@microsoft/tsdoc vs jsdoc vs typedoc
Documentation Generation Tools Comparison
1 Year
@microsoft/tsdocjsdoctypedocSimilar Packages:
What's Documentation Generation Tools?

Documentation generation tools are essential for creating, maintaining, and publishing documentation for software projects. They help developers document their code effectively, making it easier for others to understand and use. These tools can parse comments in the source code and generate structured documentation in various formats, enhancing code readability and maintainability. Each tool has its unique features and use cases, catering to different documentation needs and preferences.

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@microsoft/tsdoc3,995,0744,8002.71 MB1413 months agoMIT
jsdoc1,942,35615,1491.53 MB4444 months agoApache-2.0
typedoc1,622,4967,9551.95 MB66 days agoApache-2.0
Feature Comparison: @microsoft/tsdoc vs jsdoc vs typedoc

TypeScript Support

  • @microsoft/tsdoc:

    @microsoft/tsdoc is designed specifically for TypeScript, providing robust support for TypeScript features such as interfaces, generics, and type annotations. It ensures that the generated documentation accurately reflects the structure and types of the code, making it ideal for TypeScript libraries and frameworks.

  • jsdoc:

    JSDoc offers limited support for TypeScript, primarily focusing on JavaScript. While it can parse TypeScript files, it does not fully leverage TypeScript's type system, which may lead to less comprehensive documentation for TypeScript projects.

  • typedoc:

    TypeDoc is tailored for TypeScript, generating documentation that fully utilizes TypeScript's type information. It produces detailed and accurate documentation, including type definitions, making it the best choice for TypeScript-centric projects.

Output Formats

  • @microsoft/tsdoc:

    @microsoft/tsdoc generates documentation in a standardized format that can be easily integrated with various documentation tools and platforms. It focuses on creating a consistent output that can be styled and customized as needed.

  • jsdoc:

    JSDoc can generate documentation in multiple formats, including HTML, Markdown, and JSON. This flexibility allows developers to choose the format that best suits their project's needs and integrate it into different documentation workflows.

  • typedoc:

    TypeDoc primarily generates HTML documentation, providing a clean and navigable output. It also supports additional formats like JSON, which can be useful for programmatic access to the documentation.

Customization

  • @microsoft/tsdoc:

    @microsoft/tsdoc allows for some customization of the output, but it is primarily focused on adhering to the TSDoc standard. This ensures consistency across documentation but may limit extensive customization options.

  • jsdoc:

    JSDoc offers extensive customization options, allowing developers to define their own templates and styles for the generated documentation. This flexibility makes it suitable for projects that require a unique look and feel.

  • typedoc:

    TypeDoc provides customization options through themes and plugins, allowing developers to tailor the documentation output to their preferences. This makes it easier to align the documentation with the project's branding.

Ease of Use

  • @microsoft/tsdoc:

    @microsoft/tsdoc is straightforward to use for TypeScript developers familiar with TSDoc comments. It integrates well into TypeScript projects, making it easy to adopt without significant overhead.

  • jsdoc:

    JSDoc is user-friendly and widely adopted, making it easy for developers to get started with documentation generation. Its extensive community support and resources contribute to its ease of use.

  • typedoc:

    TypeDoc is designed to be easy to use for TypeScript developers, leveraging existing TypeScript comments to generate documentation. It requires minimal configuration, making it accessible for projects of all sizes.

Community and Ecosystem

  • @microsoft/tsdoc:

    @microsoft/tsdoc is backed by Microsoft and has a growing community focused on TypeScript documentation standards. While it is relatively new, it is gaining traction among TypeScript developers.

  • jsdoc:

    JSDoc has a large and active community, with numerous plugins and extensions available. Its long-standing presence in the JavaScript ecosystem means that it has a wealth of resources and support.

  • typedoc:

    TypeDoc has a dedicated community among TypeScript developers, with ongoing improvements and updates. It is increasingly recognized as the go-to documentation tool for TypeScript projects.

How to Choose: @microsoft/tsdoc vs jsdoc vs typedoc
  • @microsoft/tsdoc:

    Choose @microsoft/tsdoc if you are working with TypeScript and want to create documentation that adheres to Microsoft's TSDoc standard. It is particularly useful for libraries and frameworks that require a consistent and standardized documentation format.

  • jsdoc:

    Choose JSDoc if you are primarily working with JavaScript and need a widely adopted tool for generating documentation from comments in your code. It is versatile and supports various output formats, making it suitable for diverse projects.

  • typedoc:

    Choose TypeDoc if you are focused on TypeScript projects and need a tool that can generate documentation directly from TypeScript source files. It provides rich type information and is ideal for projects that leverage TypeScript's type system.

README for @microsoft/tsdoc

@microsoft/tsdoc

This library is the reference implementation of a parser for the TSDoc syntax. Using this library is an easy way to ensure that your tool is 100% compatible with the standard.

What is TSDoc?

TSDoc is a proposal to standardize the doc comments used in TypeScript source files. It allows different tools to extract content from comments without getting confused by each other's syntax. The TSDoc notation looks pretty familiar:

export class Statistics {
  /**
   * Returns the average of two numbers.
   *
   * @remarks
   * This method is part of the {@link core-library#Statistics | Statistics subsystem}.
   *
   * @param x - The first input number
   * @param y - The second input number
   * @returns The arithmetic mean of `x` and `y`
   *
   * @beta
   */
  public static getAverage(x: number, y: number): number {
    return (x + y) / 2.0;
  }
}

Give it a try!

Check out the TSDoc Playground for a cool live demo of our parser!

API Usage

The api-demo folder on GitHub illustrates how to invoke the TSDoc parser.

A separate NPM package @microsoft/tsdoc-config is used for loading the tsdoc.json file.

Get involved

The TSDoc project is actively evolving. Please visit the website for the latest documentation, instructions for building/debugging the projects, and other resources:

https://tsdoc.org/