DocFX vs Sandcastle Help File Builder
DocFX
dotnet.github.ioSandcastle Help File Builder
github.comSide by side
| Figure | DocFX | Sandcastle Help File Builder |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| API | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Documentation Generators | 8.2 (#6) | 7.4 (#24) |
| API documentation | DocFX generates .NET API documentation by converting XML documentation comments into rendered HTML documentation. | API reference topics combine source-code XML comments with type syntax and structure reflected from associated .NET assemblies. |
| Purpose | DocFX builds technical documentation sites from .NET assemblies, XML code comments, REST API Swagger files, and Markdown. | SHFB provides tools for building help files for managed class libraries, including conceptual topics and API reference topics. |
Plans
Sandcastle Help File Builder
- Sandcastle Help File BuilderFree
In their own words
DocFX
DocFX is a free static site generator for technical documentation. It builds documentation from .NET assemblies, XML code comments, REST API Swagger files and Markdown, and can produce rendered HTML pages, JSON models or PDFs. Static HTML output is placed in the `_site` folder for publication to hosting services such as GitHub Pages. DocFX can also be used as a NuGet library through the `Docfx.App` package and .NET APIs. It parses CommonMark-compliant Markdown with Markdig and supports additional extensions. Built-in templates include a modern option with dark mode and customization settings; users can also customize templates with CSS, JavaScript, Mustache templates and metadata. DocFX can generate git links for GitHub, GitLab, Azure Pipelines, AppVeyor, TeamCity and Jenkins. It requires .NET SDK 8.0 or higher. Node.js v20 or higher is optional generally, but required to create PDFs. Native reference documentation generation covers .NET and REST APIs; other languages need a custom API docs converter. PlantUML diagrams use a remote server by default, with local rendering available as a setting.
Sandcastle Help File Builder
Sandcastle Help File Builder has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.