One-Click Publish
When your documentation is ready, click Publish to build and deploy your site. Docsio handles the entire pipeline -- building a production-optimized Docusaurus site and deploying it to a live URL.
How to Publish
- Open your project in the editor
- Navigate to the Publish page (accessible from the editor toolbar)
- Click Publish Now
That is it. The build starts immediately and your site will be live within a few minutes.
What Happens During a Build
The publish process runs through these steps:
1. Sandbox Boot
A dedicated build sandbox is created. This is separate from your editing sandbox to avoid interrupting your work.
2. Template Hydration
Your project configuration, branding, and theme settings are applied to the Docusaurus template. This includes:
- Navbar configuration (logo, links, CTA buttons)
- Footer links and copyright
- CSS custom properties (colors, fonts, spacing)
- Color mode preference
- Favicon and metadata
3. Document Assembly
All your documentation pages are written into the correct category directories. Sidebars are generated based on your document structure, and a homepage is built that links to your documentation sections.
4. Search Index Generation
A JSON search index is generated containing every page title, path, and all headings (H1 through H4). This powers the built-in search on your published site.
5. Badge Injection (Free Plan)
For users on the Free plan, a small "Docs by Docsio" badge is added to the bottom-right corner of every page. This badge is not present for Pro plan users.
6. Docusaurus Build
A production build of the Docusaurus site is executed, generating fully static HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files optimized for performance.
7. Deploy to Netlify
The build output is packaged and deployed to Netlify. On first publish, a new Netlify site is created. On subsequent publishes, the existing site is updated.
Your Published URL
Every published site receives a Docsio subdomain:
https://yourproject.docs.docsio.co
The subdomain is based on your project slug. If you have a custom domain configured, your site is accessible at that domain instead.
Build Status
The Publish page displays the current build state:
| Status | Description |
|---|---|
| Idle | Ready to publish. No build in progress. |
| Building | Build is running. Status is polled every 3 seconds. |
| Completed | Build succeeded. Your live URL is displayed. |
| Failed | Build failed. The error message is shown for debugging. |
When a build completes successfully, the page displays your live URL with a link to view your published site.
Republishing
To update your published site after making changes, click Republish on the Publish page. The same URL is updated -- no new URL is created. Your visitors see the latest content as soon as the deploy finishes.
The first time you publish, it may take a few minutes for DNS and SSL to propagate before your site is accessible at the Docsio subdomain. Subsequent publishes take effect almost immediately.
Free vs. Pro
| Feature | Free | Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Publishing | Included | Included |
| Docsio subdomain | Included | Included |
| "Docs by Docsio" badge | Visible | Removed |
| Custom domain | Not available | Available |