# 096 Badges E885b78e

> Badge Reference Guide

- Skill: `tools-only/096-badges-e885b78e` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 3 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add tools-only/096-badges-e885b78e`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/tools-only/096-badges-e885b78e/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Web & Frontend
- Author: tools-only (https://skillmd.com/u/tools-only)
- Updated: 2026-09-22
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/tools-only/096-badges-e885b78e

---

# 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**
```markdown
[![MkDocs](https://img.shields.io/badge/Made%20with-MkDocs-526CFE?logo=materialformkdocs)](https://www.mkdocs.org/)
```

**Material for MkDocs**
```markdown
[![Material for MkDocs](https://img.shields.io/badge/Material%20for%20MkDocs-526CFE?logo=materialformkdocs)](https://squidfunk.github.io/mkdocs-material/)
```

**Sphinx**
```markdown
[![Sphinx](https://img.shields.io/badge/Built%20with-Sphinx-blue?logo=sphinx)](https://www.sphinx-doc.org/)
```

### Programming Languages

**Python**
```markdown
[![Python](https://img.shields.io/badge/Python-3.8+-3776AB?logo=python&logoColor=white)](https://www.python.org/)
```

**JavaScript**
```markdown
[![JavaScript](https://img.shields.io/badge/JavaScript-F7DF1E?logo=javascript&logoColor=black)](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript)
```

**TypeScript**
```markdown
[![TypeScript](https://img.shields.io/badge/TypeScript-3178C6?logo=typescript&logoColor=white)](https://www.typescriptlang.org/)
```

**Go**
```markdown
[![Go](https://img.shields.io/badge/Go-00ADD8?logo=go&logoColor=white)](https://golang.org/)
```

**Rust**
```markdown
[![Rust](https://img.shields.io/badge/Rust-000000?logo=rust&logoColor=white)](https://www.rust-lang.org/)
```

### Creative Coding & Visualization

**p5.js**
```markdown
[![p5.js](https://img.shields.io/badge/p5.js-ED225D?logo=p5.js&logoColor=white)](https://p5js.org/)
```

**D3.js**
```markdown
[![D3.js](https://img.shields.io/badge/D3.js-F9A03C?logo=d3.js&logoColor=white)](https://d3js.org/)
```

**Chart.js**
```markdown
[![Chart.js](https://img.shields.io/badge/Chart.js-FF6384?logo=chartdotjs&logoColor=white)](https://www.chartjs.org/)
```

**vis-network**
```markdown
[![vis-network](https://img.shields.io/badge/vis--network-blue)](https://visjs.org/)
```

**Mermaid**
```markdown
[![Mermaid](https://img.shields.io/badge/Mermaid-FF3670?logo=mermaid&logoColor=white)](https://mermaid.js.org/)
```

### AI & Machine Learning

**Claude AI**
```markdown
[![Claude AI](https://img.shields.io/badge/Powered%20by-Claude%20AI-DA7857?logo=anthropic)](https://claude.ai)
```

**Claude Code**
```markdown
[![Claude Code](https://img.shields.io/badge/Built%20with-Claude%20Code-DA7857?logo=anthropic)](https://claude.ai/code)
```

**Claude Skills**
```markdown
[![Claude Skills](https://img.shields.io/badge/Uses-Claude%20Skills-DA7857?logo=anthropic)](https://github.com/dmccreary/claude-skills)
```

**OpenAI**
```markdown
[![OpenAI](https://img.shields.io/badge/OpenAI-412991?logo=openai&logoColor=white)](https://openai.com/)
```

**TensorFlow**
```markdown
[![TensorFlow](https://img.shields.io/badge/TensorFlow-FF6F00?logo=tensorflow&logoColor=white)](https://www.tensorflow.org/)
```

**PyTorch**
```markdown
[![PyTorch](https://img.shields.io/badge/PyTorch-EE4C2C?logo=pytorch&logoColor=white)](https://pytorch.org/)
```

### Hosting & Deployment

**GitHub Pages**
```markdown
[![GitHub Pages](https://img.shields.io/badge/Hosted%20on-GitHub%20Pages-blue?logo=github)](SITE_URL)
```

**Netlify**
```markdown
[![Netlify](https://img.shields.io/badge/Deployed%20on-Netlify-00C7B7?logo=netlify&logoColor=white)](https://www.netlify.com/)
```

**Vercel**
```markdown
[![Vercel](https://img.shields.io/badge/Deployed%20on-Vercel-black?logo=vercel&logoColor=white)](https://vercel.com/)
```

### Repository & Version Control

**GitHub**
```markdown
[![GitHub](https://img.shields.io/badge/GitHub-OWNER%2FREPO-blue?logo=github)](REPO_URL)
```

**GitHub Stars**
```markdown
[![GitHub stars](https://img.shields.io/github/stars/OWNER/REPO?style=social)](https://github.com/OWNER/REPO)
```

**GitHub Forks**
```markdown
[![GitHub forks](https://img.shields.io/github/forks/OWNER/REPO?style=social)](https://github.com/OWNER/REPO)
```

**GitHub Issues**
```markdown
[![GitHub issues](https://img.shields.io/github/issues/OWNER/REPO)](https://github.com/OWNER/REPO/issues)
```

