Generating Documentation

Coda can automatically generate comprehensive markdown documentation for your Solana programs directly from your Anchor IDLs. This documentation includes all accounts, instructions, PDAs, types, and errors in a well-organized, readable format.

Basic Usage

To generate documentation for your program:

coda docs

This command will:

1. Look for IDL files in ./idls/*.json (or use your configured path)
2. Generate markdown documentation to ./docs/ directory
3. Create one markdown file per program with kebab-case naming

Configuration

Documentation generation can be customized through coda.config.mjs. See the Configuration page for base configuration options.

Documentation-Specific Options

import { defineConfig } from "@macalinao/coda";

export default defineConfig({
  // Documentation options
  docs: {
    // Custom output directory for docs (default: "./docs")
    path: "./documentation",
    // Add NPM package badge and link
    npmPackageName: "@my-org/my-solana-client",
  },
});

Custom Output Directory

To generate documentation to a different directory:

export default defineConfig({
  docs: {
    path: "./my-custom-docs",
  },
});

NPM Package Integration

If you've published a TypeScript client for your program, you can include NPM package information in your documentation:

export default defineConfig({
  docs: {
    npmPackageName: "@my-org/my-solana-client",
  },
});

This will add:

• An NPM version badge at the top of the document
• A link to your TypeScript client package on NPM

Example output:

# My Program

[![npm version](https://badge.fury.io/js/%40my-org%2Fmy-solana-client.svg)](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@my-org/my-solana-client)

- Program ID: `11111111111111111111111111111111`
- TypeScript Client: [`@my-org/my-solana-client`](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@my-org/my-solana-client)

Generated Documentation Structure

The generated markdown documentation includes:

Program Information

• Program name (converted to Title Case)
• Program description (from IDL docs)
• Program ID
• TypeScript client link (if configured)

Table of Contents

Automatically generated with links to all sections:

• Accounts
• Instructions
• PDAs (Program Derived Addresses)
• Types
• Errors

Accounts Section

For each account:

• Account name and description
• Data structure with field types
• TypeScript interface representation
• Discriminator information (if applicable)

Instructions Section

For each instruction:

• Instruction name and description
• Account requirements (signer, writable status)
• Argument types and descriptions
• TypeScript function signature

PDAs Section

For each PDA:

• PDA name and description
• Seed structure and types
• How to derive the address

Types Section

For each custom type:

• Type name and description
• Field definitions for structs
• Variants for enums
• TypeScript type representation

Errors Section

All program errors in a bullet list format:

• Error name with code in decimal, padded, and hex formats
• Error message

Example: - **InvalidAccount** (Code: 100 / \100` / `0x64`) -- The account is invalid`

Multiple Programs

When working with multiple programs, Coda generates separate documentation files for each. Each program gets its own markdown file with kebab-case naming:

• docs/program-one.md
• docs/program-two.md
• etc.

See the Configuration page for details on configuring multiple IDLs.

Command Options

The coda docs command accepts several options. See the Configuration page for all available command-line arguments.

Example Output

Here's what the generated documentation looks like for a simple program:

# Token Program

[![npm version](https://badge.fury.io/js/%40my-org%2Ftoken-client.svg)](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@my-org/token-client)

## Description

A simple SPL Token program for minting and transferring tokens.

- Program ID: `TokenkegQfeZyiNwAJbNbGKPFXCWuBvf9Ss623VQ5DA`
- TypeScript Client: [`@my-org/token-client`](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@my-org/token-client)

## Table of Contents

- [Accounts](#accounts)
  - [mint](#mint)
  - [tokenAccount](#tokenAccount)
- [Instructions](#instructions)
  - [initializeMint](#initializeMint)
  - [transfer](#transfer)
- [Errors](#errors)

## Accounts

### mint

The mint account stores token supply and decimals.

| Field | Type | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| supply | `u64` | Total supply of tokens |
| decimals | `u8` | Number of decimals |

...

Integration with Documentation Sites

The generated markdown files can be easily integrated into documentation sites like:

• GitHub Pages
• GitBook
• Docusaurus
• MkDocs
• Fumadocs
• Or any static site generator that supports markdown

Best Practices

1. Keep IDL Documentation Updated: Add comprehensive docs to your Anchor program using /// Doc comments - these will be included in the generated documentation.

2. Use Semantic Versioning: If publishing an NPM package, keep your documentation in sync with your package version.

3. Commit Generated Docs: Consider committing the generated documentation to your repository so it's available on GitHub.

4. Automate Generation: Add a script to your package.json to regenerate docs:

   {
     "scripts": {
       "docs": "coda docs"
     }
   }

5. Custom Styling: The generated markdown is clean and semantic, making it easy to style with your documentation site's CSS.