Write a Good GitHub Readme File
PART I
Introduction
If your familiar with GitHub, then you would know, writing a Readme file is really important. It’s very helpful when looking at someone’s repo, you can just scroll down to their README file and have a look at what the project is all about.
It’s really crucial your project get introduced properly by just going through your Readme file, if it’s isn’t. The chances of someone contributing to your repo could be low, That why having a good README file should not be over looked by a developer.
In this article, I will share some tips on how you could improve your README file.
Here we go;
Step #1:
Project Title:
This is the name of the project. It describes the whole project in one sentence, and helps people understand what the main goal and aim of the project is.
Step #2:
Project Description
This is an important component of your project that many new developers often overlook. Your description is an extremely important aspect of your project. A well-crafted description allows you to show off your work to other developers as well as potential employers. The quality of a README description often differentiates a good project from a bad project
Step #3:
Adding More Content
If your README is very long, you might want to add a table of contents to make it easy for users to navigate to different sections easily. It will make it easier for readers to move around the project with ease
Step #4:
How you could Run the project
Provide a sequence step on how to run or install the project. Possibly, on this part you should inform other developers what their need to install to run the project. If your making use of an API key, CI/CD inform them.
Step #5:
Include Collaborators
Every developer deserve some sort of credit even if it’s little. Debugging a project is not an easy task as it’s sound. It’s a way to show appreciation to other developers.
Step #6:
Include License
They’re varieties of License certification for any open source projects, some of the popular ones are GPL, Apache etc.
It’s gives the developer right on what he can do with your project. If you need help choosing a license, use check out this link: https://choosealicense.com/
Other Steps you could possibly add to your project are ;
a. Addition of Badges
b. How to Contribute to the project
Congratulations
They you have it, simple steps of writing a good README file. It’s very important that you get comfortable writing these things. It could help you change the level of interaction in your GitHub repo.
I believe this article has helped you, in improving your project README file
Am waiting for you 😄 https://twitter.com/iamgabrielsoft
