Laradocs Laravel Package

Getting Started

Install the package with Composer, publish its config/assets using the package’s documented publish tags, and create your first Markdown document in the configured docs directory. Check config/laradocs.php first for the docs path, route prefix, middleware, navigation, and rendering options. Then visit the configured docs route—typically /docs—to confirm the page renders.

A good first use case is internal engineering documentation inside an existing Laravel app: architecture notes, onboarding guides, and API references that live in the repo and are reviewed like code. v1.2.1 primarily adds laravel/mcp v1.0 support, so if you plan to expose docs to AI tooling, verify your MCP dependency constraint and endpoint early.

Implementation Patterns

• Keep docs as Markdown files in version control and organize them by audience: getting-started, guides, reference, and operations.
• Drive sidebar/navigation order from package config or front matter, and keep filenames stable so links remain predictable.
• Mount the docs route behind your app’s auth middleware for internal documentation, or leave it public for product/help docs.
• Publish and customize the Blade layout/views to match your application shell, then link to docs from your main navigation.
• For MCP usage, pin laravel/mcp to a compatible v1.x release, register/expose the docs MCP endpoint as documented, and test it from the MCP client you actually use.
• Treat docs changes like code: run Markdown/link checks in CI and review docs PRs alongside application changes.
• Use the package as the rendering layer, not the source of truth: keep canonical docs in Markdown and avoid hard-coding content into views.

Gotchas and Tips

• Route collisions are common: if /docs is already used, change the route prefix in config rather than fighting route order.
• After changing config, run php artisan config:clear; cached config often explains “my setting isn’t applied.”
• Don’t edit published vendor views/assets in place. Republish or override them so upgrades remain safe.
• If docs are public by default, explicitly add auth/authorization middleware before shipping internal content.
• Sanitize or avoid raw HTML in Markdown if non-trusted users can author docs.
• v1.2.1’s meaningful change is laravel/mcp v1.0 compatibility. Check Composer constraints, clear caches, and restart the MCP client after upgrading.
• The InertiaUI mention is cosmetic and does not affect day-to-day usage.
• Extension points to reach for first: custom layout/views, route middleware, navigation config, and Markdown renderer customization.