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kefranabg/readme-md-generator

11,108JavaScriptAudience · developerComplexity · 1/5LicenseSetup · easy

TLDR

A CLI tool that generates a formatted README.md by asking guided questions and auto-filling answers from your package.json and Git config.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((readme-md-generator))
    What it does
      Generate README files
      Interactive questions
      Auto-fill from project
    Data sources
      package.json fields
      Git config
    Output sections
      Description and usage
      Contributing guide
      License info
    Customization
      EJS custom templates
      Accept all defaults
    Audience
      Open-source developers
      New project setup
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Code map

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Things people build with this

USE CASE 1

Quickly generate a polished README for a new npm package without formatting it by hand

USE CASE 2

Standardize README files across multiple projects with a consistent template

USE CASE 3

Create a custom EJS template that matches your organization's documentation style

USE CASE 4

Generate a README with all standard sections in seconds by accepting all defaults

Tech stack

JavaScriptNode.jsEJS

Getting it running

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 5min
Use freely for any purpose including commercial projects, as long as you keep the copyright notice.

In plain English

readme-md-generator is a command-line tool that helps developers create README files for their projects by walking them through a series of questions. It reads information already present in your project, such as the package name, version, description, author, license, and repository link from a package.json file and from your Git configuration. It then pre-fills answers to questions using that information, so you are not typing things from scratch. The tool runs directly from the terminal using a single command and produces a formatted README.md file at the end of the process. If you want to skip the interactive questions entirely, you can pass a flag to accept all the suggested defaults automatically. For developers who want a different layout than the built-in template, the tool supports custom templates written in a format called EJS, which lets you define the structure of the README however you like while still having the tool fill in the project details. This is primarily useful for open-source developers or teams who frequently start new projects and want a consistent, well-structured README without spending time formatting one by hand. The generated output includes sections for project description, usage instructions, contributing guidelines, and license information. The project is MIT licensed and was built by Franck Abgrall.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
Run readme-md-generator in my project directory and walk me through creating a README with description, usage, and license sections
Prompt 2
How do I create a custom EJS template for readme-md-generator with a badges section and a custom layout?
Prompt 3
Show me how to run readme-md-generator with the --yes flag to instantly generate a README using all auto-detected defaults
Prompt 4
How do I add npm version and CI status badges to a README generated by readme-md-generator?
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