# techdocs-container

**Repository Path**: mirrors_backstage/techdocs-container

## Basic Information

- **Project Name**: techdocs-container
- **Description**: Docker container that powers the generation of TechDocs static sites
- **Primary Language**: Unknown
- **License**: Apache-2.0
- **Default Branch**: main
- **Homepage**: None
- **GVP Project**: No

## Statistics

- **Stars**: 0
- **Forks**: 0
- **Created**: 2023-03-26
- **Last Updated**: 2026-04-19

## Categories & Tags

**Categories**: Uncategorized

**Tags**: None

## README

# techdocs-container

This is the Docker container that powers the creation of static documentation sites that are supported by [TechDocs](https://github.com/backstage/backstage/blob/master/plugins/techdocs).

## Getting Started

Using the TechDocs CLI, we can invoke the latest version of `techdocs-container` via Docker Hub:

```bash
npx @techdocs/cli serve
```

## Local Development

```bash
docker build . -t mkdocs:local-dev

docker run -w /content -v $(pwd)/mock-docs:/content -p 8000:8000 -it mkdocs:local-dev serve -a 0.0.0.0:8000
```

Then open up `http://localhost:8000` on your local machine.

## Release

1. When you are ready to create a new release head over to [releases](https://github.com/backstage/techdocs-container/releases) and click on `Draft a new release`.

2. Use an incremental version number for the release e.g. v2.2.1 and use that as the tag version. Github will create a new tag if the tag doesn't exist. Fill out the rest of the fields and click `Publish release`.

3. Once released, consider updating the default version used in [techdocs-common's TechdocsGenerator](https://github.com/backstage/backstage/blob/45c04f6ffdeb6ee58361d040ee5feb95d15f0ad8/packages/techdocs-common/src/stages/generate/techdocs.ts#L42).

The release flow is managed by a [GitHub actions workflow](.github/workflows/release-tag.yml). Whenever a new [release](https://github.com/backstage/techdocs-container/releases) is published on GitHub, the workflow pushes the tag to [DockerHub](https://hub.docker.com/r/spotify/techdocs).

Note: The `latest` tag on DockerHub points to the recent commits in the `main` branch. This is configured by the [main workflow](.github/workflows/main.yml). We recommend using a specific version of the container instead of `latest` release for stability and avoiding unexpected changes.

## Updating PlantUML

PlantUML is a Java based tool which is packaged in a single JAR file. You can find the latest released in their [GitHub repo under Releases](https://github.com/plantuml/plantuml/releases). When updating the Docker file with a new release of PlantUML you'll need to download the relevant JAR file first and then generate a checksum using `sha1sum`. Here are the steps:

1. Download the JAR file: `curl -o plantuml.jar -L https://github.com/plantuml/plantuml/releases/download/v1.2024.6/plantuml-1.2024.6.jar`
2. Generate the checksum: `sha1sum plantuml.jar`
3. Update the Dockerfile file with the proper release URL and checksum