diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 8e663cae2f..b8b4857155 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 # This is used with `make <option>` and is used for running various
 # administration operations on the code.
 
-BLACK_FORMAT_CONFIGS = --target-version py37 --line-length 100
+BLACK_FORMAT_CONFIGS = --target-version py37 --line-length 100 --exclude=/docs
 TEST_GAME_DIR = .test_game_dir
 TESTS ?= evennia
 
diff --git a/evennia/commands/default/building.py b/evennia/commands/default/building.py
index 8ce409300f..a69d1cce15 100644
--- a/evennia/commands/default/building.py
+++ b/evennia/commands/default/building.py
@@ -13,8 +13,9 @@ from evennia.utils.utils import (
     class_from_module,
     get_all_typeclasses,
     variable_from_module,
-    dbref, interactive,
-    list_to_string
+    dbref,
+    interactive,
+    list_to_string,
 )
 from evennia.utils.eveditor import EvEditor
 from evennia.utils.evmore import EvMore
@@ -3230,7 +3231,6 @@ class CmdTag(COMMAND_DEFAULT_CLASS):
 # helper functions for spawn
 
 
-
 class CmdSpawn(COMMAND_DEFAULT_CLASS):
     """
     spawn objects from prototype
@@ -3333,16 +3333,16 @@ class CmdSpawn(COMMAND_DEFAULT_CLASS):
             err = f"No prototype named '{prototype_key}' was found."
         elif nprots > 1:
             err = "Found {} prototypes matching '{}':\n  {}".format(
-                    nprots,
-                    prototype_key,
-                    ", ".join(proto.get("prototype_key", "") for proto in prototypes),
-                    )
+                nprots,
+                prototype_key,
+                ", ".join(proto.get("prototype_key", "") for proto in prototypes),
+            )
         else:
             # we have a single prototype, check access
             prototype = prototypes[0]
             if not self.caller.locks.check_lockstring(
-                    self.caller, prototype.get("prototype_locks", ""),
-                    access_type="spawn", default=True):
+                self.caller, prototype.get("prototype_locks", ""), access_type="spawn", default=True
+            ):
                 err = "You don't have access to use this prototype."
 
         if err:
@@ -3440,10 +3440,7 @@ class CmdSpawn(COMMAND_DEFAULT_CLASS):
         if not table:
             return True
         EvMore(
-            self.caller,
-            str(table),
-            exit_on_lastpage=True,
-            justify_kwargs=False,
+            self.caller, str(table), exit_on_lastpage=True, justify_kwargs=False,
         )
 
     @interactive
@@ -3487,7 +3484,8 @@ class CmdSpawn(COMMAND_DEFAULT_CLASS):
                 return
             try:
                 n_updated = spawner.batch_update_objects_with_prototype(
-                    prototype, objects=existing_objects)
+                    prototype, objects=existing_objects
+                )
             except Exception:
                 logger.log_trace()
             caller.msg(f"{n_updated} objects were updated.")
@@ -3575,8 +3573,11 @@ class CmdSpawn(COMMAND_DEFAULT_CLASS):
             tags = self.lhslist
             err = self._list_prototypes(tags=tags)
             if err:
-                caller.msg("No prototypes found with prototype-tag(s): {}".format(
-                    list_to_string(tags, "or")))
+                caller.msg(
+                    "No prototypes found with prototype-tag(s): {}".format(
+                        list_to_string(tags, "or")
+                    )
+                )
             return
 
         if "save" in self.switches:
@@ -3606,8 +3607,10 @@ class CmdSpawn(COMMAND_DEFAULT_CLASS):
             prot_prototype_key = prototype.get("prototype_key")
 
             if not (prototype_key or prot_prototype_key):
-                caller.msg("A prototype_key must be given, either as `prototype_key = <prototype>` "
-                           "or as a key 'prototype_key' inside the prototype structure.")
+                caller.msg(
+                    "A prototype_key must be given, either as `prototype_key = <prototype>` "
+                    "or as a key 'prototype_key' inside the prototype structure."
+                )
                 return
 
