diff --git a/.github/workflows/contract.yml b/.github/workflows/contract.yml
index 014cae4..b6f3664 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/contract.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/contract.yml
@@ -29,7 +29,13 @@ jobs:
         run: |
           uv sync
           uv run uvicorn app.api:app --port 7000 &
-          timeout 30 bash -c 'until curl -sf http://localhost:7000/ > /dev/null; do sleep 1; done'
+          timeout 30 bash -c 'until curl -sf http://localhost:7000/health > /dev/null; do sleep 1; done'
+
+      - name: "Contract: GET /health returns ok"
+        run: |
+          body=$(curl -sf http://localhost:7000/health)
+          echo "$body"
+          echo "$body" | jq -e '.status == "ok"'
 
       - name: "Contract: GET / returns version info"
         run: |
diff --git a/.github/workflows/docker.yml b/.github/workflows/docker.yml
index ff0eb34..d506944 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/docker.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/docker.yml
@@ -33,8 +33,8 @@ jobs:
       - name: Build and start the stack
         run: docker compose up -d --build
 
-      - name: Wait for the stack (nginx up and backend responding through it)
-        run: timeout 60 bash -c 'until curl -sf http://localhost:8080/api/ > /dev/null; do sleep 2; done'
+      - name: Wait for the stack (nginx up and backend healthy through it)
+        run: timeout 60 bash -c 'until curl -sf http://localhost:8080/api/health > /dev/null; do sleep 2; done'
 
       - name: "Frontend served"
         run: curl -sf http://localhost:8080/ | grep -q "<title>React Template</title>"
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index a3a8c69..342407f 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-# react-template
+# react-fastapi-template
 
 Fullstack template at Komorebi AI: a **React frontend** (`frontend/`) paired with a
 **FastAPI backend** (`backend/`). Use it as the starting point for technical tests,
@@ -63,13 +63,15 @@ contract fails visibly.
 The frontend's typed endpoint wrappers (`frontend/src/api/backend.ts`) match
 `backend/app/api.py`:
 
-| Endpoint            | Response                         | Used for             |
-| ------------------- | -------------------------------- | -------------------- |
-| `GET /api/`         | `{"app-api": "version ..."}`     | status/version chip  |
-| `POST /api/predict` | `{"input": n}` → `{"output": n}` | mock prediction demo |
+| Endpoint            | Response                         | Used for                   |
+| ------------------- | -------------------------------- | -------------------------- |
+| `GET /api/`         | `{"app-api": "version ..."}`     | status/version chip        |
+| `POST /api/predict` | `{"input": n}` → `{"output": n}` | mock prediction demo       |
+| `GET /api/health`   | `{"status": "ok"}`               | container healthchecks, CI |
 
 Both proxies (Vite in dev, nginx in prod) strip the `/api` prefix before forwarding to
-the backend.
+the backend. `/health` is the stable endpoint — keep it when replacing the example
+endpoints, since the compose healthcheck and CI smoke tests rely on it.
 
 ## Starting a project from this template
 
diff --git a/backend/app/api.py b/backend/app/api.py
index 2bb70a3..93994b7 100644
--- a/backend/app/api.py
+++ b/backend/app/api.py
@@ -40,6 +40,16 @@ def read_root() -> dict[str, str]:
     return {"app-api": f"version {__version__}"}
 
 
+@app.get("/health")
+def health() -> dict[str, str]:
+    """Health check for container orchestration and monitoring.
+
+    Stable endpoint: keep it when replacing the example endpoints below,
+    since Docker healthchecks and CI smoke tests rely on it.
+    """
+    return {"status": "ok"}
+
+
 @app.post("/predict")
 def predict(request: Request) -> Response:
     """Mock prediction endpoint."""
diff --git a/compose.yaml b/compose.yaml
index e61744e..defe62f 100644
--- a/compose.yaml
+++ b/compose.yaml
@@ -3,6 +3,19 @@ services:
     build: ./backend
     # The backend image runs uvicorn on port 80 (see backend/Dockerfile).
     # Not published to the host: the frontend's nginx proxies /api to it.
+    healthcheck:
+      # python (always present in the image) instead of curl/wget (not installed)
+      test:
+        [
+          "CMD",
+          "python",
+          "-c",
+          "import urllib.request; urllib.request.urlopen('http://127.0.0.1:80/health')",
+        ]
+      interval: 10s
+      timeout: 3s
+      retries: 5
+      start_period: 5s
 
   frontend:
     build: ./frontend
@@ -12,4 +25,5 @@ services:
       # Same nginx config as the image default, plus the /api -> backend proxy.
       - ./frontend/docker/nginx.compose.conf:/etc/nginx/conf.d/default.conf:ro
     depends_on:
-      - backend
+      backend:
+        condition: service_healthy
diff --git a/docs/backend-sync.md b/docs/backend-sync.md
index 81385de..ac973ce 100644
--- a/docs/backend-sync.md
+++ b/docs/backend-sync.md
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ three post-render adjustments:
    backend's pyproject is not at the git root, so the version must be derived from this
    repo's metadata. (Cleaner long-term fix: an `scm_root` question in the template.)
 3. **Point `_src_path`** in `.copier-answers.yml` at the template's GitHub URL and keep
-   the file — projects created from react-template use it to run `copier update` on
+   the file — projects created from react-fastapi-template use it to run `copier update` on
    their own backends.
 
