1. Installation

Install the package (or add it to your requirements.txt file):

$ pip install sphinx_rtd_theme

In your conf.py file:

import sphinx_rtd_theme

extensions = [
    ...
    'sphinx_rtd_theme',
]

html_theme = "sphinx_rtd_theme"

Note

Adding this theme as an extension is what enables localization of theme strings in your translated output. If these strings are not translated in your output, either we lack the localized strings for your locale, or you are using an old version of the theme.

1.1. Via Git or Download

Warning

Installing directly from the repo is deprecated. Static assets won’t be included in the repo in a future release.

Symlink or subtree the sphinx_rtd_theme/sphinx_rtd_theme repository into your documentation at docs/_themes/sphinx_rtd_theme then add the following two settings to your Sphinx conf.py file:

html_theme = "sphinx_rtd_theme"
html_theme_path = ["_themes", ]

1.1.1. Compatibility

sphinx_rtd_theme depends on at least Sphinx 1.6 although, we recommend at least Sphinx 2 to take advantage of the html5 writer. The html4 writer is still supported however, it is deprecated and support will be removed in the near future.