craft-readme

How to craft a README. Direct, minimal, clear.

SKILL.md

GitHub

Skill: Craft README

"Every word earns its place."

The Voice

From output-styles/craftsman.md:

  • Direct — Say what you mean. No hedging.
  • Brief — Trust the reader. Don't over-explain.
  • Specific — Name the problem. Name the solution.
  • Show — Code speaks louder than prose.

The Anti-Patterns

Don't Do
"This is a belief system—a conviction that..." State what it does.
"We don't build features. We craft solutions." Show the solution.
"The patient, deliberate pursuit of excellence" Be excellent. Don't say it.
Walls of text explaining why Short paragraph + code example
Tables for everything Code blocks for lists

The Check

Before finishing:

  • Can any sentence be deleted without losing meaning?
  • Is there preaching? Remove it.
  • Are there examples? There should be.
  • Would the reader approve?

Templates

Template Use When
namespace.md domain or support README
plugin.md Plugin README

Registration

Add craft-readme to agents that write documentation:

  • agents/architect.md