             if prototype_key is None:
@@ -3615,14 +3618,14 @@ class CmdSpawn(COMMAND_DEFAULT_CLASS):
 
             if prot_prototype_key != prototype_key:
                 caller.msg("(Replacing `prototype_key` in prototype with given key.)")
-                prototype['prototype_key'] = prototype_key
+                prototype["prototype_key"] = prototype_key
 
             if prototype_desc is not None and prot_prototype_key != prototype_desc:
                 caller.msg("(Replacing `prototype_desc` in prototype with given desc.)")
-                prototype['prototype_desc'] = prototype_desc
+                prototype["prototype_desc"] = prototype_desc
             if prototype_tags is not None and prototype.get("prototype_tags") != prototype_tags:
-                caller.msg("(Replacing `prototype_tags` in prototype with given tag(s))" )
-                prototype['prototype_tags'] = prototype_tags
+                caller.msg("(Replacing `prototype_tags` in prototype with given tag(s))")
+                prototype["prototype_tags"] = prototype_tags
 
             string = ""
             # check for existing prototype (exact match)
@@ -3635,11 +3638,17 @@ class CmdSpawn(COMMAND_DEFAULT_CLASS):
             if old_prototype:
                 if not diffstr:
                     string = f"|yAlready existing Prototype:|n\n{new_prototype_detail}\n"
-                    question = "\nThere seems to be no changes. Do you still want to (re)save? [Y]/N"
+                    question = (
+                        "\nThere seems to be no changes. Do you still want to (re)save? [Y]/N"
+                    )
                 else:
-                    string = (f"|yExisting prototype \"{prototype_key}\" found. Change:|n\n{diffstr}\n"
-                              f"|yNew changed prototype:|n\n{new_prototype_detail}")
-                    question = "\n|yDo you want to apply the change to the existing prototype?|n [Y]/N"
+                    string = (
+                        f'|yExisting prototype "{prototype_key}" found. Change:|n\n{diffstr}\n'
+                        f"|yNew changed prototype:|n\n{new_prototype_detail}"
+                    )
+                    question = (
+                        "\n|yDo you want to apply the change to the existing prototype?|n [Y]/N"
+                    )
             else:
                 string = f"|yCreating new prototype:|n\n{new_prototype_detail}"
                 question = "\nDo you want to continue saving? [Y]/N"
@@ -3692,8 +3701,11 @@ class CmdSpawn(COMMAND_DEFAULT_CLASS):
             except protlib.PermissionError as err:
                 retmsg = f"|rError deleting:|R {err}|n"
             else:
-                retmsg = ("Deletion successful" if success else
-                          "Deletion failed (does the prototype exist?)")
+                retmsg = (
+                    "Deletion successful"
+                    if success
+                    else "Deletion failed (does the prototype exist?)"
+                )
             caller.msg(retmsg)
             return
 
@@ -3726,7 +3738,7 @@ class CmdSpawn(COMMAND_DEFAULT_CLASS):
         try:
             for obj in spawner.spawn(prototype):
                 self.caller.msg("Spawned %s." % obj.get_display_name(self.caller))
-                if not prototype.get('location') and not noloc:
+                if not prototype.get("location") and not noloc:
                     # we don't hardcode the location in the prototype (unless the user
                     # did so manually) - that would lead to it having to be 'removed' every
                     # time we try to update objects with this prototype in the future.
diff --git a/evennia/commands/default/tests.py b/evennia/commands/default/tests.py
index 9c36ec6425..6969829871 100644
--- a/evennia/commands/default/tests.py
+++ b/evennia/commands/default/tests.py
@@ -1366,7 +1366,9 @@ class TestBuilding(CommandTest):
 
