Write the README You Needed Last Week

Because future you (and your teammates) deserve better.

Let’s talk about a sacred text that gets less respect than it should: the README.

Not the “yeah yeah, I’ll add it later” README. Not the “copy-paste from another project and forget it exists” README. I’m talking about the kind of README you wish existed the last time you pulled a repo and immediately thought:

“...what fresh hell is this?”

You’ve been there. You clone the repo, open it up, and the only thing waiting for you is a one-liner that says “WIP – do not use.”
Cool. Very helpful. Thanks, past you.

🧠 Documentation is Not Optional for Grown-Up Dev Work

You don’t have to write a novel. Nobody is asking for the Lord of the Commits trilogy. But a solid README? That’s basic hygiene. It tells your future self, and anyone else who touches that repo, what this thing is, how to run it, and how not to break it.

It’s the difference between:

“Oh cool, I can jump in and help.”

and “Screw this, I’m rewriting it from scratch.”

🛠️ What Makes a Great README?

Let’s keep it stupid simple. Here's what should be in there:

What this repo even is.

One paragraph, plain English. No buzzwords. Say it like you're explaining it to a new teammate over Slack.

How to run it.

Commands. Dependencies. Gotchas. If you need Docker, say so. If you need to npm install && npm run bananas, tell us.

.env stuff? API keys? Weird secrets?

Point us to the example file or setup steps. Bonus points if it doesn’t require reading five other repos.

Common pitfalls.

“Sometimes the build hangs if Redis isn’t running.” Say it. Save someone an hour of hair-pulling.

Who to bother.

You, a Slack channel, a ticket link, give people a way to get unstuck.

🧼 Leave Breadcrumbs, Not Landmines

You’re not writing documentation for your smartest day. You’re writing it for:

Your tired, overcaffeinated, deadline-panicked self

That new hire onboarding next week

A teammate jumping in mid-sprint because Jeff quit unexpectedly

Good documentation isn’t about perfection. It’s about kindness. It’s about empathy. It’s about making the repo a little less “WTF?” and a little more “Oh cool, I can work with this.”

💥 The Challenge: Make One README Better This Week

Don’t boil the ocean. Just pick one neglected repo, one Franken-project, one script-that-should-be-a-service.
Spend 10 minutes updating the README like your job depends on it (because one day, it might).

And if you’re feeling spicy, add a “Known Issues” section titled:

💀 Stuff That’s Janky but We’re Pretending Works

Your team will love you for it.
Your future self will high-five you.
And your manager will probably have fewer questions. Maybe.

🔁 Final Thought

If you’ve ever muttered, “I wish someone would have written this down,”
Congratulations.
You're someone. Write it down.