awesome-readme/readme.md

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# Awesome README [![Awesome](https://cdn.rawgit.com/sindresorhus/awesome/d7305f38d29fed78fa85652e3a63e154dd8e8829/media/badge.svg)](https://github.com/sindresorhus/awesome)
> A curated list of awesome READMEs

Elements in beautiful READMEs include, but are not limited to: images, screenshots, GIFs, text formatting, etc.

## Examples

- [ai/size-limit](https://github.com/ai/size-limit) - Project logo, clear description, screenshot, step-by-step installing instructions.
- [aimeos/aimeos-typo3](https://github.com/aimeos/aimeos-typo3) - Project logo. Clear description of what the project does. Demo screenshot. TOC for easy navigation. Easy installation and setup sections with screenshots. Links for further reading.
- [alichtman/shallow-backup](https://github.com/alichtman/shallow-backup) - Clear description of what the project does. GIF Demo. TOC for easy navigation. Badges. Links for further reading. Simple install instructions.
- [amitmerchant1990/electron-markdownify](https://github.com/amitmerchant1990/electron-markdownify) - Project logo. Minimalist description of what it is. GIF demo of the project. Key features. How to install guide. Credits.
- [anfederico/Clairvoyant](https://github.com/anfederico/Clairvoyant) - Multiple badges. Clean logo. Simple install instructions. Clear overview of the project accompanied by a schematic. GIF demo. Extensive code examples.
- [ngcolombia/medellin](https://github.com/ngcolombia/medellin) - Project banner. Badges for stats. Well placed emoticons. Contributor's photos.
- [athityakumar/colorls](https://github.com/athityakumar/colorls) - Multiple badges. Clean screenshots. Simple install instructions. TOC for easy navigation. Good contributor guidelines.
- [choojs/choo](https://github.com/choojs/choo) - Badges, clean, clear. Beautiful little menu above the fold with useful links. An FAQ inside of it for the main questions. Backers. Good language.
- [Day8/re-frame](https://github.com/Day8/re-frame) - Badges, logo, TOC, etc. Stands out by being a giant, well-written essay about the tech, how to use it, the philosophy behind it, and how it fits into the greater ecosystem.
- [github-changelog-generator/github-changelog-generator](https://github.com/github-changelog-generator/github-changelog-generator) - TOC for easy navigation. Concise project description. Installation and usage sections. Output example. Great feature overview. List of alternatives. FAQ.
- [gitpoint/git-point](https://github.com/gitpoint/git-point) - Clear description. Project Logo. App Store logos. TOC. Clean screenshots. List of features. Detailed installation process. Landing Page.
- [Hexworks/Zircon](https://github.com/Hexworks/zircon) - Dogfood in readme. Clear description of what the project does. Demo screenshot. TOC for easy navigation. Easy installation and setup sections with screenshots. Links for further reading.
- [iharsh234/WebApp](https://github.com/iharsh234/WebApp) - Project landing page. Clear description of what the project does. Demo screenshot. Simple install and usage sections. Includes an examples section with common uses and a mobile demo section.
- [jakubroztocil/httpie](https://github.com/jakubroztocil/httpie) - Description of what the project does. Demo screenshots. Project logo. TOC for easy navigation. Build badges. Quick and simple installation and usage sections. Includes an examples section.
- [karan/joe](https://github.com/karan/joe) - Project logo. Clear description of what the project does. GIF demo. Easy install and usage sections.
- [Martinsos/edlib](https://github.com/Martinsos/edlib) - Informative badges (build, version, publication). Concise description. Feature list. TOC. Screenshots. Concise instructions with examples for building and including in your project. Common code examples to get you started quickly.
- [nhn/tui.editor](https://github.com/nhn/tui.editor) - Project logo. Clear overview of project features with a demo GIF. Badges. TOC for easy navigation. Colorful icons in front of titles.
- [node-chat](https://github.com/IgorAntun/node-chat) - Project screenshot. Informative badges. Clear description. Easy installation/use instructions. Live demo.
- [NSRare/NSGIF](https://github.com/NSRare/NSGIF) - Project logo. GIF Demo. Usage artwork. Usage code samples.
- [sidneycadot/oeis](https://github.com/sidneycadot/oeis) - Overview. List of required dependencies. Complete list of all files in the repo and what their function is. Visual graph of how it all ties together.
- [php-censor/php-censor](https://github.com/php-censor/php-censor) - Multiple badges, project logo, screenshots, step-by-step installing and upgrading instructions, TOC for easy navigation.
- [rstacruz/hicat](https://github.com/rstacruz/hicat) - GIF demo. Easy installation and setup sections with screenshots. Build badges. Great examples of use cases.
- [ryanoasis/nerd-fonts](https://github.com/ryanoasis/nerd-fonts) - Clean project logo. Brief description at top. Sankey diagram, quick links, badges, OS specific icons, TOC, detailed release changelog.
- [sebyddd/SDVersion](https://github.com/sebyddd/SDVersion) - Project logo. Build badges. Documentation structuring for multiple programming languages. Usage examples.
- [shama/gaze](https://github.com/shama/gaze) - Project logo. Concise description. Feature list. Usage section. FAQ. Great API documentation. Release history.
- [sindresorhus/pageres](https://github.com/sindresorhus/pageres) - Project logo. Clear description of what the project does. Build badges. Demo screenshot. Simple install and usage sections. Includes an examples section with common uses.
- [sourcerer-io/sourcerer-app](https://github.com/sourcerer-io/sourcerer-app) - Clean animated screenshot. Customized call to action badge. Usage showcase.
- [sr6033/lterm](https://github.com/sr6033/lterm) - Clean logo using characters. Brief updates on development. Detailed contribution guidelines. Contribution suggestions.
- [teles/array-mixer](https://github.com/teles/array-mixer) - Clean project logo, badges. Table of contents. Contributing section. Many illustrated examples.
- [thelounge/thelounge](https://github.com/thelounge/thelounge) - Project logo. Useful badges and links (website, docs, demo). Screenshot. Feature list. Step-by-step instructions for installation, development, and testing. Link to the contributing guide. Good mobile summary.
- [vhesener/Closures](https://github.com/vhesener/Closures) - Project logo, cognitive funnel, animated examples. Color coordinated. Clean documentation.
- [release-it/release-it](https://github.com/release-it/release-it) - Clear overview of project features with a demo GIF. Badges. Expandable TOC. Usage description and examples. Contribution guidelines. Detailed releases.

