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https://github.com/pseudomuto/protoc-gen-doc

Documentation generator plugin for Google Protocol Buffers
https://github.com/pseudomuto/protoc-gen-doc

documentation-tool go golang hacktoberfest hacktoberfest2021 protobuf protoc

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Documentation generator plugin for Google Protocol Buffers

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# protoc-gen-doc



[![CI Status][ci-svg]][ci-url]

[![codecov][codecov-svg]][codecov-url]

[![GoDoc][godoc-svg]][godoc-url]

[![Go Report Card][goreport-svg]][goreport-url]



This is a documentation generator plugin for the Google Protocol Buffers compiler (`protoc`). The plugin can generate

HTML, JSON, DocBook, and Markdown documentation from comments in your `.proto` files.



It supports proto2 and proto3, and can handle having both in the same context (see [examples](examples/) for proof).



## Installation



There is a Docker image available (`docker pull pseudomuto/protoc-gen-doc`) that has everything you need to generate

documentation from your protos.



If you'd like to install this locally, you can `go get` it.



`go get -u github.com/pseudomuto/protoc-gen-doc/cmd/protoc-gen-doc`



Alternatively, you can download a pre-built release for your platform from the [releases][] page.



Finally, this plugin is also available on Maven Central. For details about how to use it, check out the [gradle

example](examples/gradle).



## Invoking the Plugin



The plugin is invoked by passing the `--doc_out`, and `--doc_opt` options to the `protoc` compiler. The option has the

following format:



    --doc_opt=|,[,default|source_relative]



The format may be one of the built-in ones ( `docbook`, `html`, `markdown` or `json`)

or the name of a file containing a custom [Go template][gotemplate].



If the `source_relative` flag is specified, the output file is written in the same relative directory as the input file.



### Using the Docker Image (Recommended)



The docker image has two volumes: `/out` and `/protos` which are the directory to write the documentation to and the

directory containing your proto files.



You could generate HTML docs for the examples by running the following:



```

docker run --rm \

  -v $(pwd)/examples/doc:/out \

  -v $(pwd)/examples/proto:/protos \

  pseudomuto/protoc-gen-doc

```



By default HTML documentation is generated in `/out/index.html` for all `.proto` files in the `/protos` volume. This can

be changed by passing the `--doc_opt` parameter to the container.



For example, to generate Markdown for all the examples:



```

docker run --rm \

  -v $(pwd)/examples/doc:/out \

  -v $(pwd)/examples/proto:/protos \

  pseudomuto/protoc-gen-doc --doc_opt=markdown,docs.md

```



You can also generate documentation for a single file. This can be done by passing the file(s) to the command:



```

docker run --rm \

  -v $(pwd)/examples/doc:/out \

  -v $(pwd)/examples/proto:/protos \

  pseudomuto/protoc-gen-doc --doc_opt=markdown,docs.md Booking.proto [OPTIONALLY LIST MORE FILES]

```



You can also exclude proto files that match specific path expressions. This is done by passing a second option delimited

by `:`. For example, you can pass any number of comma separated patterns as the second option:



```

docker run --rm \

  -v $(pwd)/examples/doc:/out \

  -v $(pwd)/examples/proto:/protos \

  pseudomuto/protoc-gen-doc --doc_opt=:google/*,somepath/*

```



_**Remember**_: Paths should be from within the container, not the host!



> NOTE: Due to the way wildcard expansion works with docker you cannot use a wildcard path (e.g. `protos/*.proto`) in

the file list. To get around this, if no files are passed, the container will generate docs for `protos/*.proto`, which

can be changed by mounting different volumes.



### Simple Usage



For example, to generate HTML documentation for all `.proto` files in the `proto` directory into `doc/index.html`, type:



    protoc --doc_out=./doc --doc_opt=html,index.html proto/*.proto



The plugin executable must be in `PATH` for this to work. 



### Using a precompiled binary



Alternatively, you can specify a pre-built/not in `PATH` binary using the `--plugin` option.



    protoc \

      --plugin=protoc-gen-doc=./protoc-gen-doc \

      --doc_out=./doc \

      --doc_opt=html,index.html \

      proto/*.proto



### With a Custom Template



If you'd like to use your own template, simply use the path to the template file rather than the type.



    protoc --doc_out=./doc --doc_opt=/path/to/template.tmpl,index.txt proto/*.proto



For information about the available template arguments and functions, see [Custom Templates][custom]. If you just want

to customize the look of the HTML output, put your CSS in `stylesheet.css` next to the output file and it will be picked

up.



## Writing Documentation



Messages, Fields, Services (and their methods), Enums (and their values), Extensions, and Files can be documented.

Generally speaking, comments come in 2 forms: leading and trailing.



**Leading comments**



Leading comments can be used everywhere.



```protobuf

/**

 * This is a leading comment for a message

 */

message SomeMessage {

  // this is another leading comment

  string value = 1;

}

```



> NOTE: File level comments should be leading comments on the syntax directive.



**Trailing comments**



Fields, Service Methods, Enum Values and Extensions support trailing comments.



```protobuf

enum MyEnum {

  DEFAULT = 0; // the default value

  OTHER   = 1; // the other value

}

```



**Excluding comments**



If you want to have some comment in your proto files, but don't want them to be part of the docs, you can simply prefix

the comment with `@exclude`. 



Example: include only the comment for the `id` field



```protobuf

/**

 * @exclude

 * This comment won't be rendered

 */

message ExcludedMessage {

  string id   = 1; // the id of this message.

  string name = 2; // @exclude the name of this message



  /* @exclude the value of this message. */

  int32 value = 3;

}

```



Check out the [example protos](examples/proto) to see all the options.



## Output Example



With the input `.proto` files



* [Booking.proto](examples/proto/Booking.proto)

* [Customer.proto](examples/proto/Customer.proto)

* [Vehicle.proto](examples/proto/Vehicle.proto)



the plugin gives the output



* [Markdown](examples/doc/example.md)

* [HTML][html_preview]

* [DocBook](examples/doc/example.docbook)

* [JSON](examples/doc/example.json)



Check out the `examples` task in the [Makefile](Makefile) to see how these were generated.



[gotemplate]:

    https://golang.org/pkg/text/template/

    "Template - The Go Programming Language"

[custom]:

    https://github.com/pseudomuto/protoc-gen-doc/wiki/Custom-Templates

    "Custom templates instructions"

[html_preview]:

    https://rawgit.com/pseudomuto/protoc-gen-doc/master/examples/doc/example.html

    "HTML Example Output"

[codecov-svg]: https://codecov.io/gh/pseudomuto/protoc-gen-doc/branch/master/graph/badge.svg

[codecov-url]: https://codecov.io/gh/pseudomuto/protoc-gen-doc

[godoc-svg]: https://godoc.org/github.com/pseudomuto/protoc-gen-doc?status.svg

[godoc-url]: https://godoc.org/github.com/pseudomuto/protoc-gen-doc

[goreport-svg]: https://goreportcard.com/badge/github.com/pseudomuto/protoc-gen-doc

[goreport-url]: https://goreportcard.com/report/github.com/pseudomuto/protoc-gen-doc

[ci-svg]: https://github.com/pseudomuto/protoc-gen-doc/actions/workflows/ci.yaml/badge.svg?branch=master

[ci-url]: https://github.com/pseudomuto/protoc-gen-doc/actions/workflows/ci.yaml

[releases]: https://github.com/pseudomuto/protoc-gen-doc/releases