# rebar3_ex_doc
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[](http://www.erlang.org)
[](https://hex.pm/packages/rebar3_ex_doc)
[](https://hexdocs.pm/rebar3_ex_doc/)
[](https://hex.pm/packages/rebar3_ex_doc)
[](https://github.com/starbelly/rebar3_ex_doc/blob/main/LICENSE)
[](https://github.com/starbelly/rebar3_ex_doc/commits/main)
`rebar3_ex_doc` is a `rebar3` plugin to generate documentation using [ex\_doc](https://github.com/elixir-lang/ex_doc). This plugin ships with `ex_doc` as an escript, thus you don't need to worry about having Elixir installed nor compiling the `ex_doc` dependencies.
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img alt="Screenshot of rebar3_ex_doc" src="assets/screenshot.png" />
</div>
This plugin can be used to generate documentation on its own and also integrates with [rebar3_hex](https://github.com/erlef/rebar3_hex) for publishing documentation to go along with your packages on [hex.pm](https://hex.pm/).
## Installation
**NOTE**: This plugin and more importantly `ex_doc` depend on `edocs` capability to generate beam chunks per [EEP-48](https://www.erlang.org/doc/apps/erl_docgen/doc_storage.html).
Thus, the minimum OTP version supported by this plugin is Erlang/OTP 24.
### As a global plugin
Simply add `rebar3_ex_doc` to the plugins section in your global `rebar3.config`:
```erlang
{plugins, [rebar3_ex_doc]}.
```
### In your rebar3 project
You can add this plugin to your rebar3 project as a project plugin, like so:
```erlang
{project_plugins, [rebar3_ex_doc]}.
```
## Setup
This plugin should work out of the box, but the following configuration is recommended when publishing documentation to [hex.pm](https://hex.pm).
Simply add the configuration below to your `rebar.config` and adjust for your project:
```erlang
{ex_doc, [
{extras, ["README.md", "LICENSE"]},
{main, "README.md"},
{source_url, "https://github.com/namespace/your_app"}
]}.
```
For further customization, see the configuration for `rebar3_ex_doc`:
```erlang
{ex_doc, [
{extras, [
{"CHANGELOG.md", #{title => "Changelog"}},
{"README.md", #{title => "Overview"}},
{"LICENSE.md", #{title => "License"}}
]},
{main, "README.md"},
{homepage_url, "https://github.com/starbelly/rebar3_ex_doc"},
{source_url, "https://github.com/starbelly/rebar3_ex_doc"},
{assets, "assets"},
{api_reference, false}
]}.
```
Please see the `ex_doc` [configuration documentation](https://hexdocs.pm/ex_doc/Mix.Tasks.Docs.html#module-configuration) for a complete overview of available configuration directives.
You may also use an external config file by specifying a path instead of a proplist. See `ex_doc --help` for more info.
```erlang
%% In Elixir format
{ex_doc, "docs.exs"}.
%% Or in Erlang term, like rebar.config
{ex_doc, "docs.config"}.
```
### Umbrella support
Umbrellas are supported but they must be configured on an app by app basis. This is to avoid publishing documentation to Hex.pm with wrong source urls, logos, etc.
Specifically, for each app you wish to generate documentation for, and more importantly publish to hex.pm, you should place a `rebar.config` in each app directory with the desired configuration for that application.
## Usage
After the plugin has been added to your project you can simplly run `rebar3 ex_doc` to generate your docs and view them in your favorite browser.
Run `rebar3 help ex_doc` to see all available options.
### Integrating with rebar3_hex
We highly recommend using `rebar3_ex_doc` as the documentation provider for all your hex projects to provide the users of our ecosystem with a consistent documentation format and style.
To integrate with `rebar3_hex` merely specify `rebar3_ex_doc` as the doc provider in your projects hex configuration in `rebar.config` :
```erlang
{hex, [
{doc, #{provider => ex_doc}}
]}.
```
#### packages
rebar3_ex_doc optimizes for applications intended to be published to [hex.pm](https://hex.pm) such that
the application name is passed to ex_doc by default as the value to the package option.
If you wish to generate documentation outside the context of a package you may specify `{package, false}` in the options :
```erlang
{ex_doc, [
{package, false},
{extras, ["README.md", "LICENSE"]},
{main, "README.md"},
{source_url, "https://github.com/namespace/your_app"}
]}.
```
### Supported options
Not all `ex_doc` options are supported. This means we'll warn on unknown options, but still pass them to `ex_doc`. We try to make sure the supported options are converted to the format known by `ex_doc`.
In case you get a warning for something that is working or would like further conversion support, open a [GitHub issue](https://github.com/starbelly/rebar3_ex_doc/issues).
### Additional options
#### Support for Mermaid
Out-of-the-box support for [Mermaid](https://mermaid.js.org/) is provided via `rebar.config` option
`with_mermaid`, as follows:
```erlang
{ex_doc, [
{with_mermaid, true}
]}.
```
or
```erlang
{ex_doc, [
{with_mermaid, "10.2.4"}
]}.
```
Check out what this looks like in `doc/index.html`.
```mermaid
graph TD;
A-->B;
A-->C;
B-->D;
C-->D;
```
#### v prefix for source ref versions
By default rebar3_ex_doc adopts the convention of prefixing versions with `v`.
If your project doesn't follow this convention you may opt out of it with `{prefix_ref_vsn_with_v, false}`
```erlang
{ex_doc, [
{prefix_ref_vsn_with_v, false},
{extras, ["README.md", "LICENSE"]},
{main, "README.md"},
{source_url, "https://github.com/namespace/your_app"}
]}.
```
### Examples
Check out our [examples](https://github.com/starbelly/rebar3_ex_doc/tree/main/examples) directory in this repository for working project examples.
### Extras
ExDoc [extras](https://hexdocs.pm/ex_doc/readme.html#additional-pages) are additional pages of content written in Markdown. When used with `rebar3_ex_doc`, Erlang syntax is supported for auto-link references with ExDoc prefixes (`c:` and `t:`):
* Modules: `module`
* Functions: `function/1`, `module:function/1`
* Callbacks: `c:handle_call/3`, `c:gen_server:handle_call/3`
* Types: `t:nullary_type()`, `t:type_with_parameter/1`
# Development
If you'd like to hack on this plugin, follow the steps below:
1. You must have at least Elixir 1.13.0
[installed](https://elixir-lang.org/install.html) to build the `ex_doc`
escript.
2. Make a new rebar project or go into an existing project:
```bash
rebar3 new myapp
cd myapp
```
3. Make a `_checkouts` directory:
```bash
mkdir _checkouts
```
4. Go to `_checkouts` and clone this repository to create a
[checkout dependency](http://rebar3.org/docs/configuration/dependencies/#checkout-dependencies):
```bash
cd _checkouts
git clone https://github.com/starbelly/rebar3_ex_doc
```
5. Get all dependencies and build the `ex_doc` console app:
```bash
cd rebar3_ex_doc
mix deps.get
mix escript.build
```
6. Go back to the root of your project:
```bash
cd ../..
```
7. Add `rebar3_ex_doc` as plugin to your `rebar.config`:
```erlang
{project_plugins, [rebar3_ex_doc]}.
```
8. Generate documentation as an initial test:
```bash
rebar3 ex_doc
```
## Copyright and License
Copyright 2021, Bryan Paxton <bryan@starbelly.io>.
Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
You may obtain a copy of the License at [https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0](https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0).
Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
limitations under the License.
