Read the Docs is a documentation hosting and automation platform that builds and serves documentation for open source projects and teams.
The tool solves the problem of maintaining documentation alongside evolving code by automating the build, versioning, and hosting workflow. It supports multiple documentation tools including Sphinx with reStructuredText and MkDocs with Markdown, pulling directly from Git repositories. When code is pushed, Read the Docs automatically rebuilds and republishes the documentation, implementing a "Docs as Code" philosophy that treats documentation with the same continuous integration rigor as source code itself.
Read the Docs suits open source projects hosting public documentation, teams maintaining internal or private documentation, and developers already using Sphinx, MkDocs, or similar tools who want to eliminate manual documentation deployment steps. The platform is particularly valuable for projects following continuous integration workflows, as it integrates seamlessly with GitHub and other Git hosting services through a straightforward setup that requires only granting repository access and adding a project through the web interface.
The project maintains active development with contributions welcomed from the community, supported by documented contribution guidelines and development setup instructions. The codebase includes automated testing infrastructure with build status and code coverage tracking, indicating ongoing quality assurance practices. Documentation for both users and contributors is maintained as part of the project itself, with a dedicated contribution page providing resources for getting involved.
