PrintGitHub strongly recommends that every repository contain a README.txt or README.md file. This file will act as the “home page” for the project and is displayed on the repository page after files and folders are listed. This document should contain specific information about the project, how to use it, licensing, and support.
Text files will show up without formatting, so many users choose to use an .md (markdown) file instead. Markdown notation will be interpreted to show various formatting components like font size, bold, italics, imbedded links, numbered lists, and bullet points.
For more information on markdown formatting, visit GitHub Guide's Mastering Markdown page. We will also use Markdown in Lesson 3, in the context of Jupyter notebooks, and provide a brief introduction there.