What I do

• Analyze project structure: Examine directory layout, source files, and configuration

• Detect project type: Identify language/framework from package.json, Cargo.toml, go.mod, requirements.txt, etc.

• Extract metadata: Get project name, description, scripts, dependencies from config files

• Check existing README: Review current README.md content if it exists

• Detect codebase changes: Analyze recent git changes to understand what's new or modified

• Generate README: Create comprehensive README with appropriate sections

• Update existing README: Edit current README.md to reflect codebase changes

• Show preview: Display generated content for confirmation before writing

When to use me

Use this when you want to:

• Create a new README.md for a fresh project

• Update an existing README to reflect current codebase state

• Update README based on recent changes in the repository (new features, changed dependencies, etc.)

• Add missing sections like installation, usage, or API docs

• Generate documentation based on project structure

How to use

• Load this skill: skill({ name: "readme-generator" })

• I'll analyze your project structure and config files

• I'll show you what I found and what sections I'll include

• You'll confirm or specify what to include

• I'll generate the README and show a preview

• You can edit before I write it to README.md

Project Analysis Steps

1. Detect Project Type

Check for:

• package.json

• Node.js/npm project

• Cargo.toml

• Rust project

• go.mod

• Go project

• requirements.txt / pyproject.toml

• Python project

• pom.xml / build.gradle

• Java project

• *.csproj

• C#/.NET project

• Gemfile

• Ruby project

2. Extract Project Info

From config files:

• Name: project name

• Description: from config or prompt user

• Version: current version

• Scripts: build, test, start commands

• Dependencies: key dependencies

• License: from LICENSE file or config

3. Analyze Structure

• List root directory contents

• Identify src/, lib/, app/, tests/ directories

• Check for docs/, examples/, scripts/ folders

• Look for main entry points

4. Detect Codebase Changes

When updating an existing README:

• Run git diff or check recent commits to see what changed

• Identify new files, modified functionality, updated dependencies

• Look at git log for recent features or changes

• Check for new scripts in package.json or similar config files

• Update relevant sections: features, installation, usage, API, etc.

5. Generate README Sections

Based on project type, include:

• Title & Badges: name, version, license, CI status

• Description: what the project does

• Features: key capabilities

• Prerequisites: required tools/versions

• Installation: how to install

• Usage: basic usage examples

• API: for libraries, document public interfaces

• Configuration: config options if applicable

• Development: how to contribute/run dev mode

• Testing: how to run tests

• License: license info

• Directory Structure: overview of code organization

6. Output Format

Generated README follows common conventions:

• Markdown format

• Badge placeholders for CI/CD

• Code blocks for examples

• Tables for options/CLI flags

• Link references for dependencies

Options

• Update: Tell me "update" to update existing README based on recent codebase changes

• Update only: Tell me "update only" to only modify existing README sections without adding new ones

• Minimal: Tell me "minimal" to create a bare-bones README

• Detailed: Tell me "detailed" to include all possible sections

• Custom sections: Specify which sections to include

Example

User: "Generate README for this project" Skill finds: Node.js project with package.json, tests/, README exists Action: Analyze existing README, update with current package.json info, add missing sections

User: "Update README based on recent changes" Skill finds: 5 new commits, new API endpoints added, new dependencies Action: Run git diff/log, identify changes, update Features/API/Installation sections accordingly