How ShipDocs works
ShipDocs indexes a codebase and produces structured Markdown documentation plus an AI chat grounded in those docs. This page describes the product pipeline factually.
URL: https://shipdocs.sh/docs/how-it-works
Markdown: https://shipdocs.sh/docs/how-it-works.md
Pipeline
- Import — Connect a GitHub or GitLab repository (public or private via OAuth), upload a ZIP, or push your working directory with the CLI.
- Scan — ShipDocs reads the file tree and common manifests (e.g.
package.json,go.mod,Cargo.toml,requirements.txt, and 250+ language/framework signals). - Detect components — The indexer groups the repo into real components (backend, frontend, workers, CLI, migrations, SDK, webhooks, infra, etc.) from structure and manifests — not from a hand-written template list.
- Generate docs — Produces:
- An Overview — stack, architecture, entry points, and concepts a new developer needs first.
- One Markdown doc per detected component — exports, dependencies, and how the piece fits the whole.
- Chat — Project-scoped AI chat answers from the generated docs and cites file paths. If something is not in the docs, the chat should say so rather than invent APIs.
- Edit & export — Docs are editable Markdown in the product. You own the output; export standard Markdown anytime.
- Re-index — Re-run indexing after code changes (dashboard sync / CLI ship). Auto-sync on git push is available for connected repos when configured.
What you get per project
| Artifact / tool | Description |
|---|---|
| Docs | Overview plus one Markdown doc per detected component — editable in the product |
| Architecture | Interactive diagram / structure view derived from the index |
| Dockerfile | Generated Dockerfile tailored to the detected stack |
| Audit | Production-readiness checklist against the indexed codebase |
| Insights (Tools) | Repo insights suite (overview, onboarding estimate, docs gaps, deps, dead code, and more) |
| Chat | Project-scoped AI chat grounded in the docs with file-path citations |
| Updates | Re-index / sync history — re-run after code changes; auto-sync on git push when configured |
| Public docs (optional) | Opt-in public docs URL for OSS / demo projects |
Import sources
| Source | Notes |
|---|---|
| GitHub OAuth | Public and private repos the account can access |
| GitLab OAuth | Public and private repos the account can access |
| ZIP upload | Browser upload of an archive |
| CLI | shipdocs ship from a local working directory (respects .gitignore) |
Who it is for
- Solo developers who need current docs without writing a wiki
- Teams onboarding engineers onto private monorepos
- Anyone comparing private-repo documentation tools to public-only options like Google CodeWiki