diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 85bbc968..d7a8cb83 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -47,4 +47,4 @@ analysis/
 gaps.md
 /improve.md
 philosophy.md
-autoresearch-results.tsv
+/autoresearch-results.tsv
diff --git a/package-lock.json b/package-lock.json
index a6b4ac3e..af60f0a8 100644
--- a/package-lock.json
+++ b/package-lock.json
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@
     "": {
       "name": "maxsimcli-workspace",
       "version": "1.0.0",
+      "license": "MIT",
       "workspaces": [
         "packages/cli",
         "packages/website"
@@ -10516,7 +10517,7 @@
     },
     "packages/cli": {
       "name": "maxsimcli",
-      "version": "5.10.0",
+      "version": "5.12.0",
       "license": "MIT",
       "dependencies": {
         "@octokit/plugin-retry": "^8.1.0",
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index c5caca63..85bb9ee8 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@
     "packages/website"
   ],
   "description": "A meta-prompting, context engineering and spec-driven development system for Claude Code by MayStudios.",
+  "license": "MIT",
   "engines": {
     "node": ">=22.0.0"
   },
diff --git a/packages/cli/scripts/inject-version.cjs b/packages/cli/scripts/inject-version.cjs
index 8ed5e634..e7533408 100644
--- a/packages/cli/scripts/inject-version.cjs
+++ b/packages/cli/scripts/inject-version.cjs
@@ -21,15 +21,41 @@ const versionTsPath = path.join(pkgCliRoot, 'src', 'core', 'version.ts');
 const pkg = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(pkgJsonPath, 'utf8'));
 const version = pkg.version;
 
-const content = `/** MaxsimCLI version — auto-injected from package.json at build time. */\nexport const VERSION = '${version}';\n`;
+const versionLine = `export const VERSION = '${version}';`;
 
 const existing = fs.existsSync(versionTsPath)
   ? fs.readFileSync(versionTsPath, 'utf8')
   : '';
 
-if (existing === content) {
+if (existing.includes(versionLine)) {
   console.log(`  [version] version.ts already up-to-date (${version})`);
+} else if (existing && /export const VERSION = '.*';/.test(existing)) {
+  // Replace the VERSION line in-place, preserving utility functions
+  const updated = existing.replace(/export const VERSION = '.*';/, versionLine);
+  fs.writeFileSync(versionTsPath, updated, 'utf8');
+  console.log(`  [version] Injected version ${version} -> src/core/version.ts`);
 } else {
+  // File missing or doesn't contain VERSION — write the full template
+  const content = `/** MaxsimCLI version — auto-injected from package.json at build time. */\n${versionLine}\n`;
   fs.writeFileSync(versionTsPath, content, 'utf8');
   console.log(`  [version] Injected version ${version} -> src/core/version.ts`);
 }
+
+// Also update templates/templates/config.json version
+const configJsonPath = path.join(pkgCliRoot, '..', '..', 'templates', 'templates', 'config.json');
+if (fs.existsSync(configJsonPath)) {
+  try {
+    const config = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(configJsonPath, 'utf8'));
+    if (config.version !== version) {
+      config.version = version;
+      fs.writeFileSync(configJsonPath, JSON.stringify(config, null, 2) + '\n', 'utf8');
+      console.log(`  [version] Injected version ${version} -> templates/templates/config.json`);
+    } else {
+      console.log(`  [version] config.json already up-to-date (${version})`);
+    }
+  } catch (err) {
+    console.warn(`  [version] Warning: Could not update config.json: ${err.message}`);
+  }
+} else {
+  console.warn('  [version] Warning: templates/templates/config.json not found');
+}
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/core/index.ts b/packages/cli/src/core/index.ts
index 4143a49a..30f0cdba 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/core/index.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/core/index.ts
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ export {
 export { loadConfig, saveConfig, resolveModel, resolveMaxAgents, getConfigPath } from './config.js';
 
 // Version
-export { VERSION } from './version.js';
+export { VERSION, parseVersion, isVersionAtLeast, getVersion } from './version.js';
 
