An XML feed (feed.xml) that allows RSS readers to subscribe to documentation updates. Pages can opt out with feed: false in frontmatter. Source
Build pipeline
The seven-stage process that transforms Markdown templates into a static HTML site: scan, resolve, tokenize, render, post-process, generate HTML, auxiliary output. Source
Callout
A content directive that renders a styled admonition box. Types include callout-note, callout-warning, callout-tip, callout-danger, and callout-important. Source
Canonical URL
The definitive URL for a page, set via the base_url config field. Used in <link rel="canonical"> tags and sitemaps to avoid duplicate content in search engines. Source
Code block
A fenced block of source code (triple backticks) that gets syntax-highlighted in the rendered output. Consecutive code blocks with different languages become tabbed. Source
Content directive
A directive that transforms body content into styled HTML without needing source code access. Includes callouts and list-glossary. Source
Coverage
The percentage of public symbols in your source code that are referenced by at least one directive. Reported by selfdoc check and configurable via min_coverage. Source
custom directive
A custom directive is a Python script with a resolve(attrs, config, body) function that receives 3 parameters: directive attributes, the full project config, and optional body content. You register it in selfdoc.json, then use it in your Markdown templates just like a built-in directive. During the build, selfdoc calls your function and replaces the directive marker with whatever Markdown you return. Source
Directive
A marker in Markdown templates that selfdoc resolves into content at build time. Comes in one-liner (:-:) and block (:<: ... :>:) forms. Source
Extractor
A language-specific module that reads source code and extracts API information for directives. Selfdoc ships with extractors for Python, Go, and TypeScript. Source
Frontmatter
YAML-like metadata at the top of a Markdown file between --- delimiters. Controls title, description, nav group, and other page settings. Source
JSON-LD
Structured data embedded in each HTML page as a <script type="application/ld+json"> block. Provides search engines with machine-readable metadata about the page. Source
Lint rule
An SEO or content quality check run by selfdoc check. Each rule has a code (e.g., SEO001) and produces warnings or errors with file locations. Source
Nav group
A frontmatter field (nav_group) that controls which section of the sidebar navigation a page appears in. Pages with the same nav group are grouped together. Source
OG card
An OpenGraph image generated for each page, used as the preview image when a link is shared on social media or messaging platforms. Source
Post-processor
A regex-based transform that runs after block rendering to detect cross-block patterns like consecutive code blocks (code tabs) or ordered lists after tutorial headings (step guides). Source
Resolver
The dispatch layer that routes a parsed directive to the correct handler -- content directives, custom directives, or language extractors, in that order. Source
Search index
A JSON file (search-index.json) built from page headings and content, powering the client-side full-text search feature in the rendered site. Source
Sitemap
An XML file (sitemap.xml) listing all page URLs and their last-modified dates, used by search engines for indexing. Source
Slug
The URL-friendly identifier derived from a page's filename. For example, getting-started.md becomes the sluggetting-started, served at /getting-started/. Source
Staleness
When a page's content has changed since the last build but its frontmatter description has not been updated. Detected by comparing content and description hashes. Source
Theme
A set of CSS custom properties controlling colors, typography, layout, and component styling. Selfdoc ships with minimal and cleanthemes. Source
Tokenizer
A standalone module that splits Markdown into typed block tokens (headings, code blocks, tables, paragraphs, etc.) used by both the renderer and the lint system. Source