CLI Options

doc-kit supports comprehensive CLI options that map directly to configuration properties. CLI options override configuration file settings.

Configuration File Option

—config-file

Specify a custom configuration file:

doc-kit generate --config-file ./doc-kit.config.mjs

The configuration file must be loadable via import() (JavaScript ESM or JSON).

Input/Output Options

-i, —input

Input file patterns (glob). Can be specified multiple times:

doc-kit generate --input src/ --input lib/

Maps to: global.input

-o, —output

Output directory for generated documentation:

doc-kit generate --output dist/

Maps to: global.output

—ignore

Glob patterns to ignore. Can be specified multiple times:

doc-kit generate --ignore node_modules/ --ignore test/

Maps to: global.ignore[]

Generator Options

-t, —target

Target generator(s) to run. Can be specified multiple times:

doc-kit generate --target json --target html

Maps to: target Available generators:

json - JSON output
html - HTML output
metadata - Metadata generation
legacy-json - Legacy JSON format
legacy-html - Legacy HTML format
And more…

Processing Options

-p, —threads

Number of worker threads to use (minimum: 1):

doc-kit generate --threads 4

Maps to: threads
Default: Number of CPU cores

—chunk-size

Number of items to process per worker thread (minimum: 1):

doc-kit generate --chunk-size 10

Maps to: chunkSize
Default: 10

Version and Source Options

-v, —version

Target Node.js version for documentation:

doc-kit generate --version 20.0.0

Maps to: global.version
Default: process.version

—git-ref

Git reference (branch, tag, or commit SHA):

doc-kit generate --git-ref v20.0.0

Maps to: global.ref
Default: 'HEAD'

URL Options

-c, —changelog

Changelog URL or file path:

doc-kit generate --changelog https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nodejs/node/main/CHANGELOG.md

Maps to: global.changelog
Default: Auto-generated based on repository and ref

—index

Index file URL or path:

doc-kit generate --index https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nodejs/node/main/doc/api/index.md

Maps to: global.index

Output Options

—minify

Minify output files:

doc-kit generate --minify

Maps to: global.minify
Default: true

Type Mapping Options

—type-map

Type map URL or file path:

doc-kit generate --type-map ./typeMap.json

Maps to: metadata.typeMap The type map should be a JSON file mapping type names to documentation links:

{
  "AbortController": "globals.html#class-abortcontroller",
  "Buffer": "buffer.html#class-buffer",
  "String": "string",
  "Number": "number",
  "Boolean": "boolean"
}

Complete CLI Options Reference

CLI Option	Config Property	Type	Example
`--config-file <path>`	-	`string`	`--config-file config.js`
`-i, --input <patterns...>`	`global.input`	`string[]`	`--input src/`
`-o, --output <path>`	`global.output`	`string`	`--output dist/`
`--ignore <patterns...>`	`global.ignore[]`	`string[]`	`--ignore test/`
`-t, --target <generator>`	`target`	`string[]`	`--target json`
`-p, --threads <number>`	`threads`	`number`	`--threads 4`
`--chunk-size <number>`	`chunkSize`	`number`	`--chunk-size 10`
`-v, --version <semver>`	`global.version`	`string`	`--version 20.0.0`
`--git-ref <ref>`	`global.ref`	`string`	`--git-ref v20.0.0`
`-c, --changelog <url>`	`global.changelog`	`string`	`--changelog https://...`
`--index <url>`	`global.index`	`string`	`--index file://...`
`--minify`	`global.minify`	`boolean`	`--minify`
`--type-map <url>`	`metadata.typeMap`	`string`	`--type-map file://...`

Configuration Priority

When the same property is set in multiple places, doc-kit uses this precedence (highest to lowest):

CLI options (highest priority)
Configuration file
Default values (lowest priority)

Example

Config File
CLI Command
Result

// config.mjs
export default {
  global: {
    minify: true,
    version: '20.0.0',
    output: 'dist/',
  },
  threads: 4,
};

doc-kit generate \
  --config-file config.mjs \
  --minify false \
  --threads 8

// Effective configuration:
{
  global: {
    minify: false,        // From CLI (overrides config file)
    version: '20.0.0',    // From config file
    output: 'dist/',      // From config file
    repository: 'nodejs/node', // From defaults
    ref: 'HEAD',          // From defaults
  },
  threads: 8,             // From CLI (overrides config file)
  chunkSize: 10,          // From defaults
}

Common CLI Usage Patterns

Basic Generation

doc-kit generate --input src/ --output dist/

With Configuration File

doc-kit generate --config-file ./doc-kit.config.mjs

Override Config File Settings

doc-kit generate \
  --config-file ./doc-kit.config.mjs \
  --output build/ \
  --threads 8

Multiple Generators

doc-kit generate \
  --input src/ \
  --output dist/ \
  --target json \
  --target html \
  --target metadata

With Ignore Patterns

doc-kit generate \
  --input src/ \
  --output dist/ \
  --ignore node_modules/ \
  --ignore test/ \
  --ignore '**/*.test.js'

Performance Tuning

doc-kit generate \
  --input src/ \
  --output dist/ \
  --threads 8 \
  --chunk-size 20

Specific Version

doc-kit generate \
  --input src/ \
  --output dist/ \
  --version 20.0.0 \
  --git-ref v20.0.0

Get Started

Commands

Configuration

Generators

Advanced

Configuration File Option

—config-file

Input/Output Options

-i, —input

-o, —output

—ignore

Generator Options

-t, —target

Processing Options

-p, —threads

—chunk-size

Version and Source Options

-v, —version

—git-ref

URL Options

-c, —changelog

—index

Output Options

—minify

Type Mapping Options

—type-map

Complete CLI Options Reference

Configuration Priority

Example

Common CLI Usage Patterns

Basic Generation

With Configuration File

Override Config File Settings

Multiple Generators

With Ignore Patterns

Performance Tuning

Specific Version

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get Started

Commands

Configuration

Generators

Advanced

​Configuration File Option

​—config-file

​Input/Output Options

​-i, —input

​-o, —output

​—ignore

​Generator Options

​-t, —target

​Processing Options

​-p, —threads

​—chunk-size

​Version and Source Options

​-v, —version

​—git-ref

​URL Options

​-c, —changelog

​—index

​Output Options

​—minify

​Type Mapping Options

​—type-map

​Complete CLI Options Reference

​Configuration Priority

​Example

​Common CLI Usage Patterns

​Basic Generation

​With Configuration File

​Override Config File Settings

​Multiple Generators

​With Ignore Patterns

​Performance Tuning

​Specific Version

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Configuration File Option

—config-file

Input/Output Options

-i, —input

-o, —output

—ignore

Generator Options

-t, —target

Processing Options

-p, —threads

—chunk-size

Version and Source Options

-v, —version

—git-ref

URL Options

-c, —changelog

—index

Output Options

—minify

Type Mapping Options

—type-map

Complete CLI Options Reference

Configuration Priority

Example

Common CLI Usage Patterns

Basic Generation

With Configuration File

Override Config File Settings

Multiple Generators

With Ignore Patterns

Performance Tuning

Specific Version