Docsify Server Docker

A pre-built, multi-arch Docker image that serves your Markdown docs with the official docsify-cli. The image is rebuilt automatically whenever a new docsify-cli is released, so you always get an up-to-date server without installing anything locally.

Published to both registries:

• GHCR — ghcr.io/rockbenben/docsify-server
• Docker Hub — rockben/docsify-server

Features

• 📝 Effortless docs — write Markdown, mount it, and Docsify serves it with style.
• 🐳 Zero install — just pull the image; no Node.js or npm on the host.
• 🏗️ Multi-arch — built for linux/amd64 and linux/arm64 (Apple Silicon, Raspberry Pi, etc.).
• 🔄 Auto-update — a monthly GitHub Actions job checks npm for a new docsify-cli release and only rebuilds when there is one (or when triggered manually).
• 🚀 Zero-config first run — new to Docsify? Mount an empty folder and the container scaffolds a ready-to-edit starter site for you (see below), so you never hit a cryptic "No docs found" crash.
• 📴 Works offline — the scaffolded site bundles its assets (search, TOC, image zoom, word count) inside the image; no CDN required.
• 🩺 Health check — the container reports healthy once the server responds on port 3000.

Image tags

Tag	Meaning
latest	The newest build.
<x.y.z>	The latest build for a given docsify-cli version (e.g. 4.4.4) — handy for staying on one Docsify line.

The version tag mirrors the docsify-cli version bundled in that image, so docsify-server:4.4.4 ships docsify-cli@4.4.4.

Both latest and the version tag are rolling. A rebuild — whether a new docsify-cli release or a change to this repo's image — republishes the same tag with fresh contents. If you need a byte-for-byte reproducible deployment, pin by image digest instead, e.g. ghcr.io/rockbenben/docsify-server@sha256:….

Getting Started

Prerequisites

Docker installed on your machine.

Run with Docker Compose

Place your Markdown files in a local ./docs directory, then create docker-compose.yml:

services:
  docsify:
    container_name: docsify-server
    image: ghcr.io/rockbenben/docsify-server:latest
    volumes:
      - ./docs:/docs
    ports:
      - "8080:3000"
    restart: unless-stopped

Start it:

docker compose up -d

Run with a single command

# GHCR
docker run -d -p 8080:3000 -v "$(pwd)/docs:/docs" --name docsify-server ghcr.io/rockbenben/docsify-server:latest

# Docker Hub
docker run -d -p 8080:3000 -v "$(pwd)/docs:/docs" --name docsify-server rockben/docsify-server:latest

Then open http://localhost:8080.

The container serves whatever is mounted at /docs on port 3000; the examples map it to host port 8080.

First run & the starter site

Docsify needs an index.html entry point. To keep first-time use painless, the container inspects /docs on startup:

What you mount	What happens
Empty folder	A complete offline example site (index.html + bundled assets/ + a bilingual README.md) is scaffolded so you have a working, editable example immediately.
Markdown files, no index.html	An index.html + assets/ are added; your existing .md files are never overwritten.
Your own index.html	Left completely untouched — bring your own Docsify config and nothing is changed.

The scaffolded files are just a starter example to get you going and show the format — edit or replace them freely. Once an index.html exists in /docs, the container never touches your folder again (upgrading the image won't overwrite anything). If you ever want to regenerate the example, delete /docs/index.html and restart.

Turning it off

Set DOCSIFY_AUTO_INIT=false for strict behaviour — the container will not scaffold anything, and will exit with Docsify's usual message if no index.html is present:

docker run -d -p 8080:3000 -e DOCSIFY_AUTO_INIT=false -v "$(pwd)/docs:/docs" ghcr.io/rockbenben/docsify-server:latest

How the auto-update works

The docker.yml workflow runs on three triggers: a monthly schedule, a push to main that changes the image (Dockerfile, entrypoint, template, …), and manual dispatch. It has two jobs:

1. check — reads the latest docsify-cli version from npm and compares it with the last published image tag. It sets should_build=true when there is a newer version, or whenever the run is a push/manual dispatch (so changes to this repo's own image always publish). A scheduled run with no new docsify-cli version is skipped.
2. build — only runs when should_build=true; it builds the multi-arch image and pushes the version tag + latest to both GHCR and Docker Hub.

To force a rebuild at any time, trigger the workflow manually via Actions → Build and Push Docker Image → Run workflow.

Building locally

docker build -t docsify-server .
docker run -d -p 8080:3000 -v "$(pwd)/docs:/docs" docsify-server

The image is based on node:lts-alpine and installs docsify-cli@latest at build time.