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: 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 Flag outdated sections 4.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 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: 1. Name Self explanatory title 2. Description What + why in 1 2 sentences 3. Usage How to use it (examples help) References section checklist.md Which sections to include by project type style guide.md Common README mistakes and prose guidance using references.md Guide to deeper reference materials

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