README.md Generator

The README is the first thing anyone sees on a repository page — and often the only thing they read before deciding to install or contribute. A strong one is a small landing page: name and tagline at the top, badges for the current state, then the essentials — what it does, how to install it, how to use it, how it is configured — and finally the legal and contributing details. This generator turns writing that page from a blank editor and an hour of grinding Markdown into a ten-minute form: type the project facts once, choose the sections and badge styles, and download a ready-to-commit README.md.

The form covers the sections almost every repository ends up owning. The title, tagline and description become the first heading and the opening paragraph. The Links section is generated automatically from your section choices, producing a table of contents whose anchors match GitHub’s slugging rules. The dependencies section accepts both the primary install command and an alternative for pnpm or yarn, so the generated block serves readers on any package manager. The quick usage section holds the first command people run, and the reference/API section is where you list modules, endpoints or classes with their parameters and defaults in a table. Those, plus an acknowledgements block and a license footer, produce a README that reads like the best of the ecosystem’s.

Badges are the part most people want without wanting to learn shields.io syntax. Pick a badge style — flat, plastic, round, flat-square — and a colour, and the generator builds a status row (build, version, license, downloads passing) plus an icon row for the services your project lives on: npm, GitHub Actions, Docker, VS Code Marketplace, NuGet, PyPI, crates.io, Packagist, RubyGems, Go, JSFiddle and more. Every icon carries the correct shields.io logo key, and the whole row is a single copy-paste into your README. Keep it minimal with just a links table, or go all-in with three badge rows; the choice is a checkbox each.

Everything runs in the browser — the templates, badge presets and the Markdown assembler are bundled with the page, so nothing is uploaded and it works offline. The preview updates on every keystroke, and the statistics show the number of sections, lines and bytes your README will add to the repository. When it reads right, copy the whole document or download README.md into the repo root, and the front page of your project is done — consistent, badge-savvy and ready for the reviewer. It even handles the edge cases: blank options are skipped, so an empty license field never produces an empty table row.

• Structured sections — title, description, links index, dependencies, usage, API reference, acknowledgements and license, each optional.
• Automatic links table — a copy-paste table of contents generated from your section headings with GitHub-compatible anchors.
• Badge panel — status badges plus third-party icon badges (npm, GitHub, Docker, VS Code, NuGet, PyPI, crates.io, Packagist, RubyGems, Go).
• Four shield styles — flat, plastic, round and flat-square, with a colour picker for the badge accents.
• npm and pnpm/yarn — dependencies block renders both the primary command and the alternative.
• API reference table — list modules, functions or endpoints with parameters and defaults.
• Live preview and statistics — sections, lines and bytes update on every change.
• Copy and download — get README.md in one click, fully client-side.

1. Write the basics — project name, tagline and description.
2. Choose the badge style and colour, then tick the status and icon badges you want.
3. Fill in the sections — dependencies (with an optional pnpm/yarn command), usage, full API rows and acknowledgements.
4. Pick the license and, if publishing details belong in the header, fill them in.
5. Generate README and read the live preview plus its statistics.
6. Copy or download README.md into the repository root and commit it.

Example 1 — npm package. Name “string-kit”, npm installed, icon badges npm + GitHub, a three-function API table and MIT license. The README opens with badges and a contents list, then install, usage and the API.

Example 2 — FastAPI service. pip install in dependencies, usage showing uvicorn start, an endpoint API table with parameters and defaults, and Docker + PyPI badges.

Example 3 — VS Code extension. vsce as install, a usage block with the command palette command, VS Code Marketplace and GitHub icon badges, and a short acknowledgements list.

Example 4 — Rust crate. cargo add in dependencies, examples block in usage, crates.io and GitHub badges, and the LICENSE-IDENTIFIER row in the header.

Example 5 — Documentation site repo. Only the basics plus a big links table — install and usage omitted, keeping the front page a clean index.

Example 6 — Minimal library. Name, one-line description, a single usage command and MIT license: everything fits in ten lines of Markdown.

• Hours saved — badges, links and tables are generated, not hand-typed.
• Consistent layout — every section follows the same, proven Markdown structure.
• Reader-first — the essentials (what, install, use, config) are always in the top half.
• Badge-savvy — correct shields.io keys for npm, Docker, VS Code and a dozen more.
• Correct anchors — automatic table of contents matches GitHub's heading slugs.
• Nothing uploaded — generation runs entirely in the browser, safe for private work.
• Instant iteration — the preview and byte count update on every keystroke.