Is readme-ai free to use?

readme-ai is open source under the MIT licence. There is no licence fee and no seat count — you can self-host it or, where the project offers one, pay a vendor for a managed version instead.

What does readme-ai do?

README file generator, powered by AI.

What is readme-ai written in?

readme-ai is primarily written in Python. Its source is publicly available at https://github.com/eli64s/readme-ai, and it has 2,987 GitHub stars.

readme-ai: Open Source Documentation & Knowledge Base

readme-ai is a free, open source documentation & knowledge base project written in Python and released under MIT. It has 2,987 GitHub stars, 296 forks and 57 open issues, and was last pushed 2 days ago. On this registry it ranks #44 of 91 tracked projects in Documentation & Knowledge Base, with 5 head-to-head comparisons available.

Designed for simplicity, customization, and developer productivity.

_{The metrics above are rendered with HyperWeave — an experimental SVG artifact layer for agents. Explore →}

[!IMPORTANT] Explore the [Official Documentation][docs] for a complete list of features, customization options, and examples.

Introduction

ReadmeAI is a developer tool that automatically generates README files using a robust repository processing engine and advanced language models. Simply provide a URL or path to your codebase, and a well-structured and detailed README will be generated.

Why Use ReadmeAI?

This project aims to streamline the process of creating and maintaining documentation across all technical disciplines and experience levels. The core principles include:

🔵 Automate: Generate detailed and structured README files with a single command.
⚫️ Customize: Select from a variety of templates, styles, badges, and much more.
🟣 Flexible: Switch between OpenAI, Ollama, Anthropic, and Gemini anytime.
🟠 Language Agnostic: Compatible with a wide range of languages and frameworks.
🟡 Best Practices: Ensure clean and consistent documentation across all projects.
🟢 Smart Filtering: Intelligent file analysis with customizable .readmeaiignore patterns.
⛔️ Offline Mode: Create README files offline, without using a LLM API service.

Demo

Run from your terminal:

[readmeai-cli-demo][cli-demo]

Features

Customize Your README

Let's begin by exploring various customization options and styles supported by ReadmeAI:

Header Styles

CLI Command:

$ readmeai --repository https://github.com/eli64s/readme-ai-streamlit \
           --logo custom \
           --badge-color FF4B4B \
           --badge-style flat-square \
           --header-style classic

CLI Command:

$ readmeai --repository https://github.com/olliefr/docker-gs-ping \
           --badge-color 00ADD8 \
           --badge-style for-the-badge \
           --header-style modern \
           --navigation-style roman

CLI Command:

$ readmeai --repository https://github.com/rumaan/file.io-Android-Client \
           --badge-style plastic \
           --badge-color blueviolet \
           --logo PURPLE \
           --header-style COMPACT \
           --navigation-style NUMBER \
           --emojis solar

Banner Styles

CLI Command:

$ readmeai --repository https://github.com/emcf/thepipe \
           --badge-style flat-square \
           --badge-color 8a2be2 \
           --header-style console \
           --navigation-style accordion \
           --emojis water

CLI Command:

$ readmeai --repository https://github.com/FerrariDG/async-ml-inference \
           --badge-style plastic \
           --badge-color 43a047 \
           --header-style BANNER