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sphinx-doc

sphinx-doc/sphinx

Python documentation generator that builds HTML, PDF, EPUB and other output from reStructuredText or Markdown sources.

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What is it?

Sphinx is a documentation generator that turns reStructuredText source files into polished documentation. It supports output to HTML, PDF, plain text, EPUB, TeX and manual pages, and it is built on Docutils for parsing and translation.

The tool focuses on cross-references and document structure. Functions, classes, glossary terms and other objects can be linked semantically, and documents form a tree with automatic links between siblings, parents and children. It also generates general and module indices automatically.

Sphinx handles code highlighting through Pygments and renders HTML with the Jinja 2 templating engine. Its extension ecosystem adds features such as automatic function documentation, Jupyter notebook support, and language domains for Python, C, C++, JavaScript and mathematics.

Key features

  • 01Outputs HTML, PDF, plain text, EPUB, TeX and manual pages
  • 02Provides semantic cross-references for functions, classes and glossary terms
  • 03Builds document trees with automatic links between related pages
  • 04Generates general and module indices automatically
  • 05Highlights code with Pygments and renders HTML via Jinja 2 templates
  • 06Extends through a plugin ecosystem, including Python, C, C++ and JavaScript language support

Use cases

  • Publishing API reference documentation for a Python library
  • Writing technical manuals that need PDF and HTML output from one source
  • Maintaining multilingual or versioned project documentation with cross-references

Quick start

  1. 1

    Install Sphinx from PyPI with pip

    pip install -U sphinx

Things to know

  • The README does not state a clear license name; the metadata lists it as NOASSERTION, though the badge shows BSD 2-Clause.

Topics

#documentation#restructuredtext#python#docs-generator#html#pdf#docs#documentation-tool#markdown#sphinx

FAQ

What is sphinx?
Python documentation generator that builds HTML, PDF, EPUB and other output from reStructuredText or Markdown sources. Sphinx is a documentation generator that turns reStructuredText source files into polished documentation. It supports output to HTML, PDF, plain text, EPUB, TeX and manual pages, and it is built on Docutils for parsing and translation.
Is sphinx free to use? What license does it have?
sphinx is open source under the Other license. Check the license terms before using it in commercial products.
Is sphinx still maintained?
Actively maintained. The last commit to sphinx was on Oct 22, 2026.
What can I use sphinx for?
Publishing API reference documentation for a Python library Writing technical manuals that need PDF and HTML output from one source Maintaining multilingual or versioned project documentation with cross-references
How do I install sphinx?
Install Sphinx from PyPI with pip: pip install -U sphinx
Where can I get sphinx?
The source code and installation instructions are on GitHub: https://github.com/sphinx-doc/sphinx

Summary generated by AI from the project's README. GitHub stats refresh daily.

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