Documentation sites and Kitchen Sink (forge-autodoc)

This tutorial explains how static documentation in this ecosystem is built from Markdown using Kitchen Sink (KS) layouts and the forge-autodoc (forge_autodoc) package, without mixing that up with marketing / product pages on the same site.

Two layers: handbook docs vs product HTML

Handbook HTML shares typography and components with the Blueprints engineering framework site so methodology content feels consistent across hosts.

Where forge-autodoc lives

forge-autodoc is a Python package shipped inside the forgesdlc-kitchensink repository at forge-autodoc/. Consumer repos add kitchensink/ as a git submodule; they import from kitchensink/forge-autodoc (there is no separate forge-autodoc submodule).

The build pipeline converts Markdown to HTML, applies the same body transforms as other handbook builds (including diagram fences supported by KS transforms), then calls assemble_handbook_page, which renders the full document with KS handbook_page from components/layouts.py.

This site: tutorials under /tutorials/

On forgesdlc.com, tutorial sources live in the repo at tutorials/. The product site generator runs a dedicated phase:

• Config: generator/tutorials-handbook.yaml — points content_root at ../tutorials, output_dir at ../website/tutorials, and kitchensink at ../kitchensink.
• Implementation: generator/build_tutorials.py loads the YAML and calls forge_autodoc.simple_build.run_simple_build.

Full site build: from the forgesdlc repo root, python3 generator/build-site.py runs the tutorials phase and the rest of the site (knowledge, content map, blog, etc.).

Relative links: In tutorial Markdown, link to sibling pages with .md paths (for example [Getting started](getting-started.md)). The handbook build rewrites those to the generated .html files.

Blueprints handbook site (blueprints.forgesdlc.com)

The blueprints-website repo uses the same forge_autodoc APIs but a different driver: generator/build-handbook.py. It:

• Reads Markdown from the blueprints/ submodule under many areas (disciplines, sdlc, pdlc, …).
• Emits flat, area-prefixed HTML filenames (for example sdlc--index.html).
• Runs inject-portal-nav.py for the top navigation bar.

So: one design system (KS + forge-autodoc), two site-specific generators (forgesdlc product + tutorials vs blueprints handbook).

Kitchen Sink showcase (reference)

The kitchensink repo also ships generator/build-showcase.py, which builds the showcase mini-site (component gallery, layout previews). That is the reference for calling showcase_page and related layouts. Handbook and product marketing pages often set has_mermaid=False and use static diagram patterns where appropriate; see the showcase and layout docs in kitchensink for details.

CLI-only handbook build

You can build a handbook tree anywhere without the full forgesdlc generator:

cd kitchensink/forge-autodoc
pip install -e .
python3 -m forge_autodoc build --kitchensink .. --content /path/to/markdown --out /path/to/out --handbook-name "My handbook"

Or use a YAML file — see forge-autodoc/examples/handbook.example.yaml in the kitchensink repo.

Related tutorials

• Getting started with Forge SDLC — operating model and first steps
• Terminology and lifecycle — links to naming and phase maps on this site
• Google ADK and Forge Versonas — optional ADK vs Versonas orientation

For methodology overviews and the knowledge base, use the Forge SDLC site home.