Doxygen commands cheatsheet

This page lists common Doxygen commands and brief descriptions. No styling — plain HTML only.

Comment block styles

/** ... */ — Javadoc-style block comment.
/*! ... */ — Qt-style block comment.
/// ... — Triple-slash single-line comment (C++-style).
//! ... — Single-line Qt-style.

Basic tags

Command	Usage	Description
`\file` / `@file`	`\file filename`	Document the file (overrides file brief).
`\brief` / `@brief`	`\brief Short description`	Short one-line description shown in summaries.
`\details` / `@details`	`\details Longer text...`	Longer, detailed description.
`\param` / `@param`	`\param[in] name Description`	Describe function parameters. Direction specifiers: `in`, `out`, `in,out`.
`\return` / `@return`	`\return Description`	Describe return value.
`\retval` / `@retval`	`\retval value Description`	Document specific return values (enum or int codes).
`\see` / `@see`	`\see OtherFunction`	Reference another symbol or topic.
`\note` / `@note`	`\note Important note`	Small note shown in documentation.
`\warning` / `@warning`	`\warning Dangerous`	Display a warning callout.
`\author` / `@author`	`\author Name`	Author of the file or module.
`\version` / `@version`	`\version 1.2`	Version string.
`\date` / `@date`	`\date 2025-10-13`	Date associated with the documentation.
`\deprecated` / `@deprecated`	`\deprecated Use NewFunction()`	Marks API as deprecated and suggests alternatives.
`\todo` / `@todo`	`\todo Implement this`	List a TODO item to appear in the TODO list.

Grouping and modules

Command	Example	Purpose
`\defgroup`	`\defgroup grpname "Group Title"`	Create a named group/module.
`\ingroup`	`\ingroup grpname`	Assign a symbol to a group.
`\addtogroup`	`\addtogroup grpname "Title"`	Add subsequent documentation to the group.
`\weakgroup`	`\weakgroup name`	Create a group without showing it in module index (less common).

Sections & subsections (within comments)

\section label Title — top-level section.
\subsection label Title — subsection.
\subsubsection label Title — sub-subsection.

Formatting and inline markup

Markup	Example	Result
`\c`	`\c value`	Inline code or identifier.
`\b`	`\b bold text`	Bold text (simple emphasis).
`\a`	`\a ampersand`	Alternative emphasis (rare).
`\em`	`\em emphasized`	Emphasis / italics.
`\verbatim`	`\verbatim ... \endverbatim`	Preformatted block (no markup processing).
`\code`	`\code ... \endcode`	Formatted code block (supports syntax highlighting).
`\f$ ... \f$`	`\f$ a^2 + b^2 = c^2 \f$`	Inline mathematical formula (LaTeX-like).
`\f[ ... \f]`	`\f[ E = mc^2 \f]`	Displayed (block) math.
`\n`	`Line1\nLine2`	New line in some contexts.
`\link ... \endlink`	`\link URL Text \endlink`	Creates a link with text.
`\a ref`	`See \ref other_func`	Reference another documented symbol.

Special blocks

Example: \code ... \endcode or \snippet file start_marker end_marker
Inline formulas: \f$ ... \f$ and block math \f[ ... \f].
HTML-only: \htmlonly ... \endhtmlonly — include raw HTML in output where supported.
Man page: \manonly ... \endmanonly
LaTeX-only: \latexonly ... \endlatexonly

Including images and files

Command	Example	Notes
`\image`	`\image html figure.png "Caption"`	Include an image; first argument is format (html, latex, rtf).
`\include`	`\include file.txt`	Include a file verbatim into the documentation.
`\verbinclude`	`\verbinclude file.cpp`	Include file as verbatim/code.
`\snippet`	`\snippet source.cpp marker_start marker_end`	Include a portion of a source file marked by special comments.

Cross-references and anchors

\anchor name — create a location you can \ref to.
\ref symbol — link to another documented symbol.
\link url text \endlink — create a link to an external URL with text.

Advanced / miscellaneous

\cond / \endcond — conditionally include text.
\if / \endif — preprocessor-like conditional content.
\internal / \endinternal — content only for internal documentation.
\addindex{term} — add an entry to the index.
\dontinclude — exclude a file region from inclusion.
\htmlonly, \latexonly, \rtfonly — format-specific sections.

Examples (short)

/**
* \file example.h
* \brief Example header
*
* Detailed description goes here.
* \author Jane Doe
* \date 2025-10-13
*/

/**
* \brief Compute the sum
* \param[in] a first value
* \param[in] b second value
* \return sum of a and b
*/
int add(int a, int b);

doxygen cheatsheet

Doxygen commands cheatsheet

Comment block styles

Basic tags

Grouping and modules

Sections & subsections (within comments)

Formatting and inline markup

Special blocks

Including images and files

Cross-references and anchors

Advanced / miscellaneous

Examples (short)

Further reading

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