Weather app created with Vue3, Vue Router and OpenWeather API with metrics unit and built towards Chinese audiences.
On some READMEs, you may see small images that convey metadata, such as whether or not all the tests are passing for the project. You can use Shields to add some to your README. Many services also have instructions for adding a badge.
Depending on what you are making, it can be a good idea to include screenshots or even a video (you'll frequently see GIFs rather than actual videos). Tools like ttygif can help, but check out Asciinema for a more sophisticated method.
In order to run this project locally, you can clone or download this project and run npm install to install all the dependencies that are listed in the package.json file. After the dependencies has been installed, then run the command npm run serve to run it.
Use examples liberally, and show the expected output if you can. It's helpful to have inline the smallest example of usage that you can demonstrate, while providing links to more sophisticated examples if they are too long to reasonably include in the README.
Tell people where they can go to for help. It can be any combination of an issue tracker, a chat room, an email address, etc.
If you have ideas for releases in the future, it is a good idea to list them in the README.
State if you are open to contributions and what your requirements are for accepting them.
For people who want to make changes to your project, it's helpful to have some documentation on how to get started. Perhaps there is a script that they should run or some environment variables that they need to set. Make these steps explicit. These instructions could also be useful to your future self.
You can also document commands to lint the code or run tests. These steps help to ensure high code quality and reduce the likelihood that the changes inadvertently break something. Having instructions for running tests is especially helpful if it requires external setup, such as starting a Selenium server for testing in a browser.
For open source projects, say how it is licensed.
If you have run out of energy or time for your project, put a note at the top of the README saying that development has slowed down or stopped completely. Someone may choose to fork your project or volunteer to step in as a maintainer or owner, allowing your project to keep going. You can also make an explicit request for maintainers.