Tools: Rst

# Convert a single file rst2html.py mydoc.rst mydoc.html If you write documentation for Python (or nearly any open-source project), you already know Sphinx . It started as a tool for Python documentation but has since become the de facto standard for complex, multi-page RST projects.

pip install rst2pdf rst2pdf mydocument.rst --stylesheets=custom.style Many teams ask: Why not just use Markdown? The answer lies in the tooling. rst tools

Have a favorite RST tool we missed? Let us know in the comments – we’re always looking to expand our toolchain. # Convert a single file rst2html

If you have a single-page README, use Markdown. For a book-length manual with 100+ pages, indexes, and API references – are far superior. Common Pitfalls and How RST Tools Solve Them Pitfall 1: “My bullet list broke because of inconsistent indentation.” Solution: Run doc8 --max-line-length 89 to catch indentation errors. The answer lies in the tooling

Write your own Sphinx extension. Contribute to rst-lint . Convert your legacy Markdown docs to RST using Pandoc and automate the whole pipeline.

| 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 |