Format text in a link in reStructuredText

Question

How do you format text within a denoted link in reStructuredText?

Specifically, I wish to generate the following HTML from my rst:

Answer 1

If you want to essentially do get HTML/CSS equivalent of

This is red text

in reStructuredText using Sphinx, you can do this by creating a role:

.. role:: red

Then you use it like this:

:red:`This is red text`

There should be only one tick mark ` at the end of the line above. You, of course, have to have

.red { color: red }

in your CSS file.