From a0729245c277ba2972bd82a18324b6925fd49ca7 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Carolina Nymark <hi@themesbycarolina.com>
Date: Thu, 19 Mar 2026 14:09:01 +0100
Subject: [PATCH] Check if readme file is empty

---
 checks/class-file-check.php | 19 +++++++++++++++++++
 1 file changed, 19 insertions(+)

diff --git a/checks/class-file-check.php b/checks/class-file-check.php
index e74af897..f22509be 100644
--- a/checks/class-file-check.php
+++ b/checks/class-file-check.php
@@ -67,6 +67,7 @@ public function check( $php_files, $css_files, $other_files ) {
 		);
 
 		$musthave = array( 'index.php', 'style.css', 'readme.txt' );
+		$readme   = null;
 
 		$fse_find = array_filter(
 			array_keys( $other_files ),
@@ -123,6 +124,24 @@ function( $file_name ) {
 				);
 				$ret           = false;
 			}
+
+			if ( 'readme.txt' === $file ) {
+				foreach ( $other_files as $other_path => $other_content ) {
+					if ( 'readme.txt' === strtolower( basename( $other_path ) ) ) {
+						$readme = $other_content;
+						break;
+					}
+				}
+			}
+		}
+
+		if ( null !== $readme && '' === trim( $readme ) ) {
+			$this->error[] = sprintf(
+				'<span class="tc-lead tc-required">%s</span>: %s',
+				__( 'REQUIRED', 'theme-check' ),
+				__( 'The readme.txt file is empty.', 'theme-check' )
+			);
+			$ret           = false;
 		}
 
 		return $ret;