Your First Documentation Deployment

This tutorial walks you through deploying your first documentation site using DocuMCP, from analysis to live GitHub Pages deployment.

What You'll Build

By the end of this tutorial, you'll have:

• A live documentation site on GitHub Pages
• Automated deployment workflow
• Professional Diataxis-structured content
• Understanding of DocuMCP's deployment process

Prerequisites

• Completed the Getting Started tutorial
• GitHub repository with your code
• Write access to the repository
• GitHub Pages enabled in repository settings

Step-by-Step Deployment

Step 1: Complete Repository Analysis

If you haven't already, analyze your repository:

# Prompt to DocuMCP:
"analyze my repository for documentation deployment"

Expected output includes analysis ID (e.g., analysis_xyz789) that we'll use throughout the deployment.

Step 2: Get Deployment-Optimized Recommendations

Request recommendations specifically for deployment:

# Prompt:
"recommend the best static site generator for GitHub Pages deployment based on analysis_xyz789"

DocuMCP will consider:

• GitHub Pages compatibility (native Jekyll support vs. Actions required)
• Build time (Hugo's speed vs. Docusaurus features)
• Maintenance overhead (MkDocs simplicity vs. Eleventy flexibility)

Step 3: Generate Deployment Configuration

Create production-ready configuration:

# For example, if Docusaurus was recommended:
"generate Docusaurus configuration for production deployment to GitHub Pages"

This creates:

• docusaurus.config.js: Optimized for GitHub Pages
• package.json updates: Required dependencies
• Build scripts: Production build configuration

Step 4: Set Up Documentation Structure

Create comprehensive documentation structure:

# Prompt:
"set up Diataxis documentation structure for Docusaurus deployment"

Creates organized folders:

docs/
├── tutorials/          # Learning-oriented
├── how-to-guides/      # Problem-solving
├── reference/          # Information-oriented
├── explanation/        # Understanding-oriented
└── index.md           # Landing page

Step 5: Populate with Initial Content

Generate starter content based on your project:

# Prompt:
"populate the documentation structure with content based on my project analysis"

DocuMCP creates:

• Project-specific tutorials based on your codebase
• API documentation extracted from your code
• Installation guides tailored to your tech stack
• Configuration examples using your actual project structure

Step 6: Deploy to GitHub Pages

Set up automated deployment:

# Prompt:
"deploy my Docusaurus documentation to GitHub Pages with automated workflow"

This generates:

• .github/workflows/deploy.yml: GitHub Actions workflow
• Optimized build process: Cached dependencies, parallel builds
• Security configuration: OIDC tokens, minimal permissions

Step 7: Verify Deployment

Check that everything is working:

# Prompt:
"verify my GitHub Pages deployment is working correctly"

DocuMCP checks:

• Workflow status: Build and deployment success
• Site accessibility: Homepage loads correctly
• Navigation: All sections are reachable
• Asset loading: CSS, JS, images work properly

Example: Complete TypeScript Library Deployment

Here's a real example for a TypeScript library:

1. Analysis Results

{
  "id": "analysis_ts_lib_001",
  "structure": {
    "totalFiles": 47,
    "languages": { ".ts": 32, ".md": 5, ".json": 3 },
    "hasTests": true,
    "hasCI": true
  },
  "recommendations": {
    "primaryLanguage": "typescript",
    "projectType": "library"
  }
}

2. Recommendation

{
  "recommended": "docusaurus",
  "confidence": 0.88,
  "reasoning": [
    "TypeScript ecosystem alignment",
    "Excellent API documentation support",
    "React component integration for examples"
  ]
}

3. Generated Configuration

docusaurus.config.js:

const config = {
  title: "TypeScript Library Docs",
  tagline: "Comprehensive API documentation",
  url: "https://yourusername.github.io",
  baseUrl: "/your-repo-name/",

  // GitHub Pages deployment config
  organizationName: "yourusername",
  projectName: "your-repo-name",
  deploymentBranch: "gh-pages",
  trailingSlash: false,

  presets: [
    [
      "classic",
      {
        docs: {
          routeBasePath: "/",
          sidebarPath: require.resolve("./sidebars.js"),
        },
        theme: {
          customCss: require.resolve("./src/css/custom.css"),
        },
      },
    ],
  ],
};

4. GitHub Actions Workflow

.github/workflows/deploy.yml:

name: Deploy Documentation

on:
  push:
    branches: [main]
    paths: ["docs/**", "docusaurus.config.js"]

permissions:
  contents: read
  pages: write
  id-token: write

jobs:
  deploy:
    environment:
      name: github-pages
      url: ${{ steps.deployment.outputs.page_url }}
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Checkout
        uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Setup Node.js
        uses: actions/setup-node@v4
        with:
          node-version: "20"
          cache: "npm"

      - name: Install dependencies
        run: npm ci

      - name: Build documentation
        run: npm run build

      - name: Setup Pages
        uses: actions/configure-pages@v4

      - name: Upload artifact
        uses: actions/upload-pages-artifact@v3
        with:
          path: "./build"

      - name: Deploy to GitHub Pages
        id: deployment
        uses: actions/deploy-pages@v4

Verification Checklist

After deployment, verify:

• Site is live at https://yourusername.github.io/repository-name
• All sections load (Tutorials, How-to, Reference, Explanation)
• Search works (if enabled)
• Mobile responsive design
• Fast loading (check Core Web Vitals)
• SEO optimized (meta tags, sitemap)

Common Deployment Issues

Build Failures

Problem: Workflow fails during build Solution:

• Check Node.js version compatibility
• Verify all dependencies are in package.json
• Review build logs in Actions tab

Page Not Found (404)

Problem: Site shows 404 error Solution:

• Verify baseUrl in config matches repository name
• Check GitHub Pages source is set to GitHub Actions
• Confirm deployment branch exists

Assets Not Loading

Problem: CSS/JS files return 404 Solution:

• Ensure publicPath is configured correctly
• Check trailing slash configuration
• Verify asset paths are relative

Performance Optimization

Build Speed

• Caching: Enable npm cache in GitHub Actions
• Parallel builds: Use appropriate number of workers
• Incremental builds: Only rebuild changed files

Site Performance

• Image optimization: Compress and use modern formats
• Code splitting: Load only necessary JavaScript
• CDN integration: Use GitHub's CDN for assets

Next Steps

Now that you have a deployed documentation site:

1. Set up development workflow for ongoing maintenance
2. Configure custom domain (optional)
3. Set up monitoring for uptime tracking
4. Optimize for search engines

Summary

You've successfully: ✅ Analyzed your repository for deployment ✅ Generated production-ready configuration ✅ Set up professional documentation structure ✅ Deployed to GitHub Pages with automation ✅ Verified your live documentation site

Your documentation is now live and will automatically update with each commit!

Troubleshooting

If you encounter issues:

1. Check the troubleshooting guide
2. Review GitHub Actions logs
3. Verify repository permissions
4. Confirm GitHub Pages settings

Need help? Open an issue on the DocuMCP repository.