wheels docs serve

Serves generated documentation locally with live reload for development and review.

Usage

wheels docs serve [--port=<port>] [--host=<host>] [--open] [--watch]

Parameters

• --port - (Optional) Port number to serve on. Default: 4000

• --host - (Optional) Host to bind to. Default: localhost

• --open - (Optional) Open browser automatically after starting

• --watch - (Optional) Watch for changes and regenerate. Default: true

Description

The docs serve command starts a local web server to preview your generated documentation. It includes:

• Live reload on documentation changes

• Search functionality

• Responsive design preview

• Print-friendly styling

• Offline access support

Examples

Basic documentation server

wheels docs serve

Serve on different port

wheels docs serve --port=8080

Open in browser automatically

wheels docs serve --open

Serve without watching for changes

wheels docs serve --no-watch

Bind to all interfaces

wheels docs serve --host=0.0.0.0

Server Output

Starting documentation server...
================================

Configuration:
- Documentation path: /docs/generated/
- Server URL: http://localhost:4000
- Live reload: enabled
- File watching: enabled

Server started successfully!
- Local: http://localhost:4000
- Network: http://192.168.1.100:4000

Press Ctrl+C to stop the server

[2024-01-15 14:30:22] Serving documentation...
[2024-01-15 14:30:45] GET / - 200 OK (15ms)
[2024-01-15 14:30:46] GET /models/user.html - 200 OK (8ms)
[2024-01-15 14:31:02] File changed: /app/models/User.cfc
[2024-01-15 14:31:02] Regenerating documentation...
[2024-01-15 14:31:05] Documentation updated - reloading browsers

Features

Live Reload

When --watch is enabled, the server:

• Monitors source files for changes

• Automatically regenerates affected documentation

• Refreshes browser without manual reload

Search Functionality

• Full-text search across all documentation

• Instant results as you type

• Keyboard navigation (Ctrl+K or Cmd+K)

• Search history

Navigation

Documentation Structure:
/                     # Home page with overview
/models/              # All models documentation
/models/user.html     # Specific model docs
/controllers/         # Controller documentation  
/api/                 # API reference
/guides/              # Custom guides
/search               # Search page

Print Support

• Optimized CSS for printing

• Clean layout without navigation

• Page breaks at logical points

• Print entire docs or single pages

Development Workflow

Typical usage during development:

# Terminal 1: Start the docs server
wheels docs serve --open

# Terminal 2: Make code changes
# Edit your models/controllers
# Documentation auto-updates

# Terminal 3: Generate fresh docs if needed
wheels docs generate

Review workflow:

# Generate and serve for team review
wheels docs generate --format=html
wheels docs serve --port=3000 --host=0.0.0.0

# Share URL with team
echo "Documentation available at http://$(hostname -I | awk '{print $1}'):3000"

Configuration

Server Configuration

Create /config/docs-server.json:

{
  "server": {
    "port": 4000,
    "host": "localhost",
    "baseUrl": "/docs",
    "cors": true
  },
  "watch": {
    "enabled": true,
    "paths": ["app/", "config/"],
    "ignore": ["*.log", "temp/"],
    "delay": 1000
  },
  "features": {
    "search": true,
    "print": true,
    "offline": true,
    "analytics": false
  }
}

Custom Headers

{
  "headers": {
    "Cache-Control": "no-cache",
    "X-Frame-Options": "SAMEORIGIN",
    "Content-Security-Policy": "default-src 'self'"
  }
}

Access Control

Basic Authentication

wheels docs serve --auth=username:password

IP Restrictions

wheels docs serve --allow="192.168.1.0/24,10.0.0.0/8"

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Port already in use:

Error: Port 4000 is already in use

# Solution: Use a different port
wheels docs serve --port=4001

Cannot access from network:

# Bind to all interfaces
wheels docs serve --host=0.0.0.0

# Check firewall settings

Documentation not updating:

# Force regeneration
wheels docs generate --force
wheels docs serve --watch

Notes

• Server is intended for development/review only

• For production, deploy static files to web server

• Large documentation sets may take time to generate

• Browser must support JavaScript for search

• Offline mode caches documentation locally