Features

docToolchain v4 is a docs-as-code tool that generates professional documentation from AsciiDoc sources.

Fast Startup

Tasks run via direct JVM invocation — no Gradle daemon, no build system overhead. Typical startup time is 2-3 seconds.

No Ruby Required

v4 uses AsciidoctorJ (the Java port of AsciiDoctor) exclusively. No Ruby gems, no external asciidoctor CLI needed.

Multiple Output Formats

Generate HTML, PDF, or a full microsite from the same AsciiDoc sources. See the Tasks section for all available output formats.

Multiple Markup Formats

The microsite renders more than AsciiDoc: Markdown and plain HTML work out of the box, and reStructuredText (.rst) is supported via a one-line converter entry. See Multi-Markup for the full list and how to enable .rst.

Diagram Support

Built-in support for text-based diagrams via asciidoctor-diagram: PlantUML, ditaa, Mermaid, and more.

Math & Formulas (STEM)

docToolchain renders mathematical and scientific formulas (AsciiDoc STEM content). STEM is enabled out of the box — no configuration needed.

Use it inline or as a block, in either the latexmath or the asciimath notation:

A square root inline: stem:[sqrt(4) = 2].

[latexmath]
++++
\sum_{i=1}^{n} i = \frac{n(n+1)}{2}
++++

[asciimath]
++++
sum_(i=1)^n i = (n(n+1))/2
++++

The default notation for an unqualified \$…\$ / [stem] is latexmath. Override it per document with :stem: asciimath, or pin a single expression with the explicit [asciimath] / [latexmath] block forms shown above.

Formulas render in all main output formats:

  • HTML — rendered in the browser via MathJax.

  • PDF — rendered natively by asciidoctor-pdf.

Note
 In the microsite, MathJax is loaded the same way as in standalone HTML. For fully offline / self-contained sites you can bundle MathJax locally instead of loading it from a CDN — see the tracking issue.

Confluence Publishing

Publish your documentation directly to Confluence, keeping docs-as-code and Confluence in sync. Only changed pages are updated — no spam for page watchers.

Cross-Platform

All tasks work on Linux, macOS, and Windows. The exportPPT task uses Apache POI — no Windows-only dependencies.

Template Support

Bootstrap your project with architecture templates like arc42 or req42.

CI/CD Ready

Set DTC_HEADLESS=true for non-interactive mode. Works with GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Jenkins, and any CI system with Java 17, 21 or 25.