Binary Download

Docula publishes standalone binaries — a single executable file containing both Node.js and docula itself — for Linux, macOS (x64 and arm64), and Windows. Binaries are produced by the build-binaries GitHub Actions workflow and attached to each release.

Use a binary when you want to run docula without installing Node.js or pnpm/npm — for example, on a minimal CI image or a machine where you can't add a global npm dependency.

Table of Contents

• Download
• JSON Config Only
  • Example
• Using JSON Outside the Binary
• When to Use Which

Download

Grab the artifact matching your platform from the latest release:

On macOS and Linux, mark the file as executable after downloading:

chmod +x docula-linux-x64
./docula-linux-x64 version

JSON Config Only

The standalone binary loads configuration from docula.config.json only. TypeScript (.ts) and ESM JavaScript (.mjs) config files are not supported when running the binary; if one is present and no docula.config.json exists, the binary exits with an error explaining the limitation.

This restriction is intentional. Node.js's single-executable-application runtime can't dynamic-import file URLs, which is how .ts and .mjs configs are loaded under regular Node. Rather than ship a fragile transpiler inside the binary, the SEA path only reads JSON — which is data, not code.

The practical consequence: no lifecycle hooks (onPrepare, etc.) in the binary. JSON can't carry functions. If you need onPrepare, run docula from Node.js with a .ts or .mjs config instead.

Example

docula.config.json at the root of your site directory:

{
  "githubPath": "your-username/your-repo",
  "siteTitle": "My Project",
  "siteDescription": "Project description",
  "siteUrl": "https://your-site.com",
  "themeMode": "light",
  "template": "modern"
}

The top-level object is the options bag — the same shape as the options export in a .ts/.mjs config. Every field documented on the Configuration page is supported, except for the function fields like onPrepare.

Then build:

./docula-linux-x64 build -s ./site -o ./dist

Using JSON Outside the Binary

docula.config.json is supported under regular Node too. It's checked after docula.config.ts and docula.config.mjs, so if you have both a .ts and a .json file in the same site directory, the .ts config wins.

This means you can author one docula.config.json and use it from both:

• The standalone binary (only .json is read)
• A Node-installed docula (.ts/.mjs take priority if present, otherwise .json is used)

When to Use Which