Description
The README's Installation section instructs:
git clone https://github.com/your-username/recode-website.git
This is a leftover template placeholder — your-username is not a real GitHub account, so any visitor who copy-pastes this exact command (the most natural thing to do with a documented "Installation" step) will get a repository not found clone error. This same placeholder pattern also appears in the Step-by-Step Guide's "Clone your fork" instructions.
For a first-time visitor evaluating whether to contribute — exactly the audience GSSoC funnels toward this repo — a broken first command is a bad first impression and an easily avoidable point of friction, especially notable given how otherwise mature and well-maintained this README is (badges, contributor stats, video tutorial, structured contribution workflow diagram).
Impact
Breaks the literal first command for anyone directly cloning the canonical repo (as opposed to a fork) — the instructions don't clearly distinguish "clone the main repo to look around" from "clone your fork after forking."
Minor but real — the kind of thing that erodes trust in documentation quality at scale for a project with 142 forks worth of contributors following these exact steps.
Proposed Solution
Split the Installation section's clone instruction into two clear cases: (a) cloning the upstream repo directly (git clone https://github.com/recodehive/recode-website.git) for browsing/local testing, and (b) the Contributing section's fork-based workflow, which correctly should use a placeholder but should clearly label it as such (e.g., git clone https://github.com//recode-website.git with angle brackets making the substitution obvious, rather than your-username which reads as a literal, valid-looking username).
Apply the same fix consistently across both the top-level "Installation" section and the "Step-by-Step Guide" under Contributing.
Acceptance Criteria
Top-level "Installation" section uses the real, correct clone URL for the upstream repo
Fork-based clone instructions clearly denote the placeholder as a placeholder (e.g., angle-bracket convention) to avoid literal copy-paste failures
Both instances in the README are consistent with each other
Description
The README's Installation section instructs:
git clone https://github.com/your-username/recode-website.git
This is a leftover template placeholder — your-username is not a real GitHub account, so any visitor who copy-pastes this exact command (the most natural thing to do with a documented "Installation" step) will get a repository not found clone error. This same placeholder pattern also appears in the Step-by-Step Guide's "Clone your fork" instructions.
For a first-time visitor evaluating whether to contribute — exactly the audience GSSoC funnels toward this repo — a broken first command is a bad first impression and an easily avoidable point of friction, especially notable given how otherwise mature and well-maintained this README is (badges, contributor stats, video tutorial, structured contribution workflow diagram).
Impact
Breaks the literal first command for anyone directly cloning the canonical repo (as opposed to a fork) — the instructions don't clearly distinguish "clone the main repo to look around" from "clone your fork after forking."
Minor but real — the kind of thing that erodes trust in documentation quality at scale for a project with 142 forks worth of contributors following these exact steps.
Proposed Solution
Split the Installation section's clone instruction into two clear cases: (a) cloning the upstream repo directly (git clone https://github.com/recodehive/recode-website.git) for browsing/local testing, and (b) the Contributing section's fork-based workflow, which correctly should use a placeholder but should clearly label it as such (e.g., git clone https://github.com//recode-website.git with angle brackets making the substitution obvious, rather than your-username which reads as a literal, valid-looking username).
Apply the same fix consistently across both the top-level "Installation" section and the "Step-by-Step Guide" under Contributing.
Acceptance Criteria
Top-level "Installation" section uses the real, correct clone URL for the upstream repo
Fork-based clone instructions clearly denote the placeholder as a placeholder (e.g., angle-bracket convention) to avoid literal copy-paste failures
Both instances in the README are consistent with each other