VuePress
A minimal static site generator for docs and blogs, built on Vue (v1, now in maintenance mode).
- Stars
- 22.7k
- Forks
- 4.6k
- Licence
- MIT
- Language
- JavaScript
- Last update
- 2.2 years ago
- Type
- Dev tool
No commits in over a year — check for forks or alternatives before adopting.
What it is
VuePress is a tool that turns Markdown files into a static website, using Vue for the page templates. It is aimed mainly at documentation sites and blogs. The README says VuePress v1 is now in maintenance mode, and points to VitePress (officially supported by the Vue team) and VuePress v2+ (community supported) as the newer options.
- Build a documentation site from Markdown files
- Run a local dev server that previews your docs as you edit them (yarn dev, as shown in the README for its own docs)
- Publish a blog-style site, based on the repository topics
Great for
- Developers with an existing VuePress v1 documentation site who need to keep it running
- Teams already comfortable with Vue who want a simple Markdown-to-site tool
- People maintaining a project that already uses VuePress v1
Not ideal for
- New projects: the README says v1 is in maintenance mode, so VitePress or VuePress v2+ is the better starting point
- Non-developers who want a no-code website builder, since it requires working with Node-based tooling
- Anyone needing active new feature development, since the README does not indicate ongoing feature work on v1
How to get it
- 1
Clone and build from source
You'll need: Node.js · Yarn
Install all dependencies (from a local checkout)
yarn installServe VuePress' own docs with itself
yarn devRun tests
yarn test - 2
Run it
- Clone the repository from GitHub
- Run yarn install to install dependencies
- Run yarn dev to serve the bundled docs locally
- Open the local address shown in the terminal to view the site
- 3
Get the most out of it
- Read the official docs at vuepress.vuejs.org for configuration details
- Check the Awesome VuePress list for plugins and related tools
- Consider VitePress or VuePress v2+ for new projects, as recommended in the README
- Review the RFCs in the repository before proposing substantial changes
Downloads
Strengths
- Minimal and focused on turning Markdown into a static site
- Uses Vue, so customization can be done with familiar Vue concepts
- Released under the permissive MIT license
Trade-offs
- v1 is in maintenance mode according to the README, so new features are unlikely
- The README offers little detail on setup for end users; most guidance is for contributors
- Newer alternatives (VitePress, VuePress v2+) are recommended by the project itself
How it compares
| Project | Stars | Type | Level | Updated | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| vuepress (this) | 22.7k | Dev tool | intermediate | 2.2 years ago | Developers with an existing VuePress v1 documentation site who need to keep it running |
| vitepress | 18.5k | Dev tool | intermediate | 7 days ago | Developers who want a documentation site for a software project |
| docusaurus | 66.6k | Framework | intermediate | 4 days ago | Open source projects that need a documentation website |
| jekyll | 51.7k | Dev tool | intermediate | 23 days ago | Developers who want a blog or simple website built from plain text files |
| buildawesome | 20k | Dev tool | intermediate | 5 days ago | Developers who want a static site generator with a lighter setup than Jekyll |
| nuxt | 61k | Library | intermediate | 4 days ago | Developers who already know Vue.js and want a structured full-stack setup |
Stats synced from GitHub. The assessment above was drafted with AI from the project's README on 2026-10-29 and may miss recent changes — check the README before relying on a command. MIT licence: free to use, modify and distribute, including commercially, as long as you keep the copyright notice.