Netlify is an automated hosting platform for deploying static websites. With the aid of build tools such as Gradle, Netlify provides a smoother experience for previewing documentation. This can be done by using Netlify’s Deploy Previews feature, which shows a preview of the updated documentation whenever a pull request is made.

Setting up Netlify

  1. Fork the repository to your own organization.

  2. Go to https://www.netlify.com/ and click Sign Up. Next, click GITHUB SIGN IN, enter your GitHub account details and authorize netlify.

  3. After logging in, click New site from Git.

  4. You will then be brought to the setup page. Click GitHub to link your repository to Netlify.

    • Depending on whether you are the owner of the repository, you can either grant or request access to Netlify so that it can access your repository and build your documentation.

      Grant or request access

    • After granting or requesting access to your repository, click Authorize netlify.

  5. Pick your repository from the list.

  6. Fill out the details as follows and then click Deploy site.

    • Branch to deploy: select master branch

    • Build command: ./gradlew asciidoctor

      The build command is the command that builds the documentation into HTML format.

    • Publish directory: build/docs/html5

      The publish directory is the directory in which the built HTML documentation resides.

  7. Once Netlify has completed building your project, you can now:

    • View your main branch’s deployed documentation on the site name given by Netlify (customizable as shown below).

      Temporary site name

    • Preview the updated documentation whenever a pull request is made by clicking the Details hyperlink next to the Netlify test status.

      Netlify details link

Changing the site name of your project

If you don’t like the site name given by Netlify, you can change it as follows:

  1. Click on Settings.

  2. Then click Change site name and fill in your desired site name.

    Change site name