diff --git a/documentation/dev-manual/dev-manual-common-tasks.xml b/documentation/dev-manual/dev-manual-common-tasks.xml
index ad4a7613a9..cedab513bb 100644
--- a/documentation/dev-manual/dev-manual-common-tasks.xml
+++ b/documentation/dev-manual/dev-manual-common-tasks.xml
@@ -342,6 +342,56 @@
Future versions of BitBake might address this.
+
+
+ Managing Layers
+
+
+ You can use the BitBake layer management tool to provide a view into the structure of
+ recipes across a multi-layer project.
+ Being able to generate output that reports on configured layers with their paths and
+ priorities and on .bbappend files and their applicable recipes
+ can help to reveal potential problems.
+
+
+
+ Use the following form when running the layer management tool.
+
+ $ bitbake-layers <command> [arguments]
+
+ Available commands:
+ flatten
+ flattens layer configuration into a separate output directory.
+ help
+ display general help or help on a specified command
+ show_appends
+ list bbappend files and recipe files they apply to
+ show_layers
+ show current configured layers
+ show_overlayed
+ list overlayed recipes (where there is a recipe in another layer that has a higher layer priority)
+ help
+ display general help or help on a specified command
+
+
+
+
+ Flattening your layer configuration builds a "flattened" directory that contains
+ the contents of all layers, with any overlayed recipes removed and any
+ recipe append files (.bbappend) appended to the corresponding recipes.
+ You might have to perform some manual cleanup of the flattened layer as follows:
+
+ Non-recipe files (such as patches) are overwritten.
+ The flatten command shows a warning for these files.
+ Anything beyond the normal layer setup has been added to
+ the layer.conf file.
+ Only the lowest priority layer's layer.conf is used.
+
+ Overridden and appended items from .bbappend
+ files never need to be cleaned up.
+
+
+