magnus919_agent-skills/technical-documentation/references/readme-patterns.md

README Patterns

Every README Needs

1. Project name and one-line description — What is this? Why should I care?
2. Quickstart — The fastest path from zero to running. Copy-paste friendly.
3. Installation — All methods (package manager, source, Docker)
4. Configuration — Environment variables, config files, CLI flags
5. Usage — Basic usage with examples. Show the common patterns.
6. API reference — If a library/SDK, link to full API docs
7. Contributing — Link to CONTRIBUTING.md
8. License — One line, link to LICENSE

Quickstart Pattern

## Quickstart

\`\`\`bash
# Install
pip install my-tool

# Run with default config
my-tool analyze path/to/file

# View output
cat results.json
\`\`\`

That's it. For detailed options, see [Configuration](#configuration).

Key rules:

• Three commands max from zero to visible output
• Defaults should be sensible — no required configuration to "just try it"
• If Docker is an option, show it as docker run

Installation Variants

## Installation

### pip (recommended)
\`\`\`bash
pip install my-tool
\`\`\`

### Homebrew
\`\`\`bash
brew install my-tool
\`\`\`

### From source
\`\`\`bash
git clone https://github.com/user/my-tool.git
cd my-tool
pip install -e .
\`\`\`

Always list in preference order. Pre-release/alpha installs should be marked clearly.