---
id: sphinx-comments
version: "0.0.3"
license: MIT License
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: abandoned
---

# sphinx-comments — Add comments and annotation to your documentation.

License: permissive · Maintenance: abandoned · Downloads: 203.2K/mo

## What it is and what it does

Sphinx Comments is a lightweight Sphinx extension that embeds JavaScript-based commenting and annotation platforms into your documentation. It acts as a configuration layer that loads and activates third-party services—Hypothes.is for collaborative web annotation, utteranc.es for GitHub-backed comments, or dokie.li for open-source annotation overlays—without implementing commenting itself. The extension handles platform-specific requirements like script placement in the page structure.

The package is designed to be minimal: it loads JavaScript libraries and provides configuration options for the platforms you choose. Most platforms cannot be activated simultaneously, so you select one per site. Setup complexity varies by platform; utteranc.es, for example, requires specific script placement that the extension manages automatically.

Use it for:

- Enable reader annotations and highlights on published Sphinx documentation using Hypothes.is.
- Add GitHub-backed issue-based comments to your docs via utteranc.es integration.
- Activate open-source annotation overlays on documentation pages using dokie.li.
- Allow collaborative discussion and feedback on technical documentation without building a custom backend.

## Worth the install?

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

Integrates third-party commenting and annotation services into Sphinx-generated documentation sites.

No. The project is abandoned (last release 2020-08-12, last commit 2023-05-03) with no active maintenance. While the MIT license is permissive and install friction is low, you cannot rely on compatibility with current Sphinx versions or assurance that embedded third-party services remain functional. For new projects, evaluate maintained alternatives or integrate commenting services directly.

## Install

pip install sphinx-comments
uv add sphinx-comments
poetry add sphinx-comments

## Installing sphinx-comments

Before you install: Low install friction—pure Python wheel with only Sphinx as a runtime dependency. However, the project is abandoned: last release was 2020-08-12 and last commit 2023-05-03, with no active maintenance.

License in practice: MIT License (permissive) imposes no significant restrictions on use or redistribution.

Quickstart:

pip install sphinx-comments

In conf.py:
extensions = ['sphinx_comments']

Configure one of: hypothes.is, utteranc.es, or dokie.li per the documentation.

Requires Sphinx as a runtime dependency; compatibility with current Sphinx versions is unverified given the project's abandonment.

Verify before relying:

- Compatibility with recent Sphinx versions (last release predates current Sphinx ecosystem by years).
- Whether the embedded JavaScript libraries (Hypothes.is, utteranc.es, dokie.li) remain functional and maintained.
- Support for modern Python versions and whether Python version constraints exist.

## Package facts

- License: MIT License (permissive)
- Python support: unspecified
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: abandoned
- Downloads: 203.2K/month (top 15,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

sphinx comments annotation, add comments to sphinx docs, documentation commenting system, sphinx hypothes.is integration, sphinx utterances github comments, sphinx dokie.li overlay, collaborative annotation sphinx, sphinx-extension, abandoned

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