Julia Documenter: missing docstring - julia

Question

I have a Julia module file with a function, a doc-string, and a doc-test. I load it and the doc-string shows in the Julia help, but Documenter.jl cannot find the doc-string.
An example module file, src/my_module.jl, is:
module my_module
"""
add(x, y)
Dummy function
# Examples
```jldoctest
julia> add(1, 2)
3
```
"""
function add(x::Number, y::Number)
return x + y
end
end
The make file docs/make.jl is:
using Documenter, my_module
makedocs(
modules = [my_module],
format = :html,
sitename = "my_module.jl",
authors = "unknown",
doctest = true
)
The ouptut of include("src/my_module.jl"), then ?, then my_module.add, shows that the Julia REPL found the docstring:
help?> my_module.add
add(x, y)
Dummy function
Examples
≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡
julia> add(1, 2)
3
The output of include("docs/make.jl") shows that Documenter did not:
Documenter: setting up build directory.
Documenter: expanding markdown templates.
Documenter: building cross-references.
Documenter: running document checks.
> checking for missing docstrings.
!! 1 docstring potentially missing:
my_module.add :: Tuple{Number,Number}
> running doctests.
> checking footnote links.
Documenter: populating indices.
Documenter: rendering document.
How come the Julia REPL finds the docstring and not Documenter?
Notes: I ran Pkg.update() before running the code. Documenter has version 0.18.0, Julia has version 0.6.3.

Answer 1

As mentioned in the comments of #fredrikekre, I was missing #autodocs and some other details. Here is a complete setup for doc-testing in Julia with Documenter.jl.
Directory structure of my_module (from command tree, reordered for clarity):
.
|____src
| |____my_module.jl
| |____my_functions.jl
|____docs
| |____make.jl
| |____src
| | |____index.md
|____README.md
|____REQUIRE
The file src/my_module.jl is:
module my_module
# export functions you want to call without qualifications
export add_exported
using DataFrames # or any other module
# Include functions
include("my_functions.jl")
end
The file src/my_functions.jl contains exported and non-exported functions. Note how the doc-test of exported functions has no qualification, and the doc-test of non-exported functions does:
"""
add_exported(x, y)
Dummy function, exported
# Examples
```jldoctest
julia> add_exported(1, 2)
3
```
"""
function add_exported(x::Number, y::Number)
return x + y
end
"""
add_not_exported(x, y)
Dummy function, not exported
# Examples
```jldoctest
julia> my_module.add_not_exported(1, 2)
3
```
"""
function add_not_exported(x::Number, y::Number)
return x + y
end
The file docs/make.jl is:
using Documenter, my_module
makedocs(
modules = [my_module],
format = :html,
sitename = "my_module.jl",
doctest = true
)
The file docs/src/index.md contains using my_module, which brings exported functions into scope:
# Documentation
```#meta
CurrentModule = my_module
DocTestSetup = quote
using my_module
end
```
```#autodocs
Modules = [my_module]
```
The last two files are optional. The file REQUIRE serves only for remote installation of package. It contains:
julia 0.6.3
DataFrames 0.11.6
The file README.md contains a description in Markdown:
# my_module and its description
Finally, change directory to the root of the package, start a Julia session, and type:
julia> include("src/my_module.jl");include("docs/make.jl");
Documenter: setting up build directory.
Documenter: expanding markdown templates.
Documenter: building cross-references.
Documenter: running document checks.
> checking for missing docstrings.
> running doctests.
> checking footnote links.
Documenter: populating indices.
Documenter: rendering document.
If you change the result of add in the doc-test from 3 to any other number, the Documenter will show an error and show that it is working.