---
name: "gendoc"
section: "1"
platform: "linux"
package: "python-gendoc"
version: "0.73-11"
release: "Debian 4.0 (Etch)"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/gendoc"
---

# gendoc(1)

Documentation generation from Python source files

## NAME

gendoc - Documentation generation from Python source files

## SYNOPSIS

**gendoc** *\[-v\] \[-u\] \[-p\|-i\] \[-h head\] \[-f format\] \[key=value ...\] files ...*

## DESCRIPTION

This manual page documents briefly the **gendoc** command. This manual page was written for the Debian GNU/Linux distribution because the original program does not have a manual page.

**gendoc** scans one or several python modules for documentation strings. From the documentation strings, manual pages are generated in any of FrameMaker MIF, MML, HTML and ASCII formats.

Note that you can give multiple format options at once. It is a lot faster, since the the source files are only parsed/imported and traversed once.

Currently the following formatters are supported:

- **ASCII**

  Produce simple ascii text.

- **HTML**

  Produce a set of HTML files.

- **HTMLg**

  Same as above using Robin Friedrich's HTMLgen module.

- **MIF**

  FrameMaker's Maker Interchange Format.

- **MML**

  FrameMaker's Maker Markup Language.

## OPTIONS

- **-d dir**

  Save generated files in the \*dir\* directory.

- **-f format**

  Generate files using the formatter \*format\*.

- **-h head**

  Generate a head page with references to all generated pages (HTML only).

- **-p**

  Parse source files for docstrings (default).

- **-i**

  Import files for docstrings.

- **-u**

  Include private methods starting with single '\_'.

- **-v**

  Verbose mode.

- **key=value**

  Pass formatter options. These options are used to send arguments to formatters. These definitions can be put in the environment as well. Currently only one such option is supported.

- **FRAME=yes**

  Generate top page as an HTML framed document.

## SEE ALSO

See */usr/doc/python-gendoc/* for more information.