mirror of
https://github.com/godotengine/godot-docs.git
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Lukas Tenbrink
91 lines
5.1 KiB
ReStructuredText
91 lines
5.1 KiB
ReStructuredText
.. _doc_godot_cpp_docs_system:
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Adding documentation
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====================
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.. note::
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Adding documentation for GDExtensions is only possible with Godot 4.3 and later.
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The GDExtension documentation system works in a similar manner to the built-in engine documentation: It uses
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:ref:`XML files <doc_class_reference_primer>` (one per class) to document the exposed constructors, properties, methods,
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constants, signals, and more.
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To get started, identify your project's test project folder, which should contain a Godot project with your extension
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installed and working. If you are using `godot-cpp-template <https://github.com/godotengine/godot-cpp-template>`__, your
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GDExtension project already has a ``project`` folder. Alternatively, you can add one by following the steps
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described in :ref:`doc_godot_cpp_getting_started`.
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Inside the ``project`` folder, run the following terminal command:
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.. code-block:: shell
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# Replace "godot" with the full path to a Godot editor binary
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# if Godot is not installed in your `PATH`.
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godot --doctool ../ --gdextension-docs
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This command instructs Godot to generate documentation via the ``--doctool`` and ``--gdextension-docs`` commands.
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The ``../`` argument specifies the base path of your GDExtension.
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After running this command, you should find XML files for your registered GDExtension classes inside the ``doc_classes``
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folder in your GDExtension project. You could edit them now, but for this tutorial, the empty files will suffice.
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Now that you have XML files containing your documentation, the next step is to include them in your GDExtension binary.
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Assuming you are using SCons as your build system, you can add the following lines to your ``SConstruct`` file. If you
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are using `godot-cpp-template <https://github.com/godotengine/godot-cpp-template>`__, your file already contains code
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for this.
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.. code-block:: py
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if env["target"] in ["editor", "template_debug"]:
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doc_data = env.GodotCPPDocData("src/gen/doc_data.gen.cpp", source=Glob("doc_classes/*.xml"))
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sources.append(doc_data)
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The ``if`` statement avoids adding the documentation to release builds of your GDExtension, where it is not needed.
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SCons then loads all the XML files inside the ``doc_classes`` directory, and appends the resulting targets
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to the ``sources`` array, to be included in your GDExtension build.
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After building, launch your Godot project again. You can open the documentation of one of your extension
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classes either using :kbd:`Ctrl + Click` on a class name in the script editor, or inside by finding it in the Editor
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help dialog. If everything went well, you should see something like this:
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.. image:: img/gdextension_docs_generation.webp
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Writing and styling documentation
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---------------------------------
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The format of the class reference XML files is the same as the one used by Godot. Is is documented in
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:ref:`doc_class_reference_primer`.
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If you are looking for pointers to write high quality documentation, feel free to refer to Godot's
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`documentation guidelines <https://contributing.godotengine.org/en/latest/documentation/guidelines/index.html>`__.
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Publishing documentation online
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-------------------------------
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You may want to publish an online reference for your GDExtension, similar to this website.
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The most important step is to build reStructuredText (``.rst``) files from your XML class reference:
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.. code-block:: shell
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# You need a version.py file, so download it first.
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curl -sSLO https://raw.githubusercontent.com/godotengine/godot/refs/heads/master/version.py
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# Edit version.py according to your project before proceeding.
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# Then, run the rst generator. You'll need to have Python installed for this command to work.
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curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/godotengine/godot/master/doc/tools/make_rst.py | python3 - -o "docs/classes" -l "en" doc_classes
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Your ``.rst`` files will now be available in ``docs/classes/``. From here, you can use
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any documentation builder that supports reStructuredText syntax to create a website from them.
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`godot-docs <https://github.com/godotengine/godot-docs>`_ uses `Sphinx <https://www.sphinx-doc.org/en/master/>`_.
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You can use the repository as a basis to build your own documentation system.
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The following guide describes the basic steps, but they are not exhaustive:
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you will need a bit of personal insight to make it work.
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1. Add `godot-docs <https://github.com/godotengine/godot-docs>`_ as a submodule to your ``docs/`` folder.
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2. Copy over its ``conf.py``, ``index.rst``, ``.readthedocs.yaml`` files into ``/docs/``. You may later decide to copy over and edit more of godot-docs' files, like ``_templates/layout.html``.
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3. Modify these files according to your project. This mostly involves adjusting paths to point to the ``godot-docs`` subfolder, as well as strings to reflect it's your project rather than Godot you're building the docs for.
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4. Create an account on `readthedocs.org <http://readthedocs.org>`_. Import your project, and modify its base ``.readthedocs.yaml`` file path to ``/docs/.readthedocs.yaml``.
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Once you have completed all these steps, your documentation should be available at ``<repo-name>.readthedocs.io``.
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