## Articles

- ["Art of Readme - Learn the art of writing quality READMEs."](https://github.com/noffle/art-of-readme) - *Stephen Whitmore*
- ["How To Write A Great README"](https://thoughtbot.com/blog/how-to-write-a-great-readme) - *Caleb Thompson (thoughtbot)*
- ["Readme Driven Development"](http://tom.preston-werner.com/2010/08/23/readme-driven-development.html) - *Tom Preston-Werner*
- ["Top ten reasons why I won’t use your open source project"](https://changelog.com/posts/top-ten-reasons-why-i-wont-use-your-open-source-project) - *Adam Stacoviak*
- ["What I learned from an old GitHub project that won 3,000 Stars in a Week"](https://medium.freecodecamp.org/what-i-learned-from-an-old-github-project-that-won-3-000-stars-in-a-week-628349a5ee14) - *KyuWoo Choi*

## Tools

- [Common Readme](https://github.com/noffle/common-readme) - A common readme style for Node. Includes a guide and a readme generator.
- [Feedmereadmes](https://github.com/lappleapple/feedmereadmes) - README editing and project analysis/feedback.
- [Make a README](https://www.makeareadme.com/) - A guide to writing READMEs. Includes an editable template with live Markdown rendering.
- [README best practices](https://github.com/jehna/readme-best-practices) - A place to copy-paste your README.md from
- [readme-md-generator](https://github.com/kefranabg/readme-md-generator) - A CLI that generates beautiful README.md files
- [Standard Readme](https://github.com/RichardLitt/standard-readme) - A standard README style specification. Has a generator to help create spec-compliant READMEs, too.
- [Zalando's README Template](https://github.com/zalando/zalando-howto-open-source/blob/master/READMEtemplate.md) - Simple template to help you cover all the basics.

## Creating GIFs

Embedding an animated gif in your README quickly demonstrates what your project does and catches the reader's eye.  Here are a few programs that can help you quickly create gifs for your project:

- [Gifox](https://gifox.io) - **$4.99** - Cleanest UI, hotkeys, lots of advanced features
- [Giphy Capture](https://giphy.com/apps/giphycapture) - **FREE** - Easy to upload to giphy.com, slightly annoying UX.
- [LICEcap](https://www.cockos.com/licecap/) - **FREE** - Less intuitive, more features
- [Recordit](http://recordit.co/) - **FREE** - Simple, clean UI, but auto-uploads to [recordit.co](http://recordit.co)
- [Peek](https://github.com/phw/peek) - **FREE** - Simple and easy to use for Linux users.
- [ttystudio](https://github.com/chjj/ttystudio) - **FREE** - For commandline tools, a terminal-to-gif recorder minus the headaches.

## Get Feedback

- [feedmereadmes](https://github.com/LappleApple/feedmereadmes) - Free README editing+feedback to make your open-source projects grow. See the README maturity model to help you keep going.
- [maintainer.io](https://maintainer.io/) - Free README standardization and feedback, if you click on 'Book an audit'.
- This repository. Submit a PR with your README!

## Contribute

Contributions are always welcome!
Please read the [contribution guidelines](contributing.md) first.

## License

[![CC0](https://licensebuttons.net/p/zero/1.0/88x31.png)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)

To the extent possible under law, [Matias Singers](https://mts.io) has waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to this work.