Add a README in Xcode

In this article, we’re going to add our README.md file through Xcode. We know what our app does, why we built it (what problem it solves), and how to install/use it, but others don’t. That is why having a README.md file is crucial. You can have GitHub create one automatically when you create your repository, you can add one manually in the project through Xcode, or you can create one via the terminal.

Requirements:

• An Xcode project

Open up your project in Xcode. To add a README.md file, we need to right click on the project in the Project Navigator and select to add a New File.

Scroll down to Other section and select Markdown File

Next, as long as we’re placing our README.md at the root of the project (which we are), we don’t need to Copy items if needed, so make sure that checkbox remains unchecked.

Next, we’ll set the name of our file to “README” and then finish creating the file.

And this is what our README.md looks like initially.

I like to start out with a basic skeleton with sections such as the project name, author, description, installation, usage, and project status.

The Description is where we tell people specifically what our project does, its purpose, or the problem it’s going to solve. In the Installation section, we want to assume our reader is a complete novice and needs specific instructions on how to install the project and get it running. If there are any requirements needed to install or run the project, then we’ll also want to add a Requirements subsection. Usage is where we can describe some general scenarios of how to use our app. Maybe add a link to a project demo. Finally, since I’ll be including my app as part of my portfolio, I like using the Project Status section to tell the reader how far along I am in the project and maybe any problems I’ve run into that might be slowing me down. That way, if they’re taking a look at how often you commit your work, this could explain any time gaps.

And that’s it! There should now be a README.md file in your project root that you can edit as you progress.