diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 415fb15aa3..bb8b1617a5 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -92,7 +92,7 @@ You can use Wasmtime from a variety of different languages through embeddings of
 the implementation:
 
 * **[Rust]** - the [`wasmtime` crate]
-* **[C]** - the [`wasm.h`], [`wasi.h`], and [`wasmtime.h`] headers
+* **[C]** - the [`wasm.h`, `wasi.h`, and `wasmtime.h` headers][c-headers]
 * **[Python]** - the [`wasmtime` PyPI package]
 * **[.NET]** - the [`Wasmtime` NuGet package]
 * **[Go]** - the [wasmtime-go repository]
@@ -100,9 +100,7 @@ the implementation:
 [Rust]: https://bytecodealliance.github.io/wasmtime/lang-rust.html
 [C]: https://bytecodealliance.github.io/wasmtime/examples-c-embed.html
 [`wasmtime` crate]: https://crates.io/crates/wasmtime
-[`wasm.h`]: https://github.com/WebAssembly/wasm-c-api/blob/master/include/wasm.h
-[`wasi.h`]: https://github.com/bytecodealliance/wasmtime/blob/main/crates/c-api/include/wasi.h
-[`wasmtime.h`]: https://github.com/bytecodealliance/wasmtime/blob/main/crates/c-api/include/wasmtime.h
+[c-headers]: https://bytecodealliance.github.io/wasmtime/c-api/
 [Python]: https://bytecodealliance.github.io/wasmtime/lang-python.html
 [`wasmtime` PyPI package]: https://pypi.org/project/wasmtime/
 [.NET]: https://bytecodealliance.github.io/wasmtime/lang-dotnet.html
diff --git a/crates/c-api/README.md b/crates/c-api/README.md
index b0edded9c2..5d7149dd18 100644
--- a/crates/c-api/README.md
+++ b/crates/c-api/README.md
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
-# Implementation of wasm-c-api in Rust
+# Wasmtime's C API
 
-https://github.com/WebAssembly/wasm-c-api
+For more information you can find the documentation for this library
+[online](https://bytecodealliance.github.io/wasmtime/c-api/).
diff --git a/crates/c-api/include/doc-wasm.h b/crates/c-api/include/doc-wasm.h
index bd3703c7ab..462b7c529b 100644
--- a/crates/c-api/include/doc-wasm.h
+++ b/crates/c-api/include/doc-wasm.h
@@ -1,3 +1,90 @@
+/**
+ * \mainpage Wasmtime C API
+ *
+ * This documentation is an overview and API reference for the C API of
+ * Wasmtime. The C API is spread between three different header files:
+ *
+ * * \ref wasm.h
+ * * \ref wasi.h
+ * * \ref wasmtime.h
+ *
+ * The \ref wasm.h header file comes directly from the
+ * [WebAssembly/wasm-c-api](https://github.com/WebAssembly/wasm-c-api)
+ * repository. At this time the upstream header file does not have documentation
+ * so Wasmtime provides documentation here. It should be noted, however, that
+ * some semantics may be Wasmtime-specific and may not be portable to other
+ * engines. The Wasmtime project intends to assist in the development of the
+ * upstream C API.
+ *
+ * The \ref wasi.h and \ref wasmtime.h header files are specific to the Wasmtime
+ * project. It's hoped to standardize \ref wasi.h in the WASI standard
+ * eventually, but \ref wasmtime.h provides Wasmtime-specific extensions to the
+ * C API which are not intended to standardize.
+ *
+ * ## Installing the C API
+ *
+ * To install the C API from precompiled binaries you can download the
+ * appropriate binary from the [releases page of
+ * Wasmtime](https://github.com/bytecodealliance/wasmtime/releases). Artifacts
+ * for the C API all end in "-c-api" for the filename.
+ *
+ * Each archive contains an `include` directory with necessary headers, as well
+ * as a `lib` directory with both a static archive and a dynamic library of
+ * Wasmtime. You can link to either of them as you see fit.
+ *
+ * ## Linking against the C API
+ *
+ * You'll want to arrange the `include` directory of the C API to be in your
+ * compiler's header path (e.g. the `-I` flag). If you're compiling for Windows
+ * and you're using the static library then you'll also need to pass
+ * `-DWASM_API_EXTERN=` and `-DWASI_API_EXTERN=` to disable dllimport.
+ *
+ * Your final artifact can then be linked with `-lwasmtime`. If you're linking
+ * against the static library you may need to pass other system libraries
+ * depending on your platform:
+ *
+ * * Linux - `-lpthread -ldl -lm`
+ * * macOS - no extra flags needed
+ * * Windows - `ws2_32.lib advapi32.lib userenv.lib ntdll.lib shell32.lib ole32.lib`
+ *
+ * ## Building from Source
+ *
+ * The C API is located in the
+ * [`crates/c-api`](https://github.com/bytecodealliance/wasmtime/tree/main/crates/c-api)
+ * directory of the [Wasmtime
+ * repository](https://github.com/bytecodealliance/wasmtime). To build from
+ * source you'll need a Rust compiler and a checkout of the `wasmtime` project.
+ * Afterwards you can execute:
+ *
+ * ```
+ * $ cargo build --release -p wasmtime-c-api
+ * ```
+ *
+ * This will place the final artifacts in `target/release`, with names depending
+ * on what platform you're compiling for.
+ *
+ * ## Other resources
+ *
+ * Some other handy resources you might find useful when exploring the C API
+ * documentation are:
+ *
+ * * [Rust `wasmtime` crate
+ *   documentation](https://bytecodealliance.github.io/wasmtime/api/wasmtime/) -
+ *   although this documentation is for Rust and not C, you'll find that many
+ *   functions mirror one another and there may be extra documentation in Rust
+ *   you find helpful. If you find yourself having to frequently do this,
+ *   though, please feel free to [file an
+ *   issue](https://github.com/bytecodealliance/wasmtime/issues/new).
+ *
+ * * [C embedding
+ *   examples](https://bytecodealliance.github.io/wasmtime/examples-c-embed.html)
+ *   are available online and are tested from the Wasmtime repository itself.
+ *
+ * * [Contribution documentation for
+ *   Wasmtime](https://bytecodealliance.github.io/wasmtime/contributing.html) in
+ *   case you're interested in helping out!
+ */
+
 /**
  * \file wasm.h
  *
diff --git a/docs/examples-c-embed.md b/docs/examples-c-embed.md
index d5c5918b31..c6dc5b6787 100644
--- a/docs/examples-c-embed.md
+++ b/docs/examples-c-embed.md
@@ -1,12 +1,6 @@
 # Embedding in C
 
-This section is intended to showcase the C embedding API for Wasmtime. The C
-embedding API is based on the [proposed wasm C embedding API][proposal] (namely
-[`wasm.h`]) and has a few extension headers (like [`wasi.h`] and
-[`wasmtime.h`]) which are intended to eventually become part of the standard
-themselves one day.
+This section is intended to showcase the C embedding API for Wasmtime. Full
+reference documentation for the C API [can be found online][online]
 
-[proposal]: https://github.com/webassembly/wasm-c-api
-[`wasm.h`]: https://github.com/WebAssembly/wasm-c-api/blob/master/include/wasm.h
-[`wasi.h`]: https://github.com/bytecodealliance/wasmtime/blob/main/crates/c-api/include/wasi.h
-[`wasmtime.h`]: https://github.com/bytecodealliance/wasmtime/blob/main/crates/c-api/include/wasmtime.h
+[online]: https://bytecodealliance.github.io/wasmtime/c-api/