diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 2d4a566..65f9afe 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@
 
 > Run AI coding agents safely on your own machine — where the **Git repository is the memory**, not the chat history.
 
-![License](https://img.shields.io/badge/license-CC%20BY%204.0-lightgrey)
 ![Platform](https://img.shields.io/badge/platform-macOS%20%7C%20Linux%20%7C%20Windows-blue)
 ![Status](https://img.shields.io/badge/status-active-brightgreen)
 
@@ -12,28 +11,28 @@
 
 ```mermaid
 flowchart TB
-    subgraph host["  💻  Your Machine  "]
-        secrets["🔑 Secrets & Keys\nnever enter the workspace"]
-        folders["📁 Workspace Folders\nbind-mounted, always persist"]
+    subgraph host["💻 Your Machine"]
+        secrets["🔑 Secrets and Keys"]
+        folders["📁 Workspace Folders"]
     end
 
-    subgraph container["  🐳  Bounded Container — Agents Work Here  "]
+    subgraph container["🐳 Bounded Container — Agents Work Here"]
         direction LR
-        claude["Claude\nCode"]
-        codex["Codex\nCLI"]
-        gemini["Gemini\nCLI"]
+        claude["Claude Code"]
+        codex["Codex CLI"]
+        gemini["Gemini CLI"]
     end
 
-    subgraph repo["  📚  Git Repository — The Persistent Memory  "]
+    subgraph repo["📚 Git Repository — The Persistent Memory"]
         direction LR
-        rules["Rules &\nBoundaries"]
-        state["System\nState"]
-        tools["Scripts\n& Tools"]
+        rules["Rules"]
+        state["State Docs"]
+        tools["Scripts"]
     end
 
     folders -->|mounts into| container
-    container <-->|"reads before acting\nwrites when done"| repo
-    secrets -.->|stays here,\nnever shared| host
+    container <-->|reads before acting / writes when done| repo
+    secrets -.->|stays on host — never enters container| host
 ```
 
 The container is bounded and disposable. The repository is permanent. Agents read the repo before every session — not the chat history — so context survives restarts, rebuilds, and parallel sessions.
@@ -42,7 +41,7 @@ The container is bounded and disposable. The repository is permanent. Agents rea
 
 ## Why this exists
 
-Most AI-assisted development setups have the same failure mode: context lives in chat history. The session ends, the context is gone. The next session starts blind.
+Most AI-assisted development setups share the same failure mode: context lives in chat history. The session ends, the context is gone. The next session starts blind.
 
 This guide describes a different model:
 
@@ -81,13 +80,13 @@ Works on a laptop with no GPU, no VPN, no server. Grows as far as you want to ta
 
 ```mermaid
 graph LR
-    A["💻 Laptop\nDocker + Claude Code\n―――――――\nDay 1"]
-    B["☁️ VPS\nForgejo · WireGuard\nPrometheus · Loki\n―――――――\nWhen needed"]
-    C["🏠 Home Server\nLocal AI · Ollama\nOpen WebUI\n―――――――\nWhen justified"]
-    D["📱 Mobile\nRemote operator\naccess\n―――――――\nWhen ready"]
+    A["💻 Laptop\nDocker + Claude Code"]
+    B["☁️ VPS\nGit hosting + VPN\n+ Monitoring"]
+    C["🏠 Home Server\nLocal AI\n+ Ollama"]
+    D["📱 Mobile\nRemote operator\naccess"]
 
     A -->|stable baseline| B
-    B -->|stable infra| C
+    B -->|stable infrastructure| C
     C -->|stable local AI| D
 ```
 
@@ -117,9 +116,3 @@ Laptop first. Server when you need one. Local AI when the hardware justifies it.
 ## Getting started
 
 → **[Read GETTING-STARTED.md](./GETTING-STARTED.md)**
-
----
-
-## License
-
-[CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) — use it, adapt it, share it with attribution.