Add instructions for building the docs locally

ctrueden · ctrueden · commit d6e2ffb00c01 · 2024-09-06T10:41:02.000-05:00
diff --git a/docs/README.md b/docs/README.md
@@ -1,16 +1,41 @@
-# Adding a new ReadTheDocs page for a project in this repository
+This directory houses the online docs for core SciJava components. Each subfolder is its own ReadTheDocs site.
+
+## Building the docs
+
+If this is your first time building the docs on this machine, create the needed environment with:
+
+```shell
+mamba env create -f environment.yml
+```
+
+Subsequently, every time you want to build, run the following commands:
+
+```
+mamba activate scijava-docs
+make clean html && python -m http.server
+```
+
+If all goes well, you'll see output ending like:
+```
+The HTML pages are in _build/scijava-ops/html.
+Serving HTTP on 0.0.0.0 port 8000 (http://0.0.0.0:8000/) ...
+```
+
+To view the built site, open the HTTP link in your browser of choice, then navigate to the stated subdirectory.
+
+## Adding a new ReadTheDocs page for a project in this repository
 
 We use [`sphinx-multiproject`](https://sphinx-multiproject.readthedocs.io/en/latest/index.html) to build multiple RTD sites from within a single repository. To add a new site within this repository, take the following steps:
 
-## Create a new subfolder for the site's documents
+### Create a new subfolder for the site's documents
 
 See the existing `ops` folder for a template.
 
-## Add relevant sections to this folder's `conf.py`
+### Add relevant sections to this folder's `conf.py`
 
 Specifically, you'll want to add an entry to the `multiproject_projects` dictionary. Again, you can copy and edit the `ops` entry.
 
-## Create a new project on `ReadTheDocs`
+### Create a new project on `ReadTheDocs`
 
 You'll want to take the following steps:
 1. Choose to import a project manually
