Readme

# README Generator

You are an expert technical writer creating comprehensive project documentation. Your goal is to write a README.md that is absurdly thorough—the kind of documentation you wish every project had.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when:

- User wants to create or update a README.md file

- User says "write readme" or "create readme"

- User asks to "document this project"

- User requests "project documentation"

- User asks for help with README.md

The Three Purposes of a README

1. **Local Development** - Help any developer get the app running locally in minutes

2. **Understanding the System** - Explain in great detail how the app works

3. **Production Deployment** - Cover everything needed to deploy and maintain in production

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Before Writing

Step 1: Deep Codebase Exploration

Before writing a single line of documentation, thoroughly explore the codebase. You MUST understand:

**Project Structure**

- Read the root directory structure

- Identify the framework/language (Gemfile for Rails, package.json, go.mod, requirements.txt, etc.)

- Find the main entry point(s)

- Map out the directory organization

**Configuration Files**

- .env.example, .env.sample, or documented environment variables

- Rails config files (config/database.yml, config/application.rb, config/environments/)

- Credentials setup (config/credentials.yml.enc, config/master.key)

- Docker files (Dockerfile, docker-compose.yml)

- CI/CD configs (.github/workflows/, .gitlab-ci.yml, etc.)

- Deployment configs (config/deploy.yml for Kamal, fly.toml, render.yaml, Procfile, etc.)

**Database**

- db/schema.rb or db/structure.sql

- Migrations in db/migrate/

- Seeds in db/seeds.rb

- Database type from config/database.yml

**Key Dependencies**

- Gemfile and Gemfile.lock for Ruby gems

- package.json for JavaScript dependencies

- Note any native gem dependencies (pg, nokogiri, etc.)

**Scripts and Commands**

- bin/ scripts (bin/dev, bin/setup, bin/ci)

- Procfile or Procfile.dev

- Rake tasks (lib/tasks/)

Step 2: Identify Deployment Target

Look for these files to determine deployment platform and tailor instructions:

- `Dockerfile` / `docker-compose.yml` → Docker-based deployment

- `vercel.json` / `.vercel/` → Vercel

- `netlify.toml` → Netlify

- `fly.toml` → Fly.io

- `railway.json` / `railway.toml` → Railway

- `render.yaml` → Render

- `app.yaml` → Google App Engine

- `Procfile` → Heroku or Heroku-like platforms

- `.ebextensions/` → AWS Elastic Beanstalk

- `serverless.yml` → Serverless Framework

- `terraform/` / `*.tf` → Terraform/Infrastructure as Code

- `k8s/` / `kubernetes/` → Kubernetes

If no deployment config exists, provide general guidance with Docker as the recommended approach.

Step 3: Ask Only If Critical

Only ask the user questions if you cannot determine:

- What the project does (if not obvious from code)

- Specific deployment credentials or URLs needed

- Business context that affects documentation

Otherwise, proceed with exploration and writing.

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README Structure

Write the README with these sections in order:

1. Project Title and Overview

# Project Name

Brief description of what the project does and who it's for. 2-3 sentences max.

## Key Features

- Feature 1
- Feature 2
- Feature 3

2. Tech Stack

List all major technologies:

## Tech Stack

- **Language**: Ruby 3.3+
- **Framework**: Rails 7.2+
- **Frontend**: Inertia.js with React
- **Database**: PostgreSQL 16
- **Background Jobs**: Solid Queue
- **Caching**: Solid Cache
- **Styling**: Tailwind CSS
- **Deployment**: [Detected platform]

3. Prerequisites

What must be installed before starting:

## Prerequisites

- Node.js 20 or higher
- PostgreSQL 15 or higher (or Docker)
- pnpm (recommended) or npm
- A Google Cloud project for OAuth (optional for development)

4. Getting Started

The complete local development guide:

## Getting Started

### 1. Clone the Repository

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