Build minimal local web preview for generated docs

[AnkitParekh007]

---

title: "Build minimal local web preview for generated docs"
labels: ["good first issue", "frontend", "enhancement"]

Summary

Add a npm run preview command that serves generated Markdown files as a local web preview so developers can review their documentation in a browser before publishing to Docusaurus or GitBook.

Background

After running npm run generate, developers have Markdown files in output/. Currently they must either open the raw Markdown in an editor or push to a docs site to preview. A local preview server would close this gap.

This should be a minimal, dependency-light implementation. No React build step, no database, no auth. The target is a readable, functional preview — not a polished UI.

Approach Options

Option A: Serve Markdown as HTML (lightweight)

Use Node.js http module + a Markdown-to-HTML library (e.g., marked) to serve files in output/ as HTML pages. Add minimal CSS for readability.

Option B: Wrap an existing static site tool

Use npx serve or npx live-server pointed at the output/ directory. Simpler, but less custom.

Option C: Docusaurus local preview

If the user has Docusaurus installed, offer a preview --docusaurus flag that copies docs to their Docusaurus docs/ folder and runs npx docusaurus start.

The preferred approach is Option A for zero extra runtime dependencies.

Files to Touch

File	Change
src/cli/commands/preview.command.ts	Create — HTTP server for output/
src/cli/index.ts	Register preview command
package.json	Add "preview": "tsx src/cli/index.ts preview" script
README.md	Add npm run preview to CLI commands section
docs/USAGE.md	Document preview command

Acceptance Criteria

• npm run preview starts a local HTTP server (default: http://localhost:4000)
• Lists all output directories as a clickable index page
• Renders Markdown as readable HTML (tables, code blocks, headings work)
• --port flag to change the port
• --dir flag to preview a specific output directory
• No extra npm dependencies for the minimal version (use marked only if needed, or native string template)
• Graceful shutdown on Ctrl+C
• README updated
• docs/USAGE.md updated
• Screenshots added to the PR description

Difficulty

Medium — Node.js HTTP server + Markdown rendering. No complex UI work needed.

How to Get Started

git clone https://github.com/AnkitParekh007/devdocs-forge-agent.git
cd devdocs-forge-agent
npm install
npm run demo  # generate some output first
# Then implement the preview command
npm test

Questions? Comment before opening a PR. Include your chosen approach (A/B/C) in the comment.

[HirenGajjar]

Hi! I'd like to work on this issue. I'll go with Option A (Node.js http module + marked for Markdown rendering) as suggested in the description. Planning to implement preview.command.ts, register it in src/cli/index.ts, add the npm script, and update the docs.