diff --git a/.github/assets/cookiecutter-scverse-instance.json b/.github/assets/cookiecutter-scverse-instance.json
index 1d6e8428..874300dc 100644
--- a/.github/assets/cookiecutter-scverse-instance.json
+++ b/.github/assets/cookiecutter-scverse-instance.json
@@ -8,6 +8,9 @@
         "github_user": "scverse",
         "project_repo": "https://github.com/scverse/cookiecutter-scverse-instance",
         "license": "BSD 3-Clause License",
-        "_copy_without_render": [".github/workflows/**.yaml"]
+        "_copy_without_render": [
+            ".github/workflows/**.yaml",
+            "docs/_templates/autosummary/**.rst"
+        ]
     }
 }
diff --git a/cookiecutter.json b/cookiecutter.json
index cc9cad13..5b341c30 100644
--- a/cookiecutter.json
+++ b/cookiecutter.json
@@ -14,5 +14,8 @@
         "GNU General Public License Version 3",
         "Unlicense"
     ],
-    "_copy_without_render": [".github/workflows/**.yaml"]
+    "_copy_without_render": [
+        ".github/workflows/**.yaml",
+        "docs/_templates/autosummary/**.rst"
+    ]
 }
diff --git a/{{cookiecutter.project_name}}/.flake8 b/{{cookiecutter.project_name}}/.flake8
index da171efb..3ba9f6fe 100644
--- a/{{cookiecutter.project_name}}/.flake8
+++ b/{{cookiecutter.project_name}}/.flake8
@@ -48,6 +48,8 @@ rst-roles =
     class,
     func,
     ref,
+    cite:p,
+    cite:t,
 rst-directives =
     envvar,
     exception,
diff --git a/{{cookiecutter.project_name}}/.readthedocs.yaml b/{{cookiecutter.project_name}}/.readthedocs.yaml
index 170325e9..9e5d5fa2 100644
--- a/{{cookiecutter.project_name}}/.readthedocs.yaml
+++ b/{{cookiecutter.project_name}}/.readthedocs.yaml
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ build:
         python: "3.10"
 sphinx:
     configuration: docs/conf.py
+    # disable this for more lenient docs builds
     fail_on_warning: true
 python:
     install:
diff --git a/{{cookiecutter.project_name}}/docs/_templates/autosummary/class.rst b/{{cookiecutter.project_name}}/docs/_templates/autosummary/class.rst
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..49f45edd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/{{cookiecutter.project_name}}/docs/_templates/autosummary/class.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+{{ fullname | escape | underline}}
+
+.. currentmodule:: {{ module }}
+
+.. add toctree option to make autodoc generate the pages
+
+.. autoclass:: {{ objname }}
+
+{% block attributes %}
+{% if attributes %}
+Attributes table
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+.. autosummary::
+{% for item in attributes %}
+    ~{{ fullname }}.{{ item }}
+{%- endfor %}
+{% endif %}
+{% endblock %}
+
+{% block methods %}
+{% if methods %}
+Methods table
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+.. autosummary::
+{% for item in methods %}
+    {%- if item != '__init__' %}
+    ~{{ fullname }}.{{ item }}
+    {%- endif -%}
+{%- endfor %}
+{% endif %}
+{% endblock %}
+
+{% block attributes_documentation %}
+{% if attributes %}
+Attributes
+~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+{% for item in attributes %}
+{{ item }}
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+.. autoattribute:: {{ [objname, item] | join(".") }}
+{%- endfor %}
+
+{% endif %}
+{% endblock %}
+
+{% block methods_documentation %}
+{% if methods %}
+Methods
+~~~~~~~
+
+{% for item in methods %}
+{%- if item != '__init__' %}
+{{ item }}
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+.. automethod:: {{ [objname, item] | join(".") }}
+{%- endif -%}
+{%- endfor %}
+
+{% endif %}
+{% endblock %}
diff --git a/{{cookiecutter.project_name}}/docs/api.md b/{{cookiecutter.project_name}}/docs/api.md
index c508b486..54a81166 100644
--- a/{{cookiecutter.project_name}}/docs/api.md
+++ b/{{cookiecutter.project_name}}/docs/api.md
@@ -34,4 +34,5 @@
     :toctree: generated
 
     pl.basic_plot
+    pl.BasicClass
 ```
diff --git a/{{cookiecutter.project_name}}/docs/conf.py b/{{cookiecutter.project_name}}/docs/conf.py
index 27b4ba26..52e38548 100644
--- a/{{cookiecutter.project_name}}/docs/conf.py
+++ b/{{cookiecutter.project_name}}/docs/conf.py
@@ -17,10 +17,11 @@
 # -- Project information -----------------------------------------------------
 
 info = metadata("{{cookiecutter.project_name}}")
-project = info["Name"]
+project_name = info["Name"]
 author = info["Author"]
 copyright = f"{datetime.now():%Y}, {author}."
