tools-only Badge Reference Guide
This document provides a comprehensive reference for badges commonly used in GitHub README files, particularly for educational and documentation projects.
Badge Services
- Shields.io: https://shields.io/ - Most popular badge service
- Badgen.net: https://badgen.net/ - Alternative badge service
Common Technology Badges
Documentation Tools
MkDocs
[](https://www.mkdocs.org/)
Material for MkDocs
[](https://squidfunk.github.io/mkdocs-material/)
Sphinx
[](https://www.sphinx-doc.org/)
Programming Languages
Python
[](https://www.python.org/)
JavaScript
[](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript)
TypeScript
[](https://www.typescriptlang.org/)
Go
[](https://golang.org/)
Rust
[](https://www.rust-lang.org/)
Creative Coding & Visualization
p5.js
[](https://p5js.org/)
D3.js
[](https://d3js.org/)
Chart.js
[](https://www.chartjs.org/)
vis-network
[](https://visjs.org/)
Mermaid
[](https://mermaid.js.org/)
AI & Machine Learning
Claude AI
[](https://claude.ai)
Claude Code
[](https://claude.ai/code)
Claude Skills
[](https://github.com/dmccreary/claude-skills)
OpenAI
[](https://openai.com/)
TensorFlow
[](https://www.tensorflow.org/)
PyTorch
[](https://pytorch.org/)
Hosting & Deployment
GitHub Pages
[](SITE_URL)
Netlify
[](https://www.netlify.com/)
Vercel
[](https://vercel.com/)
Repository & Version Control
GitHub
[](REPO_URL)
GitHub Stars
[](https://github.com/OWNER/REPO)
GitHub Forks
[](https://github.com/OWNER/REPO)
GitHub Issues
[](https://github.com/OWNER/REPO/issues)
Last Commit
[](https://github.com/OWNER/REPO)
License Badges
Creative Commons
CC BY 4.0
[](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
CC BY-SA 4.0
[](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)
CC BY-NC 4.0
[](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/)
CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 (Default for this project)
[](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/)
CC BY-ND 4.0
[](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/)
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
[](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
CC0 (Public Domain)
[](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
Open Source Licenses
MIT
[](https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT)
Apache 2.0
[](https://opensource.org/licenses/Apache-2.0)
GPL-3.0
[](https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0)
BSD 3-Clause
[](https://opensource.org/licenses/BSD-3-Clause)
ISC
[](https://opensource.org/licenses/ISC)
Status Badges
Build Status
[](BUILD_URL)
Coverage
[](COVERAGE_URL)
Version
[](RELEASES_URL)
Status
[](PROJECT_URL)
Custom Badges
You can create custom badges using the Shields.io format:
https://img.shields.io/badge/{LABEL}-{MESSAGE}-{COLOR}
Parameters:
LABEL: Left side textMESSAGE: Right side textCOLOR: Badge color (name or hex without #)
Optional parameters:
?logo=LOGO_NAME: Add icon from Simple Icons&logoColor=COLOR: Icon color&style=STYLE: Badge style (flat, flat-square, plastic, for-the-badge, social)
Example custom badge:
[](URL)
Badge Colors
Common color names supported by Shields.io:
brightgreengreenyellowgreenyelloworangeredbluelightgreysuccessimportantcriticalinformationalinactive
Hex colors: Use without the # symbol (e.g., FF6B6B)
Logo Names
Shields.io uses logos from Simple Icons. Common logo names:
pythonjavascripttypescriptgithubgitlabvisualstudiocodenpmdockerkubernetesreactvue-dot-jsangularnode-dot-jspostgresqlmongodbredis
Best Practices
- Order badges logically: Technology → Platform → Status → License
- Limit badge count: 5-10 badges maximum for readability
- Keep labels concise: Short, clear text
- Use consistent style: Stick to one badge style (flat recommended)
- Ensure accessibility: Use sufficient color contrast
- Link badges appropriately: Link to relevant documentation or homepage
- Update dynamically: Use dynamic badges (version, build status) when possible
Example Badge Section
[](https://www.mkdocs.org/)
[](https://squidfunk.github.io/mkdocs-material/)
[](https://username.github.io/repo-name)
[](https://github.com/username/repo-name)
[](https://claude.ai/code)
[](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/)
Resources
- Shields.io: https://shields.io/
- Simple Icons: https://simpleicons.org/
- Badge Generator: https://shields.io/badges
- Markdown Guide: https://www.markdownguide.org/