Your first DocSprout site

This guide starts from an ordinary code project and ends with a documentation site running on your computer. The example name is Pascal-flavoured, but the steps work for any project that uses Markdown.

Allow about 10 minutes. You can stop after the preview works; publishing is a separate task for another day.

Before you begin

You need:

• Python 3.10–3.14 (the qualified stable range; Python 3.15 pre-release is only a non-blocking forward-compatibility signal);
• an internet connection for installation;
• a code project, even a tiny practice project;
• a terminal and a text editor.

You do not need Git, a GitHub account, a web server or Pascal knowledge for this guide. When this page says “project folder”, it means the top-level folder that normally contains README.md or src/.

1. Install DocSprout

Open a terminal in your project folder and run:

python -m pip install "https://github.com/ikelaiah/docsprout/archive/refs/tags/v1.1.3.zip"

Then check that the command is available:

docsprout --help

You should see a list of commands such as build, check, init and serve.

2. Adopt the Markdown you already have

Run this from the same project folder:

docsprout init

You should see a message beginning with Initialised. The command detects a root README.md, Markdown inside docs/, Git/GitHub details, and common ancillary Markdown. It never rewrites, moves or copies existing Markdown. It creates only missing DocSprout configuration:

docs/
├── docsprout.json   # project name and colours
├── layout.json   # pages and navigation order
└── index.md      # only when there was no README or docs page

By default, DocSprout publishes only README.md and docs/**/*.md. It tells you about CHANGELOG.md, CONTRIBUTING.md, SECURITY.md and CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md, but leaves them private until you choose to add them. Only the repository-root README.md has special root-source support. Other Markdown you want to publish should live under docs/.

3. See the site now

Run:

docsprout serve

Open <http://127.0.0.1:8000>. The command validates and builds first, then starts a local-only preview server. It watches README.md and docs/, rebuilding after a saved change; reload the browser to see the new page without restarting the command. Press Ctrl+C to stop it. Use docsprout serve --port 8000 or docsprout serve --host 127.0.0.1 when you need a specific local address.

4. Make the site yours

If init created docs/index.md, open it and replace its text with something small. Otherwise edit the existing README.md or a page under docs/:

# Star Mapper

Star Mapper turns telescope readings into a searchable sky map.

## Start here

Read the quick start to make your first map.

The first # is the page title. A line beginning with ## is a section title. That is enough Markdown to begin.

Next, open docs/docsprout.json. init has already inferred safe metadata where it could, including a GitHub repository URL. Change the project name and description if needed. Leave schema_version unchanged:

{
  "schema_version": 1,
  "project": {
    "name": "Star Mapper",
    "description": "Make a searchable map from telescope readings."
  },
  "theme": {
    "accent": "#0f766e",
    "accent_secondary": "#0891b2"
  }
}

5. Add one useful page

Think of the first thing a new user wants to achieve. Create docs/quick-start.md and show that one task:

# Quick start

Install Star Mapper, then run `star-mapper import first-light.csv`.

You should see `Created sky-map.html`.

Open docs/layout.json. It is now maintainer-owned: DocSprout never silently adds Markdown, reorders sections, renames entries or removes pages after this file exists. The root-README project from step 2 starts with this generated layout. Keep the existing home entry unchanged while adding the page.

Before the change, the file may look like this:

{
  "schema_version": 1,
  "home": {
    "path": "README.md",
    "source": "root"
  },
  "unlisted": "exclude",
  "navigation": [
    {
      "title": "Getting started",
      "pages": [
        {
          "title": "Overview",
          "path": "README.md",
          "source": "root"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Add this new page object to the same pages list:

{
  "title": "Quick start",
  "path": "quick-start.md"
}

After adding the page, the file may look like this:

{
  "schema_version": 1,
  "home": {
    "path": "README.md",
    "source": "root"
  },
  "unlisted": "exclude",
  "navigation": [
    {
      "title": "Getting started",
      "pages": [
        {
          "title": "Overview",
          "path": "README.md",
          "source": "root"
        },
        {
          "title": "Quick start",
          "path": "quick-start.md"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

In JSON lists, put a comma after each item except the last one.

"unlisted": "exclude" means navigation is the complete publication decision: Markdown under docs/ stays private until you list it. The generated layout for a project that starts with docs/index.md has the same structure, but selects that document as its home page:

"home": {
  "path": "index.md"
}

The two editing cheat sheets

Every common change is an edit to a JSON file, not a command:

The displayed title is independent of the filename, and the written order of the objects is the navigation order. You finish every edit by saving and reloading the preview.

For a fuller explanation of home, navigation and legacy layouts, see Configuration.

6. Choose the home page and appearance

The home page is the page readers see at the site root. layout.json.home selects that existing published Markdown page; docsprout.json.homepage changes only its cards, banner and visible sections. They are different settings.

The root README shown above is already a valid home-page choice. If you want docs/index.md or another listed docs page instead, change only the home object and keep its matching navigation entry. Then choose colours, a Style (Classic, Paper or Midnight) and a Mode (System, Light or Dark) in Themes. Customize the home page has complete docsprout.json examples.

7. Check and audit

Run:

docsprout check
docsprout audit

check answers “Can DocSprout safely build this site?” audit answers “What objective documentation problems should I fix?” If check fails, read its last line first; it normally names the file and next correction. Use docsprout audit --strict when warnings should also fail a CI job, and docsprout doctor for a setup summary.

Run docsprout serve again and reload the browser. Quick start should now appear in the navigation.

Where to go next

• Learn a simple, language-neutral writing method in Write documentation people can use.
• Learn the three configuration files in Configuration.
• Copy a small working project from the minimal example.
• When you truly want a public site, choose the simpler or historical path in GitHub Pages.
• Look up unfamiliar words in the glossary.