Repo Readme Assets

Repo Readme Assets — README + animated SVG header/footer

Use this skill to create or update a repository README and its visual header/footer with local animated SVG assets. Zero external services: no capsule-render, no shields generators, no URL banners. Animation is SMIL only (<animate>, <animateTransform>) so it works inside <img> on GitHub without scripts or network requests.

When to use

• A repository needs a README with a header/footer banner (local animated SVG).
• Major change happened and the README must reflect the current project state.
• User asks for "readme header", "animated svg", "waving svg", "svg banner", "readme assets", "readme visual", "smil animation".

Do NOT use

• README is already current and the user did not request changes — do not "improve".
• A single tiny fix (e.g. one badge) — edit directly, no skill needed.
• For legal/community files (LICENSE, CONTRIBUTING, SECURITY) — use repo-community-files.
• For description/topics/Pages/community-health — use repo-metadata-health.
• For the social preview PNG — use repo-social-preview.

Files

• SKILL.md — this file
• scripts/generate_assets.py — deterministic generation of assets/header.svg + assets/footer.svg
• scripts/extract_context.py — auto-detect name/desc/stack/colors/username from git remote
• scripts/validate_svg.py — validate SVG against skill rules (SMIL, mask, morphing)
• references/svg-animation.md — full SVG animation spec + header/footer templates
• references/svg-presets.md — the four presets
• references/color-tokens.md — detected values (USERNAME/PROJECT_NAME/COLD/WARM)
• references/canonical-patterns.md — canonical references and gaps

Scripts

Reports are JSON; exit codes 0/1 (CI-friendly).

README — required elements

1. Header: project name, one-line description, live badge links (3–6, one style).
2. Status block: current check numbers (typecheck/contract/integration).
3. Quick start: install, infra, run.
4. Repo structure: full tree (include new dirs/services).
5. Stack/events/checks sections — kept in sync with real code.
6. GitHub Pages link (if enabled): https://<user>.github.io/<repo>/ + homepage in About.
7. Language switcher: **🌐 Versions:** [English](README.md) · [Русский](README.ru.md) · [Website](…).
8. Hashtags/keywords for search (description + topics).

Rules:

• README.md is always English (GitHub international standard).
• README.<lang>.md is a localized mirror: propagate English changes 1:1 (headings, numbers, statuses).
• Diverged localizations are a typical anti-pattern — run a programmatic heading-diff before release.
• Avoid "AI-slop" wording: "seamless", "unleash", "empower", emoji overload.
• Prefer relative links to repo files (absolute links break in clones).
• GitHub auto-generates TOC — no manual table of contents needed.

Animated SVG header/footer

By default each repo gets assets/header.svg (start of README) and assets/footer.svg (end of README), required in both language versions.

Principle: zero external services. Animation is SMIL only.

Key techniques: "background wave" effect (a black wave in <mask> cuts color → page background shows through), d-path morphing across 4 frames (crest Q+T, identical command sequence in every frame), 30% wave desync, a highlight pass once ~16s, a twinkling speck in the footer.

• Full spec + templates → references/svg-animation.md
• Detected values → references/color-tokens.md
• Presets → references/svg-presets.md

Preset choice: default (animated gradient) by default; minimal (static gradient, no waves) for docs/stable tools; dark-first (deep dark backdrop, GitHub dark theme); monochrome (b/w, no SMIL) for books/print/specs. Ask the user, else take default.

How to generate (recommended path)

By script (deterministic, then validate):

python3 scripts/generate_assets.py \
  --name "Project Name" --desc "Short description" --user "username" \
  --cold "#0ABAB5" --warm "#F64A8A"
python3 scripts/validate_svg.py assets/        # expect: all passed

Manually (when the script is unavailable): read references/svg-animation.md, substitute COLD, WARM, PROJECT_NAME, PROJECT_DESC, FONTCOLOR, USERNAME into the templates, create assets/, add the links (see "Insert into README.md" in the reference).

Generation safety

• Do not generate without confirming USERNAME when it is not obvious.
• Do not overwrite existing .svg without an explicit request.
• Do not touch README content between header and footer.
• Do not add header/footer if they already exist (only on request).
• SVG: no <script>, no base64, SMIL only; mask with a white <rect> covering the canvas.