<!--IssueSummary start--> <details> <summary> Everyone can contribute. [Help move this issue forward](https://handbook.gitlab.com/handbook/marketing/developer-relations/contributor-success/community-contributors-workflows/#contributor-links) while earning points, leveling up and collecting rewards. </summary> - [Close this issue](https://contributors.gitlab.com/manage-issue?action=close&projectId=278964&issueIid=419330) </details> <!--IssueSummary end--> ### Proposal GitLab, GitHub and BitBucket all support different extensions to the markdown syntax. I would like to create a different `README.md` for the diverse code forges, and keep the root `README.md` in strict markdown (without embedded HTML for example). This is already possible for GitHub using their `.github` directory, and we have a similar directory in `.gitlab` for issue templates, codeowners and many other files. It would make sense to check if there is a `README.md` in `.gitlab`, and if it is present, use it instead of the one in the root directory.