README.md Template — Copy-Paste Examples for GitHub Projects

Q: What should a good README.md include?

A good README should include: a project title and one-line description, installation instructions, a quick-start usage example, a feature list or table, and a license. Optional but helpful: badges, screenshots, a contributing guide, and a changelog link.

Q: How do I add a table to a README.md?

Use pipes (|) and hyphens (-) to create columns and rows. Example: | Feature | Status | followed by |---------|--------| and then | Auth | Done |. GitHub renders this as a formatted table. Use colons for alignment: :--- left, :---: center, ---: right.

Every GitHub project needs a README.md — it's the first thing visitors see. A good README turns a repo from "random code" into something people actually want to use. Below are ready-to-use templates you can copy, paste into your project, and customize in under five minutes. Need a refresher on Markdown syntax? See our Markdown cheat sheet.

Minimal README Template

Works for any project. Start here if you're not sure which template to use.

# Project Name

One-line description of what this project does.

## Installation

```bash
npm install project-name
```

## Usage

```js
import { doThing } from 'project-name'

doThing('hello')
// => 'HELLO'
```

## License

MIT

Library / Package README

For npm packages, Python libraries, or any reusable code. Includes badges, API reference table, and contributing section.

# project-name

[![npm version](https://img.shields.io/npm/v/project-name)](https://www.npmjs.com/package/project-name)
[![license](https://img.shields.io/npm/l/project-name)](LICENSE)

One-line description. What problem does this solve?

## Features

- Feature one — brief explanation
- Feature two — brief explanation
- Feature three — brief explanation

## Installation

```bash
npm install project-name
```

## Quick Start

```js
import { createClient } from 'project-name'

const client = createClient({ apiKey: 'your-key' })
const result = await client.process('input')
console.log(result)
```

## API Reference

| Method | Description | Returns |
|--------|-------------|---------|
| `createClient(opts)` | Create a new client instance | `Client` |
| `client.process(input)` | Process input data | `Promise<Result>` |
| `client.batch(items)` | Process multiple items | `Promise<Result[]>` |

## Configuration

| Option | Type | Default | Description |
|--------|------|---------|-------------|
| `apiKey` | `string` | — | Your API key (required) |
| `timeout` | `number` | `5000` | Request timeout in ms |
| `retries` | `number` | `3` | Number of retry attempts |

## Contributing

1. Fork the repo
2. Create a feature branch (`git checkout -b feature/amazing`)
3. Commit your changes (`git commit -m 'Add amazing feature'`)
4. Push to the branch (`git push origin feature/amazing`)
5. Open a Pull Request

## License

MIT — see [LICENSE](LICENSE) for details.

CLI Tool README

For command-line tools. Emphasizes installation, usage examples, and flags.

# tool-name

One-line description of what this CLI does.

## Install

```bash
# Homebrew (macOS)
brew install tool-name

# npm (cross-platform)
npm install -g tool-name

# From source
cargo install tool-name
```

## Usage

```bash
# Basic usage
tool-name input.txt

# With options
tool-name input.txt --format json --output result.json

# Pipe from stdin
cat data.csv | tool-name --format csv
```

## Options

| Flag | Short | Description | Default |
|------|-------|-------------|---------|
| `--format` | `-f` | Output format (json, csv, table) | `table` |
| `--output` | `-o` | Write to file instead of stdout | — |
| `--verbose` | `-v` | Show detailed progress | `false` |
| `--help` | `-h` | Show help | — |

## Examples

### Convert CSV to JSON

```bash
tool-name data.csv --format json
```

### Process multiple files

```bash
tool-name *.md --output results/
```

## License

MIT

App / Product README

For desktop apps, web apps, or SaaS products. Includes screenshots placeholder, download links, and system requirements.

# App Name

> One-line tagline that explains the value.

![App screenshot](docs/screenshot.png)

## Features

- **Feature one** — what it does and why it matters
- **Feature two** — what it does and why it matters
- **Feature three** — what it does and why it matters

## Download

| Platform | Link | Requirements |
|----------|------|--------------|
| macOS | [Download DMG](https://example.com/download) | macOS 13.0+ |
| Windows | [Download MSI](https://example.com/download) | Windows 10+ |
| Linux | [AppImage](https://example.com/download) | Ubuntu 20.04+ |

## Getting Started

1. Download and install the app
2. Open a file or drag it into the window
3. Start working

## Keyboard Shortcuts

| Action | Shortcut |
|--------|----------|
| Open file | `Cmd+O` |
| Save | `Cmd+S` |
| Find | `Cmd+F` |
| Toggle sidebar | `Cmd+B` |

## Feedback

Found a bug? [Open an issue](https://github.com/user/repo/issues).
Have a question? [Start a discussion](https://github.com/user/repo/discussions).

## License

MIT — see [LICENSE](LICENSE).

README Tables — Quick Reference

Tables are the most-searched part of README formatting. Here's the syntax at a glance — for the full guide with alignment, multi-line cells, and advanced tricks, see Markdown Tables Guide.

| Feature       | Free | Pro  |
|---------------|:----:|:----:|
| Basic editing | Yes  | Yes  |
| Cloud sync    | No   | Yes  |
| Priority support | No | Yes |

Use :---: for center alignment, ---: for right alignment, and :--- (or just ---) for left.

Badges for Your README

Badges show project health at a glance. Add them right below your project title. The most useful ones:

<!-- npm package -->
[![npm](https://img.shields.io/npm/v/PACKAGE)](https://www.npmjs.com/package/PACKAGE)

<!-- Build status (GitHub Actions) -->
[![CI](https://github.com/USER/REPO/actions/workflows/ci.yml/badge.svg)](https://github.com/USER/REPO/actions)

<!-- License -->
[![License: MIT](https://img.shields.io/badge/License-MIT-blue.svg)](LICENSE)

<!-- Downloads -->
[![Downloads](https://img.shields.io/npm/dm/PACKAGE)](https://www.npmjs.com/package/PACKAGE)

Preview Your README Before Pushing

Don't push a broken README to GitHub. Preview it locally first:

MDViewer — open README.md and see it rendered exactly like GitHub, with tables, code highlighting, and Mermaid diagrams. Set it as your default and double-click any .md file to preview
Quick Look — select README.md in Finder and press Space for an instant rendered preview (with MDViewer's QuickLook extension installed)
Online viewer — drag your README.md into the browser, no install needed. Works on any OS

For a full comparison of Mac preview options, see How to Open .md Files on Mac.

Download MDViewer for Free

Requires macOS 13.0 or later. Intel and Apple Silicon.

Frequently Asked Questions

What should a good README.md include?

At minimum: a project title and one-line description, installation instructions, a quick-start usage example, and a license. For libraries, add an API reference table. For apps, add screenshots and system requirements. Badges and a contributing guide are nice-to-have.

What is the difference between README and README.md?

README is a plain text file. README.md uses Markdown formatting (.md extension), which GitHub, GitLab, and Bitbucket automatically render with headings, links, tables, and code blocks. README.md is the modern standard for open-source projects.

How do I preview a README.md before pushing to GitHub?

On Mac, use MDViewer — it renders GitHub Flavored Markdown with tables, code highlighting, and Mermaid diagrams. You can also press Space in Finder for a Quick Look preview, or drag the file into the free online viewer.

How do I add a table to a README.md?

Use pipes (|) and hyphens (-) to create columns and rows. Use colons for alignment: :--- left, :---: center, ---: right. See our Markdown Tables Guide for the full syntax and advanced examples.