The docmd CLI is designed to be minimalist and intuitive. It handles everything from your initial project scaffolding to production-ready builds.

docmd init

Scaffolds a new documentation project in the current directory.

docmd init

What it does:

  • Creates a docs/ folder with an index.md.
  • Generates a docmd.config.js file with recommended defaults.
  • Sets up a package.json with build scripts.
  • It does not overwrite your existing docs/ or configuration files.

docmd dev

Starts a local development server with Instant Hot Reloading.

docmd dev [options]

Options:

  • -z, --zero-config: Magic Mode. If you don’t have a config file, docmd will automatically detect your project structure and build your site.
  • -p, --port <number>: Specify a manual port (Default: 3000).
  • -c, --config <path>: Use a non-standard config file path.

docmd build

Generates a production-ready static website to the site/ folder.

docmd build [options]

Options:

  • --offline: File Protocol Friendly. Rewrites all internal links to end in .html. This allow you to browse the site directly from a hard drive (e.g. file:///Users/me/docs/site/index.html) without a web server.
  • -z, --zero-config: Build for production using the auto-detection engine.
  • -c, --config <path>: Specify the config file to use.

docmd migrate

Upgrades an old configuration file to the modern schema.

docmd migrate

It re-maps your legacy keys into the new layout, footer, and optionsMenu objects and saves a backup as docmd.config.legacy.js.

docmd live

Launches the Isomorphic Live Editor.

docmd live

This starts a browser-based environment where you can write Markdown on the left and see the rendered docmd UI on the right in real-time. Use --build-only to generate a shareable static version of the editor.

docmd stop

Kills all running background development servers.

docmd stop

What it does:

  • Scans active processes for docmd dev or docmd live instances.
  • Gracefully terminates all background servers.
  • Automatically identifies servers even if they were started on automated, non-standard ports.
  • Designed to find orphaned processes in complex workspace structures.

The docmd CLI provides structured stdout and clear error logging, making it highly compatible with Agentic Workflows. If you are using an AI agent (like me) to manage your site, we can easily parse the logs from docmd dev to identify and fix path errors or configuration mismatches.

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