6 posts tagged with "Docusaurus"

Documentation is the first thing your users see. And the last thing teams polish.

Most Docusaurus sites look the same. Default theme. Default layout. Default typography. Nothing wrong with that — but nothing memorable either.

We built Nocturne because documentation deserves better.

The Problem​

Docusaurus is excellent. It's the most popular documentation framework for a reason.

But out of the box, every Docusaurus site looks identical.

• Same navbar
• Same sidebar
• Same typography
• Same colors

For a framework used by thousands of projects, that's a missed opportunity.

Your documentation should look like your product.

What We Built​

Nocturne is a premium Docusaurus theme with:

• Elegant design system — dark mode, high contrast, editorial layout
• Decap CMS pre-configured — edit content from a browser
• Pagefind search — instant search across all docs
• Full documentation sections — Getting Started, Configuration, Customization, Developer Guide

It's not a theme tweak. It's a complete production system.

Why Premium Matters​

Some teams ship documentation that looks like an afterthought.

But documentation is your product. It's what your users read first, reference daily, and judge you by.

Nocturne makes documentation look as professional as the product it describes.

• No more default Docusaurus look
• No more mismatched branding
• No more "we'll polish it later"

What You Get​

One payment. Own forever. No renewal.

Get Nocturne​

Ready to build documentation that lasts forever?

Get Nocturne on Gumroad — $145 →

Or explore the live demo first:

See Nocturne Demo →

Next Steps​

• Introduction — what is Nocturne
• Getting Started — install and run
• Architecture — how it works

Docusaurus is the most popular documentation framework. It's fast, flexible, and free.

Nocturne is a premium theme built on top of it.

Here's how they compare.

The Core Difference​

Design​

Default Docusaurus ships with the classic Docusaurus theme — clean, functional, familiar.

Nocturne ships with a premium editorial design — dark mode, high contrast, asymmetric grid.

Both are good. But they serve different purposes.

Choose default if you want the familiar Docusaurus look.

Choose Nocturne if you want your documentation to stand out.

CMS​

Default Docusaurus does not include a CMS. You edit Markdown files directly.

Nocturne includes Decap CMS — a browser-based editor at /admin/.

• Edit content without code
• Upload images
• Manage blog posts
• Your clients can do the same

Decap CMS is a game-changer for non-technical teams.

Search​

Default Docusaurus uses Algolia DocSearch — a hosted service.

Nocturne uses Pagefind — a client-side search that runs on your own infrastructure.

Pagefind wins on privacy and simplicity.

Pricing​

Default Docusaurus — free.

Nocturne — $145 one-time.

No subscription. No renewal. No license key.

Nocturne pays for itself in time saved on design and setup.

The Verdict​

Both are excellent. Nocturne is the premium path.

Get Nocturne​

Get Nocturne on Gumroad — $145 →

Nocturne outputs pure static HTML. That means you can host it for free on Cloudflare Pages.

Here's the full walkthrough.

Prerequisites​

• Nocturne installed locally
• A GitHub account
• A Cloudflare account (free)

Step 1 — Push to GitHub​

git init
git add .
git commit -m "initial commit"
git remote add origin https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/nocturne-docs.git
git push -u origin main

Step 2 — Test the Build​

npm run build

You should see:

[SUCCESS] Generated static files in "build".

Step 3 — Connect to Cloudflare Pages​

1. Go to pages.cloudflare.com
2. Click Create a project
3. Click Connect to Git
4. Authorize Cloudflare
5. Select your repository

Step 4 — Configure Build​

Step 5 — Deploy​

Click Save and Deploy.

After 1–2 minutes, your site is live at:

https://your-project.pages.dev

Step 6 — Custom Domain​

1. Project → Custom domains
2. Click Set up a domain
3. Enter your domain
4. Follow the DNS instructions

Automatic Rebuilds​

Every push to main triggers a new build:

git add .
git commit -m "Update docs"
git push

Cloudflare rebuilds automatically.

Get Nocturne​

Get Nocturne on Gumroad — $145 →

Decap CMS is a Git-based CMS. It gives you a browser-based editor for your Docusaurus site — no backend needed.

Here's how to add it.

Why Decap CMS?​

• Git-based — content lives in your repo
• No backend — no server to maintain
• Free — runs from a CDN
• Open source — no lock-in

Step 1 — Create the Admin Files​

Create two files:

static/admin/index.html
static/admin/config.yml

static/admin/index.html:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8" />
  <title>Content Manager</title>
</head>
<body>
  <script src="https://unpkg.com/decap-cms@^3.0.0/dist/decap-cms.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

static/admin/config.yml:

backend:
  name: proxy
  proxy_url: http://localhost:8081/api/v1
  branch: main

local_backend: true

media_folder: "static/img"
public_folder: "/img"

collections:
  - name: "blog"
    label: "Blog Posts"
    folder: "blog"
    create: true
    fields:
      - { label: "Title", name: "title", widget: "string" }
      - { label: "Body", name: "body", widget: "markdown" }

Step 2 — Run Locally​

Open two terminals:

Terminal 1:

npx decap-server

Terminal 2:

npm start

Open:

http://localhost:3000/admin/index.html

Step 3 — Log In​

Click Login. No password required in local mode.

Step 4 — Edit Content​

1. Click a collection
2. Click a file
3. Edit the fields
4. Click Save

What Nocturne Adds​

Nocturne ships with Decap CMS pre-configured for:

• Site settings
• Navbar & footer
• Sidebar widgets
• Homepage content
• Documentation
• Blog posts

No setup required.

Get Nocturne​

Get Nocturne on Gumroad — $145 →

Search is essential for documentation. But most search solutions require an external service.

Pagefind doesn't. It indexes your site at build time and serves search from static files.

Why Pagefind?​

Pagefind wins on privacy and simplicity.

Step 1 — Install​

npm install docusaurus-plugin-pagefind

Step 2 — Configure​

In docusaurus.config.ts:

plugins: [
  [
    'docusaurus-plugin-pagefind',
    {
      forceLanguage: 'en',
      excludeSelectors: ['.navbar', 'footer'],
    },
  ],
],

Step 3 — Build​

npm run build

Pagefind indexes your site during the build.

Step 4 — Test​

Search works only after a production build. Run:

npm run serve

Then test search in your browser.

Nocturne Includes Pagefind​

Nocturne ships with Pagefind pre-configured. No setup required.

Get Nocturne​

Get Nocturne on Gumroad — $145 →

GitBook is a hosted documentation platform. It's convenient — but it comes with monthly costs and vendor lock-in.

Docusaurus is the open-source alternative. You own everything.

Here's how to migrate.

Why Migrate​

Docusaurus saves you $96–$600 per year.

Step 1 — Export GitBook Content​

1. Open your GitBook space
2. Click Settings → Export
3. Choose Markdown
4. Download the .zip

Step 2 — Organize Content​

Move the Markdown files to your Docusaurus docs/ folder:

mkdir docs/
mv gitbook-export/*.md docs/

Step 3 — Fix Frontmatter​

GitBook uses --- frontmatter. Docusaurus does too. But some fields differ.

Most frontmatter carries over unchanged.

Step 4 — Add to Sidebar​

Edit sidebars.ts:

{
  type: 'category',
  label: 'Guides',
  items: [
    'getting-started',
    'advanced',
  ],
},

Step 5 — Deploy​

Push to GitHub, deploy to Cloudflare Pages.

See Deploy Nocturne → for details.

What About GitBook Features?​

Get Nocturne​

Get Nocturne on Gumroad — $145 →