Zensical Hosting Live In 5 Minutes

Deploy Zensical hosting and publish Markdown documentation on your own domain without building a pipeline. xCloud runs the pinned Zensical 0.0.70 official image as a single container, creates a starter site whose canonical URL is your install domain, mounts a persistent docs volume and publishes the site over HTTPS in minutes — pages rebuild automatically whenever a file in the volume changes.

  • No terminal
  • No technical skills needed
  • No lock-in, cancel anytime

What is Zensical?

Zensical is a modern static site generator for project documentation, built by the team behind Material for MkDocs. You write pages in Markdown, configure the site through a single zensical.toml, and the generator turns them into a documentation site.

This deployment runs the official image as one container, with Material-compatible features and mkdocstrings-python built in. Zensical is licensed under MIT and is 0.0.x alpha software.

From Sign-Up to a Live Docs Site In Just 3 Easy Steps

A documentation site normally means a generator install, a build step, a place to host the output, a domain and a certificate before the first page is readable. This is the same result without assembling any of it.

  1. Step 01

    Sign Up

    Create your xCloud account and pick Zensical from the OneClick catalog. Choose your domain and target server — there are no extra fields, because Zensical has no accounts or credentials.

  2. Step 02

    We Deploy It For You

    One click. We bring up the official Zensical image, pinned by immutable digest, as a single container with no database or cache, mount the zensical_docs volume at /docs and publish the site over HTTPS on your domain. The first build of the starter site takes under a minute and may show 404 until then.

  3. Step 03

    Open The Starter Site

    Open your HTTPS Zensical URL to see the starter site. Then edit zensical.toml and the Markdown under docs/ in the zensical_docs volume, for example with docker exec or docker cp; the site rebuilds automatically.

Everything Zensical Does, On Your Own Server

Zensical runs in full here: a Markdown documentation site on your own domain, rebuilt automatically from files in a volume you own.

  • Markdown Documentation Sites

    Write project documentation in Markdown and configure the whole site through a single zensical.toml.

  • Starter Site On First Start

    A starter site is created automatically on first start, with its canonical URL set to your install domain.

  • Automatic Rebuilds

    Pages rebuild whenever a file in the content volume changes, so an edit shows up without a manual build.

  • Material-Compatible Features

    The image includes Material-compatible features, plus mkdocstrings-python for API reference.

  • One Container, No Database

    A single container with no database or cache; idle use measured about 41 MiB on QA.

  • Persistent Content Volume

    zensical.toml, the docs/ sources, the built site/ and the render cache live in the zensical_docs volume and survive an xCloud Restart.

Everything You Need To Run Your Docs Site 24/7

Managed hosting for Zensical, so the parts that keep it online are not your problem.

  • Zensical 0.0.70 deployed instantly
  • Official image pinned by digest
  • Single container, no database
  • Starter site created for you
  • Rebuilds when files change
  • Kept behind xCloud nginx
  • Free SSL certificate
  • Server backups and snapshots
  • Server security updates included
  • 30+ server locations
  • Unused balance refunded

What You Can Do With Zensical

  • Publish project documentation

    Keep user guides and reference pages as Markdown files and serve them as a site on your own domain.

  • Document an API

    Use mkdocstrings-python from the image to generate API reference pages next to hand-written guides.

  • Run a docs site beside your code

    Keep the Markdown sources in git, copy them into the volume and let the site rebuild itself.

  • Preview a Material-style site

    Try Zensical's Material-compatible look and features on a real HTTPS domain before moving a larger docs set.

Zensical vs Alternatives

MkDocs and Material for MkDocs
Zensical comes from the team behind Material for MkDocs; it is configured through zensical.toml, and only the Material-compatible features built into the image are available here.
Wiki.js
Wiki.js is a wiki you edit in the browser; Zensical has no web editor, and content is Markdown files in a volume.
BookStack
BookStack organises pages into shelves and books with a web editor; Zensical publishes a read-only site built from files.

Simple Pricing. Everything Included.

Dedicated Cloud VPS sizes, pre-configured for Zensical hosting. Pick the one that fits, and resize any time.