 version = info["Version"]
+repository_url = "https://github.com/" + "{{cookiecutter.github_user}}" + "/" + project_name
 
 # The full version, including alpha/beta/rc tags
 release = info["Version"]
@@ -33,7 +34,7 @@
 html_context = {
     "display_github": True,  # Integrate GitHub
     "github_user": "{{cookiecutter.github_user}}",  # Username
-    "github_repo": project,  # Repo name
+    "github_repo": project_name,  # Repo name
     "github_version": "main",  # Version
     "conf_py_path": "/docs/",  # Path in the checkout to the docs root
 }
@@ -43,15 +44,14 @@
 # Add any Sphinx extension module names here, as strings.
 # They can be extensions coming with Sphinx (named 'sphinx.ext.*') or your custom ones.
 extensions = [
-    "myst_parser",
+    "myst_nb",
+    "sphinx_copybutton",
     "sphinx.ext.autodoc",
     "sphinx.ext.intersphinx",
     "sphinx.ext.autosummary",
     "sphinx.ext.napoleon",
     "sphinxcontrib.bibtex",
     "sphinx_autodoc_typehints",
-    "scanpydoc.definition_list_typed_field",
-    "nbsphinx",
     "sphinx.ext.mathjax",
     *[p.stem for p in (HERE / "extensions").glob("*.py")],
 ]
@@ -65,13 +65,31 @@
 napoleon_use_rtype = True  # having a separate entry generally helps readability
 napoleon_use_param = True
 myst_heading_anchors = 3  # create anchors for h1-h3
+myst_enable_extensions = [
+    "amsmath",
+    "colon_fence",
+    "deflist",
+    "dollarmath",
+    "html_image",
+    "html_admonition",
+]
+myst_url_schemes = ("http", "https", "mailto")
+nb_output_stderr = "remove"
+nb_execution_mode = "off"
+nb_merge_streams = True
+typehints_defaults = "braces"
+
+source_suffix = {
+    ".rst": "restructuredtext",
+    ".ipynb": "myst-nb",
+    ".myst": "myst-nb",
+}
 
 intersphinx_mapping = {
     "anndata": ("https://anndata.readthedocs.io/en/stable/", None),
     "numpy": ("https://numpy.org/doc/stable/", None),
 }
 
-nbsphinx_execute = "never"
 
 # List of patterns, relative to source directory, that match files and
 # directories to ignore when looking for source files.
@@ -84,10 +102,16 @@
 # The theme to use for HTML and HTML Help pages.  See the documentation for
 # a list of builtin themes.
 #
-html_theme = "furo"
+html_theme = "sphinx_book_theme"
 html_static_path = ["_static"]
+html_title = project_name
+
+html_theme_options = {
+    "repository_url": repository_url,
+    "use_repository_button": True,
+}
 
-pygments_style = "sphinx"
+pygments_style = "default"
 
 nitpick_ignore = [
     # If building the documentation fails because of a missing link that is outside your control,
diff --git a/{{cookiecutter.project_name}}/docs/developer_docs.md b/{{cookiecutter.project_name}}/docs/developer_docs.md
index a5fe49d4..53a57d53 100644
--- a/{{cookiecutter.project_name}}/docs/developer_docs.md
+++ b/{{cookiecutter.project_name}}/docs/developer_docs.md
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ On the RTD dashboard choose "Import a Project" and follow the instructions to ad
     that break the documentation. To do so, got to `Admin -> Advanced Settings`, check the
     `Build pull requests for this projects` option, and click `Save`. For more information, please refer to
     the [official RTD documentation](https://docs.readthedocs.io/en/stable/pull-requests.html).
+-   If you find the RTD builds are failing, you can disable the `fail_on_warning` option in `.readthedocs.yaml`.
