diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index f59050964..88cb2c085 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ build/VC2010
 
 # Sphinx generated documentation
 docs/_*/
+docs/html/
 
 #except for the real one
 !build/
diff --git a/CMake/Modules/FindSphinx.cmake b/CMake/Modules/FindSphinx.cmake
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..54fc5ea8d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/CMake/Modules/FindSphinx.cmake
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+# build the documentation with Sphinx
+find_program(SPHINX_EXECUTABLE NAMES sphinx-build
+    HINTS
+    $ENV{SPHINX_DIR}
+    PATH_SUFFIXES bin
+    DOC "Sphinx Documentation Generator"
+)
+
+include(FindPackageHandleStandardArgs)
+
+find_package_handle_standard_args(Sphinx DEFAULT_MSG
+    SPHINX_EXECUTABLE
+)
+
+mark_as_advanced(SPHINX_EXECUTABLE)
+
diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 50fca68f7..d602eec9a 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -10,6 +10,8 @@ else(CMAKE_CONFIGURATION_TYPES)
   endif (NOT CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE)
 endif(CMAKE_CONFIGURATION_TYPES)
 
+SET(BUILD_DOCS "True")# CACHE STRING "Choose whether to build the documentation (requires python and Sphinx.")
+
 ## some generic CMake magic
 cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 2.8 FATAL_ERROR)
 project(dfhack)
@@ -173,8 +175,9 @@ endif()
 IF(BUILD_LIBRARY)
     add_subdirectory (library)
     ## install the default documentation files
-    install(FILES LICENSE NEWS "Lua API.html" Readme.html Compile.html Contributors.html DESTINATION ${DFHACK_USERDOC_DESTINATION})
-    install(DIRECTORY images DESTINATION ${DFHACK_USERDOC_DESTINATION})
+    #install(FILES LICENSE NEWS "Lua API.html" Readme.html Compile.html Contributors.html DESTINATION ${DFHACK_USERDOC_DESTINATION})
+    install(FILES LICENSE NEWS DESTINATION ${DFHACK_USERDOC_DESTINATION})
+    install(DIRECTORY docs/images DESTINATION ${DFHACK_USERDOC_DESTINATION})
 endif()
 
 install(DIRECTORY dfhack-config/ DESTINATION dfhack-config/default)
@@ -186,6 +189,31 @@ endif()
 
 add_subdirectory(scripts)
 
+#find_package(Sphinx REQUIRED)
+find_package(Sphinx)
+if (BUILD_DOCS)
+
+	set(SPHINX_THEME "alabaster")
+	set(SPHINX_THEME_DIR)
+	set(SPHINX_BINARY_BUILD_DIR "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/docs/_build")
+	set(SPHINX_CACHE_DIR "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/docs/_build/_doctrees")
+	set(SPHINX_HTML_DIR "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/docs/html/")
+
+	configure_file(
+		"${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/docs/conf.py.in"
+		"${SPHINX_BINARY_BUILD_DIR}/conf.py"
+		@ONLY)
+
+	add_custom_target(dfhack_docs ALL
+		${SPHINX_EXECUTABLE}
+			-q -b html
+			-c "${SPHINX_BINARY_BUILD_DIR}"
+			-d "${SPHINX_CACHE_DIR}"
+			"${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}"
+			"${SPHINX_HTML_DIR}"
+		COMMENT "Building HTML documentation with Sphinx")
+endif()
+
 # Packaging with CPack!
 IF(UNIX)
     if(APPLE)
@@ -204,3 +232,5 @@ ELSE()
 ENDIF()
 set(CPACK_PACKAGE_FILE_NAME "dfhack-${DFHACK_VERSION}-${DFHACK_PACKAGE_PLATFORM_NAME}")
 INCLUDE(CPack)
+
+#INCLUDE(FindSphinx.cmake)
diff --git a/conf.py b/docs/conf.py.in
similarity index 93%
rename from conf.py
rename to docs/conf.py.in
index 0dccdf303..d1ee2412f 100644
--- a/conf.py
+++ b/docs/conf.py.in
@@ -56,21 +56,21 @@ author = 'The DFHack Team'
 # |version| and |release|, also used in various other places throughout the
 # built documents.
 
