CLI

Run a documentation site from a config file and a folder of Markdown.

On this page

ZenithDocs can be used two ways. As an Astro integration, inside a project you control, or through its CLI, which needs no Astro project at all:

my-docs

zenith.config.ts

content

index.md

guide.md

zenith dev

No astro.config.mjs, no content.config.ts, no src directory. npx github:AymericChaverot/zenith-docs create my-docs sets up exactly this layout, ready to run.

Commands

Command	What it does
`zenith create`	Creates a new site in a directory, see installation
`zenith dev`	Starts the development server
`zenith build`	Builds the site into `dist/`
`zenith preview`	Serves the built site
`zenith init`	Creates a config file and a first page
`zenith docker`	Adds a Dockerfile, see deployment

dev and preview accept --port, --host and --open. Every command accepts --help.

The config file

zenith.config.ts exports the same options as the integration, plus site and base, which the integration reads from astro.config.mjs instead.

zenith.config.ts

import { defineConfig } from 'zenith-docs/config';

export default defineConfig({
  title: 'My Docs',
  site: 'https://docs.example.com',
  accent: 'violet',
});

Pages are read from content/ unless docsDir says otherwise. public/ is served as-is if it exists, and the build lands in dist/.

What is generated

Astro needs a couple of files that this layout does not have, so the CLI writes them into .zenith/ and rewrites them on every run:

.zenith

astro.config.mjs

content.config.ts

pages

The directory ignores itself in git, so there is nothing to add to your .gitignore. Editing anything in it is pointless: the next command overwrites it.

Choosing between the two

Use the CLI when the site is only documentation. Use the integration as soon as you want the rest of Astro: your own pages and routes, other integrations, framework components, or a landing page in front of the docs.

Moving from one to the other is mostly mechanical: create an astro.config.mjs with the integration, move zenith.config.ts into it, and add the content.config.ts that the CLI was generating for you.