AsciiDoc

{{Infobox software

| name = AsciiDoc.py

| author = Stuart Rackham

| developer = Matthew Peveler, Dan Allen, Michel Krämer, {{nowrap|et al.}}

| released = {{start date and age|2002|11|25}}

| latest release version = {{wikidata|property|preferred|reference|edit|Q56876355|P348|P548=Q2804309}}

| latest release date = {{wikidata|qualifier|preferred|single|Q56876355|P348|P548=Q2804309|P577}}

| repo = {{URL|https://github.com/asciidoc/asciidoc-py3}}

| programming language = Python

| operating system = Cross-platform

| genre = Documentation generator

| license = GPL v2

| website = {{URL|asciidoc-py.github.io}}

}}

AsciiDoc was created in 2002 by Stuart Rackham, who published tools (asciidoc and a2x), written in the programming language Python to convert plain text, human readable files to commonly used published document formats.{{cite web |url=http://www.linuxlinks.com/article/20130921024111314/AsciiDoc.html |title=AsciiDoc |website=Linuxlinks.com |access-date=2013-10-18 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303232746/http://www.linuxlinks.com/article/20130921024111314/AsciiDoc.html |archive-date=2016-03-03}}

Implementations exist in Ruby (named Asciidoctor, released in 2013), the Java ecosystem via JRuby, the JavaScript ecosystem via Opal.js, and in Haskell and Go.

Since the start of the technical standardizing process in 2019, the Asciidoctor project has aimed to produce an independent, compatible implementation of the AsciiDoc specification in the making, with the support of Stuart Rackham, the original author of the language.{{cite web |url=https://asciidoctor.org/news/2019/01/07/asciidoc-spec-proposal/ |title=Starting the AsciiDoc Specification Journey |date=2019-01-07 |access-date=2025-03-31 |last1=White |first1=Sarah |last2=Allen |first2=Dan |website=Asciidoctor.org}} The official website of the AsciiDoc language has since begun linking to Asciidoctor's documentation of the language.

The start of the standardizing process in 2019 coincided with the release of Asciidoctor 2.0 and several parts of syntax being deprecated, such as single quotation marks (') to indicate italics.{{cite web |url=https://docs.asciidoctor.org/asciidoctor/latest/whats-new/#asciidoctor-2-0-0 |title=What's New in 2.0: Asciidoctor Docs |date=2019-03-22 |access-date=2025-03-31 |website=Asciidoctor.org}} Legacy syntax remains available through a compatibility mode.{{cite web |url=https://docs.asciidoctor.org/asciidoctor/latest/migrate/upgrade |title=Upgrade from Asciidoctor 1.5.x to 2.0 |access-date=2025-03-31}}

The original Python implementation by Stuart Rackham continues to be developed, and named AsciiDoc.py. Since 2021, its documentation describes it as legacy, and formally targets the older rendition of the language.{{cite web |last1=Peveler |first1=Matthew (MasterOdin) |date=2021-02-09 |url=https://github.com/asciidoc-py/asciidoc-py/pull/175 |title=Add small blurb on legacy nature of AsciiDoc.py |website=GitHub |access-date=2025-05-18}}

{{Expand section|date=March 2025}}

Most of the Git project documentation is written in AsciiDoc.{{cite web |url=https://git.wiki.kernel.org/index.php/AsciiDoc |title=Git wiki |publisher=Git SCM}}

Some of O'Reilly Media's books and e-books are authored using AsciiDoc mark-up.{{cite web |title=AsciiDoc 101 (chapter 4 of Getting Started with Atlas) |url=http://chimera.labs.oreilly.com/books/1230000000065/ch04.html |website=Author Welcome Kit |publisher=O'Reilly Media |access-date=19 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171014043259/http://chimera.labs.oreilly.com/books/1230000000065/ch04.html |archive-date=14 October 2017 |url-status=dead}}

Red Hat's product documentation [https://github.com/redhat-documentation is written in AsciiDoc].

Asciidoctor is usable within GitHub{{cite news |last1=Allen |first1=Dan |date=2013-01-30 |url=https://asciidoctor.org/news/2013/01/30/asciidoc-returns-to-github/ |title=AsciiDoc, powered by Asciidoctor, returns to GitHub and its 5+ million repositories |access-date=2025-03-31}} and GitLab.{{Cite web |url=https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/user/asciidoc.html |title=Asciidoc |author1= |date= |website=GitLab User Docs |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190722195228/https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/user/asciidoc.html |archive-date=2019-07-22 |access-date=18 May 2025}}

The following shows text using AsciiDoc mark-up, and a rendering similar to that produced by an AsciiDoc processor:

= My Article
J. Smith
https://wikipedia.org[Wikipedia] is an
on-line encyclopedia, available in
English and *many* other languages.
== Software
You can install _package-name_ by using
the 'gem' command:
gem install package-name
== Hardware
Metals commonly used include:

copper
tin
lead

• [https://antora.org/ Antora] – multi-repository documentation site generator for tech writers using git
• [https://github.com/redhataccess/ascii_binder/ AsciiBinder] – (deprecated) documentation system built on Asciidoctor for people who have many docs to maintain and republish regularly
• [https://github.com/awestruct/awestruct awestruct] – static site generator inspired by Jekyll
• [https://asciidocfx.com/ Asciidoc FX] – AsciiDoc Book Editor based on JavaFX 18
• [https://asciidoclive.com AsciiDocLIVE] – free online AsciiDoc editor
• [https://opensuse.github.io/daps/ DAPS] – DocBook Authoring and Publishing Suite (DAPS) is command-line software to publish DocBook & AsciiDoc as HTML, PDF, and EPUB

{{Portal|Free and open-source software}}

• Markdown
• Comparison of documentation generators
• Lightweight markup language

{{Reflist}}

• {{Official website}}
• {{GitHub|asciidoctor|Asciidoctor}}

{{Document markup languages}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Asciidoc}}

Category:Free software programmed in Python

Category:Lightweight markup languages