diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.rst b/CONTRIBUTING.rst
index 74026b5a..2fccd258 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.rst
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.rst
@@ -1,46 +1,47 @@
 Releases and Changelog
 ----------------------
 
-We use the `auto <https://intuit.github.io/auto/>`_ tool to generate the changelog and automatically release the project.
-
-`auto` is used in by GitHub actions, which monitors the labels on the pull request.
-This automation can add entries to the changelog, cut releases, and
-push new images to `dockerhub <https://hub.docker.com/r/centerforopenneuroscience/duct>`_.
-
-The following pull request labels are respected:
-
-    * major: Increment the major version when merged
-    * minor: Increment the minor version when merged
-    * patch: Increment the patch version when merged
-    * skip-release: Preserve the current version when merged
-    * release: Create a release when this pr is merged
-    * internal: Changes only affect the internal API
-    * documentation: Changes only affect the documentation
-    * tests: Add or improve existing tests
-    * dependencies: Update one or more dependencies version
-    * performance: Improve performance of an existing feature
+We use `auto <https://intuit.github.io/auto/>`_ (triggered via GitHub Actions)
+to generate the changelog and automatically release the project.  Changelog
+entries are generated from pull request titles and classified using pull
+request labels.  Every PR should therefore have a label; unlabelled PRs are
+treated as though they had the "patch" label by default.
+
+The following pull request labels are recognized:
+
+* major: Increment the major version when merged
+* minor: Increment the minor version when merged
+* patch: Increment the patch version when merged
+* skip-release: Preserve the current version when merged
+* release: Create a release when this PR is merged
+* internal: Changes only affect the internal API
+* documentation: Changes only affect the documentation
+* tests: Add or improve existing tests
+* dependencies: Update one or more dependencies version
+* performance: Improve performance of an existing feature
 
 
 Precommit
 ---------
 
-The project uses a number of automated checks to limit tedious work.
-The checks will be run automatically prior to commit if `pre-commit` is installed in your
-environment.
+The project uses a number of automated checks to limit tedious work.  The
+checks will be run automatically prior to commit if `pre-commit
+<https://pre-commit.com>`_ is installed in your environment.
 
-`pip install pre-commit`
-
-Note: the README.md is automatically updated to include the helptext, but because argparse changed its
-output in python 3.10+, CI enforces the 3.10+ helptext.
-Please either use 3.10+ or drop the `optional arguments` vs `options` diff.
+Note: ``README.md`` is automatically updated to include the help text, but
+because argparse changed its output in Python 3.10+, CI enforces the 3.10+ help
+text.  Please either use 3.10+ or drop the "optional arguments" vs "options"
+diff.
 
 
 Testing
 -------
 If you are contributing code, please consider adding a unit test.
 
-To run the tests:
-`tox`
+To run the tests::
+
+    tox
+
+To run tests on one file (args after ``--`` are passed to pytest)::
 
-To run tests on one file (args after -- are passed to pytest):
-`tox -- test/test_my_thing.py`
+    tox -- test/test_my_thing.py