diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 786b71a..6d6c441 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -8,5 +8,4 @@ bin/configlet.zip
 node_modules
 
 tmp
-exercises/**/.gitignore
 lib
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index ab6cf62..61d83fe 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -4,29 +4,56 @@ EXERCISE ?= ""
 EXERCISES = $(shell find ./exercises/practice -maxdepth 1 -mindepth 1 -type d | cut -s -d '/' -f4 | sort)
 OUTDIR ?= "tmp"
 
-# check all package.json and package-lock.json are matching
-check-package-files:
-	@echo "Validation package.json files..."
-	@for pkg in $(PKG_FILES); do \
-		! ./bin/md5-hash $$pkg | grep -qv $(SOURCE_PKG_MD5) || { echo "$$pkg does not match main package.json.  Please run 'make sync-package-files' locally and commit the results."; exit 1; }; \
-	done
-	@echo "Validation package-lock.json files..."
-	@for pkg in $(PKG_LOCK_FILES); do \
-		! ./bin/md5-hash $$pkg | grep -qv $(SOURCE_PKG_LOCK_MD5) || { echo "$$pkg does not match main package.json.  Please run 'make sync-package-files' locally and commit the results."; exit 1; }; \
+# Define the files you want to ensure are synced across all exercises
+FILES_TO_CHECK = package.json package-lock.json rescript.json .gitignore LICENSE .meta/testTemplate.js
+
+# check all exercise files that need to be in sync
+check-exercise-files:
+	@for exercise in $(EXERCISES); do \
+		echo "Checking exercise: $$exercise"; \
+		for file in $(FILES_TO_CHECK); do \
+			target="exercises/practice/$$exercise/$$file"; \
+			\
+			# Map the source template path \
+			if [ "$$file" = ".meta/testTemplate.js" ]; then \
+				source="./templates/testTemplate.js"; \
+			elif [ -f "./templates/$$file" ]; then \
+				source="./templates/$$file"; \
+			else \
+				source="./$$file"; \
+			fi; \
+			\
+			# 1. Check if the file exists \
+			if [ ! -f "$$target" ]; then \
+				echo "ERROR: Missing file $$file in $$exercise. Run make sync-exercise-files and commit the changes."; \
+				exit 1; \
+			fi; \
+			\
+			# 2. Check if the content matches (ignoring name/version) \
+			diff -q -I '"name":' -I '"version":' "$$source" "$$target" > /dev/null || { \
+				echo "ERROR: $$target does not match template $$source."; \
+				diff -u -I '"name":' -I '"version":' "$$source" "$$target" | head -n 20; \
+				exit 1; \
+			}; \
+		done; \
 	done
-	@echo "package-file check complete..."
+	@echo "All exercises contain all required files and are in sync."
 
-# copy package.json and package-lock.json for single exercise
-copy-package-file:
+# copy all relevant files for a single exercise - test template, config etc.
+copy-exercise-files:
 	@cp package.json exercises/practice/$(EXERCISE)/package.json
 	@cp package-lock.json exercises/practice/$(EXERCISE)/package-lock.json
-	@cp rescript.json exercises/practice/$(EXERCISE)/rescript.json
-	
-# copy package files to all exercise directories
-sync-package-files:
-	@echo "Syncing package.json and package-lock.json..."
-	@for exercise in $(EXERCISES); do EXERCISE=$$exercise $(MAKE) -s copy-package-file || exit 1; done
+	@cp templates/rescript.json exercises/practice/$(EXERCISE)/rescript.json
+	@cp templates/.gitignore exercises/practice/$(EXERCISE)/.gitignore
+	@cp LICENSE exercises/practice/$(EXERCISE)/LICENSE
+	@cp templates/testTemplate.js exercises/practice/$(EXERCISE)/.meta/testTemplate.js
+
+# sync all files for each exercise directory
+sync-exercise-files:
+	@echo "Syncing exercise files..."
+	@for exercise in $(EXERCISES); do EXERCISE=$$exercise $(MAKE) -s copy-exercise-files || exit 1; done
 
+# copy single exercise build artifacts for testing
 copy-exercise:
 	if [ -f exercises/practice/$(EXERCISE)/src/*.res ]; then \
 		echo "Copying $(EXERCISE)"; \
@@ -34,6 +61,7 @@ copy-exercise:
         	cp exercises/practice/$(EXERCISE)/tests/*.res $(OUTDIR)/tests/; \
 	fi
 
+# copy build artifacts for testing
 copy-all-exercises:
 	@echo "Copying exercises for testing..."
 	@mkdir -p $(OUTDIR)/src
@@ -50,6 +78,7 @@ format:
 	@echo "Formatting ReScript files..."
 	@find . -name "node_modules" -prune -o -name "*.res" -print -o -name "*.resi" -print | xargs npx rescript format
 
+# Generate tests for all exercises
 generate-tests:
 	@echo "Generating tests for all exercises..."
 	@for exercise in $(EXERCISES); do \
@@ -62,6 +91,7 @@ generate-tests:
 	done
 	@echo "All tests generated successfully."
 
+# Generate test for exercise 
 generate-test:
 ifeq ($(EXERCISE),"")
 	$(error EXERCISE variable is required. usage: make generate_test EXERCISE=hello-world)
@@ -70,6 +100,6 @@ endif
 
 test:
 	$(MAKE) -s clean
-	$(MAKE) -s check-package-files
+	$(MAKE) -s check-exercise-files
 	$(MAKE) -s copy-all-exercises
 	npm run ci
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/bin/add-practice-exercise b/bin/add-practice-exercise
index 7c86306..6283caf 100755
--- a/bin/add-practice-exercise
+++ b/bin/add-practice-exercise
@@ -70,6 +70,8 @@ fi
 exercise_dir="exercises/practice/${slug}"
 files=$(jq -r --arg dir "${exercise_dir}" '.files | to_entries | map({key: .key, value: (.value | map("'"'"'" + $dir + "/" + . + "'"'"'") | join(" and "))}) | from_entries' "${exercise_dir}/.meta/config.json")
 
+make copy-exercise-files EXERCISE="${slug}"
+
 cat << NEXT_STEPS
 
 Your next steps are:
diff --git a/templates/.gitignore b/templates/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b512c09
--- /dev/null
+++ b/templates/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+node_modules
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/templates/rescript.json b/templates/rescript.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3db8c50
--- /dev/null
+++ b/templates/rescript.json
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+{
+  "name": "@exercism/rescript",
+  "sources": [
+    { "dir": "src", "subdirs": true, "type": "dev" },
+    { "dir": "tests", "subdirs": true, "type": "dev" }
+  ],
+  "package-specs": [
+    {
+      "module": "esmodule",
+      "in-source": true
+    }
+  ],
+  "suffix": ".res.js",
+  "dev-dependencies": ["rescript-test"]
+}
diff --git a/templates/testTemplate.js b/templates/testTemplate.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0db698e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/templates/testTemplate.js
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+import path from 'node:path';
+import { fileURLToPath } from 'node:url';
+import { stringEqual } from "../../../../test_generator/assertions.js";
+import { generateTests } from '../../../../test_generator/testGenerator.js';
+
+const __dirname = path.dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url));
+const slug = path.basename(path.resolve(__dirname, '..'))
+
+// EDIT THIS WITH YOUR ASSERTIONS
+export const assertionFunctions = [ stringEqual ]
+
+// EDIT THIS WITH YOUR TEST TEMPLATES
+export const template = (c) => {
+  return `stringEqual(~message="${c.description}", hello(), "${c.expected}")`
+}
+
+generateTests(__dirname, slug, assertionFunctions, template)
\ No newline at end of file