DocForge - Documentation Management for Lara Dashboard

A powerful documentation management module for Lara Dashboard. Sync documentation directly from GitHub repositories and serve beautiful, searchable documentation sites with versioning support.

Version: 1.0.3

Features

• GitHub Integration - Sync documentation directly from public or private GitHub repositories
• Multi-Project Support - Manage multiple documentation projects from a single dashboard
• Version Management - Support multiple documentation versions from Git branches/tags
• Category Organization - Organize documents with customizable categories and rules
• Beautiful Public Docs - Serve documentation with a clean, modern public-facing interface
• Markdown Support - Full Markdown rendering with syntax highlighting for code blocks
• Full-Text Search - Fast search across all documents using Laravel Scout
• Table of Contents - Auto-generated navigation from document headings
• Customizable Themes - Multiple layout themes (Default, Sidebar, Minimal)
• Comprehensive Settings - Configure caching, sync intervals, display options, and more

Installation

Purchase the DocForge module from the Lara Dashboard Marketplace and install it to get started.

After installation, run migrations:

php artisan migrate

Project Management

Create and manage documentation projects linked to GitHub repositories.

Project Features:

• Connect to any GitHub repository (public or private)
• Configure custom base routes (e.g., /docs, /api-reference)
• Set documentation path within the repository
• Choose default Git branch for syncing
• Toggle project visibility (active/inactive)
• Per-project access tokens for private repositories

Project Settings:

• Name & Slug - Unique identifier for the project
• Base Route - Custom URL path for public access
• Repository URL - GitHub repository link
• Repository Type - Public or Private
• Access Token - Personal Access Token for private repos
• Documentation Path - Folder path in the repository (e.g., docs)
• Default Branch - Branch to sync from (e.g., main, master)
• Layout Theme - Default, Sidebar, or Minimal
• Show TOC - Enable/disable table of contents

Version Management

Support multiple documentation versions from Git branches and tags.

Features:

• Automatic version detection from Git branches
• Set default version for each project
• Version-specific document syncing
• Easy version switching in public docs UI
• Document count per version

Category System

Organize documents with flexible categories and automatic categorization rules.

Category Features:

• Create custom categories per project
• Set display order for categories
• Custom icons using Iconify format
• Active/inactive toggle
• Category descriptions

Categorization Rules:

• Path-based rules (e.g., api/* → API Reference)
• Filename pattern matching
• Automatic document assignment on sync
• Manual re-categorization option

Document Sync

Sync documentation from GitHub with intelligent caching.

Sync Features:

• One-click manual sync from admin panel
• Auto-sync with configurable intervals (5 min to 24 hours)
• Incremental updates based on file changes
• Support for nested document structures
• Parent/child document relationships
• Automatic slug generation from filenames

Supported Content:

• Markdown files (.md)
• Frontmatter metadata support
• Code blocks with syntax highlighting
• Images and media references
• Internal document links

Public Documentation

Beautiful, responsive documentation sites for your users.

Public Features:

• Clean, modern documentation layout
• Sidebar navigation with categories
• Table of contents from headings
• Version selector dropdown
• Previous/Next document navigation
• Mobile-responsive design
• Dark mode support

URL Structure:

• /{base-route} - Project landing page
• /{base-route}/{version} - Version index
• /{base-route}/{version}/{document} - Document page

Admin Dashboard

Comprehensive admin interface for managing documentation.

Dashboard Features:

• Overview statistics (projects, versions, documents)
• Quick access to recent projects
• Sync status and last sync time

Admin Pages:

• Projects list with datatable (search, sort, paginate)
• Project create/edit forms
• Categories management
• Category rules configuration
• Global settings

Settings & Configuration

Extensive settings for customizing DocForge behavior.

Default Project Settings:

• Default theme for new projects
• Default docs path
• Default base route
• Default Git branch

GitHub Settings:

• Global fallback token (encrypted storage)
• Request timeout configuration
• Connection timeout configuration

Cache Settings:

• Enable/disable caching
• Cache duration (5 min to 24 hours)
• Clear cache button

Auto Sync Settings:

• Enable/disable automatic sync
• Sync interval configuration
• Requires Laravel scheduler

Feature Toggles:

• Enable versioning
• Enable search
• Enable table of contents
• Enable syntax highlighting

Display Settings:

• Code theme selection (GitHub Dark, Monokai, Dracula, Nord, etc.)
• Show last updated timestamp
• Show "Edit on GitHub" link
• Custom CSS per project

Route Safety

DocForge uses intelligent route registration to prevent conflicts with other modules.

How it works:

• Public documentation routes are registered last (lowest priority)
• Other module routes always take precedence
• Safe coexistence with any custom modules

Technical Details

Built With:

• Livewire 3 for reactive UI components
• Tailwind CSS with df: prefix for style isolation
• Spatie Query Builder for datatables
• Laravel's SettingService for configuration storage

Database Tables:

• docforge_projects - Documentation projects
• docforge_versions - Project versions
• docforge_documents - Document content and metadata
• docforge_categories - Document categories
• docforge_category_rules - Auto-categorization rules

Requirements

• Lara Dashboard v2.0+
• PHP 8.2+
• Laravel 11+

Roadmap

Future enhancements planned for upcoming versions:

• Webhook support for automatic sync on push
• GitLab and Bitbucket support
• Document edit suggestions
• Analytics and view tracking
• PDF export
• API endpoints for headless usage

Support

• Documentation: Lara Dashboard Docs
• Issues: GitHub Issues
• Discussions: GitHub Discussions

License

This module is part of Lara Dashboard and is licensed under the MIT License.