README and Markdown
A README written in Markdown is your project's front page on GitHub.
A file named README.md is displayed automatically on your repository's home page. It should explain what the project is, how to install it, and how to use it.
Markdown basics
# Headingand## Subheading.**bold**and*italic*.- itemfor bullet lists.- Fenced code blocks between triple backticks.
[text](url)for links andfor images.
GitHub also renders tables, task lists (- [ ]), and emoji shortcodes.
Example
# My Project
A short one-line description.
## Installation
```bash
npm install my-project
```
## Features
- [x] Fast
- [x] Documented
- [ ] Themeable
## License
MITWhen to use it
- An open-source maintainer writes a README with install instructions, badges, and a code example so users can get started in under five minutes.
- A team adds a badge showing the CI status to the README so anyone landing on the repo instantly sees whether the build is passing.
- A developer uses Markdown tables in a README to compare configuration options, making them easier to scan than a prose paragraph.
More examples
Basic README with install section
A minimal README covering the project name, description, install command, and a quick-start code snippet.
cat README.md
# My Library
A fast JSON parser for Node.js.
## Installation
```bash
npm install my-library
```
## Usage
```js
const parse = require('my-library');
console.log(parse('{"a":1}'));
```Add a CI status badge
An inline Markdown image pointing to the GitHub Actions badge URL renders a live build-status shield on the repo page.
cat README.md
# My Library
A fast JSON parser for Node.js.Markdown table for option reference
A pipe-delimited Markdown table gives readers a scannable reference for all configuration options.
cat README.md
## Options
| Option | Type | Default | Description |
|-----------|---------|---------|-------------------------|
| strict | boolean | false | Throw on unknown keys |
| maxDepth | number | 10 | Max nesting depth |
| encoding | string | utf8 | Input string encoding |
Discussion