GitHub Badges Generator

What Are GitHub Badges

GitHub badges are small images that sit at the top of a README file and show important information about your project at a glance. Build status, version number, license type, code coverage — a badge communicates each of these in one line without the reader needing to open any files or run anything.

This tool is a GitHub badges generator that uses the shields.io public API — the same service that most major open source projects use for their README badges. You fill in the label, message, color, and style, and the tool builds the shields.io URL and shows you a live preview. The markdown, HTML, or URL you copy points directly to shields.io — that is where the badge image comes from and what gets loaded when someone views your README. It works as a GitHub readme badges generator, a badge generator for GitHub profiles, and a shields.io badges generator all in one.

GitHub Badge Generator vs shields.io Directly

shields.io is the underlying service. It accepts a URL with parameters and returns an SVG badge. The problem is you have to manually construct that URL — remembering the parameter order, the color names, the style values, and the logo slugs.

This shields.io badge generator gives you a form instead. You fill in Label, Message, Color, Style, and Logo. The preview updates as you type. When it looks right, you copy the markdown or HTML with one click. No URL construction, no trial and error. It is also the fastest readme badge generator if all you need is a quick badge for a new project — fill in two fields and copy.

shields.io handles all the badge rendering — the same infrastructure used by millions of repositories. Your badge loads from shields.io directly, which means it is fast, reliable, and works in GitHub, GitLab, Notion, and any platform that renders standard image markdown.

Custom Badge vs CircleCI Badge

The tool has two tabs. The Custom Badge tab is for any badge where you write the label and message yourself. You control exactly what text appears on both sides and what color the badge is. Use this for language badges, license badges, version badges, skill badges on a profile README, or anything else where you define the content.

The CircleCI Badge tab is specifically for showing the live build status of a GitHub repository connected to CircleCI. You enter your GitHub username, repository name, and branch. The tool generates a badge URL that pulls real-time data from CircleCI — so it shows the actual current build status, not something you typed in manually. If the build passes, the badge shows passing. If it fails, it shows failing.

How to Generate a GitHub README Badge

On the Custom Badge tab, fill in the Label field with the left side text — for example "license" or "version". Fill in Message with the right side text — for example "MIT" or "1.0.0". Pick a color from the dropdown or enter a hex code. Choose a style — flat is the most common for README files. Add a logo name if you want an icon inside the badge.

Click Generate Badge. The preview on the right shows exactly what the badge will look like. Switch between Markdown, HTML, and URL tabs in the preview to get the format you need. Copy it and paste it into your README.md inside your repository.

For a GitHub README the markdown format is what you want. It looks like this:

![license](https://img.shields.io/badge/license-MIT-green?style=flat)
![version](https://img.shields.io/badge/version-1.0.0-blue?style=flat)
![build](https://img.shields.io/badge/build-passing-brightgreen?style=flat)

Paste that at the top of your README.md, right below the project title. GitHub renders it automatically — no plugin or setup needed.

How to Add a CircleCI Badge to GitHub

Switch to the CircleCI Badge tab. Enter your GitHub username, the exact repository name, and the branch you want to show status for — usually "main" or "master". Click Generate CircleCI Badge.

The generated badge URL connects directly to CircleCI's API and shows the live build status of that branch. The circleci status badgeupdates automatically every time a build runs — you do not need to change anything in your README after adding it. Add the circleci github badge to your README the same way as a custom badge — copy the markdown and paste it at the top of your README.md. This is also what people mean by a github readme badge generator for CI status — the badge lives in the README and reflects the live pipeline.

For the circleci build badge to work, the repository must already be connected to CircleCI and must have completed at least one build. If you get a 404 on the badge, check that the repository name matches exactly and that CircleCI has run a build on the branch you specified.

Badge Styles

The Style dropdown has five options. Each one looks different — here is what they actually look like side by side:

flat — most widely used, clean and minimal

plastic — slight gradient effect

flat-square — same as flat but square corners

for-the-badge — large, uppercase, common on profile READMEs

social — styled like social media buttons

Pick one style and use it across all your badges. Mixing styles in the same README looks inconsistent. Flat is the safest default for most projects.

Badge Colors

The color applies to the right side of the badge — the message side. Here is what each standard color looks like:

Green is conventionally used for passing, active, or MIT license. Red means failure or deprecated. Blue is informational. Yellow or orange is for warnings. Grey is for neutral labels like "maintained" or "docs". You can also enter any hex color code if the preset colors do not match your project's branding.

Adding Logos to Badges

The Logo field accepts any slug from the Simple Icons library — the same icon set that shields.io uses. Here are common examples used in GitHub READMEs:

Type the icon slug in lowercase in the Logo field and it appears inside the badge. If you leave it blank the badge shows text only.

For badges for GitHub README the most common logos are "github", "npm", "docker", "python", "react", "typescript", "javascript". For GitHub custom badges where you want a unique label with your own colors, leave the logo blank and just set your label, message, and a hex color code. For the shields io LinkedIn badgespecifically the slug is "linkedin" and the color is "0077B5".

Common Questions

Is this the same as shields.io?
No. shields.io is the service that generates and hosts the badge images. This tool builds the shields.io URL for you based on what you fill in — label, message, color, style, logo. When you copy the output and put it in your README, the badge image loads from shields.io directly. This page just makes it easier to construct the right URL without writing it by hand.

Does the badge update automatically?
Custom badges show static text — whatever you typed. CircleCI badges update automatically because they pull live data from CircleCI's API every time the badge is loaded.

Why is my CircleCI badge showing an error?
The most common causes are: the repository name has a typo, the branch name does not match what CircleCI is tracking, or no build has run yet on that branch. Check all three before assuming a tool error.

What is the difference between a GitHub badge maker and a GitHub badge creator?
They are the same thing. Both terms refer to a tool that generates badge images for GitHub READMEs. This tool works as both — you configure the badge and get the code to add it to any README.

Can I use this for GitHub skills badges?
Yes. Create a custom badge with the skill name as the label or message, pick the relevant color, and add the technology's logo slug. These work well in profile READMEs to list languages and frameworks.