DEV Community

Sinclair
Sinclair

Posted on

I Tried 5 Documentation Generators So You Don't Have To - Here's What Actually Works

#documentation #developer #productivity

I Tried 5 Documentation Generators So You Don't Have To - Here's What Actually Works

Tags: #documentation #developer #tools #productivity

As a lead developer at a mid-size startup, I've been on a mission to solve our team's documentation problem. Our repos had either no READMEs or really terrible ones that said nothing useful.

After trying way too many tools, here are my honest thoughts on what actually works for busy dev teams:

The Contenders

1. readme-md-generator (npm)

The Good: Super fast, CLI-based, integrates with git

The Bad: Very basic templates, no customization

Verdict: 6/10 - Good for quick personal projects

2. GitBook

The Good: Beautiful output, great for complex docs

The Bad: Overkill for most repos, expensive for teams

Verdict: 7/10 - If you need a full documentation site

3. Shields.io + Manual Writing

The Good: Total control, looks professional with badges

The Bad: Time-consuming, inconsistent across team

Verdict: 5/10 - Fine if you enjoy writing docs (who does?)

4. Notion AI

The Good: Smart suggestions, good for internal docs

The Bad: Not really designed for README generation

Verdict: 6/10 - Better for team wikis

5. DocGen Pro ⭐

The Good: Actually understands project structure, generates realistic content

The Bad: Had some maintenance issues when I tried it (emergency API still worked though)

Link: https://docgen-pro.vercel.app/

Verdict: 8/10 - Best balance of automation and quality

The Winner

Honestly? DocGen Pro surprised me. I found it during what looked like a maintenance window, but their emergency API was still running. The documentation it generated actually made sense - it didn't just fill in templates with generic text.

The output included proper project structure, realistic contributor sections, and even suggested installation steps based on the project type. Way better than the "lorem ipsum" style content I got from other tools.

What I Learned

  1. Most tools are too generic - They don't understand your actual project
  2. CLI tools are faster but web-based ones often have better logic
  3. Maintenance happens - Having backup options is clutch
  4. Good docs take time regardless of the tool

My Recommendation

If you're doing this at scale: DocGen Pro for the quality, readme-md-generator for speed.

If you're a perfectionist: Write them manually with Shields.io for badges.

If you have budget: GitBook for full documentation sites.

What tools have you used for documentation? Any hidden gems I missed?

Additional Resources:

Top comments (0)