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Command line

To use F# Formatting tools via the command line, you can use the fsdocs dotnet tool.

dotnet tool install fsdocs-tool
dotnet fsdocs [command] [options]

The build command

This command processes a docs directory and generates API docs for projects in the solution according to the rules of API doc generation. The input accepted is described in content.

fsdocs build

The command line options accepted are:

Command Line Option

Description

--input

Input directory of content (default: docs)

--projects

Project files to build API docs for outputs, defaults to all packable projects

--output

Output Directory (default 'output' for 'build' and 'tmp/watch' for 'watch')

--noapidocs

Disable generation of API docs

--ignoreprojects

Disable project cracking

--eval

Evaluate F# fragments in scripts

--saveimages

Save images referenced in docs

--nolinenumbers

Don't add line numbers, the default is to add line numbers.

--parameters

Additional substitution parameters for templates

--nonpublic

The tool will also generate documentation for non-public members

--nodefaultcontent

Do not copy default content styles, javascript or use default templates

--clean

Clean the output directory

--help

Display this help screen

--version

Display version information

--properties

Provide properties to dotnet msbuild, e.g. --properties Configuration=Release Version=3.4

--fscoptions

Additional arguments passed down as otherflags to the F# compiler when the API is being generated.
Note that these arguments are trimmed, this is to overcome a limitation in the command line argument processing.
A typical use-case would be to pass an addition assembly reference.
Example --fscoptions " -r:MyAssembly.dll"

--strict

Fail if docs are missing or can't be generated

The following command line options are also accepted but it is instead recommended you use settings in your .fsproj project files:

Command Line Option

Description

--sourcefolder

Source folder at time of component build (<FsDocsSourceFolder>)

--sourcerepo

Source repository for github links (<FsDocsSourceRepository>)

--mdcomments

Assume comments in F# code are markdown (<UsesMarkdownComments>)

The command will report on any .fsproj files that it finds, telling you if it decides to skip a particular file and why.

For example, a project will be skipped if:

The watch command

This command does the same as fsdocs build but in "watch" mode, waiting for changes. Only the files in the input directory (e.g. docs) are watched. A browser will be launched automatically (unless --nolaunch is specified).

You will need to ensure that the input directory exists, and contains at least index.md, otherwise the browser will report an error (e.g. "Problem loading...", "Connection was reset").

fsdocs watch

Restarting may be necesssary on changes to project files. The same parameters are accepted, plus these:

Command Line Option

Description

--noserver

Do not serve content when watching.

--nolaunch

Do not launch a browser window.

--open

URL extension to launch http://localhost:/%s.

--port

Port to serve content for http://localhost serving.

Searchable docs

When using the command-line tool a Fuse search index is automatically generated in index.json. A search box is included in the default template via an HTML Dialog element.
To add search to your own _template.html:

<button id="search-btn">Open search dialog</button>
<dialog>
    <input type="search" placeholder="Search docs" />
    <div class="results">
        <ul></ul>
        <p class="empty">Type something to start searching.</p>
    </div>
</dialog>
<script type="module" src="{`{root}}content/fsdocs-search.js"></script>

Type something to start searching.