@storybook/addon-docs

What is @storybook/addon-docs?

The @storybook/addon-docs package is a Storybook addon that allows developers to write documentation alongside their stories. It uses MDX (Markdown with JSX) to let you document components in a rich, interactive way. It can generate documentation automatically based on your stories and supports a wide range of component frameworks.

What are @storybook/addon-docs's main functionalities?

MDX Documentation

Allows writing documentation using MDX, which can include both Markdown and JSX. You can define metadata, write narrative documentation, and showcase live examples and prop tables.

import { Meta, Story, ArgsTable, Canvas } from '@storybook/addon-docs/blocks';

<Meta title='MyComponent' />

# MyComponent

This is a **custom documentation** for `MyComponent`.

<Canvas>
  <Story name='Basic' args={{ label: 'Hello World' }}>
    {args => <MyComponent {...args} />}
  </Story>
</Canvas>

<ArgsTable story='Basic' />

Automatic Props Table

Generates a table of the component's props automatically. This table includes the prop names, types, default values, and descriptions if they are specified in the component's propTypes or TypeScript definitions.

import { Meta, Story, ArgsTable } from '@storybook/addon-docs/blocks';

<Meta title='MyComponent' />

<Story name='Basic'>
  <MyComponent />
</Story>

<ArgsTable of={MyComponent} />

Embedding Stories

Allows embedding live Storybook stories within the documentation. This provides an interactive example of the component in use.

import { Meta, Story } from '@storybook/addon-docs/blocks';

<Meta title='MyComponent' />

<Story name='Basic'>
  <MyComponent />
</Story>

Other packages similar to @storybook/addon-docs

react-styleguidist

React Styleguidist is a component development environment with a living style guide. It allows developers to document components with Markdown and showcase usage examples. It differs from @storybook/addon-docs in that it is a standalone tool rather than an addon to Storybook, and it focuses more on the style guide aspect.

docz

Docz leverages MDX to allow developers to write documentation and demos for their components. It is similar to @storybook/addon-docs in its use of MDX, but it is a standalone documentation tool that provides its own UI and does not require Storybook.

docusaurus

Docusaurus is a static site generator that can be used to create documentation websites. It supports Markdown and MDX and can be used to document React components, but it is not specifically tied to component stories like @storybook/addon-docs. It is more general-purpose and can be used for a wide range of documentation needs.

README

Storybook Docs

Storybook Docs transforms your Storybook stories into world-class component documentation.

DocsPage. Out of the box, all your stories get a DocsPage. DocsPage is a zero-config aggregation of your component stories, text descriptions, docgen comments, props tables, and code examples into simple, easy-to-read pages.

MDX. If you want more control, MDX allows you to write long-form markdown documentation and stories in one file. You can also use it to write pure documentation pages and embed them inside your Storybook alongside your stories.

Just like Storybook, Docs supports every major view layer including React, Vue, Angular, HTML, Web components, Svelte, and many more.

Read on to learn more:

• DocsPage
• MDX
• Framework support
• Installation
• Preset options
• Manual configuration
• TypeScript configuration
• More resources

DocsPage

When you install Docs, every story gets a DocsPage. DocsPage pulls information from your stories, components, source code, and story metadata to construct a sensible, zero-config default.

Click on the Docs tab to see it:

For more information on how it works, see the DocsPage reference.

MDX

MDX is a syntax for writing long-form documentation and stories side-by-side in the same file. In contrast to DocsPage, which provides smart documentation out of the box, MDX gives you full control over your component documentation.

Here's an example file:

import { Meta, Story, Preview } from '@storybook/addon-docs/blocks';
import { Checkbox } from './Checkbox';

<Meta title="MDX|Checkbox" component={Checkbox} />

# Checkbox

With `MDX` we can define a story for `Checkbox` right in the middle of our
markdown documentation.

<Preview>
  <Story name="all checkboxes">
    <form>
      <Checkbox id="Unchecked" label="Unchecked" />
      <Checkbox id="Checked" label="Checked" checked />
      <Checkbox appearance="secondary" id="second" label="Secondary" checked />
    </form>
  </Story>
</Preview>

And here's how that's rendered in Storybook:

For more information on MDX, see the MDX reference.

