Docusaurus

What Docusaurus is

Docusaurus is a free static-site generator that builds documentation sites as React single-page applications. Authors can create documentation and blog posts in Markdown or MDX, including React components within Markdown. Document versioning helps keep content aligned with project releases, and localization is available out of the box, with translation workflows using git, Crowdin, or another manager. Search choices include Algolia DocSearch, Typesense DocSearch, local search, and custom SearchBar components; Algolia is the official option. Eligible developer documentation and technical blogs can use Algolia DocSearch at no charge, subject to its requirements. React components, plugins, and theme customizations can extend a site. Docusaurus generates static files for hosting on services such as GitHub Pages, Vercel, or Netlify. It can also be used for personal websites, product sites, blogs, and marketing landing pages. Installation requires Node.js 20.0 or above. Docusaurus v2 and later do not support Internet Explorer 11. The project points users to Stack Overflow, GitHub, Discord, and X for help.

Who it suits

Docusaurus suits teams publishing versioned, localized documentation, as well as people building blogs, product sites, or personal websites. It is for users able to meet its Node.js 20.0-or-above installation requirement.

Limits

The software is free for everyone. Algolia DocSearch is free for developer documentation or technical blogs that meet its eligibility requirements.

Getting started

1. Visit https://docusaurus.io/ and follow the installation guide.
2. Install Node.js version 20.0 or above.
3. Write site content in Markdown or MDX.
4. Choose search from the supported integrations or create a custom SearchBar component.
5. Generate static files and copy them to static hosting such as GitHub Pages, Vercel, or Netlify.
6. Configure a custom domain if needed.

Verdict

Docusaurus combines documentation-focused authoring, versioning, localization, and search options in a free static-site generator. Its Node.js requirement and lack of Internet Explorer 11 support in v2+ are worth noting before choosing it.