README Generator

README Generator

The readme-generator skill creates or updates comprehensive README.md files for GitHub repositories following best practices. It generates all essential sections including badges, project overview, site metrics, and getting started instructions.

Key Capabilities

This skill generates README.md files with:

• Technology Badges: Python, MkDocs, Material theme, etc.
• Project Overview: Description, purpose, key features
• Site Metrics: From book-metrics.md if available
• Getting Started: Installation and setup instructions
• Project Structure: Directory layout explanation
• Contributing Guidelines: How to contribute
• License and Contact: Standard footer sections

When to Use

Use this skill when:

• Starting a new GitHub repository that needs a README
• Updating an existing README to follow best practices
• After significant project changes that need documentation
• Before publishing or sharing a repository
• Migrating from another documentation system
• After adding new technologies or dependencies

Workflow

The skill follows these steps:

1. Analyze Repository: Check for existing README, identify technologies
2. Gather Metadata: Read mkdocs.yml for site info, check for docs/
3. Generate Badges: Create shields.io badges for all technologies
4. Extract Metrics: Pull statistics from book-metrics.md if available
5. Write README: Generate complete markdown with all sections

Prerequisites

For best results, the repository should have:

• mkdocs.yml with site configuration
• docs/ directory with content
• Optional: docs/learning-graph/book-metrics.md for statistics

Customization

The skill will prompt for information if not found:

• Repository URL if not in .git/config
• GitHub Pages URL if not configured
• Project description if not in mkdocs.yml

Output Sections

1. Title with badges
2. Overview/Description
3. Quick Links (site, repo, docs)
4. Key Metrics (if available)
5. Features list
6. Getting Started
7. Project Structure
8. Contributing
9. License
10. Contact/Author

Integration

This skill is typically used when initializing a new project or before major releases to ensure the repository has professional documentation.