How to build your GitHub Profile page

Something New

GitHub now has updated profiles. You can create and style your own bio that will appear above your repos.

The Build

Step one create a new repository, give it the same name as your GitHub username, use the exact same spelling and casing.  We’re talking software, so strictly equal here. ChrisCodes is not the same as Chriscodes.

It should tell you that the repo name is available. A message will pop up that reads.

You found a secret! ClJarvis/ClJarvis is a ✨special ✨ repository that you can use to add a README.md to your GitHub profile. Make sure it’s public and initialize it with a README to get started.

• Select Public
• Check Initialize with a README
• Click “Create Repository”

Step two: GitHub will now create the Repo and you can build your Profile in the README. README files use Markdown text. You can use Markdown to add images, links, and lists. GitHub has some of it’s own markdown tags. These allow you to add tables, emojis, and links to pull requests. But you knew all that from creating great detailed READMEs on your repos, right?

• Markdown
• GitHub Markdown

You can edit on your local machine or directly on GitHub. I did mine directly on Github. You can preview by clicking the “Preview Changes” tab.  It’s on GitHub so if you want to experiment, create a new branch and build.

It may take a while switching between the edit tab and the preview tab to get (not git) it exactly how you want it but you can always come back and build upon it. You can add images so add screenshots of your work and add links to your projects.

Stuck for what to write?

What to write in a bio is often one of the most challenging things to do. There are a few writing props for what to write as comments in the README. Tell about yourself, what you like to build, and share your contact information.

Here are some ideas to get you started:

- 🔭 I’m currently working on ...
- 🌱 I’m currently learning ...
- 👯 I’m looking to collaborate on ...;
}

What did I Learn?

This was a new way to show who I am directly on GitHub. I liked adding a visual item to the page. It’s a pretty straight forward process and nice way to help you stand out.