-def get_version():
-    """Return the DFHack version string, from CMakeLists.txt"""
-    version, release = '', ''
-    with open('CMakeLists.txt') as f:
-        for s in f.readlines():
-            if fnmatch.fnmatch(s.upper(), 'SET(DF_VERSION "?.??.??")\n'):
-                version = s.upper().replace('SET(DF_VERSION "', '')
-            elif fnmatch.fnmatch(s.upper(), 'SET(DFHACK_RELEASE "r*")\n'):
-                release = s.upper().replace('SET(DFHACK_RELEASE "', '').lower()
-    return (version + '-' + release).replace('")\n', '')
+#def get_version():
+#    """Return the DFHack version string, from CMakeLists.txt"""
+#    version, release = '', ''
+#    with open('CMakeLists.txt') as f:
+#        for s in f.readlines():
+#            if fnmatch.fnmatch(s.upper(), 'SET(DF_VERSION "?.??.??")\n'):
+#                version = s.upper().replace('SET(DF_VERSION "', '')
+#            elif fnmatch.fnmatch(s.upper(), 'SET(DFHACK_RELEASE "r*")\n'):
+#                release = s.upper().replace('SET(DFHACK_RELEASE "', '').lower()
+#    return (version + '-' + release).replace('")\n', '')
 
 # The short X.Y version.
-version = get_version()
+version = '@DFHACK_VERSION@'
 # The full version, including alpha/beta/rc tags.
-release = get_version()
+release = '@DFHACK_VERSION@'
 
 # The language for content autogenerated by Sphinx. Refer to documentation
 # for a list of supported languages.
@@ -121,7 +121,7 @@ todo_include_todos = False
 
 # The theme to use for HTML and HTML Help pages.  See the documentation for
 # a list of builtin themes.
-html_theme = 'alabaster'
+html_theme = '@SPHINX_THEME@'
 
