A Python-Markdown extension (and optional MkDocs plugin) that automatically generates documentation for your Typer CLI applications. The same extension works with Zensical using markdown_extensions only.
You might be wondering why there are two plugins for Typer. The mkdocs-typer plugin is great, but it hasn't been updated in over a year, and there have been a number of changes to Typer since then. One important change is that Typer now has its own documentation generation system via the typer <module> utils docs command. This plugin simply leverages that system to generate the documentation for your Typer CLIs.
I created this plugin because the original plugin was no longer working for me, and I wanted to have a simple plugin that would work with the latest version of Typer. If the original mkdocs-typer plugin still works for you, there probably isn't a reason to switch. However, if you are looking for a plugin that will work with the latest version of Typer, this plugin is for you!
- Integrates with MkDocs (optional extra) and the Material theme, or with Zensical via Markdown extensions
- Automatically generates CLI documentation from your Typer commands
- Supports all Typer command features including arguments, options, and help text
- Easy to configure and use
prettyfeature for formatting arguments & options as tablesengineoption to select legacy markdown parsing or native Click walkingtermynaloutput mode that renders--helpas an animated, colored terminal- Global plugin configuration or per-documentation block configuration
The plugin can either parse Typer's generated markdown (legacy) or walk the Click command tree directly (native). Both approaches are rendered as Markdown and integrated into your MkDocs site.
The plugin works by:
- Registering a Markdown extension that processes special directive blocks
- Resolving the command tree (legacy:
typer <module> utils docs, native: Click walk) - Formatting arguments and options as lists or tables based on
pretty - Integrating the resulting HTML into the generated site
The base package installs the Typer CLI helper, the Python-Markdown extension (mkdocs_typer2.markdown:makeExtension), and runtime dependencies only. Add MkDocs and/or Zensical when you need them.
Markdown extension only (for example with Zensical, or if you register the extension yourself):
pip install mkdocs-typer2With MkDocs (enables the mkdocs-typer2 plugin entry point):
pip install "mkdocs-typer2[mkdocs]"With Zensical (installs the zensical CLI into the same environment; you still configure markdown_extensions as shown below):
pip install "mkdocs-typer2[zensical]"Both:
pip install "mkdocs-typer2[mkdocs,zensical]"Using uv:
uv add "mkdocs-typer2[mkdocs]" # or [zensical] / [mkdocs,zensical]- Python 3.10 or higher
- Always: Typer 0.12.5 or higher, Pydantic 2.9.2 or higher, Python-Markdown 3.3.6 or higher (declared as
markdownon PyPI) - Optional: MkDocs 1.6.1 or higher (install extra
[mkdocs]) - Optional: Zensical 0.0.30 or higher (install extra
[zensical])
Add the plugin to your mkdocs.yml file:
plugins:
- mkdocs-typer2The plugin offers a pretty option that can be set in your mkdocs.yml file to enable table-based formatting for options and arguments:
plugins:
- mkdocs-typer2:
pretty: trueOptions when :pretty: false:
Options:
--name: The name of the project [required]
Options when :pretty: true:
| Name | Description | Required | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
--name |
The name of the project | Yes | - |
Use engine to select how the command tree is built:
plugins:
- mkdocs-typer2:
engine: native # or legacyZensical uses the same Python-Markdown stack as MkDocs for compatibility, so you enable this project as a Markdown extension only. Zensical does not run arbitrary MkDocs Python plugins, so do not list mkdocs-typer2 under plugins.
Install with pip install "mkdocs-typer2[zensical]" (or include zensical in your environment another way), then register the extension and options that match what you would pass to the MkDocs plugin.
mkdocs.yml (Zensical reads this format):
markdown_extensions:
- tables
- mkdocs_typer2.markdown:makeExtension:
pretty: false
engine: nativeThe tables extension is included here because the extension renders inner CLI markdown with markdown.markdown(..., extensions=["tables"]).
zensical.toml (quoted table key because the factory path contains a colon):
[project.markdown_extensions.tables]
[project.markdown_extensions."mkdocs_typer2.markdown:makeExtension"]
pretty = false
engine = "native"If you share one project between MkDocs and Zensical, keep mkdocs-typer2 out of plugins for the Zensical-focused config (or use separate config files) so the Markdown extension is not applied twice.
The :termynal: output mode only emits termynal's data-termynal markup; the CSS/JS that styles and animates it is shipped separately. Under MkDocs the termynal plugin injects them, but Zensical does not run that plugin, so the blocks render as unstyled text unless you add the assets yourself.
The simplest way is to point extra_css / extra_javascript at termynal's assets on a CDN. Pin the version to the termynal you installed (pip show termynal) so the assets match the markup this extension emits:
mkdocs.yml:
extra_css:
- https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/termynal/termynal.py@0.14.0/termynal/assets/termynal.css
extra_javascript:
- https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/termynal/termynal.py@0.14.0/termynal/assets/termynal.jszensical.toml:
[project]
extra_css = ["https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/termynal/termynal.py@0.14.0/termynal/assets/termynal.css"]
extra_javascript = ["https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/termynal/termynal.py@0.14.0/termynal/assets/termynal.js"]To self-host instead, copy termynal.css / termynal.js from the installed termynal package's assets/ directory into your docs tree and reference them by relative path.
Do not inline the CSS/JS into page content (Zensical folds raw <style> text into the page title/heading). Use extra_css / extra_javascript so the assets load in the page head/footer as intended.
