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Available Commands

Prodcat provides two main commands to help you manage your software product documentation website.

prodcat init​

The prodcat init command initializes a new Prodcat project by creating a prodcat.config.js file in your project's root directory.

Syntax​

prodcat init [options]

Options​

OptionTypeDescription
--forcebooleanOverwrites an existing prodcat.config.js file if it exists.
--yes, -ybooleanSkips the confirmation prompt and proceeds with initialization.

Examples​

Initialize a new project with default settings​

prodcat init

Initialize and force overwrite an existing configuration​

prodcat init --force

Initialize without prompt (non-interactive)​

prodcat init -y

prodcat generate​

The prodcat generate command processes your products.js file and Handlebars templates to create the software product documentation website within your Docusaurus project.

Syntax​

prodcat generate [options]

Options​

OptionTypeDefaultDescription
--inputstring./products.jsSpecifies the path to your products.js file.
--update-navbarbooleanfalseWhen set to true, Prodcat will automatically modify your Docusaurus configuration (docusaurus.config.js) to include a link to the generated software products directory page in the main navigation bar. This simplifies integration for content creators and technical writers, ensuring the catalog is easily discoverable. If this option is omitted or set to false, you will need to manually add the navigation link to your docusaurus.config.js file.
--navbar-labelstring'Products'Specifies the text label that will be displayed for the navigation bar link. This option is only effective when --update-navbar is set to true. Use this to customize how the link appears in your Docusaurus site's header (e.g., "Our Products", "Software Catalog", "Solutions").
--navbar-positionstring'left'Determines the position of the navigation bar link within the Docusaurus site's header. This option is only effective when --update-navbar is set to true. Valid values are 'left' or 'right'. This allows you to control the placement of the product catalog link relative to other navigation items. For detailed usage and examples, refer to the "Updating the Docusaurus Navigation Bar" section below.

Updating the Docusaurus Navigation Bar​

The prodcat generate command offers convenient options to automatically integrate a link to your software product directory page into your Docusaurus website's navigation bar. This feature is controlled by the --update-navbar, --navbar-label, and --navbar-position options.

How it Works:

When --update-navbar is set to true, Prodcat will automatically locate your docusaurus.config.js file (as defined in prodcat.config.js) and inject a new navigation item into its themeConfig.navbar.items array.

Important Considerations:

  • If you have a complex or highly customized docusaurus.config.js with specific navigation logic, it's recommended to manually add the navigation item to avoid unexpected changes.
  • Prodcat will attempt to add the link as a new item. If an item with the same label or to path already exists, it might create a duplicate or require manual adjustment.

Navigation Item Structure:

Prodcat adds an item similar to this to your docusaurus.config.js navbar.items array:

{
  type: 'doc', // or 'docSidebar' depending on Docusaurus version/config
  docId: 'products/index', // Assumes your landing page is products/index.md
  position: 'left', // Configurable via --navbar-position
  label: 'Products', // Configurable via --navbar-label
}

Position Combinations:

You can control the placement and label of the navigation link using navbar-label and navbar-position.

  • --update-navbar --navbar-label "Our Products" --navbar-position left

    • Adds a navigation link labeled "Our Products" to the left side of your Docusaurus navbar.
    prodcat generate --update-navbar --navbar-label "Our Products" --navbar-position left

    (Result in docusaurus.config.js example):

    navbar: {
      items: [
        {
          type: 'doc',
          docId: 'products/index',
          position: 'left',
          label: 'Our Products',
        },
        // ... other left-aligned items
      ],
    },

  • --update-navbar --navbar-label "Catalog" --navbar-position right

    • Adds a navigation link labeled "Catalog" to the right side of your Docusaurus navbar.
    prodcat generate --update-navbar --navbar-label "Catalog" --navbar-position right

    (Result in docusaurus.config.js example):

    navbar: {
      items: [
        // ... other left-aligned items
        {
          type: 'doc',
          docId: 'products/index',
          position: 'right',
          label: 'Catalog',
        },
        // ... other right-aligned items
      ],
    },

This functionality streamlines the process of integrating your Prodcat-generated content into your main Docusaurus site navigation, making your product catalog easily accessible to your audience.

Examples​

Generate website with default settings​

prodcat generate

Generate website using a custom products file​

prodcat generate --input data/my-products.js

Generate website and update navbar with a custom label and position​

prodcat generate --update-navbar --navbar-label "Our Solutions" --navbar-position right

Output produced​

The prodcat generate command creates a directory structure for your software products within the Docusaurus docs directory (as configured in prodcat.config.js), along with a landing page for your software products.