 # Theme options are theme-specific and customize the look and feel of a theme
 # further.  For a list of options available for each theme, see the
diff --git a/make.bat b/make.bat
deleted file mode 100644
index 0d9adc6d3..000000000
--- a/make.bat
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,263 +0,0 @@
-@ECHO OFF
-
-REM Command file for Sphinx documentation
-
-if "%SPHINXBUILD%" == "" (
-	set SPHINXBUILD=sphinx-build
-)
-set BUILDDIR=docs\_build
-set ALLSPHINXOPTS=-d %BUILDDIR%/doctrees %SPHINXOPTS% .
-set I18NSPHINXOPTS=%SPHINXOPTS% .
-if NOT "%PAPER%" == "" (
-	set ALLSPHINXOPTS=-D latex_paper_size=%PAPER% %ALLSPHINXOPTS%
-	set I18NSPHINXOPTS=-D latex_paper_size=%PAPER% %I18NSPHINXOPTS%
-)
-
-if "%1" == "" goto help
-
-if "%1" == "help" (
-	:help
-	echo.Please use `make ^<target^>` where ^<target^> is one of
-	echo.  html       to make standalone HTML files
-	echo.  dirhtml    to make HTML files named index.html in directories
-	echo.  singlehtml to make a single large HTML file
-	echo.  pickle     to make pickle files
-	echo.  json       to make JSON files
-	echo.  htmlhelp   to make HTML files and a HTML help project
-	echo.  qthelp     to make HTML files and a qthelp project
-	echo.  devhelp    to make HTML files and a Devhelp project
-	echo.  epub       to make an epub
-	echo.  latex      to make LaTeX files, you can set PAPER=a4 or PAPER=letter
-	echo.  text       to make text files
-	echo.  man        to make manual pages
-	echo.  texinfo    to make Texinfo files
-	echo.  gettext    to make PO message catalogs
-	echo.  changes    to make an overview over all changed/added/deprecated items
-	echo.  xml        to make Docutils-native XML files
-	echo.  pseudoxml  to make pseudoxml-XML files for display purposes
-	echo.  linkcheck  to check all external links for integrity
-	echo.  doctest    to run all doctests embedded in the documentation if enabled
-	echo.  coverage   to run coverage check of the documentation if enabled
-	goto end
-)
-
-if "%1" == "clean" (
-	for /d %%i in (%BUILDDIR%\*) do rmdir /q /s %%i
-	del /q /s %BUILDDIR%\*
-	goto end
-)
-
-
-REM Check if sphinx-build is available and fallback to Python version if any
-%SPHINXBUILD% 2> nul
-if errorlevel 9009 goto sphinx_python
-goto sphinx_ok
-
-:sphinx_python
-
-set SPHINXBUILD=python -m sphinx.__init__
-%SPHINXBUILD% 2> nul
-if errorlevel 9009 (
-	echo.
-	echo.The 'sphinx-build' command was not found. Make sure you have Sphinx
-	echo.installed, then set the SPHINXBUILD environment variable to point
-	echo.to the full path of the 'sphinx-build' executable. Alternatively you
-	echo.may add the Sphinx directory to PATH.
-	echo.
-	echo.If you don't have Sphinx installed, grab it from
-	echo.http://sphinx-doc.org/
-	exit /b 1
-)
-
-:sphinx_ok
-
-
-if "%1" == "html" (
-	%SPHINXBUILD% -b html %ALLSPHINXOPTS% %BUILDDIR%/html
-	if errorlevel 1 exit /b 1
-	echo.
-	echo.Build finished. The HTML pages are in %BUILDDIR%/html.
-	goto end
-)
-
-if "%1" == "dirhtml" (
-	%SPHINXBUILD% -b dirhtml %ALLSPHINXOPTS% %BUILDDIR%/dirhtml
-	if errorlevel 1 exit /b 1
-	echo.
-	echo.Build finished. The HTML pages are in %BUILDDIR%/dirhtml.
-	goto end
-)
-
-if "%1" == "singlehtml" (
-	%SPHINXBUILD% -b singlehtml %ALLSPHINXOPTS% %BUILDDIR%/singlehtml
-	if errorlevel 1 exit /b 1
-	echo.
-	echo.Build finished. The HTML pages are in %BUILDDIR%/singlehtml.
-	goto end
-)
-
-if "%1" == "pickle" (
-	%SPHINXBUILD% -b pickle %ALLSPHINXOPTS% %BUILDDIR%/pickle
-	if errorlevel 1 exit /b 1
-	echo.
-	echo.Build finished; now you can process the pickle files.
-	goto end
-)
-
-if "%1" == "json" (
-	%SPHINXBUILD% -b json %ALLSPHINXOPTS% %BUILDDIR%/json
-	if errorlevel 1 exit /b 1
-	echo.
-	echo.Build finished; now you can process the JSON files.
-	goto end
-)
-
-if "%1" == "htmlhelp" (
