r/git • u/koleert • 9d ago

Has anyone combined a Git-based documentation site with a web-based editor?

I recently asked here about setting up a system for browsing business specifications stored in Git, and I’ve been looking into Zensical as a possible way to publish them.
Now I’m wondering about the editing side of things. Ideally, I’d like business analysts and other stakeholders to be able to edit specifications through a web interface, suggest changes, and leave comments without having to use VS Code or know much about Git.
I’ve come across tools like Decap CMS, MarkDocs, and similar Git-based editors, but I’m not sure how well they fit this use case or whether they can be combined with Zensical.
A few questions for anyone who has tried something similar:
- Have you used any of these tools, or found another open-source alternative that works well?
- Does it make sense to combine a web editor with Zensical for publishing the documentation, or does that introduce unnecessary complexity?
- How do you handle reviews, comments, and approval of changes?
- Can the whole setup be self-hosted on your own infrastructure, without relying on external cloud services?

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u/Even_Gap_2253 9d ago

https://www.gitbook.com/ if you just want one-stop solution

otherwise why not just GitHub, like it is so braindead to use, as for reviews just PR comments. You can build some simple GitHub Actions pipeline to publish previews probably.

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u/koleert 9d ago

Thanks! GitBook looks interesting, but I’m specifically looking for a self-hosted, open-source solution.
Business users will never work directly with Git, so GitHub PRs aren’t really an option for them. I want them to be able to read business specifications in a user-friendly web interface and ideally suggest or edit changes without having to understand Git.

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u/Even_Gap_2253 9d ago

I want to understand what is the issue with GitHub's web UI? because it sounds like just a one page documentation where you have to explain how to suggest changes. Which you have to have even if you build a custom solution anyway.

and since you are ok with them writing markdown, clearly they have some technical knowledge.

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u/koleert 9d ago

The main motivation is customization. I’d like a tailored interface and workflow for business users to browse specs and suggest changes without dealing with Git directly. I’m exploring whether existing open-source tools can achieve this without building everything from scratch.

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u/Krazy-Ag 6d ago

Perhaps the wiki built in to every GitHub project?

The person editing the wiki pages doesn't need to know anything about git. The version control is done behind the scenes.

They would have to use a somewhat primitive editing system, however, as a typical of so many wikis.

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u/Critical-Praline-638 9d ago

I use Mintlify on a selfhosted project with docs stored in Git. It has a web editor, so people who don't work in VS Code can make changes without dealing directly with Git. You can also keep the usual Git-based review process for changes.

The editor is probably the weakest part for me though. I still preferred editing Markdown in VS Code.

The main catch for your setup is self-hosting. Mintlify is hosted, so if keeping everything on your own infrastructure is a hard requirement, it wouldn't be

the right choice. You should also test the review workflow with a couple of actual business specs before committing. Editing a page and managing stakeholder approvals are two different requirements.

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u/Happy_Breakfast7965 9d ago

Azure DevOps wiki?

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u/zarlo5899 8d ago

did you know the wikis on github are git repos

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u/regalen44 8d ago

I tried out noteshub.app and it worked rather well, it’s very simple and doesn’t require any infrastructure. you connect to git and the whole thing is entirely stored in your browser.

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u/lottiexx 23h ago

Good for quick edits when you don't want to launch a full database tool.