         # spawn/examine with invalid prototype
         # shows error
-        self.call(building.CmdSpawn(), "/examine NO_EXISTS", "No prototype named 'NO_EXISTS' was found.")
+        self.call(
+            building.CmdSpawn(), "/examine NO_EXISTS", "No prototype named 'NO_EXISTS' was found."
+        )
 
 
 class TestComms(CommandTest):
diff --git a/evennia/prototypes/menus.py b/evennia/prototypes/menus.py
index 1024b9d63f..94b331a303 100644
--- a/evennia/prototypes/menus.py
+++ b/evennia/prototypes/menus.py
@@ -2179,8 +2179,11 @@ def _format_diff_text_and_options(diff, minimal=True, **kwargs):
                 vsep = "" if len(vold) < 78 else "\n"
 
                 if instruction == "ADD":
-                    texts.append("   |c[{optnum}] |yADD|n: {new}".format(
-                        optnum=optnum, new=_visualize(new, rootname)))
+                    texts.append(
+                        "   |c[{optnum}] |yADD|n: {new}".format(
+                            optnum=optnum, new=_visualize(new, rootname)
+                        )
+                    )
                 elif instruction == "REMOVE" and not new:
                     if rootname == "tags" and old[1] == protlib.PROTOTYPE_TAG_CATEGORY:
                         # special exception for the prototype-tag mechanism
@@ -2188,8 +2191,11 @@ def _format_diff_text_and_options(diff, minimal=True, **kwargs):
                         # not be listed as REMOVE.
                         return texts, options, optnum
 
-                    texts.append("   |c[{optnum}] |rREMOVE|n: {old}".format(
-                        optnum=optnum, old=_visualize(old, rootname)))
+                    texts.append(
+                        "   |c[{optnum}] |rREMOVE|n: {old}".format(
+                            optnum=optnum, old=_visualize(old, rootname)
+                        )
+                    )
                 else:
                     vinst = "|y{}|n".format(instruction)
                     texts.append(
@@ -2294,8 +2300,9 @@ def node_apply_diff(caller, **kwargs):
     if not custom_location:
         diff.pop("location", None)
 
-    txt, options = _format_diff_text_and_options(diff, objects=update_objects,
-                                                 base_obj=base_obj, prototype=prototype)
+    txt, options = _format_diff_text_and_options(
+        diff, objects=update_objects, base_obj=base_obj, prototype=prototype
+    )
 
     if options:
         text = [
diff --git a/evennia/prototypes/prototypes.py b/evennia/prototypes/prototypes.py
index 5d29d15b44..98cfa9505c 100644
--- a/evennia/prototypes/prototypes.py
+++ b/evennia/prototypes/prototypes.py
@@ -124,13 +124,13 @@ def homogenize_prototype(prototype, custom_keys=None):
 
     # add required missing parts that had defaults before
 
-    homogenized["prototype_key"] = homogenized.get("prototype_key",
+    homogenized["prototype_key"] = homogenized.get(
+        "prototype_key",
         # assign a random hash as key
-        "prototype-{}".format(
-            hashlib.md5(bytes(str(time.time()), "utf-8")).hexdigest()[:7]))
+        "prototype-{}".format(hashlib.md5(bytes(str(time.time()), "utf-8")).hexdigest()[:7]),
+    )
     homogenized["prototype_tags"] = homogenized.get("prototype_tags", [])
-    homogenized["prototype_locks"] = homogenized.get(
-        "prototype_lock", _PROTOTYPE_FALLBACK_LOCK)
+    homogenized["prototype_locks"] = homogenized.get("prototype_lock", _PROTOTYPE_FALLBACK_LOCK)
     homogenized["prototype_desc"] = homogenized.get("prototype_desc", "")
     if "typeclass" not in prototype and "prototype_parent" not in prototype:
         homogenized["typeclass"] = settings.BASE_OBJECT_TYPECLASS
@@ -752,7 +752,7 @@ def prototype_to_str(prototype):
             )
         attrs = "|cattrs:|n\n {attrs}".format(attrs="\n ".join(out))
     if "tags" in prototype:
-        tags = prototype['tags']
+        tags = prototype["tags"]
         out = []
         for (tagkey, category, data) in tags:
             out.append(
diff --git a/evennia/prototypes/spawner.py b/evennia/prototypes/spawner.py
index fc8015bfbd..ab401af5bb 100644
--- a/evennia/prototypes/spawner.py
+++ b/evennia/prototypes/spawner.py
@@ -171,13 +171,14 @@ class Unset:
     Helper class representing a non-set diff element.
 
