Deploy the documentation to Cloudflare Pages

View Markdown

The documentation builds to a static site with navigation, page outlines, and browser-side full-text search. No application server or search service is required.

Build command

From the repository root, using Python 3.12–3.14:

bash scripts/build_docs.sh

The script installs a pinned uv version in build/docs-tools/, installs only the locked docs dependency group in build/docs-env/, and runs mkdocs build --strict. It leaves the project's development environment untouched. The deployable output is build/docs/, including all HTML and Markdown pages, static assets, 404.html, the search index, LLM indexes, sitemap, robots file, and Cloudflare response headers. Deploy only that directory.

The build renders the committed Markdown. After changing API source or documentation templates, regenerate references and commit the resulting Markdown before deployment; see documentation maintenance.

Cloudflare Pages settings

Connect the repository to a Pages project using Git integration, then enter:

Setting	Value
Framework preset	None
Root directory	Repository root; leave blank
Build command	bash scripts/build_docs.sh
Build output directory	build/docs
Build environment variable	PYTHON_VERSION=3.13.3
Build environment variable	SKIP_DEPENDENCY_INSTALL=1
Production environment variable	DOCS_ENV=production
Preview environment variable	DOCS_ENV=preview

Apply the Python and dependency settings to both environments; scope DOCS_ENV separately as shown. The script handles dependency installation, so automatic installation is disabled. Cloudflare builds without an explicit production environment default to noindex. These settings follow Cloudflare's custom static-site build configuration and build image configuration.

Choose the branch you want to publish as the production branch. Commit and push the site configuration, scripts, pyproject.toml, uv.lock, documentation, and referenced examples before triggering the first build. Pages can also produce preview deployments for review branches and pull requests.

The canonical production address is https://docs.openbacktesting.com/, configured in mkdocs.yml. Attach that custom domain to the Pages project. To move the site, override DOCS_SITE_URL with the new HTTPS root, including any path prefix, and rebuild. Internal navigation remains relative; canonical URLs, structured data, sitemap, and exported Markdown links share the configured root. No SPA catch-all redirect is needed: every documentation route has its own HTML page, and missing routes use the generated 404.html.

Markdown and LLM access

Every page has Copy as Markdown and View Markdown below its heading. Copying uses the authored Markdown, preserving fenced code and tables, with absolute links that work outside the browser. When clipboard access is unavailable, the page displays selectable Markdown for manual copying. Viewing Markdown works without JavaScript.

The build generates:

Resource	Purpose
/<page>/index.md	Markdown counterpart of each directory-style HTML page; the home page uses /index.md
/llms.txt	Concise, grouped discovery index with links to tutorials, guides, references, and the indicator catalog
/llm.txt	Compatibility alias containing the same index
/llms-full.txt	Combined manual and runnable example sources for larger contexts
/sitemap.xml and /sitemap.xml.gz	Canonical, indexable HTML pages
/robots.txt	Allows crawling and advertises the production sitemap

HTML exposes rel="alternate" type="text/markdown" and rel="describedby" links following the llms.txt proposal. LLM exports are generated from the same content as the site; edit the underlying documentation, not build output.

Search visibility

Pages have descriptive titles, individual summaries, canonical URLs, visible breadcrumbs, matching TechArticle and BreadcrumbList structured data, and Open Graph metadata. Content and navigation render as static HTML. Sponsor placements and page tools are excluded from search snippets. Bundled repository copies remain accessible but use noindex to avoid competing with the manual. The sitemap omits duplicates, raw exports, 404 pages, and preview pages. It does not invent modification dates or ratings.

The generated _headers uses Cloudflare Pages header rules to serve UTF-8 Markdown, keep raw exports out of search results, and prevent pages.dev copies from being indexed. Preview builds additionally use noindex in both HTML and HTTP headers. Crawling remains allowed so crawlers can read these directives. When hosting elsewhere, configure the equivalent response headers on that host; MkDocs' local server does not apply _headers.

Google's SEO starter guide recommends useful, accurate content, descriptive titles, discoverable links, and good page experience. Its AI features guidance applies the same requirements to AI Overviews and AI Mode: pages must be indexed and eligible for snippets. LLM files and structured data do not guarantee rankings, indexing, or AI citations.

After publishing:

1. Verify the custom domain, HTTPS, successful HTML/Markdown responses, and real 404 responses. Confirm production HTML has no noindex header or meta tag and previews do.
2. Confirm CDN and bot-management settings allow intended search crawlers and do not challenge public documentation requests.
3. Verify domain ownership in Search Console, submit https://docs.openbacktesting.com/sitemap.xml, and inspect the home page, quickstart, and an indicator URL. Confirm Google's selected canonical agrees with the published canonical.
4. Use Rich Results Test and PageSpeed Insights on the deployed domain. Monitor Search Console indexing, queries, clicks, and Core Web Vitals; address observed problems and update examples when APIs change.

These checks require a live deployment and access to the domain's Search Console property. Local builds validate generated artifacts, not Google's indexing or field performance.

Review locally

uv run --locked --group docs mkdocs serve

Open http://127.0.0.1:8000. Use the sidebar for topics and indicator categories, the right-hand outline for sections, and the search field for names such as OrderRequest, ta.ema, or commission. On small screens, navigation and search open from the header buttons.