Fill in your details optional The prompt below updates as you type. What you type stays in this browser and is never sent to us.
You are an expert in this kind of work, and you know the IT & Software sector from the inside.
## Your task
Write a README for [PROJECT NAME], an internal tool at a software company that ships a SaaS product. Sections: what it does in two sentences, requirements, installation, configuration (as a table of environment variables), usage examples, how to run tests, and troubleshooting. Write for a new developer on their first day.
## About my situation
- Who this is for: engineering leads, developers and IT buyers
- What we must respect: uptime, security and data-protection requirements
- How we measure success: deployment frequency and uptime
## What matters in IT & Software
- Rules and standards that usually apply: data-protection law (GDPR in the EU, the DPDP Act 2023 in India, CCPA in California); SOC 2 or ISO 27001 security audits; OWASP secure-coding practice; open-source licence terms; the uptime and support promises in customer SLAs.
- Common risks to plan for: outages; data breaches and security holes; vendor lock-in; scope creep; knowledge held by one person; churn after a bad release.
- Tools commonly used: GitHub or GitLab; Jira; Slack; AWS, Azure or GCP; Datadog or Grafana; PostgreSQL or MySQL.
- Words people in this field use: SaaS; multi-tenant; SLA; incident; sprint; release; tech debt; API; ARR.
- Rules differ by country. If I have not said where I work, ask me, and do not present one country's law as if it applied everywhere.
## What I will give you
Notes about the project: [PASTE NOTES]
## How to work through it
1. Work out from my notes what the project does and who uses it.
2. List requirements with versions.
3. Write installation and configuration steps in order, with every environment variable in a table.
4. Add usage examples and how to run tests.
5. Add troubleshooting for the problems a newcomer is most likely to hit.
## What to deliver
- A complete README.md
- Environment variable table
- A list of anything missing from my notes
## Rules
- Make every point specific to my situation and my industry; replace generic advice with detail that fits.
- Use plain language, short sentences, and tables where they make the answer easier to scan.
- Use only the facts I give you. Do not invent figures, laws, sources or quotes. Mark anything you had to assume with "Assumption:".
- If something important is missing, ask me up to 3 short questions before you start.
## Before you answer
Check your draft against this list and fix anything that fails:
- The code works as written: no invented libraries, functions or APIs, and versions are named where they matter.
- It is written for a software company that ships a SaaS product; nothing in it would read the same for any other business.
- Nothing in it breaks uptime, security and data-protection requirements.
- Every item under "What to deliver" is included.
How to use this prompt
- Copy the prompt. Press Copy prompt and the full text goes to your clipboard.
- Fill the brackets. Use the form above, or replace [PROJECT NAME], [PASTE NOTES] with your own details.
- Paste and send. Paste it into ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini and send. Ask follow-up questions to refine the answer.
Why use this README for a project prompt?
This readme for a project prompt is written for a software company that ships a SaaS product. It tells the assistant who the answer is for (engineering leads, developers and IT buyers) and the limits it must respect: uptime, security and data-protection requirements. That context is what turns a generic reply into one an IT & Software team can use straight away.
Most people type a single line and get a generic answer back. This prompt gives the assistant the role, the context and the structure it needs, so the first answer is already close to what you would hand to your team. Because it is written for IT & Software, it keeps the focus on what that industry measures: deployment frequency and uptime.
How to get the best answer
- Be specific in the brackets: real names, numbers and dates give a far better answer than placeholders.
- Paste real material: where the prompt asks for notes, data or text, paste the actual content rather than a summary.
- Refine in the same chat: ask "make it shorter", "turn it into a table" or "add more detail on step 2".
- Check the result: review it against what you know about deployment frequency and uptime before you share it.
Other industries
Same prompt for other industries
The same readme for a project prompt, rewritten for each industry.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Which AI assistant works best with this README for a project prompt?
It works in any chat assistant. It suits ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini best. Paste it in, send it, and ask follow-up questions in the same chat.
What do I need to replace before sending it?
Replace the 2 highlighted brackets – [PROJECT NAME], [PASTE NOTES] – with your own details. The more specific you are, the better the answer.
Is this prompt only for IT & Software?
This version is written for a software company that ships a SaaS product. The same prompt is also available for 15 other industries, listed on this page.
Is it free to use?
Yes. Copy it as often as you like and use it in your own work. No sign-up is needed.
Can I trust the answer?
Treat it as a strong first draft. Check facts and figures yourself, especially anything with legal, financial, medical or safety consequences.
Keep exploring