GNU bug report logs - #79411
31.0.50; describe-package does not show :readme after package installation, but sth else

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From: Jens Schmidt <jschmidt4gnu <at> vodafonemail.de>
To: 79411 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Cc: philip kaludercic <philipk <at> posteo.net>
Subject: bug#79411: 31.0.50; describe-package does not show :readme after package installation, but sth else
Date: Mon, 8 Sep 2025 22:18:43 +0200

X-Debbugs-Cc: Philip Kaludercic <philipk <at> posteo.net>

Move your `package-user-dir' temporarily away.  Then start "./src/emacs
-Q".  Then:

M-x package-initialize RET
M-x package-list-packages RET
C-h P beframe RET

This shows the README.md as package description, as defined by
Prots through property :readme:

  # Beframe (beframe.el) for GNU Emacs

  `beframe` enables a frame-oriented Emacs workflow where each frame has
  access to the list of buffers visited therein.  In the interest of
  brevity, we call buffers that belong to frames "beframed".

  **Video demo:** <https://protesilaos.com/codelog/2023-02-28-emacs-beframe-demo/>

  + Package name (GNU ELPA): `beframe`
  + Official manual: <https://protesilaos.com/emacs/beframe>
  + Change log: <https://protesilaos.com/emacs/beframe-changelog>
  + Git repositories:
    + GitHub: <https://github.com/protesilaos/beframe>
    + GitLab: <https://gitlab.com/protesilaos/beframe>
  + Backronym: Buffers Encapsulated in Frames Realise Advanced
    Management of Emacs.

Then:

M-x package-install beframe RET
C-h P beframe RET

Now this shows the README.org file as package description, which
in that place is ... ugly.  I am aware of the following comment
in function `package--get-description':

  ;; We don’t include README.md here, because that is often the home
  ;; page on a site like github, and not suitable as the package long
  ;; description.

But probably if a package author has willfully designed her/his
README.md to be used as property :readme, then it should also be
used for installed packages [1]?  Probably if there is a :readme
property, then function `package--get-description' should even
always use that, and not resort to guessing [2]?

If you agree and want me to provide a patch to that effect ([1]
or [2]?), please let me know.

[ I'm filing/asking this because I have been planning to use a
  combination of (:readme "README.md" :doc "README.org") similar
  to what Prots has been doing for his beframe package. ]

In GNU Emacs 31.0.50 (build 6, x86_64-pc-linux-gnu, GTK+ Version
 3.24.38, cairo version 1.16.0) of 2025-09-08 built on sappc2
Repository revision: 4c74b68fb1f23db6ba770f7322efe378f3492751
Repository branch: master
Windowing system distributor 'The X.Org Foundation', version 11.0.12201009
System Description: Debian GNU/Linux 12 (bookworm)

Configured using:
 'configure --with-native-compilation --with-mailutils'

Configured features:
ACL CAIRO DBUS FREETYPE GIF GLIB GMP GNUTLS GPM GSETTINGS HARFBUZZ JPEG
LCMS2 LIBOTF LIBSELINUX LIBSYSTEMD LIBXML2 M17N_FLT MODULES NATIVE_COMP
NOTIFY INOTIFY PDUMPER PNG RSVG SECCOMP SOUND THREADS TIFF
TOOLKIT_SCROLL_BARS WEBP X11 XDBE XIM XINERAMA XINPUT2 XPM XRANDR GTK3
ZLIB

Important settings:
  value of $LC_COLLATE: POSIX
  value of $LC_TIME: POSIX
  value of $LANG: en_US.UTF-8
  value of $XMODIFIERS: @im=ibus
  locale-coding-system: utf-8-unix

Major mode: Lisp Interaction

Minor modes in effect:
  tooltip-mode: t
  global-eldoc-mode: t
  eldoc-mode: t
  show-paren-mode: t
  electric-indent-mode: t
  mouse-wheel-mode: t
  tool-bar-mode: t
  menu-bar-mode: t
  file-name-shadow-mode: t
  global-font-lock-mode: t
  font-lock-mode: t
  blink-cursor-mode: t
  minibuffer-regexp-mode: t
  line-number-mode: t
  indent-tabs-mode: t
  transient-mark-mode: t
  auto-composition-mode: t
  auto-encryption-mode: t
  auto-compression-mode: t

Load-path shadows:
None found.

Features:
(shadow sort mail-extr emacsbug transient pcase format-spec edmacro
kmacro warnings info beframe-autoloads easy-mmode loaddefs-gen tar-mode
arc-mode archive-mode novice cus-edit pp cus-start cus-load wid-edit
lisp-mnt misearch multi-isearch cl-extra cl-print help-fns radix-tree
help-mode mm-archive message sendmail yank-media dired dired-loaddefs
rfc822 mml mml-sec epa derived gnus-util time-date mailabbrev gmm-utils
mailheader mm-decode mm-bodies mm-encode mail-utils mule-util gnutls
network-stream url-cache url-http url-auth mail-parse rfc2231 rfc2047
rfc2045 mm-util ietf-drums mail-prsvr url-gw nsm puny epg rfc6068
epg-config display-line-numbers compile text-property-search comint
ansi-osc ansi-color ring comp-run comp-common rx finder-inf thingatpt
package browse-url xdg url url-proxy url-privacy url-expand url-methods
url-history url-cookie generate-lisp-file url-domsuf url-util mailcap
url-handlers url-parse auth-source cl-seq eieio eieio-core cl-macs icons
password-cache json subr-x map byte-opt gv bytecomp byte-compile
url-vars cl-loaddefs cl-lib rmc iso-transl tooltip cconv eldoc paren
electric uniquify ediff-hook vc-hooks lisp-float-type elisp-mode mwheel
term/x-win x-win term/common-win x-dnd touch-screen tool-bar dnd fontset
image regexp-opt fringe tabulated-list replace newcomment text-mode
lisp-mode prog-mode register page tab-bar menu-bar rfn-eshadow isearch
easymenu timer select scroll-bar mouse jit-lock font-lock syntax
font-core term/tty-colors frame minibuffer nadvice seq simple cl-generic
indonesian philippine cham georgian utf-8-lang misc-lang vietnamese
tibetan thai tai-viet lao korean japanese eucjp-ms cp51932 hebrew greek
romanian slovak czech european ethiopic indian cyrillic chinese
composite emoji-zwj charscript charprop case-table epa-hook
jka-cmpr-hook help abbrev obarray oclosure cl-preloaded button loaddefs
theme-loaddefs faces cus-face macroexp files window text-properties
overlay sha1 md5 base64 format env code-pages mule custom widget keymap
hashtable-print-readable backquote threads dbusbind inotify lcms2
dynamic-setting system-font-setting font-render-setting cairo gtk
x-toolkit xinput2 x multi-tty move-toolbar make-network-process
tty-child-frames native-compile emacs)

Memory information:
((conses 16 348941 46086) (symbols 48 13566 0) (strings 32 67396 5547)
 (string-bytes 1 1770646) (vectors 16 33740)
 (vector-slots 8 746562 66527) (floats 8 61 158)
 (intervals 56 25221 0) (buffers 984 16))

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