Top 10 Open Source Alternatives to Craft for Design Documentation in 2025

As the demand for comprehensive and collaborative design documentation tools continues to grow, 2025 has seen an emergence of powerful open-source alternatives to Craft. Whether you are looking for advanced customization, better integration, or robust version control, this article explores the top 10 open-source alternatives to Craft for design documentation, comparing them on key data points such as features, use cases, and collaboration capabilities.

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1. GitBook

Features: GitHub integration, visual customization, advanced version control, supports Markdown.
Use Case: Ideal for creating and managing documentation for software projects, APIs, and internal knowledge bases.
Collaboration: Supports team collaboration through shared workspaces and version control.
Customization: Offers customizable themes and layouts.
Hosting: Can be hosted on their platform or self-hosted.
Learn more about GitBook

2. BookStack

Features: Intuitive interface, granular permissions, content organization into books, chapters, and pages.
Use Case: Suited for internal documentation, employee knowledge bases, and training manuals.
Self-Hosted: Designed for self-hosting, providing full control over your documentation platform.
User-Friendly: Easy for non-technical users to manage and navigate.
Permissions: Granular permission settings for content management.
Discover BookStack

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3. Read the Docs

Features: Automatic building of documentation from code repositories, version control support, search functionality, multiple output formats.
Use Case: Best for documenting open-source software projects.
Integration: Integrates seamlessly with Git repositories (GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket).
Free: Provides free hosting for open-source projects.
Formats: Supports multiple output formats, including HTML and PDF.
Explore Read the Docs

4. Docusaurus

Features: Built on React, extensive plugin system, easy to use, supports Markdown, versioning.
Use Case: Ideal for creating product documentation, API references, and tutorials.
Customization: Highly customizable with themes and layouts.
Community: Large and active community support.
Hosting: Can be hosted on GitHub Pages or other static site hosting platforms.
Learn more about Docusaurus

5. MkDocs

Features: Simple setup, supports Markdown, extensive theming options, plugin system, search functionality.
Use Case: Best for project documentation and technical writing.
Ease of Use: User-friendly interface, ideal for both technical and non-technical users.
Flexibility: Offers a high degree of flexibility in terms of styling and customization.
Open Source: Free and open-source, with a variety of themes and plugins available.
Explore MkDocs

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6. Docsify

Features: Dynamic content generation, simple setup, supports Markdown, plugin system, hosted on Github Pages.
Use Case: Ideal for small to medium documentation projects that require quick setup.
Real Time Preview: Instant preview as you write the markdown.
Customization: Customizable themes.
Hosting: Easy to host documentation using Github pages.
Discover Docsify

7. Storybook

Features: Automatic documentation generation for UI components, supports various frameworks (React, Vue, Angular), interactive component previews, addon system for expanded functionality.
Use Case: Best for documenting design systems and UI component libraries.
Collaboration: Allows teams to review and sign off on new components.
Open-Source: Free to use and open-source.
Testing: Supports visual testing through add-ons.
Learn more about Storybook

8. Pattern Lab

Features: Based on Atomic Design principles, uses Handlebars or Twig markup, component categorization, documentation for each component.
Use Case: Suited for building custom design system management tools.
Organization: Automatic categorization of elements and display in a dashboard UI.
Inspection: Allows inspection of each component to view markup and HTML.
Customization: Excellent starting environment for customizing and extending.
Explore Pattern Lab

9. Sphinx

Features: Supports reStructuredText, automatic indexing and cross-referencing, multiple output formats.
Use Case: Best for creating comprehensive software documentation.
Formats: Outputs documentation in HTML, PDF, LaTeX and more.
Indexing: Automatic indexing and cross-referencing functionality.
Customization: Extensible with themes and plugins.
Discover Sphinx

10. Doxygen

Features: Produces documentation from source code, supports multiple languages (C++, C#, Java, etc.), online HTML and offline LaTeX documentation.
Use Case: Ideal for software developers seeking to create documentation directly from their source code.
Automation: Automates the generation of documentation.
Formats: Supports multiple output formats.
Consistency: Ensures consistency between code and documentation.
Learn more about Doxygen

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FAQ

1. What is GitBook?

GitBook is a versatile open-source platform suitable for internal documentation, customer knowledge bases, and personal note-taking. It excels in centralizing documentation and supports Markdown. Learn more about GitBook

2. How does BookStack work?

BookStack is a wiki-style documentation tool offering a user-friendly, self-hosted solution with intuitive navigation and granular permissions. Explore BookStack

3. What is Read the Docs used for?

Read the Docs is a free tool for software documentation, widely used for open-source project documentation, and integrates well with code repositories. Discover Read the Docs