Framework support

Storybook Docs supports all view layers that Storybook supports except for React Native (currently). There are some view-layer specific features as well. This chart captures the current state of support

	React	Vue	Angular	HTML	Svelte	Polymer	Marko	Mithril	Riot	Ember	Preact
MDX stories	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+
CSF stories	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+
StoriesOf stories	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+
Source	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+
Notes / Info	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+
Props table	+	#	#
Docgen	+	#	#
Inline stories	+	#

Note: # = WIP support

Installation

First add the package. Make sure that the versions for your @storybook/* packages match:

yarn add -D @storybook/addon-docs

Docs has peer dependencies on react and babel-loader. If you want to write stories in MDX, you may need to add these dependencies as well:

yarn add -D react babel-loader

Then add the following to your .storybook/presets.js exports:

module.exports = ['@storybook/addon-docs/react/preset'];

If you're not using react, replace it with your framework of choice corresponding to the Storybook package name, e.g. angular for @storybook/angular etc.

Configure. If you're migrating from an earlier version of Storybook and want to use MDX, you need to upgrade your Storybook config:

import { configure } from '@storybook/react';

configure(require.context('../src', true, /\.stories\.(js|mdx)$/), module);

For more information on the new configure, see "Loading stories" in the Storybook documentation.

Preset options

The addon-docs preset has a few configuration options that can be used to configure its babel/webpack loading behavior. Here's an example of how to use the preset with options:

module.exports = [
  {
    name: '@storybook/addon-docs/react/preset',
    options: {
      configureJSX: true,
      babelOptions: {},
      sourceLoaderOptions: null,
    },
  },
];

The configureJsx option is useful when you're writing your docs in MDX and your project's babel config isn't already set up to handle JSX files. babelOptions is a way to further configure the babel processor when you're using configureJSX.

sourceLoaderOptions is an object for configuring @storybook/source-loader. When set to null it tells docs not to run the source-loader at all, which can be used as an optimization, or if you're already using source-loader in your webpack.config.js.

Manual configuration

If you don't want to use the preset, and prefer to configure "the long way", first register the addon in .storybook/addons.js:

import '@storybook/addon-docs/register';

Then configure Storybook's webpack loader in .storybook/webpack.config.js to understand MDX story files and annotate TS/JS story files with source code using source-loader:

const createCompiler = require('@storybook/addon-docs/mdx-compiler-plugin');

module.exports = async ({ config }) => {
  config.module.rules.push({
    test: /\.(stories|story)\.mdx$/,
    use: [
      {
        loader: 'babel-loader',
        // may or may not need this line depending on your app's setup
        options: {
          plugins: ['@babel/plugin-transform-react-jsx'],
        },
      },
      {
        loader: '@mdx-js/loader',
        options: {
          compilers: [createCompiler({})],
        },
      },
    ],
  });
  config.module.rules.push({
    test: /\.(stories|story)\.[tj]sx?$/,
    loader: require.resolve('@storybook/source-loader'),
    exclude: [/node_modules/],
    enforce: 'pre',
  });
  return config;
};

Finally, you'll need to set up DocsPage in .storybook/config.js:

import { addParameters } from '@storybook/react';
import { DocsPage, DocsContainer } from '@storybook/addon-docs/blocks';

addParameters({
  docs: {
    container: DocsContainer,
    page: DocsPage,
  },
});

TypeScript configuration

SB Docs for React uses babel-plugin-react-docgen to extract Docgen comments from your code automatically. However, if you're using TypeScript, some extra configuration maybe required to get this information included in your docs.

1. You can add react-docgen-typescript-loader to your project by following the instructions there.
2. You can use @storybook/preset-typescript which includes react-docgen-typescript-loader.

Install the preset with care. If you've already configured Typescript manually, that configuration may conflict with the preset. You can debug your final webpack configuration with --debug-webpack.

More resources

Want to learn more? Here are some more articles on Storybook Docs:

• References: DocsPage / MDX / FAQ / Recipes / Theming
• Vision: Storybook Docs sneak peak
• Announcement: DocsPage
• Example: Storybook Design System
• Technical preview guide