

Guide for prospective contributors to the projectĪlso commonly distributed with software packages are an FAQ file and a TODO file, which lists planned improvements. Known bugs and instructions on reporting new ones For example, the source-code distributions of many free software packages (especially those following the Gnits Standards or those produced with GNU Autotools) include a standard set of readme files:Ī detailed changelog, intended for programmers The expression "readme file" is also sometimes used generically, for other files with a similar purpose. In addition to plain text, various other formats and file extensions are also supported, and HTML conversion takes extensions into account – in particular a README.md is treated as GitHub Flavored Markdown. The popular source code hosting website GitHub strongly encourages the creation of a README file – if one exists in the main (top-level) directory of a repository, it is automatically presented on the repository's front page. Since the advent of the web as a de facto standard platform for software distribution, many software packages have moved (or occasionally, copied) some of the above ancillary files and pieces of information to a website or wiki, sometimes including the README itself, or sometimes leaving behind only a brief README file without all of the information required by a new user of the software. In particular, there is a long history of free software and open-source software including a README file the GNU Coding Standards encourage including one to provide "a general overview of the package". Early Macintosh system software installed a Read Me on the Startup Disk, and README files commonly accompanied third-party software.

It is unclear when the convention of including a README file began, but examples dating to the mid-1970s have been found.

