New: 98,000+ skills indexed from GitHub repos with 100+ stars · every skill safety-checkedBrowse top skillsTop skills
Esc to closeBrowse all skills
Submit a skillBrowse skills
Submit a skillBrowse skills

Agent skill

Crafting Effective Readmes

by cumbucadev in cumbucadev/cinemaempoa

A skill your agent uses when writing or improving README files.

GPL-3.0Auto-check passedDevelopment

Install Crafting Effective Readmes

skills CLI
$ npx skills add cumbucadev/cinemaempoa --skill crafting-effective-readmes -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install cumbucadev/cinemaempoa crafting-effective-readmes --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/cumbucadev/cinemaempoa.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/.agents/skills/crafting-effective-readmes .claude/skills/crafting-effective-readmes && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.

Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/

Facts

Skill name
crafting-effective-readmes
GitHub stars
146
Used in
5 other repos
Token cost
~669 tokens
SKILL.md length
316 words
Files
14 (incl. references)
Skills in repo
1
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
GPL-3.0

At a glance

A skill your agent uses when writing or improving README files.

  • Works in 3 steps: Identify the Task → Task-Specific Questions → Always Ask
  • Improving README files
  • SKILL.md covers Overview, Process, Project Types and Essential Sections (All Types), plus 1 more section
  • Instructions only: no scripts, shell commands, URLs or credentials in SKILL.md

What it does

Crafting Effective Readmes is an agent skill from cumbucadev/cinemaempoa. Use when writing or improving README files. Not all READMEs are the same — provides templates and guidance matched to your audience and project type.

Its SKILL.md is about 670 tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. The skill folder holds 15 other files, including reference files (for example `README.md`, `references/art-of-readme.md` and `references/make-a-readme.md`).

It sits in Development, covering Technical documentation. It works with Flask and Python. The repository describes itself as: Site que agrega filmes em cartaz em algumas das diversas salas de cinema de Porto Alegre. The licence is GPL-3.0.

When your agent uses it

  • Improving README files
  • Tasks that involve Technical documentation

Example prompts

  • “/crafting-effective-readmes”

Workflow steps

3 steps, taken from the step headings in SKILL.md.

  1. Identify the Task
  2. Task-Specific Questions
  3. Always Ask

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 2fdef26. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

  • Tool permissions

    Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.

    From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

  • Runs code

    No scripts in the folder and no shell commands in SKILL.md.

    From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

  • Network

    No URLs in SKILL.md.

    From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

  • Credentials

    Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.

    From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Crafting Effective Readmes loads about 669 tokens when it runs, and up to ~11k if it reads all its reference files. Until then it costs about 44 tokens; SKILL.md has 316 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~44
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~669
With references · SKILL.md plus every file in references/, read only if the agent opens them
~11k

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Auto-check passed

The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from cumbucadev/cinemaempoa at commit 2fdef26, republished under its GPL-3.0 licence (© cumbucadev). 316 words, ~669 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/crafting-effective-readmes/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder). This skill also uses 13 other files; get the full folder from GitHub.
name
crafting-effective-readmes
description
Use when writing or improving README files. Not all READMEs are the same — provides templates and guidance matched to your audience and project type.

Crafting Effective READMEs

Overview

READMEs answer questions your audience will have. Different audiences need different information - a contributor to an OSS project needs different context than future-you opening a config folder.

Always ask: Who will read this, and what do they need to know?

Process

Step 1: Identify the Task

Ask: "What README task are you working on?"

TaskWhen
CreatingNew project, no README yet
AddingNeed to document something new
UpdatingCapabilities changed, content is stale
ReviewingChecking if README is still accurate
Step 2: Task-Specific Questions

Creating initial README:

  1. What type of project? (see Project Types below)
  2. What problem does this solve in one sentence?
  3. What's the quickest path to "it works"?
  4. Anything notable to highlight?

Adding a section:

  1. What needs documenting?
  2. Where should it go in the existing structure?
  3. Who needs this info most?

Updating existing content:

  1. What changed?
  2. Read current README, identify stale sections
  3. Propose specific edits

Reviewing/refreshing:

  1. Read current README
  2. Check against actual project state (package.json, main files, etc.)
  3. Flag outdated sections
  4. Update "Last reviewed" date if present
Step 3: Always Ask

After drafting, ask: "Anything else to highlight or include that I might have missed?"

Project Types

TypeAudienceKey SectionsTemplate
Open SourceContributors, users worldwideInstall, Usage, Contributing, Licensetemplates/oss.md
PersonalFuture you, portfolio viewersWhat it does, Tech stack, Learningstemplates/personal.md
InternalTeammates, new hiresSetup, Architecture, Runbookstemplates/internal.md
ConfigFuture you (confused)What's here, Why, How to extend, Gotchastemplates/xdg-config.md

Ask the user if unclear. Don't assume OSS defaults for everything.

Essential Sections (All Types)

Every README needs at minimum:

  1. Name - Self-explanatory title
  2. Description - What + why in 1-2 sentences
  3. Usage - How to use it (examples help)

References

  • section-checklist.md - Which sections to include by project type
  • style-guide.md - Common README mistakes and prose guidance
  • using-references.md - Guide to deeper reference materials

© cumbucadev, GPL-3.0. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

SKILL.md and 13 other files (references) in .agents/skills/crafting-effective-readmes of cumbucadev/cinemaempoa.