 // Utils
 export { claudeDir, maxsimDir, agentMemoryDir, configPath, parseFrontmatter } from './utils.js';
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/core/version.ts b/packages/cli/src/core/version.ts
index 94fd3b9c..978bd489 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/core/version.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/core/version.ts
@@ -1,2 +1,33 @@
 /** MaxsimCLI version — auto-injected from package.json at build time. */
-export const VERSION = '5.10.0';
+export const VERSION = '5.12.0';
+
+/**
+ * Parse a semantic version string into components.
+ * Returns null if the string is not a valid semver.
+ */
+export function parseVersion(versionStr: string): { major: number; minor: number; patch: number } | null {
+  const match = versionStr.match(/^(\d+)\.(\d+)\.(\d+)/);
+  if (!match) return null;
+  return {
+    major: Number.parseInt(match[1], 10),
+    minor: Number.parseInt(match[2], 10),
+    patch: Number.parseInt(match[3], 10),
+  };
+}
+
+/**
+ * Check if the current VERSION is at least the given minimum version.
+ */
+export function isVersionAtLeast(minimum: string): boolean {
+  const current = parseVersion(VERSION);
+  const target = parseVersion(minimum);
+  if (!current || !target) return false;
+  if (current.major !== target.major) return current.major > target.major;
+  if (current.minor !== target.minor) return current.minor > target.minor;
+  return current.patch >= target.patch;
+}
+
+/** Get the current version string. */
+export function getVersion(): string {
+  return VERSION;
+}
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/install/hooks.ts b/packages/cli/src/install/hooks.ts
index 1acb779f..3d0260e7 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/install/hooks.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/install/hooks.ts
@@ -34,6 +34,11 @@ export function installHooks(projectDir: string): { installed: string[] } {
   const installed: string[] = [];
 
   if (copied === 0) {
+    // Guarantee settings.json exists even if no hooks were copied
+    if (!fs.existsSync(settingsPath)) {
+      fs.mkdirSync(path.dirname(settingsPath), { recursive: true });
+      fs.writeFileSync(settingsPath, `${JSON.stringify({ hooks: {} }, null, 2)}\n`, 'utf8');
+    }
     return { installed };
   }
 
diff --git a/packages/cli/tests/unit/types.test.ts b/packages/cli/tests/unit/types.test.ts
index a02a22eb..898a7c03 100644
--- a/packages/cli/tests/unit/types.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/tests/unit/types.test.ts
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ import {
   PARALLELISM_LIMITS,
   DEFAULT_CONFIG,
 } from '../../src/core/types.js';
-import { VERSION } from '../../src/core/version.js';
+import { VERSION, parseVersion, isVersionAtLeast, getVersion } from '../../src/core/version.js';
 
 describe('CmdResult', () => {
   it('cmdOk creates a successful result with data', () => {
@@ -148,6 +148,49 @@ describe('VERSION', () => {
   });
 });
 
+describe('parseVersion', () => {
+  it('parses a valid semver string', () => {
+    expect(parseVersion('1.2.3')).toEqual({ major: 1, minor: 2, patch: 3 });
+  });
+
+  it('parses semver with pre-release suffix', () => {
+    expect(parseVersion('2.0.1-beta.1')).toEqual({ major: 2, minor: 0, patch: 1 });
+  });
+
+  it('returns null for invalid strings', () => {
+    expect(parseVersion('invalid')).toBeNull();
+    expect(parseVersion('')).toBeNull();
+  });
+});
+
+describe('getVersion', () => {
+  it('returns a non-empty string matching VERSION', () => {
+    const v = getVersion();
+    expect(typeof v).toBe('string');
+    expect(v.length).toBeGreaterThan(0);
+    expect(v).toBe(VERSION);
+  });
+});
+
+describe('isVersionAtLeast', () => {
+  it('returns true when current version meets the minimum', () => {
+    // Current VERSION should be at least 1.0.0
+    expect(isVersionAtLeast('1.0.0')).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it('returns true when current version equals the minimum', () => {
+    expect(isVersionAtLeast(VERSION)).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it('returns false when minimum is higher than current', () => {
+    expect(isVersionAtLeast('999.0.0')).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it('returns false for invalid version strings', () => {
+    expect(isVersionAtLeast('invalid')).toBe(false);
+  });
+});
+
 describe('PARALLELISM_LIMITS', () => {
   it('has entries for all 3 profiles', () => {
     expect(Object.keys(PARALLELISM_LIMITS)).toHaveLength(3);
diff --git a/templates/templates/config.json b/templates/templates/config.json
index f0d508d1..33ca3190 100644
--- a/templates/templates/config.json
+++ b/templates/templates/config.json
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 {
-  "version": "6.0.0",
+  "version": "5.12.0",
   "execution": {
     "model_profile": "balanced",
     "parallelism": {
@@ -9,7 +9,13 @@
     },
     "verification": {
       "strict_mode": true,
-      "gates": ["tests", "build", "lint", "spec", "review"],
+      "gates": [
+        "tests",
+        "build",
+        "lint",
+        "spec",
+        "review"
+      ],
       "require_code_review": true,
       "auto_resolve_conflicts": true
     }