How to create a Github Profile README

Introduction

Github has been changing a lot lately. Recently they rolled out a total revamp of the sites UI. Along with this new UI they snuck in Profile READMEs. This articles walks you through the steps required to use this new feature and shows off some of the best examples of Profile READMEs I've come across so far.

What is a README?

A README is a space pinned at the top of your Github profile page that allows users to add content. Since this README supports markdown that means you can do all kinds of interesting things with READMEs.

In general READMEs are used to document software and to

Great, I'm sold. Now How do I make one?

To crate a Profile README you'd need to create a new repository. Then name this repository the same exact name as your Github profile name. For example if your profile name is 'Gunna007' you'd need to create a new repo named 'Gunna007'.

You'll also notice a nice little "you've found a secret" message 😸.

Once the repo is created you're off and running. From there you're able to use Markdown to add content to your README.

Conclusion

I think the 'rollout' of this new featre is pretty cool. Github/Microsoft is letting people like me, and folks on Twitter create a bit of a buzz around the new featre. As for the pourpose of READMEs, that's a bit less clear. I've heard some say that it's moving Github into the MySpace zone since these profiles are destined to be used for some pretty cool 'old school internet' kind of ideas. For now I'll keep an eye our for some README inspo.