Cloud VPS 6 GB

Most popular

A docs site for one project or product.

$24.99per month

  • 6 GB RAM
  • 4 vCPU cores
  • 100 GB NVMe SSD
  • 30 TB
  • Unlimited
Get started

Cloud VPS 16 GB

More headroom if Zensical sits alongside other documentation and developer tools.

$59.99per month

  • 16 GB RAM
  • 6 vCPU cores
  • 200 GB NVMe SSD
  • 30 TB
  • Unlimited
Get started

Every size is a dedicated Cloud VPS we provision, patch, monitor and restore. Billed monthly with no lock-in — delete the server and the unused balance comes back to your account. Zensical itself is licensed under MIT.

Already Have a Server? Bring Your Own

Connect any VPS — DigitalOcean, Vultr, Linode, AWS, Hetzner or bare metal — and deploy Zensical on it through the same panel, for a per-server management fee instead of a Cloud VPS rental.

Free

Start your journey without cost.

$0forever

  • 1 server
  • 10 sites
Start free

Starter

Most popular

Your rate with 2–5 servers connected.

$5per server / month

  • 2–5 servers
  • Unlimited sites
  • All features included
  • Bring any VPS provider
Get started

Professional

The same platform, discounted at 6–10 servers.

$4per server / month

  • 6–10 servers
  • Unlimited sites
  • All features included
  • Bring any VPS provider
Get started

Agency

The same platform, discounted at 11+ servers.

$3per server / month

  • 11+ servers
  • Unlimited sites
  • All features included
  • Bring any VPS provider
Get started

Priced per connected server, so your rate adjusts automatically as you add or remove servers. You pay your own provider for the server itself.

Ready To Run Your Own Documentation Site?

Zensical on xCloud runs on a dedicated Cloud VPS that we provision, patch, monitor and restore. Deploy faster. Own the server. Stay in control.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns you may have.

How do I sign in?

There is no sign-in: Zensical has no accounts or admin UI. Content is edited as files in the volume.

How do I edit the content?

Edit zensical.toml and the Markdown under docs/ in the zensical_docs volume, for example with docker exec or docker cp. The site rebuilds automatically.

What runs alongside Zensical?

Nothing. It is a single container with no database or cache.

Is my content private?

No, it is public by default. The site is readable by anyone who can reach the domain, so add your own access layer, such as HTTP Basic Auth, if the content is private.

Can I add MkDocs plugins?

Only the features built into the image (Material-compatible features and mkdocstrings-python) are available; other plugins need a custom image.

Why does the site show 404 right after install?

The first build of the starter site takes under a minute and may show 404 until it finishes.

What should I back up?

The zensical_docs volume; the site/ and .cache/ folders are regenerated and can be omitted. Keep your sources in git as well.

What happens if I change the domain?

Edit site_url in zensical.toml yourself and keep any path out of it.

Is Zensical production-ready?

Zensical is 0.0.x alpha software, and the template runs the upstream preview server (zensical serve), which injects a livereload script into pages.

What survives a restart?

The content volume: zensical.toml, the docs/ sources, the built site and the render cache survive an xCloud Restart.

Does xCloud automatically back up or update Zensical?

No. The template pins Zensical 0.0.70 by immutable digest; new installations use the pinned release, existing sites are not automatically upgraded. Back up first, read the upstream release notes, then bump the readable tag and digest together on your own schedule. Server-level backups and snapshots are available on every Cloud VPS.

What are the server requirements, and why does this page sell 6 GB?

The template's baseline asks for 1 CPU core, 512 MB of RAM and 2 GB of disk; measured idle use in QA was about 41 MiB. This page sells the 6 GB tier as the entry rung, with real headroom above that baseline.

Is xCloud officially partnered with Zensical?

No. No official partnership or endorsement between xCloud and the Zensical project has been verified. This is a deployment and server-management option for the open-source Zensical project.

Can I cancel anytime?

Yes. There is no lock-in — cancel any time. Hosting is billed monthly and charged for what you actually use, so when you delete the server the unused balance is refunded to your account, less up to 10% in payment-processing fees.

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