Setting Up Sphinx and ReadTheDocs for Automated Documentation in Python Projects

In daily open‑source projects or team collaborations, a maintainable, automatically deployed documentation system is often needed.

Why Choose Sphinx and ReadTheDocs

Sphinx is a Python‑based documentation generator originally created for the Python official docs, supporting reStructuredText and Markdown via plugins.

ReadTheDocs is a hosting platform that can automatically pull code from a Git repository, build the docs, and publish them, with webhook support.

The combination is ideal for continuous documentation maintenance, with a mature community and abundant resources.

Basic Configuration Steps

1. Install Sphinx and Related Dependencies

It is recommended to use a virtual environment and install the following requirements:

# docs/requirements.txt
sphinx==5.3.0
sphinx_rtd_theme==1.1.1

# If you need Markdown support, add:
myst_parser==0.18.1

Install the dependencies:

pip install -r docs/requirements.txt

sphinx-rtd-theme is the default theme used by ReadTheDocs.

myst-parser enables Markdown support.

2. Initialise the Documentation Project Structure

Run the following command at the project root:

sphinx-quickstart docs

Separate the source and build directories. After execution, the docs folder will contain conf.py , index.rst , and other files.

3. Modify conf.py Configuration File

Key settings include:

# Read the Docs configuration file
# See https://docs.readthedocs.io/en/stable/config-file/v2.html for details
from datetime import datetime

project = "GitStats"
author = "Xianpeng Shen"
copyright = f"{datetime.now().year}, {author}"
html_theme = "sphinx_rtd_theme"

If Markdown support is required, add the extension in conf.py :

extensions = [
    'myst_parser',  # support Markdown
]

Configure ReadTheDocs Automatic Builds

1. Import Project to ReadTheDocs

Log in at https://readthedocs.org/ .

Click “Import a Project” and select your GitHub or GitLab repository.

Ensure the repository contains docs/conf.py ; the system will detect it automatically.

2. Add .readthedocs.yml Configuration File

Place the following file at the project root to control the build process:

# Read the Docs configuration file
# See https://docs.readthedocs.io/en/stable/config-file/v2.html for details
version: 2

build:
  os: ubuntu-24.04
  tools:
    python: "3.12"

sphinx:
  configuration: docs/source/conf.py

python:
  install:
    - requirements: docs/requirements.txt

After configuration, each Pull Request triggers an automatic pull and build, providing an up‑to‑date preview of the documentation.

Final Result

When the build finishes, ReadTheDocs provides a URL such as https://your-project.readthedocs.io/ for easy team collaboration and user reference.

The author’s open‑source project “GitStats” uses this setup as an example.

Conclusion

With the above configuration, you can achieve “write documentation, push, and it goes live” almost automatically, greatly improving documentation maintenance efficiency. If you are writing documentation for an open‑source or team Python project, give the Sphinx + ReadTheDocs combo a try.