wheels docs generate

Generates documentation for your CFWheels application from code comments and annotations.

Usage

wheels docs generate [--output=<dir>] [--format=<format>] [--template=<template>] [--include=<components>] [--serve] [--verbose]

Parameters

• --output - (Optional) Output directory for docs. Default: docs/api

• --format - (Optional) Documentation format: html, json, markdown. Default: html

• --template - (Optional) Documentation template to use: default, bootstrap, minimal. Default: default

• --include - (Optional) Components to include: models, controllers, views, services. Default: models,controllers

• --serve - (Optional) Start local server after generation

• --verbose - (Optional) Verbose output

Description

The docs generate command automatically creates comprehensive documentation from your CFWheels application by parsing:

• JavaDoc-style comments in CFCs

• Model relationships and validations

• Controller actions and routes

• Configuration files

• Database schema

• API endpoints

Examples

Generate complete documentation

wheels docs generate

Generate markdown docs

wheels docs generate --format=markdown

Generate with Bootstrap template

wheels docs generate --template=bootstrap

Generate and serve immediately

wheels docs generate --serve

Generate specific components with verbose output

wheels docs generate --include=models,controllers,services --verbose

Custom output directory

wheels docs generate --output=public/api-docs --format=html

Documentation Sources

Model Documentation

/**
 * User model for authentication and authorization
 * 
 * @author John Doe
 * @since 1.0.0
 */
component extends="Model" {
    
    /**
     * Initialize user relationships and validations
     * @hint Sets up the user model configuration
     */
    function config() {
        // Relationships
        hasMany("orders");
        belongsTo("role");
        
        // Validations
        validatesPresenceOf("email,firstName,lastName");
        validatesUniquenessOf("email");
    }
    
    /**
     * Find active users with recent activity
     * 
     * @param days Number of days to look back
     * @return query Active users
     */
    public query function findActive(numeric days=30) {
        return findAll(
            where="lastLoginAt >= :date",
            params={date: dateAdd("d", -arguments.days, now())}
        );
    }
}

Controller Documentation

/**
 * Handles user management operations
 * 
 * @displayname User Controller
 * @namespace /users
 */
component extends="Controller" {
    
    /**
     * Display paginated list of users
     * 
     * @hint GET /users
     * @access public
     * @return void
     */
    function index() {
        param name="params.page" default="1";
        users = model("user").findAll(
            page=params.page,
            perPage=20,
            order="createdAt DESC"
        );
    }
}

Generated Output

HTML Format

/docs/generated/
├── index.html
├── assets/
│   ├── css/
│   └── js/
├── models/
│   ├── index.html
│   └── user.html
├── controllers/
│   ├── index.html
│   └── users.html
├── api/
│   └── endpoints.html
└── database/
    └── schema.html

Documentation includes:

• Overview: Application structure and architecture

• Models: Properties, methods, relationships, validations

• Controllers: Actions, filters, routes

• API Reference: Endpoints, parameters, responses

• Database Schema: Tables, columns, indexes

• Configuration: Settings and environment variables

Output Example

Generating documentation...
========================

Scanning source files... ✓
✓ Found 15 models
✓ Found 12 controllers  
✓ Found 45 routes
✓ Found 8 API endpoints

Processing documentation...
✓ Extracting comments
✓ Building relationships
✓ Generating diagrams
✓ Creating index

Writing documentation...
✓ HTML files generated
✓ Assets copied
✓ Search index created

Documentation generated successfully!
- Output: /docs/generated/
- Files: 82
- Size: 2.4 MB

View documentation:
- Local: file:///path/to/docs/generated/index.html
- Serve: wheels docs serve

Documentation Features

Auto-generated Content

• Class hierarchies and inheritance

• Method signatures and parameters

• Property types and defaults

• Relationship diagrams

• Route mappings

• Database ERD

Search Functionality

// Built-in search in HTML docs
{
  "searchable": true,
  "index": "lunr",
  "fields": ["title", "content", "tags"]
}

Custom Themes

Configure in /config/docs-theme.json:

{
  "theme": "custom",
  "colors": {
    "primary": "#007bff",
    "secondary": "#6c757d"
  },
  "logo": "/assets/logo.png",
  "favicon": "/assets/favicon.ico",
  "customCSS": "/assets/custom.css"
}

Integration

CI/CD Documentation

# Generate docs on every commit
- name: Generate Docs
  run: |
    wheels docs generate --format=html
    wheels docs generate --format=markdown --output=wiki/

Git Hooks

#!/bin/bash
# pre-commit hook
wheels docs generate --include=api --format=json
git add docs/api/openapi.json

Notes

• Documentation is generated from code comments

• Use consistent JavaDoc format for best results

• Private methods are excluded by default

• Images and diagrams are auto-generated

• Supports custom templates and themes