Docsify vs mdBook
Docsify
docsify.js.orgmdBook
rust-lang.github.ioSide by side
| Figure | Docsify | mdBook |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | Free |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | — |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 0 | 1 |
| Spec score · Documentation Generators | 7.5 (#21) | 7.8 (#12) |
| Audience | The project describes itself as a documentation site generator for turning Markdown files into websites. | The project describes mdBook as ideal for product or API documentation, tutorials, and course materials. |
| Customization | The project lists multiple themes and a plugin API, and its quick start shows optional plugins loaded from a CDN. | Theme files allow users to customize the formatting of the output. |
| Integrations | The deployment guide documents deployment workflows for GitHub, GitLab, Firebase, Netlify, Vercel, AWS Amplify, and other hosting services. | The documentation describes using GitHub Actions or GitLab CI/CD to test and deploy books automatically. |
| Purpose | Docsify turns Markdown files into a documentation website that loads and parses the files in the browser without a build process. | mdBook is a command-line tool for creating books from Markdown, including product or API documentation, tutorials, and course materials. |
| Search | Its full text search plugin indexes page content and saves it in IndexedDB by default. | mdBook includes integrated search support. |
| Security | The GitHub repository has a Security Policy page. | The repository links to a security policy. |
Plans
In their own words
mdBook
mdBook is a free command-line tool for creating books from Markdown, including product and API documentation, tutorials, and course materials. It builds static output files in a book directory that can be transferred to a web service. Integrated search and syntax highlighting for code blocks help readers navigate and read examples, while theme files allow formatting changes. Preprocessors can add custom syntax or modify content; backends can render output to multiple formats. The `mdbook test` command tests Rust code samples in a book. Project documentation describes using GitHub Actions or GitLab CI/CD to test and deploy books automatically. Developers can also import mdBook libraries or use its plugin mechanism to build custom tooling and output backends. It runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows, and Markdown is its source input. Building from source requires Rust and Cargo, with Rust 1.88 as the stated minimum. The project directs issues and feature requests to its GitHub issue tracker and relies on community contributions for bug fixes and added features. The free, open-source plan is licensed under MPL-2.0.