What is this?
mdBook is a command-line utility that turns a folder of Markdown files into a modern online book — a static website you can host anywhere. Think Gitbook, but written in Rust.
mdBook is a command-line utility that turns a folder of Markdown files into a modern online book — a static website you can host anywhere. Think Gitbook, but written in Rust.Is it a hosted service like Gitbook, or a library I add to my code?Neither — it is a standalone open-source CLI tool written in Rust. You run it locally against your Markdown sources and it builds the book; no hosted service is involved.
Neither — it is a standalone open-source CLI tool written in Rust. You run it locally against your Markdown sources and it builds the book; no hosted service is involved.How do I install it and create my first book?Install it from crates.io with the Rust package manager: cargo install mdbook. The User Guide then walks you through features, usage and how to structure a book.
Install it from crates.io with the Rust package manager: cargo install mdbook. The User Guide then walks you through features, usage and how to structure a book.Do I need to know Rust or have a special toolchain to use it?No — you write plain Markdown, and mdBook builds the site. You only need the Rust toolchain installed so cargo can fetch and build mdBook itself.
No — you write plain Markdown, and mdBook builds the site. You only need the Rust toolchain installed so cargo can fetch and build mdBook itself.Which platforms does it run on?It is a cross-platform Rust CLI that runs on Windows, macOS and Linux, and the books it produces are plain web pages readable in any browser.
It is a cross-platform Rust CLI that runs on Windows, macOS and Linux, and the books it produces are plain web pages readable in any browser.What can I legally do with the tool and with books I build?All the code is released under the Mozilla Public License v2.0 — free to use, including commercially, as long as changes to mdBook itself are shared under the same license.
All the code is released under the Mozilla Public License v2.0 — free to use, including commercially, as long as changes to mdBook itself are shared under the same license.Can I see what the output looks like before installing anything?Yes — the official User Guide is itself built with mdBook and doubles as a live demo of what a finished book looks like.
Yes — the official User Guide is itself built with mdBook and doubles as a live demo of what a finished book looks like.How mature and popular is the project?It is a long-running project under the official rust-lang GitHub organization, created in 2015, with over 22,000 stars. Releases are published to crates.io, and there is a Contribution Guide for development.
It is a long-running project under the official rust-lang GitHub organization, created in 2015, with over 22,000 stars. Releases are published to crates.io, and there is a Contribution Guide for development.What are similar projects?jsdoc, docusaurus, docz, quarkdown, vibex, buildawesome, mkdocs, fumadocs
jsdoc, docusaurus, docz, quarkdown, vibex, buildawesome, mkdocs, fumadocsWhich topics is it in?technical-documentation, publishing, documentation-generator, docs, documentation-tool, writing, static-site-generator, book, documentation, developers, html, markdown
technical-documentation, publishing, documentation-generator, docs, documentation-tool, writing, static-site-generator, book, documentation, developers, html, markdown