DOCAT

DOCAT is an open-source application that provides a dedicated hosting solution for static documentation. It is designed specifically for users who generate documentation using static site generators like mkdocs or sphinx and need to serve multiple versions of their project simultaneously. This ensures that users who are still utilizing older versions of a software release can access the corresponding documentation without confusion.

The software focuses exclusively on the hosting aspect of the documentation lifecycle rather than the authoring process. It allows users to push documentation archives to a server and tag them with specific version numbers, including a latest tag to identify the most current release. Interaction with the server is handled via a dedicated CLI tool called docatl or through standard curl commands for API interaction. To maintain security, the system supports a project claiming mechanism that returns a token, which must then be used to add or delete versions. Additionally, the application can be configured with HTTP basic authentication through its integrated NGINX setup to protect the API from unauthorized access.

Installation is primarily handled via Docker containers, with options to persist data for documentation, NGINX configurations, and the tokens database using volumes. Users can customize the frontend appearance by mounting a config.json file to modify the header and footer HTML. System behavior, such as the maximum upload size for archives, is managed through environment variables. The tool is positioned as a lightweight utility for managing the deployment and versioning of static documentation sites.