# Readme Badges

> Use when writing or reviewing a README's badge block. The header metadata row and footer social block, the three badge families and which service is used for what, and the rules that keep a badge row honest: every badge a titled link, substitute owner/repo rather than copy-pasting URLs, and never badge what you do not have.

- Skill: `konradcinkusz/readme-badges` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 2 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add konradcinkusz/readme-badges`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/konradcinkusz/readme-badges/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: konradcinkusz (https://skillmd.com/u/konradcinkusz)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/konradcinkusz/readme-badges

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# README badges

**Read [`references/README-BADGES.md`](references/README-BADGES.md) before applying any of this.**
That file is the standard; everything below it is a summary to help you decide
whether this skill applies and to check your work afterwards.

## What this standard covers

- Why badges at all
- The two zones
- The three badge families and when each is used
- The standard header row
- The footer block
- The rules
- Worked examples

## Why badges at all

A badge is a one-glance answer to a question a visitor would otherwise have to
click around for: is this licensed, is it maintained, is CI green, is there a
live deployment. Most badge images are *live queries* — the badge service
fetches the repo's real state at render time — which is exactly what makes
them worth having and exactly what makes a wrong one damaging: a broken or
stale badge tells the visitor the repo is unmaintained more loudly than no
badge would. Every rule below exists to keep the row truthful.

---

Generated from [`docs/guides/README-BADGES.md`](https://github.com/konradcinkusz/architecture-standards/blob/main/docs/guides/README-BADGES.md) by `scripts/build-marketplace.mjs`. Do not edit this file: change the source document, or its entry in `catalog/marketplace.catalog.json`, and re-run the generator.