diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 65f9afe..3cf40ec 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 
 ![Platform](https://img.shields.io/badge/platform-macOS%20%7C%20Linux%20%7C%20Windows-blue)
 ![Status](https://img.shields.io/badge/status-active-brightgreen)
+![License](https://img.shields.io/badge/license-CC%20BY%204.0-lightgrey)
 
 ---
 
@@ -11,20 +12,18 @@
 
 ```mermaid
 flowchart TB
-    subgraph host["💻 Your Machine"]
-        secrets["🔑 Secrets and Keys"]
-        folders["📁 Workspace Folders"]
+    subgraph host["Your Machine"]
+        secrets["Secrets and Keys"]
+        folders["Workspace Folders"]
     end
 
-    subgraph container["🐳 Bounded Container — Agents Work Here"]
-        direction LR
+    subgraph container["Bounded Container — Agents Work Here"]
         claude["Claude Code"]
         codex["Codex CLI"]
         gemini["Gemini CLI"]
     end
 
-    subgraph repo["📚 Git Repository — The Persistent Memory"]
-        direction LR
+    subgraph repo["Git Repository — The Persistent Memory"]
         rules["Rules"]
         state["State Docs"]
         tools["Scripts"]
@@ -79,11 +78,11 @@ Works on a laptop with no GPU, no VPN, no server. Grows as far as you want to ta
 ## Where it grows
 
 ```mermaid
-graph LR
-    A["💻 Laptop\nDocker + Claude Code"]
-    B["☁️ VPS\nGit hosting + VPN\n+ Monitoring"]
-    C["🏠 Home Server\nLocal AI\n+ Ollama"]
-    D["📱 Mobile\nRemote operator\naccess"]
+flowchart LR
+    A["Laptop<br/>Docker + Claude Code"]
+    B["VPS<br/>Git hosting + VPN"]
+    C["Home Server<br/>Local AI + Ollama"]
+    D["Mobile<br/>Remote operator access"]
 
     A -->|stable baseline| B
     B -->|stable infrastructure| C
@@ -116,3 +115,7 @@ Laptop first. Server when you need one. Local AI when the hardware justifies it.
 ## Getting started
 
 → **[Read GETTING-STARTED.md](./GETTING-STARTED.md)**
+
+---
+
+Licensed under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)