But I think this one point is the one item that ultimately decides on the lifetime of a project and whether it will turn legacy. If the README doesn't even desc

But I think this one point is the one item that ultimately decides on the lifetime of a project and whether it will turn legacy. If the README doesn't even describe how to start the project or successfully invoke a single unit test, how is anyone going to deploy this or change anything of the core code? Also not having this usually means unreliable deployments, broken CIs and constant firefighting. This might be considered acceptable for 1-person-projects until that one person might change projects or jobs.