Rst Tools Info

If you only install one tool, make it Sphinx. Originally created for Python documentation, Sphinx extends standard RST with "directives" for cross-referencing, automatic code highlighting, and generating an API reference from docstrings.

Why Sphinx dominates:

Most importantly, Sphinx works seamlessly with Read the Docs – a free hosting service that rebuilds your documentation every time you push to GitHub. rst tools

Many teams ask: Why not just use Markdown? The answer lies in the tooling. If you only install one tool, make it Sphinx

| Feature | RST Tools (Sphinx) | Markdown Tools (MkDocs, Hugo) | | --- | --- | --- | | Cross-references (internal) | Native, robust :ref: | Requires plugins or clumsy IDs | | API doc extraction | autodoc (excellent) | Third-party (e.g., mkdocstrings) | | Directive system | Extensive, user-extensible | Limited, often platform-specific | | Numbered figures/tables | Built-in | Manual or hacky | | Documentation versioning | Excellent (via RTD) | Varies | Most importantly, Sphinx works seamlessly with Read the

If you have a single-page README, use Markdown. For a book-length manual with 100+ pages, indexes, and API references – RST tools are far superior.

Not all text editors are created equal. You need an editor that understands RST semantics.