The documentation nightmare every dev team knows

Writing clear, searchable, and interactive documentation used to be a series of compromises: you’d pick a static site generator for speed, add a third‑party analytics service for insights, then wrestle with a separate tool to turn OpenAPI specs into readable pages. The result? Fragmented workflows, hidden costs, and a constant fear that your docs will become a vendor‑locked afterthought.

xyd flips that script. It’s a single, open‑source framework that bundles a dev‑friendly CLI, theme system, API‑first documentation generation, built‑in analytics, A/B testing, and live‑chat integrations—all under a permissive license you can host anywhere. In short, it gives you the power of a commercial docs platform without the subscription fees or data‑privacy worries.

Why Choose xyd?

• Developer‑first experience – Zero‑config dev server with hot‑reload (xyd), TypeScript support, and a CLI that feels like create‑react‑app for docs.
• Full extendability – Every component, layout, and page can be overridden or replaced, letting you match your brand or internal design system perfectly.
• Rich, interactive content – Embed live code editors, syntax‑highlighted snippets, and dynamic UI widgets directly inside your docs.
• Batteries included – Automatic OpenAPI/GraphQL docs, SDK generation, full‑text search, analytics, A/B testing, and live‑chat integrations out of the box.
• Open source & self‑hosted – No SaaS subscription, no data harvested by third parties, and complete control over deployment and scaling.
• Cost‑effective at scale – Host on any static‑site provider or your own infrastructure; you only pay for the underlying compute, not per‑user licenses.

Spotlight on Key Features

Getting Started

The quickest way to spin up a documentation site is with Bun, but npm/yarn works just as well.

# Install the CLI globally (Bun)
bun add -g xyd-js

# Or with npm
npm i -g xyd-js

Create a new project from the starter template:

# Using the official starter
xyd init my-docs
cd my-docs

Run the dev server:

xyd

Open http://localhost:3000 and you’ll see a hot‑reloading docs site ready for customization. When you’re ready to publish:

xyd build
# Output goes to ./dist – serve it with any static host or your own CDN

Adding API Docs

Place an openapi.yaml (or schema.graphql) in the src/api folder and add a single entry to xyd.config.ts:

export default {
  api: {
    openapi: "./src/api/openapi.yaml",
    // optional: generate SDKs automatically
    sdk: { languages: ["typescript", "python"] },
  },
};

Run xyd build again and the framework will generate a fully searchable API reference, complete with code samples for each endpoint.

Comparison Table: xyd vs. Mintlify and Other Docs Platforms

The table highlights why teams that prioritize privacy, extensibility, and cost‑effectiveness often gravitate toward an open‑source solution like xyd.

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Call to Action

If you’re ready to ditch the fragmented stack and give your developers a single, powerful platform for documentation, API reference, analytics, and experimentation, give xyd a spin today.

• Try the live demo: https://xyd.dev/docs/guides/quickstart
• Read the full docs: https://xyd.dev/docs/guides/introduction
• Star the repository: https://github.com/livesession/xyd

Join the community on GitHub and Slack, contribute a plugin, or simply start building your next docs site with zero‑cost, zero‑vendor lock‑in. The future of developer documentation is open—make it yours with xyd.