 
 ### Coverage tests with _Codecov_
 
@@ -289,15 +290,15 @@ Please write documentation for your package. This project uses [sphinx][] with t
 
 -   the [myst][] extension allows to write documentation in markdown/Markedly Structured Text
 -   [Numpy-style docstrings][numpydoc] (through the [napoloen][numpydoc-napoleon] extension).
--   Jupyter notebooks as tutorials through [nbsphinx][] (See [Tutorials with nbsphinx](#tutorials-with-nbsphinx-and-jupyter-notebooks))
+-   Jupyter notebooks as tutorials through [myst-nb][] (See [Tutorials with myst-nb](#tutorials-with-myst-nb-and-jupyter-notebooks))
 -   [Sphinx autodoc typehints][], to automatically reference annotated input and output types
 
 See the [scanpy developer docs](https://scanpy.readthedocs.io/en/latest/dev/documentation.html) for more information
 on how to write documentation.
 
-### Tutorials with nbsphinx and jupyter notebooks
+### Tutorials with myst-nb and jupyter notebooks
 
-The documentation is set-up to render jupyter notebooks stored in the `docs/notebooks` directory using [nbsphinx][].
+The documentation is set-up to render jupyter notebooks stored in the `docs/notebooks` directory using [myst-nb][].
 Currently, only notebooks in `.ipynb` format are supported that will be included with both their input and output cells.
 It is your reponsibility to update and re-run the notebook whenever necessary.
 
@@ -305,8 +306,6 @@ If you are interested in automatically running notebooks as part of the continuo
 out [this feature request](https://github.com/scverse/cookiecutter-scverse/issues/40) in the `cookiecutter-scverse`
 repository.
 
-[nbsphinx]: https://github.com/spatialaudio/nbsphinx
-
 #### Hints
 
 -   If you refer to objects from other packages, please add an entry to `intersphinx_mapping` in `docs/conf.py`. Only
@@ -329,7 +328,7 @@ open _build/html/index.html
 [codecov docs]: https://docs.codecov.com/docs
 [pre-commit.ci]: https://pre-commit.ci/
 [readthedocs.org]: https://readthedocs.org/
-[nbshpinx]: https://github.com/spatialaudio/nbsphinx
+[myst-nb]: https://myst-nb.readthedocs.io/en/latest/
 [jupytext]: https://jupytext.readthedocs.io/en/latest/
 [pre-commit]: https://pre-commit.com/
 [anndata]: https://github.com/scverse/anndata
diff --git a/{{cookiecutter.project_name}}/docs/extensions/.gitkeep b/{{cookiecutter.project_name}}/docs/extensions/.gitkeep
deleted file mode 100644
index e69de29b..00000000
diff --git a/{{cookiecutter.project_name}}/docs/extensions/typed_returns.py b/{{cookiecutter.project_name}}/docs/extensions/typed_returns.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..94478130
--- /dev/null
+++ b/{{cookiecutter.project_name}}/docs/extensions/typed_returns.py
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+# code from https://github.com/theislab/scanpy/blob/master/docs/extensions/typed_returns.py
+# with some minor adjustment
+import re
+
+from sphinx.application import Sphinx
+from sphinx.ext.napoleon import NumpyDocstring
+
+
+def _process_return(lines):
+    for line in lines:
+        m = re.fullmatch(r"(?P<param>\w+)\s+:\s+(?P<type>[\w.]+)", line)
+        if m:
+            # Once this is in scanpydoc, we can use the fancy hover stuff
+            yield f'-{m["param"]} (:class:`~{m["type"]}`)'
+        else:
+            yield line
+
+
+def _parse_returns_section(self, section):
+    lines_raw = list(_process_return(self._dedent(self._consume_to_next_section())))
+    lines = self._format_block(":returns: ", lines_raw)
+    if lines and lines[-1]:
+        lines.append("")
+    return lines
+
+
+def setup(app: Sphinx):
+    """Set app."""
