README generator: a clear README.md written from your actual code
A good README is the difference between a project people try and one they close. Attach your repo or its key files and your todo.is agent reads the code, works out how to install and run it, and writes a README.md with real commands, usage examples and a configuration table that match what the code actually does.
The prompt
- Write a README.md for my project [PROJECT NAME]: [ONE-LINE DESCRIPTION]. Read the attached files ([FILES OR ZIP]) to get the real install steps, commands, environment variables and options. The readers are [WHO WILL READ IT]. Include: what it does and why, a quick start that works in under 5 minutes, usage examples, a configuration table, how to run tests, how to contribute and the license ([LICENSE]). Check every command against the code, keep it scannable with short sections, and send me the README.md file.
What to change
- [PROJECT NAME]: E.g. "tidyinvoice".
- [ONE-LINE DESCRIPTION]: E.g. "a CLI that turns supplier PDFs into a clean invoice spreadsheet".
- [FILES OR ZIP]: A zip of the repo, or the main files: package.json or pyproject.toml, the entry file, .env.example.
- [WHO WILL READ IT]: E.g. "developers who want to self-host it", "non-technical teammates", "open-source contributors".
- [LICENSE]: E.g. "MIT", "Apache-2.0", "proprietary, internal only".
Example result
- README.md for tidyinvoice (preview)
- tidyinvoice
- Turn a folder of supplier PDF invoices into one clean spreadsheet: supplier, invoice number, date, net, tax and total.
- Why
- Bookkeepers retype the same six fields from dozens of PDFs every month. tidyinvoice reads them, flags the ones it isn't sure about, and gives you a file to review in minutes.
- Quick start
- • Requires Python 3.10+
- • pip install tidyinvoice
- • tidyinvoice ./invoices --out september.xlsx
- Usage
- • Basic: tidyinvoice ./invoices --out september.xlsx
- • CSV instead of Excel: tidyinvoice ./invoices --format csv
- • Only new files since last run: tidyinvoice ./invoices --since-last
- • Preview without writing: tidyinvoice ./invoices --dry-run
- Configuration
- • TIDY_CURRENCY (default EUR): currency used when the PDF doesn't show one
- • TIDY_DATE_FORMAT (default %d/%m/%Y): how dates are written in your invoices
- • TIDY_OCR (default off): set to on to read scanned PDFs with tesseract
- Output columns
- supplier, invoice_no, date, net, tax, total, file, confidence. Rows with confidence below 0.8 are highlighted yellow.
- Running tests
- • pip install -e ".[dev]"
- • pytest
- Contributing
- Open an issue first for new features. Keep pull requests small and add a test for every fix.
- License
- MIT. See LICENSE.
- Notes from your agent
- • The quick start was run on 3 sample PDFs: it worked, and produced a 3-row file
- • Your code reads TIDY_OCR but .env.example didn't list it, so it's added to the table
- • The old README said --since was the flag; the code uses --since-last, so the README uses that
How to do it with todo.is
- Copy the prompt and fill in the name, description, audience and license.
- Attach a zip of the repository or its key files in todo.is (leave out .env and secrets).
- Your agent reads the code, runs the quick start where it can and writes the README.
- Download README.md and drop it in the root of your repo.
- Ask for extra sections later, like FAQ, roadmap or a translated version.
Tips for a better result
- Put a one-line description and a quick start at the top. Most visitors decide in the first screen.
- Use real, copy-pasteable commands. Your agent checks them against the code so they don't drift.
- Add a screenshot or GIF of the tool in action. Ask your agent to make a GIF from a short screen recording.
- Keep long details (architecture, full API) in a docs folder and link to it from the README.
- Update the README whenever flags change. Send the new version of the code and ask for a diff of the README.
README generator: FAQ
- What should a README include? At least what the project does, how to install it, a quick usage example, configuration, how to run tests, how to contribute and the license. Badges and screenshots help on public projects.
- Can it write a README for a private or internal project? Yes. Say who reads it, e.g. new teammates, and it focuses on setup, environments and who to ask, and can skip public sections like badges.
- Does it support formats other than Markdown? README.md in Markdown is the default because GitHub, GitLab and Bitbucket render it. It can also produce a .docx or PDF version for people outside the repo.
- Will it publish the README to GitHub? No. It gives you the file. You commit it to your repository yourself.
JavaScript is required to use the todo.is app.