Stardust

A Dart-native documentation generator. Beautiful docs, zero config.

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Why Stardust?

Building documentation shouldn't require a JavaScript toolchain. Stardust is a fast, native documentation generator built entirely in Dart — no Node.js, no npm, no webpack. Just beautiful docs.

• Zero Configuration — Sensible defaults out of the box. Start writing immediately.
• Blazing Fast — Native Dart binary. Builds in milliseconds, not minutes.
• Beautiful by Default — Clean, modern design with automatic dark mode.
• Rich Components — Callouts, tabs, code groups, API docs, and 30+ components.
• Full-Text Search — Powered by Pagefind. No external services required.
• SEO Optimized — Automatic sitemap, robots.txt, Open Graph, and Twitter Cards.
• OpenAPI Import — Generate API documentation from your Swagger/OpenAPI specs.

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Installation

macOS

Homebrew (recommended)

brew tap nexlabstudio/tap
brew install stardust

curl

curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nexlabstudio/stardust/dev/install.sh | bash

Linux

curl (recommended)

curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nexlabstudio/stardust/dev/install.sh | bash

Snap

snap install stardust

Windows

Scoop (recommended)

scoop install https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nexlabstudio/stardust/dev/scoop/stardust.json

Chocolatey

choco install stardust

Dart/Flutter Developers

If you already have Dart installed:

dart pub global activate stardust

Manual Download

Download pre-built binaries from the Releases page.

Platform	Architecture	Download
macOS	Apple Silicon	stardust-darwin-arm64.tar.gz
macOS	Intel	stardust-darwin-x64.tar.gz
Linux	x64	stardust-linux-x64.tar.gz
Linux	ARM64	stardust-linux-arm64.tar.gz
Windows	x64	stardust-windows-x64.zip

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Quick Start

1. Create a new project

stardust init my-docs
cd my-docs

2. Start the dev server

stardust dev

Open http://localhost:4000 to see your docs with live reload.

3. Build for production

stardust build

Your static site is ready in dist/. Deploy anywhere.

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Project Structure

my-docs/
├── docs/              # Your markdown files
│   ├── index.md       # Home page
│   └── guide.md       # Additional pages
├── public/            # Static assets (images, etc.)
├── stardust.yaml      # Configuration
└── dist/              # Build output (generated)

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Features

Rich Component Library

Write expressive documentation with JSX-style components:

<Info>This is an informational callout.</Info>

<Tabs>
  <Tab name="npm">npm install package</Tab>
  <Tab name="yarn">yarn add package</Tab>
</Tabs>

<Steps>
  <Step title="Install">Run the installer</Step>
  <Step title="Configure">Edit the config file</Step>
  <Step title="Deploy">Push to production</Step>
</Steps>

30+ built-in components: Callouts, Tabs, Accordions, Cards, Steps, Code Groups, API docs, YouTube/Vimeo embeds, Mermaid diagrams, and more.

API Documentation

Document your APIs beautifully:

<Api method="GET" path="/users/{id}">
  <ParamField name="id" type="string" required>User ID</ParamField>
  <ResponseField name="email" type="string">User's email</ResponseField>
</Api>

Or import directly from OpenAPI/Swagger:

stardust openapi openapi.yaml -o docs/api

Full-Text Search

Search is built-in and works offline. Powered by Pagefind.

• Press / or Cmd+K to search
• No external services or API keys required
• Works entirely client-side

Dark Mode

Automatic dark mode that respects system preferences. Or let users toggle manually.

SEO Ready

• Automatic sitemap.xml generation
• Configurable robots.txt
• Open Graph and Twitter Card meta tags
• Clean, semantic HTML output

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Configuration

Create a stardust.yaml in your project root:

name: My Project
description: Documentation for My Project
url: https://docs.myproject.com

nav:
  - label: Guide
    href: /
  - label: API
    href: /api
  - label: GitHub
    href: https://github.com/myorg/myproject
    external: true

sidebar:
  - group: Getting Started
    pages:
      - index
      - installation
      - quickstart

theme:
  colors:
    primary: "#6366f1"
  darkMode:
    enabled: true
    default: system

search:
  enabled: true
  placeholder: "Search docs..."
  hotkey: "/"

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Commands

Command	Description
stardust init [dir]	Create a new documentation project
stardust dev	Start dev server with hot reload
stardust build	Build static site for production
stardust openapi <spec>	Generate docs from OpenAPI spec

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Deployment

Stardust generates a static site in dist/. Deploy anywhere static files are served.

GitHub Pages (recommended)

Use GitHub Actions to build and deploy automatically:

# .github/workflows/deploy.yml
- run: curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nexlabstudio/stardust/dev/install.sh | bash
- run: stardust build
- uses: peaceiris/actions-gh-pages@v3
  with:
    github_token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
    publish_dir: ./dist

Vercel / Netlify / Cloudflare Pages

These platforms don't have Stardust pre-installed. Two options:

Option 1: Build with GitHub Actions, deploy output

Build in CI, then deploy the dist/ folder. Set your platform to serve from the build output.

Option 2: Install during build

# Build command (Vercel/Netlify/Cloudflare)
curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nexlabstudio/stardust/dev/install.sh | bash && stardust build

# Output directory
dist

Any Static Host

Just upload the dist/ folder to any web server, CDN, or object storage (S3, GCS, etc.).

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Comparison

Feature	Stardust	docs.page	Mintlify	Starlight	Docusaurus	VitePress	GitBook
No Node.js required	✅	✅	❌	❌	❌	❌	✅
Zero config	✅	✅	✅	❌	❌	❌	✅
Self-hosted	✅	❌	❌	✅	✅	✅	❌
Free & open source	✅	✅	❌	✅	✅	✅	Freemium
JSX-style components	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	❌
Built-in search	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
OpenAPI/Swagger import	✅	❌	✅	Plugin	Plugin	Plugin	✅
Dark mode	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
SEO (sitemap, meta tags)	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
Edit on GitHub	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	❌
i18n / Multi-language	🚧	❌	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
Versioning	🚧	❌	✅	❌	✅	❌	✅
API documentation	✅	✅	✅	Plugin	Plugin	Plugin	✅
LLM-friendly output	✅	❌	❌	❌	❌	❌	❌
Mermaid diagrams	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
Dart/Flutter focus	✅	✅	❌	❌	❌	❌	❌

✅ = Built-in | 🚧 = Coming soon | Plugin = Requires plugin/addon | ❌ = Not available

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Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please read our contributing guidelines before submitting a PR.

# Clone the repo
git clone https://github.com/nexlabstudio/stardust.git
cd stardust

# Install dependencies
dart pub get

# Run tests
dart test

# Run locally
dart run bin/stardust.dart --help

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License

Apache-2.0 — See LICENSE for details.

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Built with Dart. Made for developers who value simplicity.