diff --git a/generate_docs.py b/generate_docs.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..bb93ddd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/generate_docs.py
@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+"""
+Programmatic MkDocs build script for OmniRead.
+
+This script builds (or serves) the documentation by invoking MkDocs
+*as a Python library*, not via shell commands.
+
+Requirements:
+- mkdocs
+- mkdocs-material
+- mkdocstrings[python]
+
+Usage:
+    python generate_docs.py
+    python generate_docs.py --serve
+"""
+
+import sys
+from pathlib import Path
+
+from mkdocs.commands import build as mkdocs_build
+from mkdocs.commands import serve as mkdocs_serve
+from mkdocs.config import load_config
+
+
+PROJECT_ROOT = Path(__file__).resolve().parent
+MKDOCS_YML = PROJECT_ROOT / "mkdocs.yml"
+
+
+def main() -> None:
+    if not MKDOCS_YML.exists():
+        raise FileNotFoundError("mkdocs.yml not found at project root")
+
+    # Load MkDocs configuration programmatically
+    config = load_config(str(MKDOCS_YML))
+
+    # Decide mode
+    if "--serve" in sys.argv:
+        # Live-reload development server
+        mkdocs_serve.serve(config)
+    else:
+        # Static site build
+        mkdocs_build.build(config)
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    main()