How to edit the GitHub README.md file

The GitHub repositories usually contain a README.md file to describe how to use the project. The GitHub web site has a simple editor, but it has a few limitations

  • If you accidentally refresh the page, you lose your changes,
  • The preview pane is wider than the page that will display your file, so the formatting can be different,
  • You have to switch between the editor and the the preview every time you want to see the result.

One of the simplest ways to edit the README.md is to use the Atom editor.

  • Open the README.md file with Atom,
  • In the Packages menu select Markdown Preview, or press Ctrl-Shitft-M to open the preview pane.

As you type in the editor window the preview pane will show the live review of the file.

For the Markdown syntax visit https://guides.github.com/pdfs/markdown-cheatsheet-online.pdf

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