# Open vSwitch Documentation

This document describes how to build the OVS documentation for use offline. A continuously updated, online version can be found at docs.openvswitch.org.

Note

These instructions provide information on building the documentation locally. For information on writing documentation, refer to Documentation Style

## Build Requirements

As described in the Documentation Style, the Open vSwitch documentation is written in reStructuredText and built with Sphinx. A detailed guide on installing Sphinx in many environments is available on the Sphinx website but, for most Linux distributions, you can install with your package manager. For example, on Debian/Ubuntu run:

    $ sudo apt-get install python3-sphinx

Similarly, on RHEL/Fedora run:

    $ sudo dnf install python3-sphinx

A `requirements.txt` is also provided in the `/Documentation`, should you wish to install using `pip`:

    $ virtualenv .venv
    $ source .venv/bin/activate
    $ pip install -r Documentation/requirements.txt

## Configuring

It’s unlikely that you’ll need to customize any aspect of the configuration. However, the `Documentation/conf.py` is the go-to place for all configuration. This file is well documented and further information is available on the Sphinx website.

## Building

Once Sphinx is installed, the documentation can be built using the provided Makefile targets:

    $ make docs-check

Important

The `docs-check` target will fail if there are any syntax errors. However, it won’t catch more succinct issues such as style or grammar issues. As a result, you should always inspect changes visually to ensure the result is as intended.

Once built, documentation is available in the `/Documentation/_build` folder. Open the root `index.html` to browse the documentation.