alfredolopez80/crafting-effective-readmes
.claude/skills/crafting-effective-readmes/SKILL.md
Use when writing or improving README files. Not all READMEs are the same — provides templates and guidance matched to your audience and project type.
$ install --global
skillsauthnpx skillsauth add alfredolopez80/multi-agent-ralph-loop crafting-effective-readmesInstall this skill globally with one command. Works with Claude Code, Cursor, and Windsurf.
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SKILL.md
- # VERSION:
- 3.0.0
- name:
- crafting-effective-readmes
- description:
- Use when writing or improving README files. Not all READMEs are the same — provides templates and guidance matched to your audience and project type.
Crafting Effective READMEs
v2.88 Key Changes (MODEL-AGNOSTIC)
- Model-agnostic: Uses model configured in
~/.claude/settings.jsonor CLI/env vars - No flags required: Works with the configured default model
- Flexible: Works with GLM-5, Claude, Minimax, or any configured model
- Settings-driven: Model selection via
ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_*_MODELenv vars
Overview
READMEs answer questions your audience will have. Different audiences need different information - a contributor to an OSS project needs different context than future-you opening a config folder.
Always ask: Who will read this, and what do they need to know?
Process
Step 1: Identify the Task
Ask: "What README task are you working on?"
| Task | When | |------|------| | Creating | New project, no README yet | | Adding | Need to document something new | | Updating | Capabilities changed, content is stale | | Reviewing | Checking if README is still accurate |
Step 2: Task-Specific Questions
Creating initial README:
- What type of project? (see Project Types below)
- What problem does this solve in one sentence?
- What's the quickest path to "it works"?
- Anything notable to highlight?
Adding a section:
- What needs documenting?
- Where should it go in the existing structure?
- Who needs this info most?
Updating existing content:
- What changed?
- Read current README, identify stale sections
- Propose specific edits
Reviewing/refreshing:
- Read current README
- Check against actual project state (package.json, main files, etc.)
- Flag outdated sections
- Update "Last reviewed" date if present
Step 3: Always Ask
After drafting, ask: "Anything else to highlight or include that I might have missed?"
Project Types
| Type | Audience | Key Sections | Template |
|------|----------|--------------|----------|
| Open Source | Contributors, users worldwide | Install, Usage, Contributing, License | templates/oss.md |
| Personal | Future you, portfolio viewers | What it does, Tech stack, Learnings | templates/personal.md |
| Internal | Teammates, new hires | Setup, Architecture, Runbooks | templates/internal.md |
| Config | Future you (confused) | What's here, Why, How to extend, Gotchas | templates/xdg-config.md |
Ask the user if unclear. Don't assume OSS defaults for everything.
Essential Sections (All Types)
Every README needs at minimum:
- Name - Self-explanatory title
- Description - What + why in 1-2 sentences
- Usage - How to use it (examples help)
References
section-checklist.md- Which sections to include by project typestyle-guide.md- Common README mistakes and prose guidanceusing-references.md- Guide to deeper reference materials
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