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This version of GitHub Enterprise was discontinued on 2023-01-18. No patch releases will be made, even for critical security issues. For better performance, improved security, and new features, upgrade to the latest version of GitHub Enterprise. For help with the upgrade, contact GitHub Enterprise support.

Managing your profile README

In this article

You can add a README to your GitHub profile to tell other people about yourself.

About your profile README

You can share information about yourself with the community on your GitHub Enterprise Server instance by creating a profile README. GitHub shows your profile README at the top of your profile page.

You decide what information to include in your profile README, so you have full control over how you present yourself on GitHub. Here are some examples of information that visitors may find interesting, fun, or useful in your profile README.

  • An "About me" section that describes your work and interests
  • Contributions you're proud of, and context about those contributions
  • Guidance for getting help in communities where you're involved

Profile README file displayed on profile

You can format text and include emoji, images, and GIFs in your profile README by using GitHub Flavored Markdown. For more information, see "Getting started with writing and formatting on GitHub." For a hands-on guide to customizing your profile README, see "Quickstart for writing on GitHub."

Prerequisites

GitHub will display your profile README on your profile page if all of the following are true.

  • You've created a repository with a name that matches your GitHub username.
  • The repository is public.
  • The repository contains a file named README.md in its root.
  • The README.md file contains any content.

Note: If you created a public repository with the same name as your username before July 2020, GitHub won't automatically show the repository's README on your profile. You can manually share the repository's README to your profile by going to the repository on GitHub.com and clicking Share to profile.

Button to share README to profile

Adding a profile README

  1. In the upper-right corner of any page, use the drop-down menu, and select New repository. Drop-down with option to create a new repository

  2. Under "Repository name", type a repository name that matches your GitHub username. For example, if your username is "octocat", the repository name must be "octocat". Repository name field which matches username

  3. Optionally, add a description of your repository. For example, "My personal repository." Field for entering a repository description

  4. Select Public. Radio button to select visibility with public selected

  5. Select Initialize this repository with a README. Initialize this repository with a README checkbox

  6. Click Create repository. Button to create repository

  7. Above the right sidebar, click Edit README. Button to edit README file

    The generated README file is pre-populated with a template to give you some inspiration for your profile README. README file with pre-populated template

For a summary of all the available emojis and their codes, see "Emoji cheat sheet."

Removing a profile README

The profile README is removed from your GitHub profile if any of the following apply:

  • The README file is empty or doesn't exist.
  • The repository is private.
  • The repository name no longer matches your username.

The method you choose depends upon your needs, but if you're unsure, we recommend making your repository private. For steps on how to make your repository private, see "Changing a repository's visibility."

Further reading