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I built the MVP before writing its README. That order let me document a working version rather than an idea—but it is my sequence, not a rule for every project. The README’s job was to orient someone opening the repository: explain what was there, how to get started, and where to go next.
What building first can make clearer
Before an MVP works, it can be difficult to distinguish the intended product from the behavior a person can actually use. Writing the README afterward gives you a concrete version to describe. It also gives you a chance to spell out what a new reader needs to run, evaluate, or contribute, rather than documenting every idea that might eventually become part of the project.
That timing has a trade-off: if you wait until after the first version, important setup details and assumptions may be easy to overlook. Building first does not make documentation automatic, and it does not mean documentation can wait for every later change.
What I put in the README
A README is an orientation page, not a substitute for every guide a project may need. Google’s guidance describes it as a place to explain what a repository or package contains and help readers proceed. Its package README guidance calls for purpose, usage, status, points of contact, and links to relevant documentation. Those are useful prompts, not mandatory headings for every project.
#1 Best Overall
- Purpose: Say what the project is and what problem the MVP addresses. Be specific about what it does now.
- Getting started: Show the shortest useful path to set it up or try it. Include only steps and prerequisites that apply to this project.
- Status: Tell readers whether it is an MVP, an experiment, or something intended for broader use. Make unfinished work clear where that affects expectations.
- Contact and contribution: Where appropriate, identify a maintainer or contact route and explain how someone can contribute.
- Further documentation: Link to deeper user or team guides instead of duplicating them in the README.
Google recommends concise, accurate, fresh documentation rather than a large set of stale or redundant pages. Its README guidance and documentation best practices are useful references when deciding what belongs on the first page and what belongs elsewhere.
A practical checklist for an MVP README
- Describe the project as it exists. State what it is for and what the repository or package contains. Avoid presenting planned features as working ones.
- Verify the quickest successful path. Follow the setup or usage steps from a clean starting point if possible. Remove assumptions that a first-time reader would not know.
- Name the boundaries. Record important limitations, dependencies, or prerequisites when they change whether or how someone can use the MVP.
- Give readers a next step. Point to the right place to learn more, report an issue, contact a maintainer, or contribute, as appropriate.
- Keep it proportionate. Put essential orientation in the README; use linked documentation for material that needs more detail.
Should you write the README before or after building?
There is no universal build-first rule in the available guidance. Writing a short README early can clarify a project’s purpose and intended users. Writing or revising it once an MVP works can help you describe actual behavior and a tested path rather than an aspiration. Either way, treat the README as part of the project, not a one-time launch document.
Rank #2
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Google recommends updating documentation in the same change as the code it describes. If a change alters setup, usage, dependencies, status, or expected behavior, update the relevant README or linked guide alongside it. The Google OpenDocs documentation maturity checklist also addresses documentation content, process, and ownership.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Keep the README useful after the MVP
A README that accurately describes the first working version can become misleading as the project changes. Review the affected documentation whenever code changes, and remove instructions or claims that no longer match. For repository expectations and contribution guidance, GitHub also explains the role of a README in its About READMEs documentation.
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