phpDocumentor vs TypeDoc

phpDocumentor is a free, open-source, self-hosted tool for analyzing PHP source code and DocBlock comments to produce API documentation. It can generate UML diagrams, parse Markdown and reStructuredText, and insert API-documentation sections into reStructuredText material. The site says full-text search works offline and describes CI integration through a GitHub Action or Docker image. Installation options include Docker, Phive, and a PHAR file; standalone installation requires PHP 8.1.2 or newer plus mbstring, while PlantUML is optional. The official Docker image supplies dependencies locally. The project also offers Composer-installable components for parsing, rendering, type resolution, and PHP reflection. It runs on Linux and macOS. Its Docker Hub overview does not actively support direct Composer installation because dependency conflicts may occur. No paid plans are listed; the plan costs nothing.

TypeDoc is a free TypeScript documentation generator that turns source comments into HTML pages or a JSON model. It builds from project exports and follows re-exports, allowing members declared elsewhere to appear in documentation. TSDoc and JSDoc tags are extracted, Markdown is accepted in comments, and fenced code blocks receive Shiki syntax highlighting. HTML and JSON are built in; Markdown output needs a plugin such as typedoc-plugin-markdown. A default theme is included, while plugins can add themes, alter conversion and symbol organization, or change display. Custom CSS and JavaScript can further adjust generated pages. Configuration can come from an options file, package.json, or tsconfig.json. TypeDoc runs on Node.js, uses the TypeScript compiler, and supports the current Node.js LTS or newer. For npm monorepos, the packages entry-point strategy can combine package documentation into one site. The project is Apache-2.0 licensed. Documentation warns that global installation can separate plugins and themes from the intended TypeDoc installation.