Feature Request: Add a "Copy" button to README.md on the repository main page

[Datakda]

🏷️ Discussion Type

Product Feedback

💬 Feature/Topic Area

Other

In the era of AI, we frequently copy README files into LLMs, but the current workflow requires searching for a library, opening the repository, clicking into the README.md file, and only then copying it. It would be incredibly convenient to have a quick "Copy" button right on the main page of the repository in the README header block. This simple addition would save developers multiple clicks and significantly speed up their daily workflow.

[github-actions[bot]]

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[mohammadrezwankhan]

A copy button would be useful. Until it exists, there are two reliable ways to get the same result without navigating into the file.

For a public repository, the raw Markdown URL is:

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/OWNER/REPO/BRANCH/README.md

For scripts or private repositories, use the documented README endpoint instead:

gh api repos/OWNER/REPO/readme --jq .download_url

The repository contents API supports a ref (branch/tag/commit) and exposes both raw content and a download_url; the API is also the safer way to obtain a fresh URL because download URLs can expire.

For the UI proposal, I would make the button explicit about the representation: Copy Markdown for the source text and an optional Copy rendered HTML for the page output. It should respect the currently selected branch/commit, show a small success toast, and avoid silently including hidden metadata or switching the user to a different ref. That keeps the shortcut useful for LLM/context workflows while preserving predictable repository content semantics.