1 files changed, 52 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/docs/contributing/writingdocs.rst b/docs/contributing/writingdocs.rst
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..ba3713045cc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/contributing/writingdocs.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+.. _buildingrst:
+
+Writing VPP Documentation
+=========================
+
+These instructions show how the VPP documentation sources are built.
+
+The VPP Documents are written using `reStructuredText <http://www.sphinx-doc.org/en/master/usage/restructuredtext/index.html>`_ (rst),
+or markdown (md). These files are then built using the Sphinx build system `Sphinx <http://www.sphinx-doc.org/en/master/>`_.
+
+Building the docs
+-----------------
+
+Start with a clone of the vpp repository.
+
+.. code-block:: console
+
+   $ git clone https://gerrit.fd.io/r/vpp
+   $ cd vpp
+
+Build the html **index.html** file:
+
+.. code-block:: console
+
+   $ make docs
+
+Delete all the generated files with the following:
+
+.. code-block:: console
+
+   $ make docs-clean
+
+View the results
+----------------
+
+If there are no errors during the build process, you should now have an ``index.html`` file in your ``vpp/docs/_build/html`` directory, which you can then view in your browser.
+
+Whenever you make changes to your ``.rst`` files that you want to see, repeat this build process.
+
+Writing Docs and merging
+------------------------
+
+Documentation should be added as ``.rst`` file in the ``./src/`` tree next to the code it refers to. A symlink should be added at the relevant place in the ``./docs`` folder and a link in the appropriate place in the tree.
+
+To ensure documentation is correctly inserted, you can run
+
+.. code-block:: console
+
+   $ ./extras/scripts/check_documentation.sh
+
+VPP documents are reviewed and merged like and other source code. Refer to :ref:`gitreview`
+to get your changes reviewed and merged.