---
title: "Data repository with no README | Metacenta"
description: "A data repository with no README leaves every new engineer asking a person how to run it. What we look for, and what the README should cover first."
url: "https://metacenta.com/rules/repo-no-readme"
updated: "2026-10-14"
tokens: 465
---

Repository hygiene · rule repo-no-readme

# Data repository with no README

A Metacenta review checks this under the rule **The repo has a README**. Everything below applies whether or not you ever commission one.

## What this rule checks

This rule flags a repository with no README at its root. A root file called `README`, in any case and with or without an extension, passes. A README in a subfolder doesn't count, because someone who has just cloned the repository won't find it.

## Why it matters

A new engineer's first question is how to run the project. With no written answer, they ask a person instead, and that happens again with everyone who joins.

## How to fix it

**Add a README covering setup, local runs and ownership.** Add a `README.md` at the root covering setup, how to run the pipeline locally, and who owns it.

## When it is fine to leave

A repository nobody works in by hand, such as one written only by automation, can go without. So can a mirror whose documentation lives with the original source.

## What we need to check it

Read-only access to the repository's file list. We check that the file exists, not what it says. If the listing was truncated, we decline rather than report.

[Ask about a review](https://metacenta.com/enquire?src=rule-repo-no-readme&via=md)

## Related pages

- [Credential files committed to a data repository](https://metacenta.com/rules/repo-committed-credential-file)
- [Data repository with no CI pipeline](https://metacenta.com/rules/repo-no-ci)
- [Archived repositories under review](https://metacenta.com/rules/repo-archived)
- [Data repository with no tests](https://metacenta.com/rules/repo-no-tests)
- [A sample review, as a client reads it](https://metacenta.com/sample)
- [All published rules](https://metacenta.com/rules)
- [How a review is assessed](https://metacenta.com/standard)