# reStructuredText

Learn how Vale handles reStructuredText content.

reStructuredText is supported through the external program [`rst2html`](http://docutils.sourceforge.net/docs/user/tools.html#rst2html-py). To get started, you’ll need to install the [`docutils`](https://pypi.org/project/docutils/) package:

```bash
$ pip install docutils
```

You’ll need to ensure that the `rst2html` executable is available in your `$PATH` (this should happen automatically).

The supported extensions are `.rst` and `.rest`.

By default, Vale ignores:

* [Literal blocks](https://docutils.sourceforge.io/docs/user/rst/quickref.html#literal-blocks).
* [Inline literals](https://docutils.sourceforge.io/docs/user/rst/quickref.html#inline-markup).
* URLs: See [URL handling](https://github.com/errata-ai/vale/issues/320) for more information.

## [Comments](#comments)

Vale supports comment-based configuration in reStructuredText files:

* Turn Vale off entirely:

```rst
.. vale off

This text will be ignored.

.. vale on
```

* Turn off a specific rule:

```rst
.. vale Style.Redundancy = NO

This is some text ACT test

.. vale Style.Redundancy = YES
```

* Turn off specific match(es) within a rule:

```rst
.. vale Style.Redundancy["ACT test","OTHER"] = NO

This is some text ACT test

.. vale Style.Redundancy["ACT test","OTHER"] = YES
```

* Turn on or off specific styles:

```rst
.. vale StyleName1 = YES
.. vale StyleName2 = NO
```

* Set styles (enabling them and switching off any other styles):

```rst
.. vale style = StyleName1
.. vale styles = StyleName1, StyleName2
```

[HTML](https://docs.vale.sh/formats/html) [XML](https://docs.vale.sh/formats/xml)
