PipelineDoc
AI-powered documentation for ETL pipelines — in seconds.
PipelineDoc reads your pipeline files and generates complete, professional Markdown documentation using AI. Supports Talend, Azure Data Factory (ADF), and Microsoft Fabric Data Pipelines.
Features
- Architecture diagram — auto-generated Mermaid flowchart rendered directly in the preview
- Full documentation — Purpose, Data Flow, Source & Target Systems, Transformations, Data Lineage, Impact Analysis, Risks, Operations
- Multi-format support — Talend
.item files, ADF pipeline JSON, Fabric pipeline JSON, ARM templates
- Secure API key storage — keys stored encrypted via the system keychain (Windows Credential Manager / macOS Keychain), never in plain text
- Timestamped output — every generation creates a new file, nothing is ever overwritten
- Language support — English or Swedish output
| Format |
File type |
How to use |
| Talend |
.item |
Right-click in Explorer |
| Azure Data Factory |
.json |
Right-click in Explorer |
| Microsoft Fabric |
.json |
Right-click in Explorer |
| ARM template |
.json |
Right-click in Explorer |
Getting Started
1. Set your AI provider
Open the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P) and run:
PipelineDoc: Set OpenAI API Key — enter your OpenAI API key- Then open Settings (
Ctrl+,), search pipelineDoc, and set AI Provider to openai
Premium users: set the provider to premium and enter your license key — no personal API key required.
2. Generate documentation
Right-click any supported pipeline file in the Explorer panel and select:
- PipelineDoc: Generate Documentation from .item file (Talend)
- PipelineDoc: Generate Documentation from ADF / Fabric / Talend JSON
The rendered documentation opens automatically in Markdown Preview.
Output Example
Each generated document includes:
# MyPipeline
## Architecture Overview
[Mermaid flowchart]
## Purpose
## Data Flow
## Source Systems
## Target Systems
## Transformations
## Data Lineage
## Impact Analysis
## Risks
## Operations & Error Handling
Files are saved next to the source file with a timestamp:
MyPipeline_doc_2026-06-21_14-30-00.md
Settings
| Setting |
Description |
Default |
pipelineDoc.aiProvider |
openai / anthropic / premium |
premium |
pipelineDoc.outputLanguage |
english / svenska |
english |
API keys are managed securely via the Command Palette — not stored in settings.
Requirements
- VS Code 1.85 or later
- An OpenAI or Anthropic API key (Freemium), or a PipelineDoc Premium license key
Privacy & Security
- Pipeline data is sent to your chosen AI provider (OpenAI or Anthropic) for documentation generation
- API keys are stored encrypted using VS Code's built-in Secret Storage (system keychain)
- No data is stored by xHolst
License
MIT © Charlotte Holst / xHolst
