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A curated, categorized list of high-quality GitHub organization profile READMEs and templates, showcasing best practices and inspiration for building professional organization profiles.

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Awesome GitHub Organization Profile READMEs

Awesome GitHub Stars License: MIT

A curated, categorized list of high-quality GitHub organization profile READMEs and templates, showcasing best practices and inspiration for building professional organization profiles that enhance branding, improve discoverability, and create welcoming spaces for contributors.

Organization profile READMEs are special README files displayed on your GitHub organization’s overview page. They help you communicate your mission, guide contributors, showcase projects, and establish your organization’s identity on the world’s largest code collaboration platform.

Perfect for: Open source maintainers, development teams, companies, educational institutions, and any organization looking to improve their GitHub presence and community engagement.

Contents

Why Organization Profile READMEs Matter

Organization profile READMEs are your organization’s front door on GitHub. They serve multiple critical purposes:

  • 🎯 Branding & Identity — Establish a professional presence and communicate your mission, values, and vision to thousands of potential contributors and users
  • 🚀 Discoverability — Improve visibility in GitHub search results and AI-powered tools, making it easier for developers to find your projects
  • 👥 Contributor Onboarding — Provide clear guidance on how to get started, where to find help, and how to contribute effectively
  • 📊 Project Showcase — Highlight your most important repositories, recent releases, and community achievements
  • 🤝 Community Building — Create a welcoming atmosphere that encourages participation and builds trust with your audience
  • 💼 Professional Credibility — Demonstrate organizational maturity and commitment to open source best practices

Whether you’re an open source foundation, a tech company, a startup, or an educational institution, a well-crafted organization profile README significantly impacts how the community perceives and engages with your projects.

How to Use This List

For inspiration:

  1. Browse through the Categories to find organization profiles matching your desired style
  2. Click through to view live examples on GitHub
  3. Study their structure, tone, visual elements, and information architecture
  4. Note what resonates with your organization’s goals and audience

For implementation:

  1. Review the Templates section for ready-to-use starting points
  2. Read the Best Practices Observed to understand common patterns
  3. Check the FAQ for technical setup questions
  4. Explore Related Resources for official documentation and tools

For contribution:

  • Found an exceptional organization profile README? See Contributing to add it to this list
  • Help categorize existing entries or suggest new categories

Categories

Minimalist

Clean, text-focused organization profiles that prioritize clarity and simplicity. These examples use minimal styling, focusing on essential information without visual embellishments. Ideal for organizations that value straightforward communication and readability.

  • Ant Design Team — Enterprise-class UI design language and React UI library
  • JoliCode — French web development agency specializing in modern web technologies
  • Microsoft — Global technology company’s open source presence
  • NodeJs — JavaScript runtime built on Chrome’s V8 engine
  • The PHP Foundation — Non-profit supporting PHP language development

Styled

Visually rich organization profiles featuring custom graphics, color schemes, and branded elements. These examples use images, banners, icons, and formatting to create distinctive, memorable impressions. Perfect for organizations emphasizing brand identity and visual appeal.

  • Coetus — Student developer community with vibrant branding
  • GitHub — The platform itself, showcasing best-in-class profile design
  • Valor Software — Full-stack development consultancy with strong visual identity
  • OpenTelemetry - CNCF — Cloud Native Computing Foundation project with professional styling

Objective

Goal-oriented organization profiles that clearly communicate purpose, mission, and value proposition. These examples lead with clear objectives, use cases, or problem statements. Best for organizations needing to quickly convey their purpose and relevance.

  • EstReal — Real estate technology solutions with clear mission statement
  • Laravel — PHP web framework highlighting key features and ecosystem
  • MagaluCloud — Brazilian cloud computing platform with objective-driven content

More Detailed

Comprehensive organization profiles with extensive information, multiple sections, and in-depth documentation. These examples include detailed contribution guides, community resources, project overviews, and rich context. Suitable for large organizations or complex ecosystems requiring thorough explanation.

  • IzanagiCraft — Minecraft server network with detailed community information
  • Webstudio — Visual development platform with comprehensive feature overview

Templates

Ready-to-use README templates and starter files for creating your own organization profile. These resources provide structure, best practices, and customizable sections to accelerate your profile creation.

Best Practices Observed

After reviewing hundreds of organization profile READMEs, several patterns emerge among the most effective examples:

  • Lead with clarity — State your organization’s purpose in the first 1-2 sentences; visitors should instantly understand what you do
  • Use visual hierarchy — Employ headers, emojis (sparingly), and formatting to make content scannable
  • Include clear calls-to-action — Guide visitors with direct links to documentation, contribution guides, or community channels
  • Showcase active projects — Highlight your most important or popular repositories
  • Make contributing obvious — Provide clear, low-friction paths for getting involved
  • Keep it current — Update regularly with latest projects, achievements, or community milestones
  • Be welcoming — Use inclusive language and set a friendly, approachable tone
  • Provide context — Explain technical terms; don’t assume all visitors are domain experts
  • Include visual elements thoughtfully — Use images, logos, and badges that enhance rather than distract
  • Optimize for mobile — Ensure content reads well on small screens
  • Add contact information — Make it easy to reach maintainers (Discord, Slack, email, discussions)
  • State your tech stack — Help developers quickly assess relevance to their skills

FAQ

What is a GitHub organization profile README?

