Docs as code empowered by IntelliJ

Writerside is now being distributed as an Early Access Program and is completely free. It’s compatible with JetBrains IntelliJ-based IDEs. If you don’t currently use one of those IDEs, you can download and install IntelliJ IDEA Community Edition at no cost.

Even after Writerside's release, we’re going to have a free version or an ongoing EAP program, so you can continue using the tool for free.

Writerside has two types of source files: Markdown and XML, but this doesn’t mean you have to stick to a single format. You can write in Markdown and inject more complicated elements, like semantic attributes and XML elements. Both markups have full editor assistance that includes completion and validation.

If your main source base is in XML, you will be able to accept change requests from external contributors in Markdown and convert Markdown to XML.

Likewise, you can convert Markdown fragments into XML, for example if you need to merge cells in a table.

We hope that a combination of Markdown and semantic XML-based markup covers most use cases. However, we are open to feedback, so please let us know if you’re lacking some functionality that another markup provides.

You can store files locally, but the recommended option is to use a Git repository. We provide a convenient UI for all Git operations, managing branches, and resolving conflicts. You can also use another supported version control system, such as Subversion or Perforce.

We believe in web-based documentation. However, sometimes people may need to produce printed formats, so we’re going to support PDF output in the future.

Writerside lets you build your documentation project locally and produce a .zip file. Then you'll need to upload it to your website or host it on GitHub Pages, Amazon AWS, Netlify, or any other hosting service. We’re considering providing our own docs hosting service sometime in the future.

If you use a CI/CD server, we can provide builder scripts as a Docker container that you can use to configure documentation builds.

You can configure Writerside to produce Algolia search indexes, and you can register for a free Algolia plan.

We’re also working on our own search solution.

The early version of Writerside provides some customization options. Here are a few examples of what you can do:

• Change the appearance of the header and footer.
• Add your logo and copyright.
• Choose between three color presets (soft, contrast, and vivid) that support both light and the dark themes.
• Choose an accent color for highlighted elements.
• Embed links to social media and other resources.

We have plans to add more options and make doc customization even more flexible.

If you have Markdown sources, you can import them into a Writerside project. We’re also working on the migration from XML-based formats, including DITA.

We post regular updates in our Slack workspace (please read our Code of Conduct before joining). You can also follow our project in YouTrack and report any issues you encounter or feature requests.

You can also subscribe to our newsletter where we announce all major product updates.