Docs Template

Getting Started

Follow these steps to quickly set up and start working on this project:

1. Fork the Repository:

   • Begin by forking this repository to your GitHub account.

2. Clone the Repository:

   • Clone your forked repository to your local machine:

     git clone https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/docs-templates.git
     cd docs-templates

3. Configure GitHub Pages:

   • In your docs-templates repository settings, go to Actions -> Pages.

   • Set the Build and Deployment source to Deploy from a branch.

   • Choose the gh-pages branch and set the folder to /(root).

   • Save your changes.

     

4. Configure Gist:

   • In the repository's About section, click the Settings gear icon.

     

   • Enable the Use your GitHub Pages Website option and Save the changes.

     

5. Customize Markdown Files:

   • The actions and pages in this template are set up to build your gist based on the structure defined in mkdocs.yml under the nav section.

     nav:
       - Home:
           - page-0.md
       - Section 1:
           - page-1.md
       - Section 2:
           - page-2.md

   • The nav section is where you define the structure of your documentation site. You can create nested pages to organize your content into sections and subsections, providing a clear hierarchy for users to navigate. For example, to add nested subsections within a section, your nav might look like this:

     nav:
       - Home: page-0.md
       - Section 1: page-1.md
       - Section 2: page-2.md
       - Section 3:
           - Overview: section-3/overview.md
           - Details:
               - Subsection 1: section-3/details/subsection-1.md
               - Subsection 2: section-3/details/subsection-2.md

   • In this example:

     • Section 3 contains an Overview page and a Details section with two subsections.
     • Each entry under nav corresponds to a markdown file that you have created in the docs/ directory.
     • You can rename sections, subsections, and pages as needed to match your documentation structure.

   • Rename sections and corresponding markdown files as needed. Ensure the nav entries in mkdocs.yml match your markdown file names.

   • If you would like to augment your markdown with mkdocs specific features, a reference section can be found in the Gist.

     

   • After editing or adding markdown files, commit and push your changes:

     git add .
     git commit -m "<describe your changes>"
     git push origin main

   • Navigate to your Gist and see your finished product!

     

Workflow Overview

The workflow includes the following stages:

1. Checkout Repository: Retrieves the latest version of the repository using the actions/checkout action.
2. Configure GitHub Pages: Sets up GitHub Pages to deploy the documentation.
3. Install Python and MkDocs: Installs Python 3.x and required MkDocs plugins.
4. Build Docs: Runs mkdocs gh-deploy to build and deploy the documentation to GitHub Pages.
5. Triggering the Workflow: Automatically triggers when changes are pushed to the main branch or when a pull request is created, ensuring the documentation is always current.

Concurrent Builds

GitHub Actions' concurrency feature is used to ensure only one build runs at a time. If multiple pushes occur, subsequent builds will wait until the previous one finishes.

Permissions

The workflow has write permissions for contents, pages, and id-token, allowing it to create and update files as needed.

Using GitHub Actions to automate the documentation process ensures it is always up-to-date, reliable, and easily accessible.