Generates, updates, or reviews README files by selecting appropriate templates based on project type (OSS, personal, internal, or config) and audience. It ensures the documentation answers specific user needs through structured sections and targeted guidance.
Say it in your own words; the assistant finds this recipe by itself. Examples:
Use this skill when a user needs to create a new README for a project, update an existing one to reflect recent changes, or review a current README for accuracy and clarity. It is specifically useful when the user wants guidance on which sections to include based on whether the project is open source, internal, personal, or a configuration folder.
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?
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 |
Creating initial README: 1. What type of project? (see Project Types below) 2. What problem does this solve in one sentence? 3. What's the quickest path to "it works"? 4. Anything notable to highlight?
Adding a section: 1. What needs documenting? 2. Where should it go in the existing structure? 3. Who needs this info most?
Updating existing content: 1. What changed? 2. Read current README, identify stale sections 3. Propose specific edits
Reviewing/refreshing: 1. Read current README 2. Check against actual project state (package.json, main files, etc.) 3. Flag outdated sections 4. Update "Last reviewed" date if present
After drafting, ask: "Anything else to highlight or include that I might have missed?"
| 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.
Every README needs at minimum:
section-checklist.md - Which sections to include by project typestyle-guide.md - Common README mistakes and prose guidanceusing-references.md - Guide to deeper reference materialsLICENSEREADME.mdSKILL.mdreferences/art-of-readme.mdreferences/make-a-readme.mdreferences/standard-readme-example-maximal.mdreferences/standard-readme-example-minimal.mdreferences/standard-readme-spec.mdsection-checklist.mdstyle-guide.mdtemplates/internal.mdtemplates/oss.mdtemplates/personal.mdtemplates/xdg-config.mdusing-references.mdVendored from softaworks/agent-toolkit, commit 3027f20f3181, path skills/crafting-effective-readmes, licence MIT. The upstream licence file ships inside the skill.