BuildingDocs.md

Documentation Build Guide

This document explains how to build and work with the SCHISM-ESMF documentation.

Overview

The project documentation is built using MkDocs with the Material theme. The documentation sources are in Markdown format located in the doc/ directory.

Documentation Structure

schism-esmf/
├── doc/                          # Documentation source files
│   ├── index.md                  # Homepage
│   ├── installation.md           # Installation guide
│   ├── cmake-architecture.md     # CMake build system details
│   ├── running-examples.md       # How to run examples
│   ├── legal.md                  # License and legal information
│   ├── logo.png                  # Project logo
│   └── CMakeLists.txt            # CMake build rules for docs
├── mkdocs.yml                    # MkDocs configuration
├── Readme.md                     # Main project README (linked in docs)
├── QUICKSTART.md                 # Quick start guide (linked in docs)
└── .github/
    └── BUILD_TROUBLESHOOTING.md  # Build troubleshooting (linked in docs)

Prerequisites

Required

• Python 3.8+
• MkDocs: pip install mkdocs
• MkDocs Material theme: pip install mkdocs-material

Installation Options

Using pip (recommended)

pip install mkdocs mkdocs-material

Using conda/mamba

conda install -c conda-forge mkdocs mkdocs-material

Using Poetry (for developers)

poetry install

Building Documentation

Using CMake (Integrated Build)

The documentation build is integrated into the CMake build system.

Enable Documentation Build

mkdir -p build && cd build
cmake .. -DBUILD_DOCS=ON

Build HTML Documentation

make docs

The built documentation will be in build/docs/.

Serve Documentation Locally

make docs-serve

This starts a local web server at http://127.0.0.1:8000 with live reloading.

Clean Documentation

make docs-clean

Using MkDocs Directly

You can also build documentation directly with MkDocs without CMake:

Build

mkdocs build

Output goes to site/ directory.

Serve Locally

mkdocs serve

Navigate to http://127.0.0.1:8000 to view.

Build for Deployment

mkdocs build --strict

The --strict flag treats warnings as errors.

CMake Integration Details

Build Option

The documentation build is controlled by the BUILD_DOCS CMake option:

option(BUILD_DOCS "Build HTML documentation with MkDocs" OFF)

It's OFF by default to avoid requiring Python/MkDocs for users who only want to build the software.

Docs-only Configure (no Fortran/MPI required)

If your Fortran/MPI toolchain isn't available, you can configure a documentation-only build:

mkdir -p build && cd build
cmake .. -DDOCS_ONLY=ON  # Implicitly sets -DBUILD_DOCS=ON

# Build user guide (MkDocs)
cmake --build . --target docs

# Build API reference (FORD - requires ford installed)
cmake --build . --target docs-api

# Build both
cmake --build . --target docs-all

For details on writing FORD-style documentation in the Fortran source code, see the API Documentation Guide.

CMake Targets

Target	Description
docs	Build HTML user guide (MkDocs)
docs-api	Build API reference from Fortran source (FORD)
docs-all	Build both user guide and API reference
docs-serve	Start local documentation server
docs-clean	Remove built documentation

Installation

When you run make install, the documentation is installed to:

• HTML documentation: ${CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX}/share/doc/SCHISM_ESMF_Interface/html/
• Markdown sources: ${CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX}/share/doc/SCHISM_ESMF_Interface/markdown/
• Top-level docs: ${CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX}/share/doc/SCHISM_ESMF_Interface/ (Readme.md, QUICKSTART.md)

Example:

cmake .. -DBUILD_DOCS=ON -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=/usr/local
make docs
sudo make install

Continuous Integration

GitHub Actions Example

name: Build Documentation

on:
  push:
    branches: [main, develop]
  pull_request:

jobs:
  docs:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
      
      - name: Set up Python
        uses: actions/setup-python@v4
        with:
          python-version: '3.11'
      
      - name: Install dependencies
        run: |
          pip install mkdocs mkdocs-material
      
      - name: Build documentation
        run: mkdocs build --strict
      
      - name: Deploy to GitHub Pages
        if: github.ref == 'refs/heads/main'
        run: mkdocs gh-deploy --force

GitHub Pages Deployment

To deploy documentation to GitHub Pages:

mkdocs gh-deploy

This builds and pushes the documentation to the gh-pages branch.

Writing Documentation

File Format

All documentation files are Markdown (.md) with YAML front matter:

---
title: Page Title
summary: Brief description
---

# Main Heading

Content here...

