Readme Beautifier

Readme Beautifier

Overview

Take a README whose structure is messy or whose formatting is inconsistent, and deliver a version with clear structure, consistent formatting, and a professional look.

Core Principles

• Content unchanged — nothing added, nothing removed: do not invent information, do not delete valid content; improve only at the structure and formatting level.
• Faithful to the original meaning: preserve the author's intent and tone; do not rewrite for style.
• Minimal change: prefer a small fix over a big one; prefer adjusting formatting over rewriting.
• Respect the original; never force-fit: keep every reasonable choice the original already made (section order, whether to include badges / a TOC / spaces between Chinese and English), and do not proactively add what is missing — apply the checklist below under this principle instead of restating it per item.

Workflow

1. Read the README → understand what the project is and who it is for
2. Diagnose problems → check every item in the checklist below
3. Plan the changes → list what to change and why
4. Apply the beautification
5. Deliver the summary

Deliver steps 4 and 5 in the format defined under "Output" below.

Checklist

Ordered from highest to lowest priority. Fix an item only when the problem actually exists.

1. Heading hierarchy

• Use h1 exactly once, for the project name.
• Keep levels consecutive — never skip (h1 → h3 is wrong).
• Align granularity across same-level headings (do not have one h2 be "Install" and another h2 be "How to mount config files with a Docker volume").

2. One-line description

• If the original contains a one-line project description, place it directly under the project name; a blockquote or plain paragraph both work.
• If none exists, report that as an out-of-scope content gap. Do not invent one.

3. Section structure

• Give every section a single clear responsibility; do not mix topics.
• A common sensible order: what it is → quick start → usage → configuration → directory layout → contributing → license.
• Preserve empty sections and flag them as out-of-scope content gaps; deleting or filling them changes content.

4. List formatting

• Keep item markers uniform within one list (all - or all *, never mixed).
• Keep nesting indentation consistent (2 spaces or 4 spaces, never mixed).
• Use 1. auto-numbering for ordered lists instead of manual numbers (avoids renumbering when items are inserted).
• Surround lists with blank lines.

5. Code blocks

• Tag every code block with a language (bash / yaml / ```text, etc.).
• Wrap inline code in backticks: commands, file names, variable names, package names.
• Strip unnecessary $ prefixes from command examples (unless input must be distinguished from output).
• Put multi-line commands in code blocks, not inline code.

6. Tables

• Align columns (pixel-perfect alignment is not required, but they should look tidy).
• Make headers meaningful.
• If a table has only two columns of short content, consider whether a list fits better.
• If a list carries three or more parallel dimensions of information, consider whether a table fits better.

7. Links and references

• Make link text meaningful (no "click here", no "link").
• Check for obviously broken link formats ([text]() empty links, [text](TODO) placeholders).
• Check that relative vs absolute paths are used sensibly.

8. Whitespace and separation

• Put a blank line before headings.
• Put a blank line between paragraphs.
• Never allow more than two consecutive blank lines.
• Spaces between Chinese and English: if the original mostly has them, fill in the gaps for consistency; if it mostly does not, follow the original.
• Put a blank line between lists and paragraphs.
• End the file with a single newline (no trailing blank lines, no missing newline).

9. Badges

• Tidy badges only if the original has them: gather them right below the project name and above the one-line description.
• Separate badges with spaces, no line breaks.

10. Table of contents (TOC)

• Suggest adding a TOC when there are more than 6 sections, but do not add one unless the user also authorizes content additions.
• If the original already has a TOC with broken anchors, repair it rather than delete it.

Do not

• Do not add decorative elements: no emoji, no horizontal rules, no fancy ASCII art, unless the original already has them.
• Do not change technical content: do not alter commands, configuration options, or the logic of code examples.
• Do not translate: do not turn Chinese into English or the reverse.
• Do not add content: if a "Contributing" section is missing, do not auto-create one — only mention in the summary that it could be added.
• Do not rename the file: the output stays README.md, never something else.

Use a different skill when

This skill handles only formatting and structure, never whether the content is correct. Content-level problems are out of scope — this skill never changes meaning. When the user says "check my README", distinguish the intent:

• The user wants to confirm the README matches the code / config / API, or whether it is stale → use hai-audit-docs.
• The user wants an internal-consistency / stale-content audit of the docs themselves (internal contradictions, no code comparison) → use hai-audit-docs.
• The user wants the content rewritten around the current conclusions because the doc drifted through rounds of discussion → use hai-rewrite-doc.
• The user wants the layout beautified, the formatting unified, the structure straightened out → this skill.

Output

When the user targets a local file, edit that file and return its path plus a short summary; do not repeat a long README in chat. When the README was pasted without a writable target, return the full beautified content followed by the summary.

Use references/output-template.md for both file and pasted-content delivery shapes and for the already-clean case.

Do not duplicate its output schema here.

Edge cases

• Very short README (< 10 lines): only fix formatting; do not pad the length.
• Very long README (> 300 lines): fix structural problems first; fix only the most glaring formatting problems.
• Multilingual README: beautify only the current file; do not touch other language versions.
• README is already good: do not force changes; reply using the "check summary" format at the end of references/output-template.md.