diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c820399
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+# Copy this file to .env and adjust values as needed.
+# config.py already ships with safe, environment-driven defaults, so every
+# variable below is optional; only set what you need to override.
+# See config.example.py for the full documented default for each setting.
+
+# --- Database ---
+DB_HOST=localhost
+DB_USER=root
+DB_PASSWORD=your_database_password
+DB_DATABASE=campus_system
+DB_CHARSET=utf8mb4
+DB_POOL_SIZE=5
+
+# --- Face recognition (optional; module not bundled in this repo) ---
+FACE_RECOGNITION_MODEL_PATH=model/trainer.yml
+FACE_RECOGNITION_HAAR_CASCADE_PATH=haarcascade_frontalface_default.xml
+FACE_RECOGNITION_CONFIDENCE_THRESHOLD=50
+FACE_RECOGNITION_PREDICTION_THRESHOLD=70
+FACE_RECOGNITION_TIMEOUT_SECONDS=30
+
+# --- Logging ---
+LOG_LEVEL=INFO
+LOG_DIR=logs
+LOG_MAX_BYTES=10485760
+LOG_BACKUP_COUNT=5
+
+# --- Application ---
+APP_NAME=CIIMS
+APP_VERSION=1.0.0
+DEBUG=False
+
+# --- AI assistant (optional; leave OPENROUTER_API_KEY empty to disable) ---
+OPENROUTER_BASE_URL=https://openrouter.ai/api/v1
+OPENROUTER_API_KEY=your_api_key_here
+OPENROUTER_MODEL=deepseek/deepseek-chat
+OPENROUTER_REFERER=
+OPENROUTER_TITLE=CIIMS In-App Assistant
+CIIMS_PROXY_URL=
+
+# --- Security ---
+PASSWORD_HASH_ROUNDS=12
diff --git a/LICENSE b/LICENSE
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..885a731
--- /dev/null
+++ b/LICENSE
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+MIT License
+
+Copyright (c) 2026 HelloBryte
+
+Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
+of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
+in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights
+to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
+copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is
+furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
+
+The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all
+copies or substantial portions of the Software.
+
+THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
+IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
+FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
+AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
+LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
+OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE
+SOFTWARE.
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index e258b0d..5c850d3 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -75,8 +75,8 @@ python main.py
 
 `config.py` already reads every setting from an environment variable with a
 sensible default, so the app runs out of the box. To override any value,
-create a `.env` file in the project root (see `config.example.py` for the
-full list of supported variables):
+copy `.env.example` to `.env` and adjust as needed (see `config.example.py`
+for the full documented default of every supported variable):
 ```env
 # Database
 DB_HOST=localhost
@@ -114,6 +114,7 @@ ciims/
 ├── scripts/              # Utility scripts (sample data generation, etc.)
 ├── config.py             # Runtime configuration (env-driven, no secrets)
 ├── config.example.py     # Reference/documentation for all config options
+├── .env.example          # Template for local .env overrides
 └── main.py               # Application entry point
 ```
 
@@ -124,7 +125,7 @@ above.
 
 ### License
 
-This project is licensed under the MIT License.
+This project is licensed under the [MIT License](LICENSE).
 
 ---
 
@@ -210,4 +211,4 @@ python main.py
 
 ### 许可证
 
-本项目采用 MIT 许可证。
+本项目采用 [MIT 许可证](LICENSE)。
diff --git a/requirements.txt b/requirements.txt
index cc8be4b..0200f9d 100644
--- a/requirements.txt
+++ b/requirements.txt
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-PySide6==6.10.3
-mysql-connector-python==9.4.0
-python-dotenv==1.1.1
+PySide6==6.11.2
+mysql-connector-python==9.7.0
+python-dotenv==1.2.3
 httpx==0.28.1