pradeepmouli/crafting-effective-readmes
.agents/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 pradeepmouli/lspeasy crafting-effective-readmesInstall this skill globally with one command. Works with Claude Code, Cursor, and Windsurf.
Security Scan Results
3 of 9 scanners reported clean
Some scanners were skipped, did not run, or reported a non-clean status. Review each row below.
3
Scanners Passed
9
Scanners in report
Clean
TrivyContainer and dependency vulnerability scanner
95%
Clean
SemgrepStatic code analysis for vulnerabilities
95%
Clean
mcp-scan (Snyk)Model Context Protocol security validation
95%
Skipped
Snyk (dep)Open source security scanning
50%
Skipped
Socket.devSupply chain security analysis
50%
Skipped
VirusTotalMulti-engine malware detection
50%
Skipped
CrowdStrikeAdvanced threat intelligence
50%
Skipped
OSV-ScannerOpen Source Vulnerability database check
50%
Skipped
OWASP Dep-Check
50%
Last scanned: Apr 2, 2026, 3:05 AM60.3s13 files scanned
SKILL.md
- 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
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
Related Skills
pradeepmouli/lsp-refactor
tools
VerifiedTrustedCommunity
Use for ANY rename, file-move, or move-symbol refactor — especially rename-heavy work across multiple files. Claude Code's built-in LSP tool is READ-ONLY (find references, but no rename / file-move / move-symbol). Hand-editing those refactors silently misses re-exports, aliased imports, type-only imports, and {@link} doc references. This skill drives a real language server via the `lspeasy` CLI to apply a correct WorkspaceEdit that catches every reference. Trigger when the user asks to rename a function/class/variable/type project-wide, move a file and fix its importers, or pull a symbol out into another module.
2SKILL.mdUpdated Jun 3, 2026
pradeepmouli/lspeasy-core
tools
VerifiedTrustedCommunity
Documentation site for lspeasy Use when: You are building a browser-based LSP client, a WebSocket-backed language....
2SKILL.mdUpdated Apr 17, 2026
pradeepmouli/lspeasy-client
tools
VerifiedTrustedCommunity
Documentation site for lspeasy Use when: You are implementing a custom client layer and need the same validation....
2SKILL.mdUpdated Apr 17, 2026
pradeepmouli/lspeasy
tools
VerifiedTrustedCommunity
Use when working with lspeasy (client, core, server). Covers: lsp, language-server-protocol, lsp-client, language-client, jsonrpc, transport, lsp-server, language-server.
1SKILL.mdUpdated Apr 25, 2026