Make your GitHub readme standout
Your GitHub readme is one of the first things that someone will see when they check out your GitHub profile (That is if you have it enabled of course). It is not restricted to only boring texts. It can contain emojis, static images, animated images (GIFs), lists, tables and embedded contents.
Our imagination is the only limit to what we can hope to have in the future. — Charles Kettering
Many have taken this several steps further and have built full fledge games from Tic Tac Toe to Chess which you can play on their GitHub readme. This however is beyond the scope of this article. Here is a curated list of some awesome GitHub profiles.
Why is your GitHub readme important?
Your GitHub readme can act as a resume showing all your skills to your profile visitors who may happen to be a recruiter. It can also help you connect with new developers with similar skills.
Creating a README.md for your GitHub profile
In order to have a profile README at the top of your profile page, you need to set up one first. If you already know how to do this by any means you can skip this step however for those who are new to this, GitHub has an excellent guide on this subject.
Dot md extension
The .md extension is known as Markdown. Markdown is a text-to-HTML conversion tool for web writers. It allows you to write using an easy-to-read, easy-to-write plain text format, then converts it to structurally valid XHTML or HTML. (Daring Fireball: Markdown)
Readme generators
We will be using a readme generator to generate a base template.
Two readme generators that I have personally used are GPRM and GitHub Profile Readme Generator. Both generators have pros and cons but to put it shortly, GPRM is easier to use as it guides you through each and every step whereas GitHub Profile Readme Generator is more advanced and flexible.
I will be using GitHub Profile Readme Generator but you are free to use either one of them or even search for another one as we will only use it to generate a template which can be improved upon later.
Almost all generators have the same pattern. They will ask you for your Basic information > Tools you use > Your socials > Add-ons.
Basic information
This usually includes your name, a short description of yourself and information on what you are currently learning or projects that you are currently working on.
Tools you use
You will usually have to select the different tools your use. Depending on the generator, this may include tools like programming languages, software and services.
Your socials
Almost all generators will ask you for your socials, which will later be converted to links or linked buttons on your GitHub readme.
Add-ons
This may or may not be a step depending on your generator but add-ons usually include visitors count badge, GitHub trophies and GitHub profile stats card. If it is not available on the generator you are using, you can check the ‘Useful stuff’ section of this article for guides on how to add one manually.
Adding it to GitHub
After providing all the details that the generator needs, it will generate some texts. In some cases, it may even generate a file for you which will be available for download. Grab a hold of the generated texts and head over to your GitHub repository which has the same name as your GitHub username (If you have no such repository, create one by following these steps).
In the repository, you should see a file with the name README.md (If there are no such files, create one by clicking on ’Add file’ > ‘Create New File’. Name the file ‘README.md’).
Open the file and hit the edit button (A small pencil). Paste the generated text into this file and click ‘Commit changes’. Et voila you now have a beautiful GitHub readme which should be visible on your GitHub profile.
Just a template
Remember that the generated content is just a template, you can freely edit the content to make it unique to you. Having some knowledge of HTML will make it easier to edit the file but not necessary. Remember that Google is your friend and that friend has an answer to almost all your problems.
You can quickly preview your changes after an edit by clicking the ‘Preview’ button.
Some useful stuff
- GitHub readme stats by Anurag Hazra
- GitHub profile view counter by Anton Komarev
- A guide on basic writing and formatting syntax by GitHub
- A Markdown cheat sheet by Adam Pritchard
Thank you
A big thanks to you for spending your valuable time on this article. I sincerely hope that it helped you in any way. Click this link if you want to find me.