--- name: "mdoc-assemble" section: "1" platform: "linux" package: "mono" version: "6.12.0.206-1" release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01" platforms: ["linux"] url: "https://new.carta.tech/mdoc-assemble" --- # mdoc-assemble(1) Compile documentation for use in monodoc(1) ## NAME mdoc assemble - Compile documentation for use in [**monodoc**(1)](/monodoc/1.md) ## SYNOPSIS **mdoc assemble** \[OPTIONS\]+ PATHS+ ## DESCRIPTION **mdoc assemble** creates *.tree* and *.zip* files from *PATHS* for use in the [**monodoc**(1)](/monodoc/1.md) documentation browser. The input files must have a supported *format*, specified with the *--format* option. The *.tree* and *.zip* files are copied into **monodoc**'s *sources* directory, alongside a *.source* file which is used by [**monodoc**(1)](/monodoc/1.md) to specify where the documentation should be displayed. The *.source* file has the following format: ``` ``` The */monodoc/node* node is an optional node that specifies where in the monodoc tree the documentation should be displayed, and *//node* elements may be nested to any depth to create trees. *//node/@label* is the label that will be displayed within the monodoc tree. *//node/@name* is the name of the monodoc tree node, and may be used as the value of the */monodoc/source/@path* value. *//node/@parent* is the node name to use as the parent node. *$MONO\_INSTALL\_PREFIX/lib/monodoc/monodoc.xml* contains a list of such names, and this can be any *//node/@name* value. If the *//node/@parent* value isn't found, then it's inserted under the "Various" tree node. The */monodoc/source/@provider* attribute specifies which format provider should be used when reading the *.tree* and *.zip* files; this *must* correspond to one of the *--format* values. The */monodoc/source/@basefile* attribute specifies the filename prefix for the documentation files. This must be the same prefix as used with the *--out* parameter. There should be *no* filename extension on this value. The */monodoc/source/@path* attribute specifies the parent node in [**monodoc**(1)](/monodoc/1.md)'s tree view where the documentation will be inserted. See the *$MONO\_INSTALL\_PREFIX/lib/monodoc/monodoc.xml* file for a list of *PATH* values (the *//node/@name* values), or it may be a *//node/@name* value in the same *.source* file. Once the *BASEFILE.source* has been written, the documentation can be installed so that [**monodoc**(1)](/monodoc/1.md) will display the documentation with the command: ``` cp BASEFILE.source BASEFILE.tree BASEFILE.zip \ `pkg-config monodoc --variable=sourcesdir` ``` ## OPTIONS - **-f**, **--format**=*FORMAT* Specifies the documentation format used within *PATHS*. Valid *FORMAT* values include: *ecma*, *ecmaspec*, *error*, *hb*, *man*, *simple*, and *xhtml*. See the *FORMATS* section below for more information about these formats. The default format (if none is specifed) is *ecma*. The *--format* option may be interleaved with *PATHS* to change the format used for the remaining parameters (until the next *--format* option is seen), e.g.: ``` mdoc assemble -o PREFIX A B --format=man C D --format=xhtml E ``` will assemble directories *A* and *B* with the *ecma* format, files *C* and *D* with the *man* formt, and directory *E* with the *xhtml* format. - **-o**, **--out**=*PREFIX* Specify the output file prefix. **mdoc assemble** creates the files *PREFIX.zip* and *PREFIX.tree*. - **-h**, **-?**, **--help** Display a help message and exit. ## FORMATS The following documentation formats are supported: ### ecma The *Mono ECMA Documentation Format*, an XML documentation format with one file per type. See the [**mdoc**(5)](/mdoc/5.md) man page for more information. ### ecmaspec The *Mono ECMA Specification Documentation Format*. This is not the format you're looking for; it is the format used to represent the ECMA-334 (C#) standard within [**monodoc**(1)](/monodoc/1.md). It is not used to display class library documentation; for class library documentation, use the **ecma** format. ### error The *Error Documentation Format* is used to present detailed error messages, and is used in [**monodoc**(1)](/monodoc/1.md)'s "C# Compiler Error Reference" tree. In this format, *PATHS* is a configuration file, containing the XML: ``` ../../mcs/errors cs????*.cs 2 4 CS{0:0###} ``` The elements mean: - */ErrorProviderConfig/FilesPath* Specifies where to look for files. - */ErrorProviderConfig/Match* Specifies the filename pattern to look for within the */ErrorProviderConfig/FilesPath* directory. - */ErrorProviderConfig/ErrorNumSubstringStart* Specifies where within the filename the error number starts. - */ErrorProviderConfig/ErrorNumSubstringLength* Specifies how many characters after */ErrorProviderConfig/ErrorNumSubstringStart* to use for the error number. - */ErrorProviderConfig/FriendlyFormatString* Specifies the formatting/display of the node in the [**monodoc**(1)](/monodoc/1.md) tree. For each file found, it is converted to HTML with C# syntax coloring applied. ### simple The *Simple Documentation Format* file format recursively adds all files and directories underneath *PATHS*. When displayed, HTML files are displayed as-is. Text files are converted into HTML by translating each newline into an HTML *\* element. No other file type is supported. ### man The *Man Page Documentation Format* displays groff man pages. (This is *not* a full groff parser, and only handles the man page constructs used within the mono man pages.) *PATHS* is a set of XML files containing: ``` ``` There may be multiple *//manpage* elements within the root */manpage* element. The */manpages/manpage/@name* attribute contains the display name for the tree view node, which is also the URL of the man page when using [**monodoc**(1)](/monodoc/1.md)'s *Lookup URL* command (before prefixing with a *man:* prefix). Thus, if */manpages/manpage/@name* contains *[mono(1)](/mono/1.md)*, then *man:[mono(1)](/mono/1.md)* can be used in the *Lookup URL* command to view the *[mono(1)](/mono/1.md)* man page. The */manpages/manpage/@page* attribute is the filename that contains the man page. If this file does not exist, then */manpages/manpage/@name* will not be displayed within the tree view. ### xhtml The XHTML provider interprets *PATHS* as a Windows Help file XHTML TOC file and looks for referenced documents to create the help source. ## SEE ALSO [**mdoc**(1)](/mdoc/1.md), [**mdoc**(5)](/mdoc/5.md), [**monodoc**(1)](/monodoc/1.md) ## MAILING LISTS - Visit http://lists.ximian.com/mailman/listinfo/mono-docs-list for details. ## WEB SITE See also: http://www.mono-project.com/docs/tools+libraries/tools/mdoc/