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Doc Detective

An open-source documentation testing framework that validates your docs against your product.

Overview​

Doc Detective is a tool that treats documentation as testable assertions of product behavior. It automates the process of verifying that your documentation accurately reflects your users' experiences, catching broken instructions, outdated screenshots, and integration issues before your users encounter them.

What It Does​

Doc Detective helps you:

  • Test documentation workflows: Validate that step-by-step instructions actually work
  • Verify UI interactions: Ensure buttons, forms, and navigation paths exist as documented
  • Capture screenshots: Automatically generate and update documentation screenshots
  • Detect breaking changes: Get notified when product updates break existing docs
  • Integrate with CI/CD: Run documentation tests as part of your development pipeline

Philosophy​

Doc Detective is built on the principle that documentation should be treated as testable assertions of product behavior. By applying software testing practices to documentation, teams can build more reliable, maintainable, and user-friendly docs.

Key Features​

Automated Testing​

Write test specifications alongside your documentation. Doc Detective executes these tests against your actual product, verifying that documented procedures work as expected.

Screenshot Management​

Generate screenshots programmatically. When UI changes, tests can automatically capture updated images, reducing manual screenshot maintenance.

Cross-Platform Support​

Test documentation across different browsers, operating systems, and device configurations to ensure consistent user experience.

CI/CD Integration​

Integrate Doc Detective into your continuous integration pipeline. Catch documentation issues early in the development cycle, just like code defects.

Flexible Configuration​

Support for various documentation formats (Markdown, HTML, custom formats) and testing scenarios (API testing, UI testing, command-line testing).

Resources​

Want to learn more about the Docs as Tests? Check out the book or explore talks and presentations on the topic.