In your Markdown files, use the ::: mkdocs-typer2 directive to generate documentation for your Typer CLI:
::: mkdocs-typer2
:module: my_module
:name: mycli:module:- The module containing your Typer CLI application. This is the installed module, not the directory path. For example, if your app is located insrc/my_module/cli.py, your:module:should typically bemy_module.cli.
:name:- The name of the CLI. If left blank, your CLI will simply be namedCLIin your documentation.:pretty:- Set totrueto enable pretty formatting for this specific documentation block, overriding the global setting.:engine:-legacyparses Typer markdown (deprecated).nativewalks Click and renders lists or tables based onpretty.:termynal:- Set totrueto render the CLI's--helpas an animated, colored termynal terminal instead of Markdown tables. By default only the root command's--helpis rendered (see:subcommands:to include nested commands). Overrides the globaltermynalsetting.:command:- Render a specific subcommand instead of the root. A space-separated path selects nested commands (e.g.:command: exportrenders<cli> export --help;:command: subapp sub-commandgoes one level deeper).:subcommands:recursion then applies relative to the selected command. Block-level only.:subcommands:- Recursion depth for termynal output.0(default) renders only the selected command's--help;1adds a block per direct subcommand,2adds their subcommands, and so on;-1renders every level. Hidden commands are skipped at every level.:width:- Terminal width (in columns) used when capturing--helpfor termynal output. Defaults to80.:scheme:- Color palette for termynal output. One ofansi2html,dracula,mint-terminal,osx,osx-basic,osx-solid-colors,solarized,xterm. Invalid values fall back toxterm(the default).:dark_bg:- Set tofalseto use the scheme's light-background variant. Defaults totrue.:buttons:- Window chrome style for termynal output. One ofmacos(default) orwindows. Invalid values fall back tomacos.:prompt:- Prompt symbol shown before the--helpcommand. Defaults to$.:type_delay:/:line_delay:/:start_delay:- Termynal animation timings in milliseconds (per character, per line, before start). Left unset, termynal's own defaults apply.
Termynal mode introspects the Typer/Click app in-process and emits a faithful,
colored terminal of what <cmd> --help prints. Typer apps (which render help
through rich) come out colored; plain Click apps render their monochrome help.
Nothing is executed as a subprocess. By default only the root command is shown;
set :subcommands: (or termynal_subcommands) to a depth to stack its
subcommands' --help below it (-1 for the full tree).
How it works: the app module is imported and each command's --help is rendered
in-process (forcing rich's terminal output so color is preserved). Hidden
commands are skipped, matching what --help itself shows. The ANSI output is
converted to inline HTML with ansi2html
and wrapped in termynal's data-ty markup, which termynal.js animates. It does
not import termynal's Python renderer — it emits the markup directly, and
tests/test_termynal_contract.py guards that markup against drift.
Enable it globally via the MkDocs plugin:
plugins:
- mkdocs-typer2:
termynal: true
termynal_subcommands: 0
termynal_width: 80
termynal_scheme: xterm
termynal_dark_bg: true
termynal_buttons: macos
termynal_prompt: "$"
# termynal_type_delay / termynal_line_delay / termynal_start_delay (ms)
# may also be set; unset, termynal's own animation defaults apply.Every block-level option above has a global termynal_-prefixed equivalent
(e.g. :buttons: ↔ termynal_buttons); the block-level value wins. The
:command: selector is block-level only.
or per block:
::: mkdocs-typer2
:module: my_module.cli
:name: mycli
:termynal: true
:width: 100To document one subcommand per block — with your own headings and prose around
each — select it with :command::
## Export
::: mkdocs-typer2
:module: my_module.cli
:name: mycli
:termynal: true
:command: exportRequirements / caveats:
-
Termynal mode needs the optional
termynalextra:pip install "mkdocs-typer2[termynal]". Using:termynal:without it raises a clear install hint. ANSI-to-HTML conversion is done withansi2html; the rest of mkdocs-typer2 has no termynal dependency. -
The rendered blocks rely on termynal's CSS/JS being present on the page, and how you provide it differs by builder:
- MkDocs: enable the
termynalMkDocs plugin (plugins: [termynal]); it injectstermynal.css/termynal.jsautomatically. - Zensical: the termynal plugin does not run, so add the assets yourself
via
extra_css/extra_javascript— see Termynal assets under Zensical.
Without the CSS/JS the blocks render as unstyled text.
- MkDocs: enable the
You can override the global pretty setting for individual documentation blocks:
::: mkdocs-typer2
:module: my_module.cli
:name: mycli
:pretty: true
:engine: nativeYou can document multiple CLIs in the same MkDocs site by using multiple directive blocks:
# Main CLI
::: mkdocs-typer2
:module: my_module.cli
:name: mycli
# Admin CLI
::: mkdocs-typer2
:module: my_module.admin
:name: admin-cliThis repository is a good example of how to use the plugin. We have a simple CLI located in src/mkdocs_typer2/cli/cli.py.
The CLI's documentation is automatically generated using the block level directive in docs/cli.md:
::: mkdocs-typer2
:module: mkdocs_typer2.cli.cli
:name: mkdocs-typer2
:engine: legacyAnd the pretty versions in docs/cli-pretty-legacy.md and docs/cli-pretty-native.md:
::: mkdocs-typer2
:module: mkdocs_typer2.cli.cli
:name: mkdocs-typer2
:pretty: true
:engine: legacy:::: mkdocs-typer2
:module: mkdocs_typer2.cli.cli
:name: mkdocs-typer2
:pretty: true
:engine: nativeContributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.
When working in this repository, sync dependencies (including optional extras used in CI) with:
uv sync --all-extras --group devThis project is licensed under the Apache License 2.0 - see the LICENSE file for details.
