Install gtk-doc with Homebrew, apk, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, pacman, zypper

Project links

• Homepage
• Upstream docs
• Package manager page

Commands and aliases

• gtkdoc-check
• gtkdoc-depscan
• gtkdoc-fixxref
• gtkdoc-mkdb
• gtkdoc-mkhtml
• gtkdoc-mkhtml2
• gtkdoc-mkman
• gtkdoc-mkpdf
• gtkdoc-rebase
• gtkdoc-scan
• gtkdoc-scangobj
• gtkdocize

Project history

The GTK-Doc repository has a 'start' tag dated 1998-11-24 and a GTK_DOC_1_0 tag dated 2003-01-20. The GNOME source archive also lists gtk-doc-1.0 tarballs dated 2003-01-20, giving a fixed early release anchor.

The project README says GTK-Doc is used to document C code, typically the public API of libraries such as GLib-based libraries, but also application code. It also notes that GTK-Doc was not originally intended as a general-purpose documentation tool and points to Doxygen for that broader role.

The project evolved from a DocBook-oriented GNOME documentation pipeline into a Python/Meson-era maintenance tool. The NEWS file records Python 3-related changes, an experimental gtkdoc-mkhtml2 toolchain in 1.30, Python 3 requirements in 1.29, and the removal of Autotools as a way to build GTK-Doc itself in 1.36.0.

Adoption history

GTK-Doc was adopted across the GNOME C library ecosystem because it understands GObject-specific concepts that generic C documentation tools may not: signals, properties, object scanners, and conventions used by GTK widgets and GObject classes.

The archived GNOME GtkDoc page describes it as a tool for extracting API documentation from C code like Doxygen, with special support for GObject, and describes HTML output by default with PDF and man-page output possible with extra work. GNOME project pages and coding-practice material refer to GTK-Doc annotations as part of documenting public C APIs.

How it is used

A project using GTK-Doc writes documentation blocks in C comments, keeps section and symbol metadata, runs tools such as gtkdoc-scan, gtkdoc-scangobj, gtkdoc-mkdb, gtkdoc-mkhtml, gtkdoc-fixxref, gtkdoc-mkman, gtkdoc-mkpdf, and often integrates gtkdocize with Autotools-era projects or Meson build definitions.

The README describes generated HTML as browsable in a normal browser or in Devhelp. The manual/wiki workflow also explains the package's role in local developer environments: it is not just a documentation renderer, but a scanner and cross-reference pipeline used while building source distributions.

Why package nerds care

GTK-Doc is a classic build dependency that users may never run directly but packagers recognize instantly. Enabling API docs in a GNOME library can pull in GTK-Doc, DocBook DTDs, DocBook XSL stylesheets, libxml2/libxslt, Python modules, and sometimes PDF tooling such as dblatex.

Its long tail matters because old projects may still expect gtkdocize and Autotools integration, while the GTK-Doc project itself moved its own build to Meson. That split between being built with Meson and still supporting Autotools integration in downstream projects is package-maintainer lore.

Timeline

• 1998: GTK-Doc repository has a start tag.
• 2003: GTK-Doc 1.0 tag and GNOME source tarballs appeared.
• 2018: GTK-Doc 1.29 NEWS records Python 3 requirement changes.
• 2019: GTK-Doc 1.30 NEWS records Pygments use and an experimental gtkdoc-mkhtml2 toolchain.
• 2020: GTK-Doc 1.33.0 NEWS records reproducible-build and GTK action documentation support.
• 2026: GTK-Doc 1.36.0 NEWS records that GTK-Doc can no longer be built with Autotools, while Autotools integration files remain for downstream projects.

Related projects

• GTK, GLib, GObject, GNOME libraries, Devhelp, DocBook, libxml2, libxslt, Meson, and Autotools are the central related projects in GTK-Doc's package history.
• gi-docgen is the related GNOME documentation generator associated with GObject Introspection-era API reference publishing; archived GNOME pages describe efforts to generate documentation from introspection data as a successor direction for parts of the GTK-Doc role.

Sources

• https://download.gnome.org/sources/gtk-doc/1.0/
• https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/gtk-doc
• https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/gtk-doc/-/raw/master/NEWS
• https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/gtk-doc/-/raw/master/README.md
• https://gitlab.gnome.org/api/v4/projects/GNOME%2Fgtk-doc/repository/tags?per_page=100
• https://wiki.gnome.org/DocumentationProject/GtkDoc