I am working to democratize the power of docs-as-code for non-developers.
Too many technical writers, project managers, paralegals, researchers, and educators are stuck with legacy document tools that limit their potential.
They know their content inside and out, but they’re locked out of the advanced workflows that developers take for granted: version control, automation, single-sourcing, and collaborative editing with Git.
Through several interconnected open source projects, I’m creating pathways for “tech-savvy non-programmers” to harness developer tools without becoming developers themselves:
- Ruby DocOps
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This project provides a Docker-containerized environment that eliminates the complexity of setting up development tools. Non-developers can run a single command (
docksh run) and instantly access Ruby, Git, Node.js, Python, Pandoc, and specialized documentation tools in a pre-configured shell environment. - Docs-as-Code School
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Structured education in modern technical documentation and document processing. Starting with “Deep Semantics” (Fall 2025?) and expanding to courses on version management, code-like workflow adoption, and legal document operations, this project uses docs-as-code to teach docs-as-code principles.
- AYL DocStack
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AsciiDoc. YAML. Liquid. A three-language approach to managing complex, multi-variant documentation. This “tech stack” maximizes power while minimizing syntax overhead, making advanced documentation techniques accessible to beginners while remaining powerful enough for enterprise needs.
- SchemaGraphy
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Extends YAML through SGYML and accompanying libraries, providing advanced data typing and document transclusion (
$refpointer) abilities. -
Provides a full-featured schema language that allows users to define complex data structures, document structures, and whole interfaces in a single, unified format.
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- Jekyll-AsciiDoc Extensions
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A set of Jekyll plugins and themes that enrich AsciiDoc web output.
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Themes:
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AsciiDocsy
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Just The AsciiDocs
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Plugins:
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Jekyll-OpenAPI integration
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aDocBook document converter
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25 UI extensions for AsciiDoc
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- ReleaseHx and Issuer
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Issue-ticket creation and release-history management tools that integrate with Jira, GitHub, and GitLab. Bulk-create work items from a single YAML file, then generate release notes and changelogs in AsciiDoc, Markdown, or HTML formats at release time.
The goal of all this is to create a “docs-as-code” ecosystem that empowers developers and non-developers alike to leverage the full power of modern documentation practices without needing to become full-fledged developers.
If you find this interesting, take a second to follow DocOPs Lab on GitHub and join the community on Zulip.