veyepar: Docstrings as a Database — Building a Documentation Pipeline with Python & 11ty

Author(s):	Roger Steve Ruiz
Location	Slalom Build
Date	aug Thu 20	Days Raw Files
Start	19:10	First Raw Start	error-in-template
Duration	00:10:00	Offset	None
End	19:20	Last Raw End
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https://www.chipy.org/meetings/1179/
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# Docstrings as a Database
## Building a Documentation Pipeline with Python & 11ty
### Elevator Pitch
A contract renewal is coming. Your team has built a complex system over years, but the people who need to understand its value - subject-matter experts, product folks, the client - don't read code. Swagger/OpenAPI tells them what the API accepts and returns, but not what the system does or why.
This talk is the story of how I built a documentation site that solved that problem: a local-first, portable doc site that treats Python docstrings as a database of business logic.
### What You'll Learn
- How to extract structured data from Python docstrings using `griffe` and `docstring-parser`- Why a Python → JSON → 11ty pipeline decouples data from presentation and keeps templates lean- How to build a hard validation guardrail - if docs are incomplete, the site doesn't build- How persona-based information architecture serves both SMEs (process maps) and developers (API references) from the same data- How a local-first approach bypasses bureaucratic hosting approvals entirely
### Who This Is For
Python developers who have ever wished their docstrings did more than sit in an editor. Developers working on government or regulated projects where hosting approvals are a bottleneck. Anyone who's watched knowledge walk out the door when a contract ends.
No prior experience with 11ty, griffe, or static site generators needed.
### About the Speaker
I'm a developer currently working on public health data modernization projects. I contribute to and builds tools that help teams document what they know before they forget it. You can find him at `hi@rog.gr` or `@rogeruiz` on most platforms.

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