     """
+
     def __bool__(self):
         return False
+
     def __str__(self):
         return "<Unset>"
 
 
-
 # Helper
 
 
@@ -405,7 +406,9 @@ def prototype_diff(prototype1, prototype2, maxdepth=2, homogenize=False, implici
             new_map = {part[0] if is_iter(part) else part: part for part in new}
             all_keys = set(list(old_map.keys()) + list(new_map.keys()))
             return {
-                key: _recursive_diff(old_map.get(key, _unset), new_map.get(key, _unset), depth=depth + 1)
+                key: _recursive_diff(
+                    old_map.get(key, _unset), new_map.get(key, _unset), depth=depth + 1
+                )
                 for key in all_keys
             }
         elif old != new:
@@ -520,8 +523,9 @@ def prototype_diff_from_object(prototype, obj, implicit_keep=True):
 
     """
     obj_prototype = prototype_from_object(obj)
-    diff = prototype_diff(obj_prototype, protlib.homogenize_prototype(prototype),
-                          implicit_keep=implicit_keep)
+    diff = prototype_diff(
+        obj_prototype, protlib.homogenize_prototype(prototype), implicit_keep=implicit_keep
+    )
     return diff, obj_prototype
 
 
diff --git a/evennia/prototypes/tests.py b/evennia/prototypes/tests.py
index dfa592adbb..edbb5acc51 100644
--- a/evennia/prototypes/tests.py
+++ b/evennia/prototypes/tests.py
@@ -212,7 +212,7 @@ class TestUtils(EvenniaTest):
                     "puppet:pperm(Developer);tell:perm(Admin);view:all()",
                     "KEEP",
                 ),
-                "prototype_tags": (None, None, 'KEEP'),
+                "prototype_tags": (None, None, "KEEP"),
                 "attrs": {
                     "oldtest": (
                         ("oldtest", "to_keep", None, ""),
@@ -269,7 +269,7 @@ class TestUtils(EvenniaTest):
         new_prot = spawner.prototype_from_object(self.obj1)
         self.assertEqual(
             {
-                "aliases": ['foo'],
+                "aliases": ["foo"],
                 "attrs": [
                     ("desc", "changed desc", None, ""),
                     ("fooattr", "fooattrval", None, ""),
@@ -294,9 +294,7 @@ class TestUtils(EvenniaTest):
                         "view:all()",
                     ]
                 ),
-                'tags': [
-                    ('footag', 'foocategory', None),
-                    (Something, 'from_prototype', None)],
+                "tags": [("footag", "foocategory", None), (Something, "from_prototype", None)],
                 "permissions": ["builder"],
                 "prototype_desc": "Built from Obj",
                 "prototype_key": Something,
@@ -927,7 +925,7 @@ class TestMenuModule(EvenniaTest):
             "\n- |wprototype_locks:|n"
             "\n- |wprototype_tags:|n"
             "\n- |wtags:|n    |c[3] |yADD|n: foo |W(category:|n None|W)|n"
-            "\n- |wtypeclass:|n"
+            "\n- |wtypeclass:|n",
         )
 
         self.assertEqual(
diff --git a/evennia/utils/evmore.py b/evennia/utils/evmore.py
index a1d6e6d1e0..ade28a37f0 100644
--- a/evennia/utils/evmore.py
+++ b/evennia/utils/evmore.py
@@ -272,7 +272,7 @@ class EvMore(object):
         Paginate by slice. This is done with an eye on memory efficiency (usually for
         querysets); to avoid fetching all objects at the same time.
         """
-        return self._data[pageno * self.height: pageno * self.height + self.height]
+        return self._data[pageno * self.height : pageno * self.height + self.height]
 
     # inits for different input types