  • SKILL.md
  • README.md
  • references/art-of-readme.md
  • references/make-a-readme.md
  • references/standard-readme-example-maximal.md
  • references/standard-readme-example-minimal.md
  • references/standard-readme-spec.md
  • section-checklist.md
  • style-guide.md
  • templates/internal.md
  • templates/oss.md
  • templates/personal.md
  • templates/xdg-config.md
  • using-references.md

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 2fdef26

Used in 5 other repositories

We found 5 copies of this SKILL.md (exact, near-identical or edited) in other folders, from 5 other GitHub owners. This page covers the copy in cumbucadev/cinemaempoa, which our catalogue first saw on October 7, 2026.

Compare with similar skills

Crafting Effective Readmes next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.

Crafting Effective Readmes compared with similar skills
SkillStarsUsed inTokensAuto-checkLicenceRepo updated
Crafting Effective Readmes this skillcumbucadev/cinemaempoa1465 repos~669Automated safety check: PassGPL-3.0
Route To Openapizebbern/claude-code-guide4.7k—~1.1kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Adk Sample Creatorgoogle/adk-python22k—~1.3kAutomated safety check: PassApache-2.0
Acquire Codebase Knowledgegithub/awesome-copilot40k1 repos~2.3kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Docs Conventionsflet-dev/flet17k—~1.6kAutomated safety check: PassApache-2.0
DDNS Provider DevelopmentNewFuture/DDNS4.7k—~558Automated safety check: PassMIT

Similar skills

  • Route To Openapi

    zebbern/claude-code-guide

    Generates RESTful API documentation (OpenAPI 3.0 / Swagger spec) by scanning route definitions in code for Flask, FastAPI, Express, Gin, and other frameworks.

    4.7k GitHub stars~1.1k tokensUpdated today
    Backend & APIsAuto-check passed

  • Adk Sample Creator

    google/adk-python

    Official

    Creates a new sample agent in the ADK Python repository — the sample directory, its agent.py, and its README.md — following the conventions the existing samples already use.

    22k GitHub stars~1.3k tokensUpdated today
    DevelopmentAuto-check passed

  • Acquire Codebase Knowledge

    github/awesome-copilot

    Official

    Maps an unfamiliar codebase into seven evidence-backed documents in docs/codebase/, using a scan script and templates, for onboarding or architecture write-ups.

    40k GitHub starsUsed in 1 repo~2.3k tokens
    DevelopmentAuto-check passed

  • Docs Conventions

    flet-dev/flet

    A skill your agent uses when writing or reviewing Flet documentation, including Python docstrings (Google style, reST roles, admonitions), Markdown docs (cross-references, images, code examples)…

    17k GitHub stars~1.6k tokensUpdated today
    DevelopmentAuto-check passed

  • DDNS Provider Development

    NewFuture/DDNS

    Adds or changes a DNS provider in the DDNS project while keeping its code, schemas, tests and Chinese and English docs consistent.

    4.7k GitHub stars~558 tokensUpdated 2 days ago
    DevelopmentAuto-check passed

  • Mkdocs

    jeka-dev/jeka

    MkDocs documentation project reference covering CLI commands, mkdocs.yml configuration, Material theme setup, and plugin integration.

    176 GitHub stars~2k tokensUpdated 2 mo ago
    DevelopmentAuto-check passed

Works with

Categories

Questions about Crafting Effective Readmes

What does Crafting Effective Readmes do?

A skill your agent uses when writing or improving README files. Crafting Effective Readmes is an agent skill from cumbucadev/cinemaempoa. Use when writing or improving README files.

When should I use Crafting Effective Readmes?

Crafting Effective Readmes fits situations like: improving README files; tasks that involve Technical documentation.

How do I install Crafting Effective Readmes in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add cumbucadev/cinemaempoa --skill crafting-effective-readmes -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (.agents/skills/crafting-effective-readmes in cumbucadev/cinemaempoa) into .claude/skills/crafting-effective-readmes in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Crafting Effective Readmes in Codex?

Run `npx skills add cumbucadev/cinemaempoa --skill crafting-effective-readmes -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (.agents/skills/crafting-effective-readmes in cumbucadev/cinemaempoa) into .agents/skills/crafting-effective-readmes in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Crafting Effective Readmes in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?

Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add cumbucadev/cinemaempoa --skill crafting-effective-readmes -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/crafting-effective-readmes, .gemini/skills/crafting-effective-readmes, .github/skills/crafting-effective-readmes and .opencode/skills/crafting-effective-readmes in your project.

What does Crafting Effective Readmes need to run?

SKILL.md names no scripts, command-line tools or credentials: Crafting Effective Readmes is instructions for the agent only.

Does Crafting Effective Readmes access the network?

SKILL.md contains no URLs. Any network use would come from the scripts or tools the agent runs. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Crafting Effective Readmes safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.

What licence does Crafting Effective Readmes use?

Crafting Effective Readmes is published under the GPL-3.0 licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Crafting Effective Readmes use?

About 669 tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 2.7k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full. Its references folder adds about 11k tokens, read only when the agent opens those files.

What are the alternatives to Crafting Effective Readmes?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Crafting Effective Readmes: Route To Openapi (zebbern/claude-code-guide, 4.7k stars), Adk Sample Creator (google/adk-python, 22k stars), Acquire Codebase Knowledge (github/awesome-copilot, 40k stars) and Docs Conventions (flet-dev/flet, 17k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Crafting Effective Readmes?

cumbucadev (a GitHub organization) maintains it in cumbucadev/cinemaempoa, which has 146 GitHub stars. The repository was last updated on October 8, 2026.

Source: cumbucadev/cinemaempoa on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.