A missing or boilerplate README is a proxy signal for several downstream problems: new contributors (human or AI) can't orient without reading the entire codebase, onboarding instructions drift away from package.json scripts, and the repo becomes difficult to hand off or evaluate for acquisition / due diligence. The standard create-next-app boilerplate is specifically flagged because its presence means "nobody has documented this project" — the file exists but carries zero project-specific content. AI coding tools are often handed a fresh scaffold and asked to build features on top of it without ever being asked to update the README, so the original boilerplate survives indefinitely. This check is informational because it doesn't block functionality, but it's a strong leading indicator of broader documentation and operational-readiness gaps.
Info because a missing or boilerplate README slows onboarding and hand-off but doesn't create direct security, correctness, or availability risk on its own.
Add a project description, setup instructions, and a one-line summary of what the project does:
# Acme
A booking platform for hair salons. Built with Next.js, Supabase, and Stripe.
## Setup
...
Deeper remediation guidance and cross-reference coverage for this check lives in the code-quality-essentials Pro audit — run that after applying this fix for a more exhaustive pass on the same topic.
project-snapshot.code-quality.has-readmeinfoREADME.md (or README.mdx/README.txt) at the project root. If found, count word count of the body.create-next-app README) — count it as fail because it doesn't describe THIS project."README.md at root: ~N words; appears to describe the project (not boilerplate).""README.md missing" or "README.md contains 18 words and matches create-next-app boilerplate".# Acme
A booking platform for hair salons. Built with Next.js, Supabase, and Stripe.
## Setup
...