diff --git a/README.rst b/README.rst
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..aeea41b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/README.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,179 @@
+pinhook
+=======
+
+|Supported Python versions| |Package License| |PyPI package format|
+|Package development status| |With love from tilde.town|
+
+the pluggable python framework for IRC bots and Twitch bots
+
+Tutorial
+--------
+
+Installation
+~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+::
+
+    $ pip install pinhook
+
+Creating an IRC Bot
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+To create the bot, just create a python file with the following:
+
+.. code:: python
+
+    from pinhook.bot import Bot
+
+    bot = Bot(
+        channels=['#foo', '#bar'],
+        nickname='ph-bot',
+        server='irc.freenode.net'
+    )
+    bot.start()
+
+This will start a basic bot and look for plugins in the 'plugins'
+directory to add functionality.
+
+Optional arguments are:
+
+-  ``port``: choose a custom port to connect to the server (default:
+   6667)
+-  ``ops``: list of operators who can do things like make the bot join
+   other channels or quit (default: empty list)
+-  ``plugin_dir``: directory where the bot should look for plugins
+   (default: "plugins")
+-  ``log_level``: string indicating logging level. Logging can be
+   disabled by setting this to "off". (default: "info")
+-  ``ns_pass``: this is the password to identify with nickserv
+-  ``server_pass``: password for the server
+-  ``ssl_required``: boolean to turn ssl on or off
+
+Creating a Twitch Bot
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+Pinhook has a baked in way to connect directly to a twitch channel
+
+.. code:: python
+
+    from pinhook.bot import TwitchBot
+
+    bot = TwitchBot(
+        nickname='ph-bot',
+        channel='#channel',
+        token='super-secret-oauth-token'
+    )
+    bot.start()
+
+This function has far less options, as the server, port, and ssl are
+already handled by twitch.
+
+Optional aguments are:
+
+-  ``ops``
+-  ``plugin_dir``
+-  ``log_level``
+
+These options are the same for both IRC and Twitch
+
+Creating plugins
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+There are two types of plugins, commands and listeners. Commands only
+activate if a message starts with the command word, while listeners
+receive all messages and are parsed by the plugin for maximum
+flexibility.
+
+In your chosen plugins directory ("plugins" by default) make a python
+file with a function. You use the ``@pinhook.plugin.register`` decorator
+to create command plugins, or ``@pinhook.plugin.listener`` to create
+listeners.
+
+The function will need to be structured as such:
+
+.. code:: python
+
+    import pinhook.plugin
+
+    @pinhook.plugin.register('!test')
+    def test_plugin(msg):
+        message = '{}: this is a test!'.format(msg.nick)
+        return pinhook.plugin.message(message)
+
+The function will need to accept a single argument in order to accept a
+``Message`` object from the bot.
+
+The ``Message`` object has the following attributes:
+
+-  ``cmd``: (for command plugins) the command that triggered the
+   function
+-  ``nick``: the user who triggered the command
+-  ``arg``: (for command plugins) all the trailing text after the
+   command. This is what you will use to get optional information for
+   the command
+-  ``text``: (for listener plugins) the entire text of the message
+-  ``channel``: the channel where the command was initiated
+-  ``ops``: the list of bot operators
+-  ``botnick``: the nickname of the bot
+-  ``logger``: instance of ``Bot``'s logger
+-  ``datetime``: aware ``datetime.datetime`` object when the ``Message``
+   object was created
+-  ``timestamp``: float for the unix timestamp when the ``Message``
+   object was created
+
+It also contains the following IRC functions:
+
+-  ``privmsg``: send a message to an arbitrary channel or user
+-  ``action``: same as privmsg, but does a CTCP action. (i.e.,
+   ``/me does a thing``)
+-  ``notice``: send a notice
+
+You can optionally use the ``@pinhook.plugin.ops`` decorator to denote
+that a command should only be executable by a bot op.
+
+-  If you specify the optional second argument, it will be displayed
+   when a non-op attempts to execute the command
+
+The function will need to be structured as such:
+
+.. code:: python
+
+    @pinhook.plugin.register('!test')
+    @pinhook.plugin.ops('!test', 'Only ops can run this command!')
+    def test_plugin(msg):
+        return pinhook.plugin.message('This was run by an op!')
+
+**OR**
+
+The plugin function can return one of the following in order to give a
+response to the command:
+
+-  ``pinhook.plugin.message``: basic message in channel where command
+   was triggered
+-  ``pinhook.plugin.action``: CTCP action in the channel where command
+   was triggered (basically like using ``/me does a thing``)
+
+Examples
+--------
+
+There are some basic examples in the ``examples`` directory in this
+repository.
+
+Here is a list of live bots using pinhook:
+
+-  `pinhook-tilde <https://github.com/archangelic/pinhook-tilde>`__ -
+   fun bot for tilde.town
+-  `adminbot <https://github.com/tildetown/adminbot>`__ - admin helper
+   bot for tilde.town, featuring some of the ways you can change the Bot
+   class to suit your needs
+
+.. |Supported Python versions| image:: https://img.shields.io/pypi/pyversions/pinhook.svg
+   :target: https://pypi.org/project/pinhook
+.. |Package License| image:: https://img.shields.io/pypi/l/pinhook.svg
+   :target: https://github.com/archangelic/pinhook/blob/master/LICENSE
+.. |PyPI package format| image:: https://img.shields.io/pypi/format/pinhook.svg
+   :target: https://pypi.org/project/pinhook
+.. |Package development status| image:: https://img.shields.io/pypi/status/pinhook.svg
+   :target: https://pypi.org/project/pinhook
+.. |With love from tilde.town| image:: https://img.shields.io/badge/with%20love%20from-tilde%20town-e0b0ff.svg
+   :target: https://tilde.town