diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e304aed
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+/cowsql-1.15.3.tar.gz
diff --git a/cowsql.spec b/cowsql.spec
index c7c5d59..9b9decb 100644
--- a/cowsql.spec
+++ b/cowsql.spec
@@ -1,3 +1,9 @@
+# adapted with love from sqlite
+
+%bcond_without check
+%bcond_with docs
+%bcond_without static
+
 %global gittagversion 1.15.3
 %global gittag v%{?gittagversion}
 
@@ -6,15 +12,37 @@ Version:        %{gittagversion}
 Release:        %autorelease
 Summary:        Embeddable, replicated and fault tolerant SQL engine
 
-License:        GPL-3.0-only
+License:        LGPL-3.0-only
 URL:            https://github.com/cowsql/cowsql/
 Source:         %{url}/archive/%{gittag}/%{name}-%{version}.tar.gz
 
+Provides:       libcowsql
+
+ExcludeArch:    s390x
+
+# tool requirements
+BuildRequires:  autoconf
+BuildRequires:  automake
 BuildRequires:  gcc
+BuildRequires:  libtool
 BuildRequires:  make
+# cowsql
+BuildRequires:  libuv-devel
+BuildRequires:  raft-devel
+BuildRequires:  sqlite-devel
+
+# docs
+%if %{with docs}
+BuildRequires:  python-sphinx
+BuildRequires:  python-mock
+BuildRequires:  python-alabaster
+BuildRequires:  python-commonmark
+BuildRequires:  python-sphinx-rtd-theme
+BuildRequires:  python-recommonmark
+%endif
 
 %description
-cowsql (/ˈkaʊ,siːkwəl/ listen) is a C library that implements an embeddable and
+cowsql is a C library that implements an embeddable and
 replicated SQL database engine with high availability and automatic failover.
 
 cowsql extends SQLite with a network protocol that can connect together various
@@ -25,26 +53,79 @@ The name "cowsql" loosely refers to the "pets vs. cattle" concept, since it's
 generaly fine to delete or rebuild a particular node of an application that
 uses cowsql for data storage.
 
-%package libs
-Summary: Libraries for %{name}
+%package devel
+Summary: Development tools for the cowsql embeddable SQL database engine
+Requires: %{name}%{?_isa} = %{version}-%{release}
+Requires: pkgconfig
+Provides: lib%{name}-devel
 
-%description libs
-Libraries for %{name}
+%description devel
+This package contains the header files and development documentation 
+for %{name}. If you like to develop programs using %{name}, you will need 
+to install %{name}-devel.
+
+%if %{with docs}
+%package doc
+Summary: Documentation for libcowsql
+BuildArch: noarch
+ 
+%description doc
+This package contains most of the static HTML files that comprise the
+cowsql.dev website
+%endif
 
 %prep
 %autosetup -p1 -n %{name}-%{version}
+autoreconf -iv
 
 %build
 %configure
 %make_build
 
+%if %{with docs}
+sphinx-build -a docs docs-build
+%endif
+
 %install
 %make_install
 
+%if ! %{with static}
+rm -f $RPM_BUILD_ROOT/%{_libdir}/*.{la,a}
+%endif
+
+%if %{with docs}
+pushd docs-build
+for d in **/*; do
+  install -Dpm 644 -t %{buildroot}/usr/share/doc/cowsql/ $d
+done
+popd
+%endif
+
+%if %{with check}
+%check
+make check
+%endif
+
 %files
-%doc README docs/
 %license LICENSE
-%{_bindir}/%{name}
+
+%{_libdir}/lib%{name}.so.0
+%{_libdir}/lib%{name}.so.0.*
+ 
+%files devel
+%{_includedir}/%{name}.h
+%{_libdir}/lib%{name}.so
+%{_libdir}/pkgconfig/cowsql.pc
+
+%if %{with static}
+%{_libdir}/lib%{name}.a
+%exclude %{_libdir}/*.la
+%endif
+
+%if %{with docs}
+%files doc
+%doc /usr/share/doc/cowsql
+%endif
 
 %changelog
 %autochangelog
diff --git a/sources b/sources
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5c881ea
--- /dev/null
+++ b/sources
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+SHA512 (cowsql-1.15.3.tar.gz) = c22b8b29f62c65a6e6289424e4a168fbfc772c1058b378ba5d3300f29cdf8192f4818291be23df26551b5cabc46948798df4816dab83ed6c786b88fc2c85d320