unmaintained; Material is maintenance-only | โ Actively developed |
| Installation | pip install mkdocs-material + 15+ plugins separately |
pip install docsforge โ everything included |
| CDN calls | Google Fonts, KaTeX, Mermaid loaded from CDN in the browser | ๐ Zero CDN calls โ external assets are fetched during the build and served locally, so readers never call a CDN |
| Math rendering | Requires internet or manual KaTeX setup | โ KaTeX vendored, works offline instantly |
| Diagrams | Mermaid loaded from CDN | โ Mermaid vendored |
| Icons | Downloaded at build time | โ 14,000+ icons included |
| Privacy | External font/icon requests | โ All assets self-hosted |
| Search | Plugin + external JS | โ Lunr.js built-in, works offline |
| PWA / Offline | Not included | โ Service worker + offline cache built-in |
DocsForge is everything MkDocs + Material does, in one package, with zero external dependencies.
Migrating from MkDocs
To migrate an existing MkDocs project automatically, run the one-liner โ it
converts mkdocs.yml / properdocs.yml / zensical.toml to docsforge.yml:
macOS / Linux:
curl -fsSL https://qqshi13.github.io/docsforge/migrate.sh | bash
Windows (PowerShell):
irm https://qqshi13.github.io/docsforge/migrate.ps1 | iex
The script converts navigation, theme, plugins, and extensions, warns about anything it can't migrate, and prints a report. See the migration guide for the manual, key-by-key walkthrough (also fine for a small site):
- Rename
mkdocs.ymltodocsforge.yml. - Keep the
theme:block as-is (DocsForge uses the built-in Material theme). - Remove built-in plugins and extensions from explicit lists โ they are loaded by default.
- Remove KaTeX, Mermaid, font, and icon CDN references โ these are vendored.
Then build and preview:
pip install docsforge
docsforge build # builds your site
docsforge serve # live preview
What Makes DocsForge Different
๐ Zero CDN Calls
DocsForge fetches external assets (such as fonts, icons, and emojis) during the build process and serves them from your site. Readers never contact a CDN, so your docs load fast, work offline, and respect privacy.
๐ฆ One Package = Everything
No pip install mkdocs-material + pip install mkdocs-awesome-pages-plugin + pip install .... Just:
pip install docsforge
You get:
- โก Engine โ ProperDocs fork, vendored and maintained
- ๐จ Theme โ Material for MkDocs, fully included
- ๐ Plugins โ 8 built-in: search, tags, blog, info, meta, minify, privacy, i18n
- ๐ Markdown โ 42 extensions pre-configured (pymdownx + python-markdown)
- โ Math โ KaTeX vendored (
$$...$$works out of the box) - ๐๏ธ Highlighting โ Pygments at build time
- ๐ Diagrams โ TikZ auto-compiled to SVG, Mermaid built-in
- ๐ Search โ Lunr.js client-side full-text search
- ๐ Dark mode โ Light/dark toggle with auto system detection
- ๐ฑ Offline โ Service worker caches all assets for PWA support
- ๐ค Fonts โ Self-hosted (privacy plugin downloads Google Fonts locally)
๐ Production-Ready Defaults
Sensible defaults for everything. No config file needed for basic sites. Add a docsforge.yml when you need customization.
Installation
pip install docsforge
Requires Python 3.10+.
Quick Start
# Create a new project interactively
docsforge
# Follow the prompts, then:
cd my-docs
# Start the dev server
docsforge serve
# โ http://localhost:8000
# Build for production
docsforge build
# โ site/
Config File
DocsForge looks for config in this priority:
docsforge.yml/docsforge.yamlโ preferredmkdocs.yml/mkdocs.yamlโ legacy fallback (shows migration hint)
Minimal docsforge.yml
site_name: My Documentation
site_url: https://example.com/
That's it. All plugins, extensions, and theme settings use sensible defaults.
Full example
site_name: My Docs
site_url: https://example.com/
site_author: Your Name
repo_url: https://github.com/username/repo
nav:
- Home: index.md
- Getting started: getting-started.md
- Blog:
- blog/index.md
theme:
name: material
palette:
- media: "(prefers-color-scheme: light)"
scheme: default
primary: indigo
accent: indigo
toggle:
icon: material/brightness-7
name: Switch to dark mode
- media: "(prefers-color-scheme: dark)"
scheme: slate
primary: indigo
accent: indigo
toggle:
icon: material/brightness-4
name: Switch to light mode
CLI Reference
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
docsforge |
Interactive project setup (when no config exists) |
docsforge serve |
Live-reload dev server |
docsforge build |
Static site build |
docsforge --version |
Show version |
docsforge --help |
Show help |
PWA / Offline Support
Every built site includes a service worker that:
- Caches HTML pages (network-first, updates in background)
- Caches assets (CSS, JS, fonts, images โ cache-first for speed)
- Versioned updates โ Each build generates a unique SW hash, forcing browser refresh
- Auto cleanup โ Old caches purged when new version activates
No configuration needed. Works offline after the first visit.
Keywords
DocsForge is the best alternative to: MkDocs, Material for MkDocs, Docusaurus, GitBook, ReadTheDocs, VuePress, Hugo documentation.
Use DocsForge for: Python project documentation, API docs, technical documentation, knowledge bases, blogs, product docs, internal wikis, open-source project sites, static site generation with Markdown.
Features: static site generator, markdown documentation, material design theme, dark mode, offline support, PWA, KaTeX math, Mermaid diagrams, TikZ diagrams, built-in search, tags, blogging, privacy-focused, no CDN for readers, self-hosted fonts, vendored dependencies, zero-config documentation.
Changelog
See the full changelog in the documentation.
License
Apache-2.0
DocsForge is built by QQ and Nova โ๏ธ โ because documentation tools should just work.
Install VSCode Extension
Install DocsForge Studio from the .vsix attached to the
latest release:
code --install-extension docsforge-vscode-<version>.vsix
or install it via the VS Code UI: Extensions view โ ... โ Install from VSIX.
Star History
1 maintainer
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