---
id: pydata-sphinx-theme
version: "0.20.0"
license: unclear
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: active
---

# pydata-sphinx-theme — Bootstrap-based Sphinx theme from the PyData community

License: permissive · Maintenance: active · Downloads: 4.7M/mo

## What it is and what it does

pydata-sphinx-theme is a Sphinx theme that replaces the default HTML output styling with a modern, three-column Bootstrap-based layout designed by and for the PyData community. It integrates with Sphinx's standard documentation build pipeline and requires only a one-line configuration change in your `conf.py` file to activate.

The theme depends on common documentation and rendering libraries—Sphinx itself, BeautifulSoup4 for HTML parsing, Babel for internationalization, Pygments for syntax highlighting, Jinja2 for templating, and requests for HTTP operations. It is actively maintained and supports modern Python versions (3.11 through 3.14). The maintainers explicitly note that new major Sphinx releases may take a few months to support, so teams using cutting-edge Sphinx versions should expect a brief compatibility lag.

Use it for:

- Style a PyData-ecosystem project's documentation (NumPy, pandas, SciPy, etc.) with a consistent, community-standard appearance.
- Build a technical documentation site that needs a responsive three-column layout without writing custom CSS.
- Migrate existing Sphinx docs to a modern Bootstrap theme while keeping the same build toolchain.
- Contribute to or customize an open-source documentation theme actively maintained by the PyData community.

## Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts above — verify before relying.

A Bootstrap-based Sphinx theme that provides a clean, three-column layout for documentation sites built with Sphinx.

Yes. The theme is production-stable, actively maintained with recent releases, has no known vulnerabilities, and installs with low friction. It is the right choice if you are building Sphinx documentation for a PyData project or want a well-supported, modern three-column Bootstrap theme. Be aware that major Sphinx releases may require a few months for compatibility updates.

## Install

pip install pydata-sphinx-theme
uv add pydata-sphinx-theme
poetry add pydata-sphinx-theme

## Installing pydata-sphinx-theme

Before you install: Low friction installation as a pure Python wheel. Actively maintained with a recent release; note that the theme may lag behind the latest major Sphinx versions by a few months, so allow time for compatibility updates after new Sphinx releases.

License in practice: Permissive license allows use in most projects without restriction.

Quickstart:

pip install pydata-sphinx-theme

# In your Sphinx conf.py:
html_theme = "pydata_sphinx_theme"

Requires Python 3.11 or later. New major Sphinx releases may not be immediately compatible; allow time for updates.

Verify before relying:

- Exact compatibility matrix with specific Sphinx versions beyond the general lag-time note in the description.

## Package facts

- License: not declared (permissive)
- Python support: supports_current
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: active
- Downloads: 4.7M/month (top 5,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

sphinx theme bootstrap, pydata documentation theme, sphinx html theme, responsive sphinx theme, three-column sphinx layout, sphinx documentation styling, pydata sphinx, sphinx-theme, documentation-styling, bootstrap

[View on SkillFed](https://skillfed.io/packages/pydata-sphinx-theme) · [View on PyPI](https://pypi.org/project/pydata-sphinx-theme/)