-	%SPHINXBUILD% -b htmlhelp %ALLSPHINXOPTS% %BUILDDIR%/htmlhelp
-	if errorlevel 1 exit /b 1
-	echo.
-	echo.Build finished; now you can run HTML Help Workshop with the ^
-.hhp project file in %BUILDDIR%/htmlhelp.
-	goto end
-)
-
-if "%1" == "qthelp" (
-	%SPHINXBUILD% -b qthelp %ALLSPHINXOPTS% %BUILDDIR%/qthelp
-	if errorlevel 1 exit /b 1
-	echo.
-	echo.Build finished; now you can run "qcollectiongenerator" with the ^
-.qhcp project file in %BUILDDIR%/qthelp, like this:
-	echo.^> qcollectiongenerator %BUILDDIR%\qthelp\DFHack.qhcp
-	echo.To view the help file:
-	echo.^> assistant -collectionFile %BUILDDIR%\qthelp\DFHack.ghc
-	goto end
-)
-
-if "%1" == "devhelp" (
-	%SPHINXBUILD% -b devhelp %ALLSPHINXOPTS% %BUILDDIR%/devhelp
-	if errorlevel 1 exit /b 1
-	echo.
-	echo.Build finished.
-	goto end
-)
-
-if "%1" == "epub" (
-	%SPHINXBUILD% -b epub %ALLSPHINXOPTS% %BUILDDIR%/epub
-	if errorlevel 1 exit /b 1
-	echo.
-	echo.Build finished. The epub file is in %BUILDDIR%/epub.
-	goto end
-)
-
-if "%1" == "latex" (
-	%SPHINXBUILD% -b latex %ALLSPHINXOPTS% %BUILDDIR%/latex
-	if errorlevel 1 exit /b 1
-	echo.
-	echo.Build finished; the LaTeX files are in %BUILDDIR%/latex.
-	goto end
-)
-
-if "%1" == "latexpdf" (
-	%SPHINXBUILD% -b latex %ALLSPHINXOPTS% %BUILDDIR%/latex
-	cd %BUILDDIR%/latex
-	make all-pdf
-	cd %~dp0
-	echo.
-	echo.Build finished; the PDF files are in %BUILDDIR%/latex.
-	goto end
-)
-
-if "%1" == "latexpdfja" (
-	%SPHINXBUILD% -b latex %ALLSPHINXOPTS% %BUILDDIR%/latex
-	cd %BUILDDIR%/latex
-	make all-pdf-ja
-	cd %~dp0
-	echo.
-	echo.Build finished; the PDF files are in %BUILDDIR%/latex.
-	goto end
-)
-
-if "%1" == "text" (
-	%SPHINXBUILD% -b text %ALLSPHINXOPTS% %BUILDDIR%/text
-	if errorlevel 1 exit /b 1
-	echo.
-	echo.Build finished. The text files are in %BUILDDIR%/text.
-	goto end
-)
-
-if "%1" == "man" (
-	%SPHINXBUILD% -b man %ALLSPHINXOPTS% %BUILDDIR%/man
-	if errorlevel 1 exit /b 1
-	echo.
-	echo.Build finished. The manual pages are in %BUILDDIR%/man.
-	goto end
-)
-
-if "%1" == "texinfo" (
-	%SPHINXBUILD% -b texinfo %ALLSPHINXOPTS% %BUILDDIR%/texinfo
-	if errorlevel 1 exit /b 1
-	echo.
-	echo.Build finished. The Texinfo files are in %BUILDDIR%/texinfo.
-	goto end
-)
-
-if "%1" == "gettext" (
-	%SPHINXBUILD% -b gettext %I18NSPHINXOPTS% %BUILDDIR%/locale
-	if errorlevel 1 exit /b 1
-	echo.
-	echo.Build finished. The message catalogs are in %BUILDDIR%/locale.
-	goto end
-)
-
-if "%1" == "changes" (
-	%SPHINXBUILD% -b changes %ALLSPHINXOPTS% %BUILDDIR%/changes
-	if errorlevel 1 exit /b 1
-	echo.
-	echo.The overview file is in %BUILDDIR%/changes.
-	goto end
-)
-
-if "%1" == "linkcheck" (
-	%SPHINXBUILD% -b linkcheck %ALLSPHINXOPTS% %BUILDDIR%/linkcheck
-	if errorlevel 1 exit /b 1
-	echo.
-	echo.Link check complete; look for any errors in the above output ^
-or in %BUILDDIR%/linkcheck/output.txt.
-	goto end
-)
-
-if "%1" == "doctest" (
-	%SPHINXBUILD% -b doctest %ALLSPHINXOPTS% %BUILDDIR%/doctest
-	if errorlevel 1 exit /b 1
-	echo.
-	echo.Testing of doctests in the sources finished, look at the ^
-results in %BUILDDIR%/doctest/output.txt.
-	goto end
-)
-
-if "%1" == "coverage" (
-	%SPHINXBUILD% -b coverage %ALLSPHINXOPTS% %BUILDDIR%/coverage
-	if errorlevel 1 exit /b 1
-	echo.
-	echo.Testing of coverage in the sources finished, look at the ^
-results in %BUILDDIR%/coverage/python.txt.
-	goto end
-)
-
-if "%1" == "xml" (
-	%SPHINXBUILD% -b xml %ALLSPHINXOPTS% %BUILDDIR%/xml
-	if errorlevel 1 exit /b 1
-	echo.
-	echo.Build finished. The XML files are in %BUILDDIR%/xml.
-	goto end
-)
-
-if "%1" == "pseudoxml" (
-	%SPHINXBUILD% -b pseudoxml %ALLSPHINXOPTS% %BUILDDIR%/pseudoxml
-	if errorlevel 1 exit /b 1
-	echo.
-	echo.Build finished. The pseudo-XML files are in %BUILDDIR%/pseudoxml.
-	goto end
-)
-
-:end