Code Blocks

Use fenced code blocks with language specification:

```python
def hello():
    print("Hello, SCHISM!")
```

Admonitions

Use Material theme admonitions for callouts:

!!! note "Important Note"
    This is an important note.

!!! warning
    This is a warning.

!!! tip
    This is a helpful tip.

Internal Links

Link to other documentation pages:

See [Installation Guide](installation.md) for details.

External Links

Link to GitHub files:

See [BUILD_TROUBLESHOOTING.md](../.github/BUILD_TROUBLESHOOTING.md).

Troubleshooting

Python Not Found

Problem: Python3 not found during CMake configure.

Solution: Install Python 3.8+ and ensure it's in your PATH.

# macOS
brew install python@3.11

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt install python3 python3-pip

# Windows
# Download from python.org

MkDocs Not Found

Problem: MkDocs not found warning during CMake configure.

Solution: Install MkDocs:

pip install mkdocs mkdocs-material

Material Theme Not Found

Problem: MkDocs Material theme not found warning.

Solution: Install the Material theme:

pip install mkdocs-material

Build Fails with Import Errors

Problem: Documentation build fails with Python import errors.

Solution: Check that all required packages are installed:

python3 -c "import mkdocs; print(mkdocs.__version__)"
python3 -c "import material; print(material.__version__)"

If either fails, reinstall:

pip install --upgrade mkdocs mkdocs-material

Documentation Doesn't Update

Problem: Changes to markdown files don't appear in built docs.

Solution:

1. Clean the build: make docs-clean or rm -rf site/
2. Rebuild: make docs or mkdocs build

When using mkdocs serve, changes should auto-reload. If not, restart the server.

Configuration Reference

mkdocs.yml Structure

site_name: Project Name           # Site title
site_url: https://example.com     # Base URL
docs_dir: ./doc                   # Source directory
site_dir: ./site                  # Output directory
theme:
  name: material                  # Theme name
  features: [...]                 # Theme features
nav:                              # Navigation structure
  - Home: index.md
  - Guide: guide.md
markdown_extensions: [...]        # Markdown processing extensions
plugins: [...]                    # MkDocs plugins

Material Theme Features

Enabled features in mkdocs.yml:

• toc.integrate - Integrate table of contents into navigation
• toc.follow - Follow active item in ToC
• content.code.annotate - Code annotation support
• navigation.tabs - Top-level navigation tabs
• navigation.sections - Group pages into sections
• navigation.expand - Expand sections by default
• navigation.top - "Back to top" button
• search.suggest - Search suggestions
• search.highlight - Highlight search terms

Markdown Extensions

Key extensions enabled:

• admonition - Note/warning boxes
• codehilite - Syntax highlighting
• pymdownx.superfences - Nested code blocks
• pymdownx.tabbed - Tabbed content
• pymdownx.details - Collapsible sections

Best Practices

1. Keep files focused: Each page should cover one topic
2. Use clear headings: Hierarchical structure with H1, H2, H3
3. Test locally: Always run mkdocs serve to preview changes
4. Link generously: Cross-link related content
5. Use code examples: Show, don't just tell
6. Add screenshots: Visual aids help comprehension (when applicable)
7. Update navigation: Add new pages to mkdocs.yml nav section
8. Follow naming conventions: Use lowercase-with-hyphens for filenames

Maintenance

Updating Dependencies

Check for MkDocs updates:

pip list --outdated | grep mkdocs

Update:

pip install --upgrade mkdocs mkdocs-material

Checking for Broken Links

Install link checker:

pip install linkchecker

Check built docs:

mkdocs build
linkchecker site/

Documentation Review Checklist

Before committing documentation changes:

• Spell-check content
• Verify all links work
• Build with --strict flag passes
• Preview with mkdocs serve looks correct
• Code examples are tested and correct
• Navigation updated if new pages added
• Front matter (title, summary) is accurate

Resources

• MkDocs Documentation
• Material for MkDocs
• Markdown Guide
• PyMdown Extensions

Getting Help

• MkDocs Issues: https://github.com/mkdocs/mkdocs/issues
• Material Theme Issues: https://github.com/squidfunk/mkdocs-material/issues
• Project Docs Issues: https://github.com/schism-dev/schism-esmf/issues

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Last Updated: November 2025
Maintainer: Carsten Lemmen carsten.lemmen@hereon.de