autoscribe

AutoScribe Documentation Generator

AutoScribe is an AI-powered documentation generator that automatically creates comprehensive JSDoc/TSDoc comments for your JavaScript and TypeScript code using GPT 4.o.

Features

• Generates rich file-level and function-level documentation
• Processes individual files or entire directories recursively
• Supports JavaScript (.js), TypeScript (.ts), JSX (.jsx), and TSX (.tsx) files
• Maintains existing code structure while adding documentation
• Configurable through environment variables or command-line arguments
• Supports "dry-run" mode which outputs in terminal
• Handles various function types including:
  • Function declarations
  • Arrow functions
  • Class methods
  • Object methods

Prerequisites

• Node.js (version 14 or higher recommended)
• OpenAI API key
• NPM or Yarn package manager

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

git clone [https://github.com/adamchain/autoscribe.git]
cd [autoscribe]

2. Install dependencies:

npm install

3. Create a .env file in the project root:

OPENAI_API_KEY=your_api_key_here
OPENAI_MODEL=gpt-4o
OUTPUT_FORMAT=jsdoc
SUPPORTED_EXTENSIONS=.js,.jsx,.ts,.tsx
MAX_RETRIES=3
DRY_RUN=false

Usage

Basic Usage

node autoscribe.js <path> --api-key <your-api-key>

Command Line Options

• --dry-run: Generate documentation in terminal, without modifying files
• --api-key <key>: OpenAI API key (not required if key is in env)
• --recursive: Process directories recursively
• --model <model>: OpenAI model to use (default: gpt-4o)
• --format <format>: Documentation format (jsdoc|tsdoc)

Examples

Document a single file:

node autoscribe.js ./src/component.js

Document an entire directory recursively:

node autoscribe.js ./src --recursive

Preview documentation without making changes:

node autoscribe.js ./src/component.js --dry-run

Configuration

The tool can be configured through environment variables or command-line arguments:

Environment Variable	Description	Default
OPENAI_API_KEY	Your OpenAI API key	Required
OPENAI_MODEL	GPT model to use	gpt-4o
OUTPUT_FORMAT	Documentation format	jsdoc
SUPPORTED_EXTENSIONS	File extensions to process	.js,.jsx,.ts,.tsx
MAX_RETRIES	Maximum retry attempts	3
DRY_RUN	Preview mode	false

Generated Documentation Format

The tool generates comprehensive documentation including:

File-Level Documentation

• File purpose
• Main components/functions
• Important notes and dependencies

Function-Level Documentation

• Function description
• Parameter types and descriptions
• Return value type and description
• Exception documentation when applicable

Error Handling

• Retries failed API calls up to the configured maximum
• Validates generated documentation format
• Provides detailed error messages for troubleshooting
• Maintains original code if documentation generation fails

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

License

GPL-3.0 license

Acknowledgments

• OpenAI for the brain
• Babel for AST parsing

Support

For issues, questions, or contributions, please create an issue in the repository.