How To Create A README For GitHub Profile

GitHub recently released a feature that allows users to create a README to display prominently on their GitHub profile. This article will get you through all the steps and requirements of a README for a GitHub profile.

The header image above shows what my README looks like at the time of this writing.

Why READMEs for a profile?

The GitHub profile README feature allows you to showcase more content than the profile bio, and it supports markdown — which means you can style it however you wish. For brushing up your markdown knowledge you can refer to a markdown cheatsheet.

READMEs make your profile more visually appealing, as they let you add GIFs and images as you please.

How do I create a profile README?

The profile README is created by creating a new repository with the same name as your username. For instance, my GitHub username is me-harshit, so I created a new repository with the name me-harshit.

You can also showcase your GitHub perks using third-party projects like github-readme-stats. With it you can present your GitHub stats in a much more professional way.

1. 1

   Create the repository

   Create a new repository with the same name as your GitHub username, at github.com/new.

   

2. 2

   Add a README

   Create a README.md file inside this new repo with whatever content you want — text, GIFs, images, emojis.

   

3. 3

   Commit your cool new README

   If you are in GitHub's web interface you can commit directly to the repo's branch (master or main), and it is immediately displayed on your profile.

4. 4

   Push the changes

   Push your changes to GitHub, if you made them locally on your computer.

Now have a blast. Share your profile README with me — I'd be more than happy to have a look. If you like it, consider giving it a star.