Select output targets

The check, build, open, and clean commands operate on selected output targets. Use the manifest defaults for routine work, or select named targets and override their output paths from the command line.

Use the default targets

When a command does not pass a target selection option, DocInsight uses output.default_targets from the manifest. If default_targets is omitted, DocInsight selects all configured output targets.

Default targets keep routine check, build, and clean commands short while allowing other targets to remain available when needed.

Select named targets

Use --target to select a named output target from docinsight.json:

shell

docinsight build --target site
docinsight open --target site
docinsight clean --target site

Use target selection when a project builds multiple outputs, or when open should open one specific generated output.

Repeat --target to select more than one named target:

shell

docinsight build --target site --target help

Override target output paths

Append =PATH to a target name to replace its configured output path for one command:

shell

docinsight build --target site=dist/site
docinsight build --target "site=dist/my site"

Quote the complete NAME=PATH argument when the path contains spaces. A relative override path is resolved from the current working directory, not from the directory containing docinsight.json.

Repeat --target to override multiple targets in the same command:

shell

docinsight build --target site=dist/site --target help=dist/help.chm

Overridden and configured output paths can also be used together:

shell

docinsight build --target site=dist/site --target help

Each NAME=PATH value overrides only its named target. A selected target without =PATH continues to use the path configured in the manifest. Overrides change only the effective output locations for that command; they do not update target paths in the manifest.

The same syntax works with check, build, open, and clean:

shell

docinsight check --target site=dist/site
docinsight open --target site=dist/site
docinsight clean --target site=dist/site

check validates the effective output locations without writing generated output. When you build to override paths, pass the same overrides to clean to operate on those outputs. The open command, and build --open, require exactly one selected target.

For shared team manifests, keep the configured target path local and excluded from version control. Use an override only when a publishing command intentionally writes to a shared or deployment location. See Keep team output local.

Select all targets

Use --all-targets with check, build, or clean to ignore output.default_targets and select every configured output target:

shell

docinsight check --all-targets
docinsight build --all-targets
docinsight clean --all-targets

Select targets by format

Use --format to select every configured target with a particular output format:

shell

docinsight build --format html
docinsight clean --format chm

The supported values are html and chm. Because open requires exactly one target, use --format with open only when exactly one configured target has that format.

--target, --all-targets, and --format are mutually exclusive selection methods.

Select legacy output formats

Legacy .diproj manifests do not define named output targets. Use --format html or --format chm with build. The legacy open command requires one of these format selections:

shell

docinsight build --manifest MyLibrary.diproj --format html
docinsight open --manifest MyLibrary.diproj --format html

check does not support target selection for legacy manifests, and clean does not support legacy manifests.