Profile README guide
What top GitHub profile READMEs contain: 25 of the 44 most-followed accounts have none. 30 READMEs coded, with data and scripts in the repo.
- Status
- Live
- Launched
- Licence
- MIT
- Language
- Python
One command, copied from the repo.
Install Profile README guide: git clone https://github.com/rishsadh/profile-readme-guide && cd profile-readme-guide && python summarize.py
rishsadh/profile-readme-guide
What it does
It is a study of the profile README, the file shown at the top of a GitHub profile. Sixty-two accounts were checked on 29 September 2026, and the 30 that have a README were coded with fixed rules. Of the 44 most-followed, 25 have no profile README. The median README is about 20 lines, three embed a stats widget and none uses a typing-animation header.
The repo holds the data as data/profiles.csv, code_profiles.py, which regenerates it, and summarize.py, which prints every number in the write-up. Each README is stored as a size and a SHA-256 hash, not as text. The text and data are CC BY 4.0 and the scripts are MIT.
It describes what top accounts have, not what works. The sample is small, the accounts are the most-followed, and there is no data on whether a README changes what a visitor does.
Why it exists
The finding, read on 29 September 2026: most top accounts keep the profile README short, or skip it. Their audiences sit on repositories, and the median most-starred repo among the 30 has 9,115 stars.
So the advice is short. Pin six repositories first, since more of these accounts do that than have a README. If you write a README, write about 20 lines, say who you are and what you make in the first line, and link to your site and one thing you built. A typing header appears in 0 of 30, and a stats widget in 3 of 30.