**Last Commit**
```markdown
[![GitHub last commit](https://img.shields.io/github/last-commit/OWNER/REPO)](https://github.com/OWNER/REPO)
```

## License Badges

### Creative Commons

**CC BY 4.0**
```markdown
[![License: CC BY 4.0](https://img.shields.io/badge/License-CC%20BY%204.0-lightgrey.svg)](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
```

**CC BY-SA 4.0**
```markdown
[![License: CC BY-SA 4.0](https://img.shields.io/badge/License-CC%20BY--SA%204.0-lightgrey.svg)](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)
```

**CC BY-NC 4.0**
```markdown
[![License: CC BY-NC 4.0](https://img.shields.io/badge/License-CC%20BY--NC%204.0-lightgrey.svg)](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/)
```

**CC BY-NC-SA 4.0** (Default for this project)
```markdown
[![License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0](https://img.shields.io/badge/License-CC%20BY--NC--SA%204.0-lightgrey.svg)](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/)
```

**CC BY-ND 4.0**
```markdown
[![License: CC BY-ND 4.0](https://img.shields.io/badge/License-CC%20BY--ND%204.0-lightgrey.svg)](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/)
```

**CC BY-NC-ND 4.0**
```markdown
[![License: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0](https://img.shields.io/badge/License-CC%20BY--NC--ND%204.0-lightgrey.svg)](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
```

**CC0 (Public Domain)**
```markdown
[![License: CC0](https://img.shields.io/badge/License-CC0-lightgrey.svg)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
```

### Open Source Licenses

**MIT**
```markdown
[![License: MIT](https://img.shields.io/badge/License-MIT-yellow.svg)](https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT)
```

**Apache 2.0**
```markdown
[![License: Apache 2.0](https://img.shields.io/badge/License-Apache%202.0-blue.svg)](https://opensource.org/licenses/Apache-2.0)
```

**GPL-3.0**
```markdown
[![License: GPL v3](https://img.shields.io/badge/License-GPLv3-blue.svg)](https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0)
```

**BSD 3-Clause**
```markdown
[![License: BSD 3-Clause](https://img.shields.io/badge/License-BSD%203--Clause-blue.svg)](https://opensource.org/licenses/BSD-3-Clause)
```

**ISC**
```markdown
[![License: ISC](https://img.shields.io/badge/License-ISC-blue.svg)](https://opensource.org/licenses/ISC)
```

## Status Badges

**Build Status**
```markdown
[![Build Status](https://img.shields.io/badge/build-passing-brightgreen.svg)](BUILD_URL)
```

**Coverage**
```markdown
[![Coverage](https://img.shields.io/badge/coverage-85%25-yellowgreen.svg)](COVERAGE_URL)
```

**Version**
```markdown
[![Version](https://img.shields.io/badge/version-1.0.0-blue.svg)](RELEASES_URL)
```

**Status**
```markdown
[![Status](https://img.shields.io/badge/status-active-success.svg)](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 text
- `MESSAGE`: Right side text
- `COLOR`: 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:**
```markdown
[![Custom](https://img.shields.io/badge/Custom-Badge-orange?logo=github&logoColor=white&style=flat-square)](URL)
```

## Badge Colors

Common color names supported by Shields.io:

- `brightgreen`
- `green`
- `yellowgreen`
- `yellow`
- `orange`
- `red`
- `blue`
- `lightgrey`
- `success`
- `important`
- `critical`
- `informational`
- `inactive`

Hex colors: Use without the `#` symbol (e.g., `FF6B6B`)

## Logo Names

Shields.io uses logos from [Simple Icons](https://simpleicons.org/). Common logo names:

- `python`
- `javascript`
- `typescript`
- `github`
- `gitlab`
- `visualstudiocode`
- `npm`
- `docker`
- `kubernetes`
- `react`
- `vue-dot-js`
- `angular`
- `node-dot-js`
- `postgresql`
- `mongodb`
- `redis`

## Best Practices

1. **Order badges logically**: Technology → Platform → Status → License
2. **Limit badge count**: 5-10 badges maximum for readability
3. **Keep labels concise**: Short, clear text
4. **Use consistent style**: Stick to one badge style (flat recommended)
5. **Ensure accessibility**: Use sufficient color contrast
6. **Link badges appropriately**: Link to relevant documentation or homepage
7. **Update dynamically**: Use dynamic badges (version, build status) when possible

## Example Badge Section

```markdown
[![MkDocs](https://img.shields.io/badge/Made%20with-MkDocs-526CFE?logo=materialformkdocs)](https://www.mkdocs.org/)
[![Material for MkDocs](https://img.shields.io/badge/Material%20for%20MkDocs-526CFE?logo=materialformkdocs)](https://squidfunk.github.io/mkdocs-material/)
[![GitHub Pages](https://img.shields.io/badge/View%20on-GitHub%20Pages-blue?logo=github)](https://username.github.io/repo-name)
[![GitHub](https://img.shields.io/badge/GitHub-username%2Frepo--name-blue?logo=github)](https://github.com/username/repo-name)
[![Claude Code](https://img.shields.io/badge/Built%20with-Claude%20Code-DA7857?logo=anthropic)](https://claude.ai/code)
[![License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0](https://img.shields.io/badge/License-CC%20BY--NC--SA%204.0-lightgrey.svg)](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/