A GitHub organization profile README is a special Markdown file displayed on your organization’s public profile page (e.g., github.com/your-org). It appears in the “Overview” tab and serves as your organization’s homepage on GitHub, visible to all visitors before they explore your repositories.

Where is the organization profile README file located?

Create a public repository named .github in your organization. Inside this repository, create a folder called profile and add a README.md file: .github/profile/README.md

For example, if your organization is awesome-org, the file path would be:

github.com/awesome-org/.github/blob/main/profile/README.md

Does GitHub officially support organization profile READMEs?

Yes! Organization profile READMEs are an official GitHub feature launched in 2021. They’re fully supported and documented in the official GitHub documentation.

Can I create a members-only README?

Yes. Create a private repository named .github-private and add profile/README.md inside it. This README will only be visible to organization members when they switch to the “Member” view.

Do organization profile READMEs improve SEO or discoverability?

Yes, in multiple ways:

  • GitHub search — Content is indexed and searchable within GitHub
  • Search engines — Public READMEs are crawled by Google, Bing, etc.
  • AI systems — Language models and AI search tools can read and cite your profile
  • Social sharing — GitHub generates preview cards when your org is shared on social media

Well-optimized READMEs with clear keywords and structured content significantly improve visibility.

Can companies and private organizations use this?

Absolutely! Organization profile READMEs work for:

  • Open source foundations and communities
  • Technology companies (public or private)
  • Educational institutions
  • Startups and small teams
  • Enterprise organizations
  • Non-profits and advocacy groups

The feature is available on all GitHub plans, including Free, Team, and Enterprise.

What format should I use?

Organization profile READMEs support GitHub Flavored Markdown (GFM), including:

  • Headers, lists, links, and text formatting
  • Images and GIFs
  • Emojis (:emoji_name:)
  • Code blocks and syntax highlighting
  • Tables
  • Task lists
  • Footnotes
  • Alerts and callouts

HTML is also supported but use it sparingly for maintainability.

How long should my organization README be?

There’s no strict limit, but best practices suggest:

  • Minimum: 150-300 words covering basics (mission, key projects, how to contribute)
  • Optimal: 400-800 words with sections for different visitor needs
  • Maximum: Avoid walls of text exceeding 2,000 words; consider linking to separate documentation

Prioritize scannability over comprehensiveness.

Official Documentation

Tools & Utilities

Inspiration & Best Practices

Contributing

We welcome contributions! Help make this the most comprehensive resource for GitHub organization profile README inspiration.

How to Add an Entry

Contribution Checklist:

  • Organization is publicly accessible on GitHub
  • Organization has a public .github repository with profile/README.md
  • Profile README is live and viewable at github.com/[org-name]
  • README demonstrates quality, effort, or unique approach worth showcasing
  • Entry includes organization name and link to .github/profile/README.md
  • Entry is added to the appropriate category
  • Entry includes a brief description (5-15 words) explaining what the organization does
  • Links are properly formatted: **[Org Name](link)** — Description

Quality Criteria:

We’re looking for organization profile READMEs that:

  • Are actively maintained (not outdated or broken)
  • Demonstrate clear communication and good information architecture
  • Show effort and thoughtfulness in design and content
  • Provide value as learning examples for others
  • Represent diverse styles and approaches (we want variety!)

Submission Process:

  1. Fork this repository
  2. Create a branch with a descriptive name: add-[organization-name]
  3. Add your entry to the appropriate category in alphabetical order
  4. Ensure formatting matches existing entries
  5. Commit with a clear message: Add [Organization Name] to [Category]
  6. Open a Pull Request with:
    • Title: Add [Organization Name]
    • Description explaining why this README is a good example
  7. Wait for review (we typically respond within 3-5 days)

Suggesting New Categories:

Have an idea for a new category? Open an issue describing:

  • Category name and definition
  • At least 3-5 examples that would fit
  • Why this distinction is valuable

Other Contributions Welcome:

  • Fixing broken links or typos
  • Improving descriptions
  • Updating outdated information
  • Enhancing documentation
  • Suggesting structural improvements

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for complete details. The website may display ads to cover hosting and maintenance costs.

In short: You’re free to use, modify, and share this list with attribution. Contributions are welcomed and appreciated!

Privacy Policy

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Ads help support maintenance of this open-source project ❤️

Acknowledgments

This repository was inspired by awesome-github-profile-readme and built with the goal of helping organizations create impactful GitHub profiles.

Special thanks to all the organizations featured in this list for their excellent examples and to all contributors who help keep this resource up-to-date and valuable.

[!NOTE]
Disclaimer: This repository is a community-curated educational resource. It does not endorse, promote, or affiliate with any featured organization. All examples are included solely for educational and inspirational purposes to help others learn README best practices.