grpcurl vs protoc-gen-doc
grpcurl
github.comprotoc-gen-doc
github.comSide by side
| Figure | grpcurl | protoc-gen-doc |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · gRPC Tools | 8.0 (#10) | 7.9 (#13) |
| Installation | The README documents release binaries, Homebrew, Docker, Snap, installation from source, and third-party packages. | The project offers a Docker image, Go installation, prebuilt releases, and a Maven Central package. |
| License | The repository identifies its license as MIT. | The software is distributed under the MIT License, which permits use, copying, modification, distribution, sublicensing, and sale subject to its terms. |
| Purpose | grpcurl is a command-line tool for interacting with gRPC servers and invoking RPC methods. | protoc-gen-doc is a documentation generator plugin for the Google Protocol Buffers compiler. |
Plans
In their own words
protoc-gen-doc
protoc-gen-doc is a documentation generator plugin for the Google Protocol Buffers compiler. It turns comments in .proto files into HTML, JSON, DocBook, or Markdown documentation, covering files, messages, fields, services and methods, enums and values, and extensions. It supports proto2 and proto3, including both in the same context. You can exclude files with path patterns and omit comments marked with the @exclude prefix. The plugin runs through protoc with the --doc_out and --doc_opt options; its source_relative flag places generated output in the same relative directory as the input. For customization, users can supply a Go template or use a stylesheet.css file to change HTML appearance. Installation options include Go, prebuilt releases, a Docker image, and a Maven Central package. It runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows and is self-hosted. The project is free under the MIT License, which allows use, modification, distribution, sublicensing, and sale under its terms. The license provides the software as is, without warranty.