Introduction
ShellDocs is the docs framework for .NET. Beautiful, animated, Cmd+K-searchable documentation sites, powered by Blazor and Tailwind. Compose with ShellUI (or any Blazor component library) : like fumadocs composes with shadcn/ui in the React world.
ShellDocs is at 0.1.1-alpha. The primitive surface is stable enough to build real docs sites : this site is built with ShellDocs itself. Expect small API polish through the 0.x.y-alpha window before 1.0.
Why ShellDocs exists
Every .NET UI library ends up hand-rolling its own docs site. MudBlazor, Radzen, AvaloniaUI : each spent months rebuilding a sidebar, a search box, a code block, a theme toggle. None of it was reusable.
ShellDocs is the "just use this" answer. Point it at a folder of markdown, get a working docs site : with the design polish React consumers have taken for granted since fumadocs shipped in 2023.
What you get
How it looks in practice
Author a page as plain markdown with frontmatter:
---
title: Button
description: A pressable UI element.
---
# Button
The `<Button>` component ships in three variants.
## Live example
```razor:preview
<Button Variant="primary">Click me</Button>
```
Drop inline components anywhere in prose:
<div data-shelldocs-slot="component" data-shelldocs-id="s782267e0b135"></div>
The whole thing renders : Callout with icon and variant styling, live Button component, syntax-highlighted code samples, working TOC : with zero JavaScript beyond what Blazor and Shiki need.
The three packages you'll touch most
| Prop | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
ShellDocs.CLI |
global tool |
— | `shelldocs init`, `add`, `dev`, `build`. Installed once, works from any directory. |
ShellDocs.Components |
Razor Class Library |
— | The chrome (layout, sidebar, search, header) and content primitives (Callout, Card, Steps, CodeGroup, TypeTable, more). |
ShellDocs.Tokens |
Razor Class Library |
— | Shared CSS variables : palette + spacing scale. shadcn-compatible names for interop with ShellUI and other design systems. |