 Then `uv lock` (with `SETUPTOOLS_SCM_PRETEND_VERSION`) and `uvx sync-with-uv`, exactly
@@ -56,11 +56,11 @@ red PR instead of a silent break.
 
 ## Workflow for python-copier-template
 
-Ready to drop in as `.github/workflows/sync-react-template.yml` (mirrors the existing
+Ready to drop in as `.github/workflows/sync-react-fastapi-template.yml` (mirrors the existing
 `sync-template.yml`; requires the same `GH_TOKEN` secret):
 
 ```yaml
-name: sync-react-template
+name: sync-react-fastapi-template
 
 on:
   push:
@@ -88,9 +88,9 @@ jobs:
         run: |
           copier copy --defaults --vcs-ref=HEAD \
             --data project_name="React Template Backend" \
-            --data project_description="FastAPI backend for react-template" \
+            --data project_description="FastAPI backend for react-fastapi-template" \
             --data package_name="app" \
-            --data github_repo="react-template" \
+            --data github_repo="react-fastapi-template" \
             --data project_type="application" \
             --data python_version="3.14" \
             --data include_api=true \
@@ -98,10 +98,15 @@ jobs:
             --data include_docker=true \
             . /tmp/rendered
 
+      # backend/ is a subdirectory of react-fastapi-template, not a repo root: its
+      # workflows are owned by react-fastapi-template (rendered ones assume repo root)
+      # and its version must derive from react-fastapi-template's git metadata.
+      # Keep .copier-answers.yml (pointed at this repo's URL) so projects
+      # created from react-fastapi-template can `copier update` their backends.
       - name: Adjust render for subdirectory embedding
         run: |
           rm -rf /tmp/rendered/.github
-          sed -i 's|^\[tool.setuptools_scm\]$|[tool.setuptools_scm]\nroot = ".."|' \
+          sed -i 's|^\[tool.setuptools_scm\]$|[tool.setuptools_scm]\n# Backend lives in a subdirectory of the react-fastapi-template repo; version comes\n# from the repo root git metadata (applied by the template sync job)\nroot = ".."|' \
             /tmp/rendered/pyproject.toml
           sed -i 's|^_src_path:.*|_src_path: https://github.com/Komorebi-AI/python-copier-template.git|' \
             /tmp/rendered/.copier-answers.yml
@@ -116,22 +121,22 @@ jobs:
         run: uvx sync-with-uv
         working-directory: /tmp/rendered
 
-      - name: Checkout react-template
+      - name: Checkout react-fastapi-template
         uses: actions/checkout@v6
         with:
-          repository: Komorebi-AI/react-template
+          repository: Komorebi-AI/react-fastapi-template
           token: ${{ secrets.GH_TOKEN }}
-          path: react-template
+          path: react-fastapi-template
 
       - name: Replace backend/
         run: |
-          rm -rf react-template/backend
-          mkdir react-template/backend
-          cp -r /tmp/rendered/. react-template/backend/
+          rm -rf react-fastapi-template/backend
+          mkdir react-fastapi-template/backend
+          cp -r /tmp/rendered/. react-fastapi-template/backend/
 
       - name: Check for changes
         id: changes
-        working-directory: react-template
+        working-directory: react-fastapi-template
         run: |
           git add -A
           if git diff --cached --quiet; then
@@ -142,7 +147,7 @@ jobs:
 
       - name: Create pull request
         if: steps.changes.outputs.has_changes == 'true'
-        working-directory: react-template
+        working-directory: react-fastapi-template
         env:
           GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GH_TOKEN }}
         run: |
@@ -158,10 +163,10 @@ jobs:
           if ! gh pr list --head "$BRANCH" --json number --jq '.[0].number' | grep -q .; then
             gh pr create \
               --title "sync: update backend/ from python-copier-template" \
-              --body "Automated sync of backend/ from python-copier-template."
+              --body "Automated sync of backend/ from [python-copier-template](https://github.com/Komorebi-AI/python-copier-template)."
           fi
 
-          # Requires react-template branch protection with the Backend and
+          # Requires react-fastapi-template branch protection with the Backend and
           # Contract checks required, and "Allow auto-merge" enabled.
           gh pr merge "$BRANCH" --auto --squash
 ```
diff --git a/frontend/package-lock.json b/frontend/package-lock.json
index e374791..521ca33 100644
--- a/frontend/package-lock.json
+++ b/frontend/package-lock.json
@@ -1,11 +1,11 @@
 {
-  "name": "react-template",
+  "name": "react-fastapi-template",
   "version": "1.0.0",
   "lockfileVersion": 3,
   "requires": true,
   "packages": {
     "": {
-      "name": "react-template",
+      "name": "react-fastapi-template",
       "version": "1.0.0",
       "dependencies": {
         "@emotion/react": "^11.14.0",
diff --git a/frontend/package.json b/frontend/package.json
index e1d9e2e..a1fcf0f 100644
--- a/frontend/package.json
+++ b/frontend/package.json
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 {
-  "name": "react-template",
+  "name": "react-fastapi-template",
   "version": "1.0.0",
   "private": true,
   "type": "module",