4. What are the features of Docusaurus?

Docusaurus is an open-source static site generator built on React, designed for creating documentation websites and supporting extensive customization. Explore Docusaurus

5. Who should use MkDocs?

MkDocs is a static site generator specifically for building project documentation. It is user-friendly, flexible, and supports extensive theming options. Learn more about MkDocs

6. How is Docsify different?

Docsify is a lightweight, dynamic documentation generator that creates documentation websites on the fly using Markdown files and supports instant preview as you write. Explore Docsify

7. What is Storybook suitable for?

Storybook is a UI development environment and documentation tool for component libraries, offering interactive component previews and automatic documentation generation. Discover Storybook

8. What does Pattern Lab offer?

Pattern Lab is an open-source front-end environment based on Atomic Design principles, used for building, viewing, testing, and showcasing design system UI components. Learn more about Pattern Lab

9. What formats does Sphinx support?

Sphinx is a free project documentation tool that supports creating documentation in various formats, such as HTML, PDF, and LaTeX. Explore Sphinx

10. How does Doxygen automate documentation?

Doxygen is an open-source documentation tool that automates the generation of documentation directly from source code annotations and supports multiple languages and output formats. Discover Doxygen

References

About the Author

Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.

Violetta is a true multiple specialist who has built expertise in Linguistics, Education, Business Management, Blockchain, Entrepreneurship, Intellectual Property, Game Design, AI, SEO, Digital Marketing, cyber security and zero code automations. Her extensive educational journey includes a Master of Arts in Linguistics and Education, an Advanced Master in Linguistics from Belgium (2006-2007), an MBA from Blekinge Institute of Technology in Sweden (2006-2008), and an Erasmus Mundus joint program European Master of Higher Education from universities in Norway, Finland, and Portugal (2009).

She is the founder of Fe/male Switch, a startup game that encourages women to enter STEM fields, and also leads CADChain, and multiple other projects like the Directory of 1,000 Startup Cities with a proprietary MeanCEO Index that ranks cities for female entrepreneurs. Violetta created the "gamepreneurship" methodology, which forms the scientific basis of her startup game. She also builds a lot of SEO tools for startups. Her achievements include being named one of the top 100 women in Europe by EU Startups in 2022 and being nominated for Impact Person of the year at the Dutch Blockchain Week. She is an author with Sifted and a speaker at different Universities. Recently she published a book on Startup Idea Validation the right way: from zero to first customers and beyond and launched a Directory of 1,500+ websites for startups to list themselves in order to gain traction and build backlinks.

For the past several years Violetta has been living between the Netherlands and Malta, while also regularly traveling to different destinations around the globe, usually due to her entrepreneurial activities. This has led her to start writing about different locations and amenities from the POV of an entrepreneur. Here’s her recent article about the best hotels in Italy to work from.

About the Publication

Fe/male Switch is an innovative startup platform designed to empower women entrepreneurs through an immersive, game-like experience. Founded in 2020 during the pandemic "without any funding and without any code," this non-profit initiative has evolved into a comprehensive educational tool for aspiring female entrepreneurs.The platform was co-founded by Violetta Shishkina-Bonenkamp, who serves as CEO and one of the lead authors of the Startup News branch.

Mission and Purpose

Fe/male Switch Foundation was created to address the gender gap in the tech and entrepreneurship space. The platform aims to skill-up future female tech leaders and empower them to create resilient and innovative tech startups through what they call "gamepreneurship". By putting players in a virtual startup village where they must survive and thrive, the startup game allows women to test their entrepreneurial abilities without financial risk.

Key Features

The platform offers a unique blend of news, resources,learning, networking, and practical application within a supportive, female-focused environment:

Skill Lab: Micro-modules covering essential startup skills
Virtual Startup Building: Create or join startups and tackle real-world challenges
AI Co-founder (PlayPal): Guides users through the startup process
SANDBOX: A testing environment for idea validation before launch
Wellness Integration: Virtual activities to balance work and self-care
Marketplace: Buy or sell expert sessions and tutorials

Impact and Growth

Since its inception, Fe/male Switch has shown impressive growth:

3,000+ female entrepreneurs in the community
100+ startup tools built
5,000+ pieces of articles and news written

Partnerships

Fe/male Switch has formed strategic partnerships to enhance its offerings. In January 2022, it teamed up with global website builder Tilda to provide free access to website building tools and mentorship services for Fe/male Switch participants.

Recognition

Fe/male Switch has received media attention for its innovative approach to closing the gender gap in tech entrepreneurship. The platform has been featured in various publications highlighting its unique "play to learn and earn" model.