About ShipDocs
ShipDocs documents private codebases and keeps the documentation current. You connect GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, a ZIP or the CLI, and it encrypts and indexes the code, then produces nine documentation modules per repository, such as backend, frontend, workers and CLI, plus an architecture diagram. Documentation stays in sync when code is pushed.
An AI chat answers questions about the codebase and cites real file paths and line context rather than inventing APIs, and structured documentation and a graph are served to Cursor and Claude over MCP. Source is encrypted with AES-256-GCM using a unique key per project, AI endpoints retain nothing, the code is not used for training, and projects can be deleted with a hard purge after a 90-day retention. Teammates can be invited with plan-based seats, and the Markdown can be exported. A 3-day free trial of the Advanced plan is offered.
Key features
- Documentation generated from private repos
- Cited AI chat with file paths
- Architecture diagram generation
- MCP context for Cursor and Claude
- Auto-sync when code changes
- AES-256-GCM encryption per project
Good fit for
- Onboarding new engineers to a monorepo
- Keeping documentation from going stale
ShipDocs: questions and answers
- What is ShipDocs used for?
- ShipDocs is an AI documentation tool that connects to private repos, generates docs and architecture diagrams, answers with file citations and serves context over MCP. It is a good fit for onboarding new engineers to a monorepo and keeping documentation from going stale.
- How much does ShipDocs cost?
- Paid plans for ShipDocs start at $29 per month, and there is no free plan. A free trial is available.
- Is ShipDocs open source?
- No. ShipDocs is proprietary (closed-source) software and can't be self-hosted. In the Docs & Wikis category, open-source options include Quarkdown, LLM Wiki Compiler and CodeAlmanac.
- What are some alternatives to ShipDocs?
- ShipDocs competes with Mintlify, Swimm and GitBook.
Open-source alternatives to ShipDocs
See all
Quarkdown
Docs & Wikis
πͺ Markdown with superpowers: from ideas to papers, presentations, websites, books, and kn
GPL-3.0vs HelpNDocβ 16k
LLM Wiki Compiler
Docs & Wikis
The knowledge compiler. Raw sources in, interlinked wiki out. Inspired by Karpathy's LLM W
MITβ 2.2k
CodeAlmanac
Docs & Wikis
A codebase wiki for AI coding agents. Captures what the code can't say: decisions, flows,
Apache-2.0vs Swimmβ 998
RedPen
Docs & Wikis
RedPen is an open source proofreading tool to check if your technical documents meet the w
Apache-2.0vs ProWritingAidβ 604
Outline
Docs & Wikis
The fastest knowledge base for growing teams. Beautiful, realtime collaborative, feature p
OSSvs Confluenceβ 41k
Wiki.js
Docs & Wikis
Wiki.js | Next Generation Open Source Wiki
AGPL-3.0vs Confluenceβ 29k
SaaS alternatives to ShipDocs
See all
Mintlify
Docs & Wikis
Developer documentation platform with API reference pages and AI search
SaaS
Swimm
Docs & Wikis
Code documentation that stays linked to the source it describes
SaaS
GitBook
Docs & Wikis
GitBook is a documentation and knowledge platform that keeps product docs accurate for people and AI, with docs-as-code support and an MCP server.
SaaS
ReadMe
API Tools
Hosted API documentation and developer hub with usage analytics
SaaS
Archbee
Docs & Wikis
Documentation platform for product and API docs with a block editor
SaaS
Dewstack
Docs & Wikis
AI-first documentation platform with built-in MCP, reader Q&A, translation and content import
SaaS

