# Autodoc

URL: /docs/content/sources/autodoc/
Section: sources
Tags: autodoc, api-docs, python, cli, openapi

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Autodoc Generate API documentation automatically from source code during site builds. Do I Need This? Note Note Skip this if: You write all documentation manually. Read this if: You want API docs from Python docstrings, CLI help from Click commands, or API specs from OpenAPI. How It Works Autodoc generates virtual pages during your site build — no intermediate markdown files are created. Simply configure the sources in your bengal.toml and the documentation appears in your built site. flowchart LR subgraph Sources A[Python Modules] B[CLI Commands] C[OpenAPI Specs] end D[Autodoc Engine] subgraph Output E[Virtual Pages] end A --> D B --> D C --> D D --> E Configuration Configure autodoc in your bengal.toml: Python CLI OpenAPI 1 2 3 4 5 6 7# bengal.toml [autodoc.python] enabled = true source_dirs = ["mypackage"] include_private = false include_special = false docstring_style = "auto" # auto, google, numpy, sphinx Extracts: Module and class docstrings Function signatures and type hints Examples from docstrings 1 2 3 4 5 6# bengal.toml [autodoc.cli] enabled = true app_module = "mypackage.cli:main" # Click app entry point framework = "click" # click, argparse, or typer include_hidden = false Extracts: Command descriptions Argument documentation Option flags and defaults 1 2 3 4# bengal.toml [autodoc.openapi] enabled = true spec_file = "api/openapi.yaml" Extracts: Endpoint documentation Request/response schemas Authentication requirements Python Configuration Options 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27[autodoc.python] enabled = true # Source directories to scan source_dirs = ["mypackage"] # Patterns to exclude exclude = [ "*/tests/*", "*/__pycache__/*", "*/.venv/*", ] # Docstring parsing style: auto, google, numpy, sphinx docstring_style = "auto" # Include private members (_prefixed) include_private = false # Include dunder methods (__init__, etc.) include_special = false # Include inherited members include_inherited = false # Prefix to strip from module paths strip_prefix = "mypackage" Building with Autodoc Once configured, autodoc runs automatically during builds: bengal build The generated API documentation appears in your output directory alongside your regular content. Strict Mode Enable strict mode to fail builds on extraction or rendering errors: 1 2[autodoc] strict = true Tip Tip Best practice: Enable strict mode in CI pipelines to catch documentation issues early. Info Seealso Architecture Reference — Technical details and API usage

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Metadata:
- Author: lbliii
- Word Count: 382
- Reading Time: 2 minutes