Apart from looking awesome, a good GitHub profile shows people what you can do and gives you a chance to show it off. Also, job applications often include a section to add your GitHub profile link so this can be your chance to shine 💫
To create a GitHub profile, you need to understand Markdown. Markdown is a lightweight markup language for creating formatted text using a plain-text editor. Check out this Markdown Cheatsheet.
First of all you need to create a new repository. Use this link https://github.com/new to do so. You must name your repository the same as your GitHub username as shown below:
You will discover your secret/special repository! Make the repository public and select add a README file. Then you are done creating your repository. I recommend making your repository private whilst you work on it and then making it public once complete. Now time to add content and make it look awesome.
Tip: When working on a markdown file in your development environment, you can preview what the page will look like by pressing CMD+Shift+V or Ctrl+Shift+V
The first thing people on your profile notice is the header. Perhaps you could add a photo of something you love, your hobby, art that inspires you, an image of some code you worked on, etc. You could even have your profile picture match it. I recommend an actual photo of yourself, rather than a cartoon. The markdown needed is:
Here is a website that allows you to generate header images for your GitHub profile READMEs. https://reheader.glitch.me/
Say hello to your visitors. Write an introductory paragraph. Tell them a bit about yourself, where you are from, what inspires you. This section is where you can let your personality shine though.
You can show visitors to your profile what you are up to and what you are working on. This is a great way for them to get to know a bit more about you.
- 🧐 I'm interested in...
- 🔭 I’m currently working on...
- 🌱 I’m currently studying...
- 👯 I’m looking to...
- 🤔 I’m looking for help with...
- 💬 Ask me about...
- ⚡ Fun fact:...
You can display your GitHub stats on your profile. These include displaying total commits made, total pull requests, total issues etc. Check out these cool themes to display your statistics:
Click here to use one of these cool themes
Adding social media buttons is a great way to direct visitors or even employers to your social media platforms. For example to add Twitter:
[](https://twitter.com/USER-NAME)
As the number of repositories you've created or contributed to grows, you might want to showcase a few of these repositories straight on your profile. This feature is extra useful when you want to present your portfolio to a potential employer and want them to see the work you are proudest of first!
This is how you do it:
In the top right corner, click on your profile photo and select "Your profile" from the menu:
In the section saying "Popular repositories" or "Pinned", click on "Customize your pins":
After the previous step, the "Edit pinned items" modal will open. Here, you can choose a combination of up to six repositories and/or gists to display:
Once you've decided which repositories you want to pin, click "Save pins".
Check out these useful links to inspire you, to help you with your GitHub profile:
- https://github.com/abhisheknaiidu/awesome-github-profile-readme
- https://github.com/elangosundar/awesome-README-templates
This is a fun project to work on. Be creative! There is a lot more you can add to your profile. From adding different statistics, technologies & tools you use, emoji GIFs, etc. You can ask friends or other developers their opinions of your GitHub profile. Remember don't overdo it. No one wants super fast animations or flashing images that will hurt their eyes. Think of nice color themes, what works well together, and add a nice profile pic. Good luck!