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ExDoc vs mdBook

ExDoc

ex-doc.hexdocs.pm

mdBook

rust-lang.github.io

Side by side

FigureExDocmdBook
Price from—Free
Free plan—Yes
Free trial——
Open source——
Windows—Yes
macOS—Yes
Linux—Yes
Plans published01
Spec score · Documentation Generators7.0 (#30)7.8 (#12)
CustomizationExDoc supports custom pages, guides, Livebooks, cheatsheets, custom sidebar grouping, and customizable logos and favicons.Theme files allow users to customize the formatting of the output.
IntegrationsExDoc can be used with Mix, Rebar3, or through its command line interface.The documentation describes using GitHub Actions or GitLab CI/CD to test and deploy books automatically.
PurposeExDoc generates documentation for Erlang and Elixir projects.mdBook is a command-line tool for creating books from Markdown, including product or API documentation, tutorials, and course materials.

Plans

ExDoc

No plans published.

ExDoc pricing →

mdBook

  • mdBookFree

mdBook pricing →

In their own words

ExDoc

ExDoc has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.

Visit ex-doc.hexdocs.pm

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.

Visit rust-lang.github.io