AI README Generator
The best AI README generator available inside VS Code — fast, free, accurate, and professional.
Generate professional, high-quality README files for your projects using AI (Gemini 2.0 Flash) — all within VS Code.
✨ Features
🚀 One-Click Generation
- Generate complete README with a single command
- Sidebar panel in Activity Bar for quick access
- Available from Command Palette or right-click context menu
- Keyboard shortcut:
Ctrl+Shift+R (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+Shift+R (Mac)
- Activity Bar icon for instant access
- View project info, detected technologies at a glance
- Quick action buttons for Generate, History, Settings
🔍 Smart Project Analysis
- Automatically detects programming languages
- Identifies frameworks and libraries (React, Vue, Express, Django, etc.)
- Recognizes project type (Web App, Backend, Library, CLI, Mobile, etc.)
- Respects
.gitignore and excludes sensitive files
📑 5 Professional Templates
| Template |
Best For |
| 🌍 Open Source |
Community projects with contribution focus |
| 📦 Library |
npm packages, APIs, and SDKs |
| 🚀 Startup/SaaS |
Product landing pages and marketing |
| 🎓 Academic |
Research projects and coursework |
| 💼 Personal |
Portfolio and personal projects |
📋 Customizable Sections
Toggle sections on/off:
- Title & Badges
- Description
- Features
- Installation
- Usage
- API Reference
- Contributing
- License
- And more...
🔄 Section-Wise Regeneration
Not happy with one section? Regenerate just that part without affecting the rest.
🌐 Language & Tone
- Languages: English, Simple English, Spanish, French, German, Chinese, Japanese, Hindi
- Tones: Professional, Friendly, Minimal, Technical
🏷️ Auto-Generated Badges
Automatic shields.io badges for:
- Language
- License
- Version
- TypeScript support
- And more...
🕒 History & Versioning
- All generated READMEs saved locally
- Rollback to any previous version
- Up to 20 versions retained
📊 Safe Diff Merging
- Side-by-side comparison before overwriting
- Uses VS Code's built-in diff viewer
- Never accidentally lose your existing README
📤 Export Options
- Markdown (.md)
- Plain Text (.txt)
- HTML (printable to PDF)
🔒 Privacy First
- No telemetry
- No external data storage
- API key stored securely using VS Code SecretStorage
- Your code never leaves your machine (except for API calls)
📦 Installation
- Open VS Code
- Go to Extensions (
Ctrl+Shift+X)
- Search for "AI README Generator"
- Click Install
🔑 Setup
- Get a free Groq API key at console.groq.com/keys
- Run command:
AI README: Set API Key (or click "Set API Key" in the sidebar)
- Paste your key (starts with
gsk_) and press Enter
That's it! You're ready to generate READMEs.
💻 Usage
Generate README for Current Workspace
Ctrl+Shift+P → "AI README: Generate README"
Generate README for a Subfolder (Monorepo)
Right-click any folder → "Generate README for this folder"
Keyboard Shortcut
Ctrl+Shift+R (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+Shift+R (Mac)
⚙️ Settings
| Setting |
Description |
Default |
ai-readme.defaultTemplate |
Default template |
openSource |
ai-readme.defaultLanguage |
README language |
english |
ai-readme.defaultTone |
Writing tone |
professional |
ai-readme.enableBadges |
Include badges |
true |
🤖 AI Model
This extension uses Gemini 2.0 Flash via Groq API:
- Model:
gemini-2.0-flash-exp
- Provider: Groq
- Cost: Free (Fast inference)
📋 Commands
Access all commands by opening the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P on Windows/Linux, Cmd+Shift+P on Mac) and typing AI README:
| Command |
Description |
AI README: Generate README |
Open generator UI |
AI README: Set API Key |
Configure Groq API key |
AI README: View README History |
Browse and restore versions |
AI README: Export README |
Export to different formats |
🛡️ Privacy & Security
- ✅ No telemetry or analytics
- ✅ No external data storage
- ✅ API key encrypted with VS Code SecretStorage
- ✅ Code analysis happens locally
- ✅ Only README prompts sent to Groq API
- ✅ Complies with VS Code Marketplace policies
🤝 Contributing
Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.
📄 License
This project is licensed under the MIT License.
Made with ❤️ for developers who value great documentation.
