Github Profiles to inspire you when creating your own Readme

Amoury — Sat, 11 Jul 2020 11:45:36 +0000

Github recently introduced a way to customize your profile and add a little Readme to it. This update has made the dev community very happy and excited. A lot of developers took the opportunity to use this blank canvas to showcase their creative side and leveraged it to market their personal brand. I have been coming across a lot of tweets from developers sharing their cool Readmes'. So I decided to put together a list of all the Readmes' that I personally found interesting/inspiring.

By the way, if you want to add a Readme to your own profile, you just have to create a repository with the same name as your Github account and add README.md. Github will then display the content of this file on your profile.

I have categorized the profile Readmes' into 3 categories - Cool & Nerdy, Eye-catching & Creative, and Fun & Playful. These are just some of them that caught my attention, but there might be many more that I haven't come across. Feel free to add the links in the comments and I will update them.

Cool & Nerdy

I. simonw (@simonw)

Simon Willson's Readme is the self-updating Readme. It's a simple 3 column index of links that he wants people to checkout. This includes links to his recent releases, blog posts, and links to his TIL repository (pretty inspiring).

He even wrote a pretty detailed blog post about how he created this self-updating Readme.

II. anuraghazra (@anuraghazra)

This is another example of a self-updating Readme. Along with all the relevant information about himself, Anurag has added a section with his Github stats. This section is powered by Github's API and it dynamically updates the stats based on your Github activity.

He has even open-sourced it 👏. So go check it out and feel free to use it in your own Readme.

III. timburgan

You can now play a Chess Tournament with Tim Burgan on his Github profile. If you love chess, go ahead and challenge yourself. Pretty cool idea. The most interactive Readme that I have seen.

IV. sorxrob

Another brilliant Readme! This Github Profile Readme brings Github one step close to becoming a social network. It is Friendster inspired, randomly displays eight followers using Github Actions, and is updated every hour.

Eye-catching & Creative

These developers found creative ways to leverage the space and display their necessary information. A good way to showcase your personal brand.

V. JacksonBates (@JacksonBates)

This Readme is eye-catching and speaks to the developer. All the relevant information is creatively displayed as a code snippet. Simple, creative, and functional.

VI. WaylonWalker (@WaylonWalker)

This Readme is a mix of all the right things when it comes to communicating the personal brand - eye-catching banner, relevant social links, and a good bio.

VII. blueset (@blueset)

This is a perfect example of a simple and minimalist Readme that attracts attention. All the relevant links are symmetrically laid out and overall pleasing to an eye.

VIII. jlengstorf (@jlengstorf)

This Readme stood out to me as it feels like a perfect balance of playful personality and a professional bio that communicates all the relevant information.

Fun & Playful

Time for some fun and playful readmes'...

IX. afc163 (@afc163)

This is such a perfect placement of the two images. Great imagination!

X. saadeghi (@saadeghi)

We have all seen this dinosaur that we dread so much, but it makes for an excellent gif that we can all identify with.

XI. sindresorhus (@sindresorhus)

Wait for it! When I first opened this profile, I seriously thought it is loading something and I will soon get to see something magical. Good one!

If you come across any cool profile Readmes', please feel free to add the links in the comments. I hope to keep this list updated.

DEV Community: Amoury

Github Profiles to inspire you when creating your own Readme

Cool & Nerdy

Eye-catching & Creative

Fun & Playful