+    NumpyDocstring._parse_returns_section = _parse_returns_section
diff --git a/{{cookiecutter.project_name}}/pyproject.toml b/{{cookiecutter.project_name}}/pyproject.toml
index ac4bdb28..d3a4976e 100644
--- a/{{cookiecutter.project_name}}/pyproject.toml
+++ b/{{cookiecutter.project_name}}/pyproject.toml
@@ -29,13 +29,13 @@ dev = [
 ]
 doc = [
     "sphinx>=4",
-    "furo",
-    "myst-parser",
+    "sphinx-book-theme>=0.3.3",
+    "myst-nb",
     "sphinxcontrib-bibtex>=1.0.0",
-    "scanpydoc[typehints]>=0.7.4",
+    "sphinx-autodoc-typehints",
     # For notebooks
-    "nbsphinx",
-    "ipykernel"
+    "ipykernel",
+    "sphinx-copybutton",
 ]
 test = [
     "pytest",
diff --git a/{{cookiecutter.project_name}}/src/{{cookiecutter.package_name}}/pl/__init__.py b/{{cookiecutter.project_name}}/src/{{cookiecutter.package_name}}/pl/__init__.py
index a9cd20a3..c2315dd0 100644
--- a/{{cookiecutter.project_name}}/src/{{cookiecutter.package_name}}/pl/__init__.py
+++ b/{{cookiecutter.project_name}}/src/{{cookiecutter.package_name}}/pl/__init__.py
@@ -1 +1 @@
-from .basic import basic_plot
+from .basic import BasicClass, basic_plot
diff --git a/{{cookiecutter.project_name}}/src/{{cookiecutter.package_name}}/pl/basic.py b/{{cookiecutter.project_name}}/src/{{cookiecutter.package_name}}/pl/basic.py
index 71b3627d..431582b5 100644
--- a/{{cookiecutter.project_name}}/src/{{cookiecutter.package_name}}/pl/basic.py
+++ b/{{cookiecutter.project_name}}/src/{{cookiecutter.package_name}}/pl/basic.py
@@ -2,6 +2,44 @@
 
 
 def basic_plot(adata: AnnData) -> int:
-    """Generate a basic plot for an AnnData object."""
+    """Generate a basic plot for an AnnData object.
+
+    Parameters
+    ----------
+    adata
+        The AnnData object to preprocess.
+
+    Returns
+    -------
+    Some integer value.
+    """
     print("Import matplotlib and implement a plotting function here.")
     return 0
+
+
+class BasicClass:
+    """A basic class.
+
+    Parameters
+    ----------
+    adata
+        The AnnData object to preprocess.
+    """
+
+    def __init__(self, adata: AnnData):
+        print("Implement a class here.")
+
+    def my_method(self, param: int) -> int:
+        """A basic method.
+
+        Parameters
+        ----------
+        param
+            A parameter.
+
+        Returns
+        -------
+        Some integer value.
+        """
+        print("Implement a method here.")
+        return 0
diff --git a/{{cookiecutter.project_name}}/src/{{cookiecutter.package_name}}/pp/basic.py b/{{cookiecutter.project_name}}/src/{{cookiecutter.package_name}}/pp/basic.py
index 936f1194..5ff1d411 100644
--- a/{{cookiecutter.project_name}}/src/{{cookiecutter.package_name}}/pp/basic.py
+++ b/{{cookiecutter.project_name}}/src/{{cookiecutter.package_name}}/pp/basic.py
@@ -2,6 +2,16 @@
 
 
 def basic_preproc(adata: AnnData) -> int:
-    """Run a basic preprocessing on the AnnData object."""
+    """Run a basic preprocessing on the AnnData :cite:p:`Wolf2018` object.
+
+    Parameters
+    ----------
+    adata
+        The AnnData object to preprocess.
+
+    Returns
+    -------
+    Some integer value.
+    """
     print("Implement a preprocessing function here.")
     return 0
diff --git a/{{cookiecutter.project_name}}/src/{{cookiecutter.package_name}}/tl/basic.py b/{{cookiecutter.project_name}}/src/{{cookiecutter.package_name}}/tl/basic.py
index 4e3387c5..d215ade4 100644
--- a/{{cookiecutter.project_name}}/src/{{cookiecutter.package_name}}/tl/basic.py
+++ b/{{cookiecutter.project_name}}/src/{{cookiecutter.package_name}}/tl/basic.py
@@ -2,6 +2,16 @@
 
 
 def basic_tool(adata: AnnData) -> int:
-    """Run a tool on the AnnData object."""
+    """Run a tool on the AnnData object.
+
+    Parameters
+    ----------
+    adata
+        The AnnData object to preprocess.
+
+    Returns
+    -------
+    Some integer value.
+    """
     print("Implement a tool to run on the AnnData object.")
     return 0