From 45eb0643e103ed20e183b29c0fe106ccd6a86870 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Lauren Lee <lauren@lolocoding.com>
Date: Fri, 30 Jan 2026 12:10:39 +0100
Subject: [PATCH] Update README with template usage instructions

Added instructions to use the repository as a template instead of forking.
---
 README.md | 6 ++++++
 1 file changed, 6 insertions(+)

diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 29a3e1f7..61813658 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -4,6 +4,12 @@
 
 A Midnight smart contract example demonstrating counter functionality with zero-knowledge proofs on testnet.
 
+
+> **Use this repo as a template. Do not fork it.**
+>  
+> This repository is intended to be used via GitHub’s “Use this template” flow.  
+> Forking this repo is discouraged, as forks are not tracked as independent projects.
+
 ## Project Structure
 
 ```