diff --git a/src/mcp_agent/cli/commands/init.py b/src/mcp_agent/cli/commands/init.py
index 1fb9a618f..e32bf6cc0 100644
--- a/src/mcp_agent/cli/commands/init.py
+++ b/src/mcp_agent/cli/commands/init.py
@@ -75,6 +75,26 @@ def _write_readme(dir_path: Path, content: str, force: bool) -> str | None:
     return None
 
 
+def _write_requirements(dir_path: Path, content: str, force: bool) -> str | None:
+    """Create a requirements.txt file with fallback logging if one already exists.
+
+    Returns the filename created, or None if it could not be written (in which case
+    the content is printed to console as a fallback).
+    """
+    path = dir_path / "requirements.txt"
+    if not path.exists() or force:
+        ok = _write(path, content, force)
+        if ok:
+            return "requirements.txt"
+    # Fallback: print content to console if we couldn't write the file
+    console.print(
+        "\n[yellow]A requirements.txt already exists and could not be overwritten.[/yellow]"
+    )
+    console.print("[bold]Suggested requirements.txt contents:[/bold]\n")
+    console.print(content)
+    return None
+
+
 def _copy_pkg_tree(pkg_rel: str, dst: Path, force: bool) -> int:
     """Copy packaged examples from mcp_agent.data/examples/<pkg_rel> into dst.
 
@@ -82,11 +102,7 @@ def _copy_pkg_tree(pkg_rel: str, dst: Path, force: bool) -> int:
     Returns 1 on success, 0 on failure.
     """
     try:
-        root = (
-            resources.files("mcp_agent.data")
-            .joinpath("examples")
-            .joinpath(pkg_rel)
-        )
+        root = resources.files("mcp_agent.data").joinpath("examples").joinpath(pkg_rel)
     except Exception:
         return 0
     if not root.exists():
@@ -116,7 +132,9 @@ def init(
     ctx: typer.Context,
     dir: Path = typer.Option(Path("."), "--dir", "-d", help="Target directory"),
     template: str = typer.Option("basic", "--template", "-t", help="Template to use"),
-    quickstart: str = typer.Option(None, "--quickstart", help="Quickstart mode: copy example without config files"),
+    quickstart: str = typer.Option(
+        None, "--quickstart", help="Quickstart mode: copy example without config files"
+    ),
     force: bool = typer.Option(False, "--force", "-f", help="Overwrite existing files"),
     no_gitignore: bool = typer.Option(
         False, "--no-gitignore", help="Skip creating .gitignore"
@@ -172,7 +190,10 @@ def init(
         "mcp-basic-agent": ("mcp_basic_agent", "basic/mcp_basic_agent"),
         "token-counter": ("token_counter", "basic/token_counter"),
         "agent-factory": ("agent_factory", "basic/agent_factory"),
-        "reference-agent-server": ("reference_agent_server", "mcp_agent_server/reference"),
+        "reference-agent-server": (
+            "reference_agent_server",
+            "mcp_agent_server/reference",
+        ),
         "elicitation": ("elicitation", "mcp_agent_server/elicitation"),
         "sampling": ("sampling", "mcp_agent_server/sampling"),
         "notifications": ("notifications", "mcp_agent_server/notifications"),
@@ -187,7 +208,9 @@ def init(
 
         # Templates table
         console.print("[bold cyan]Templates:[/bold cyan]")
-        console.print("[dim]Creates minimal project structure with config files[/dim]\n")
+        console.print(
+            "[dim]Creates minimal project structure with config files[/dim]\n"
+        )
         table1 = Table(show_header=True, header_style="cyan")
         table1.add_column("Template", style="green")
         table1.add_column("Description")
@@ -233,7 +256,9 @@ def init(
         if copied:
             console.print(f"Copied {copied} set(s) to {dst}")
         else:
-            console.print(f"[yellow]Could not copy '{quickstart}' - destination may already exist[/yellow]")
+            console.print(
+                f"[yellow]Could not copy '{quickstart}' - destination may already exist[/yellow]"
+            )
             console.print("Use --force to overwrite")
 
         return
@@ -285,7 +310,9 @@ def init(
         copied = _copy_pkg_tree(pkg_rel, dst, force)
 
         if copied:
-            console.print(f"\n[green]✅ Successfully copied example '{template}'![/green]")
+            console.print(
+                f"\n[green]✅ Successfully copied example '{template}'![/green]"
+            )
             console.print(f"Created: [cyan]{dst}[/cyan]\n")
             console.print("[bold]Next steps:[/bold]")
             console.print(f"1. cd [cyan]{dst}[/cyan]")
@@ -293,7 +320,9 @@ def init(
             console.print("3. Add your API keys to config/secrets files if needed")
         else:
             console.print(f"[yellow]Example '{template}' could not be copied[/yellow]")
-            console.print("The destination may already exist. Use --force to overwrite.")
+            console.print(
+                "The destination may already exist. Use --force to overwrite."
+            )
 
         return
 
@@ -337,6 +366,13 @@ def init(
             if created:
                 files_created.append(created)
 
+        # Add basic requirements.txt
+        requirements_content = _load_template("requirements.txt")
+        if requirements_content:
+            created = _write_requirements(dir, requirements_content, force)
+            if created:
+                files_created.append(created)
+
     elif template == "server":
         server_path = dir / "server.py"
         server_content = _load_template("basic_agent_server.py")
diff --git a/src/mcp_agent/data/templates/README_init.md b/src/mcp_agent/data/templates/README_init.md
index 7a2bb3599..a424105fb 100644
--- a/src/mcp_agent/data/templates/README_init.md
+++ b/src/mcp_agent/data/templates/README_init.md
@@ -15,10 +15,9 @@ Welcome! This project was generated by `mcp-agent init`. It’s a minimal, reada
 
 ## Quick start
 
-1. Add API keys to `mcp_agent.secrets.yaml` (or set env vars):
+1. Add your OpenAI API key to `mcp_agent.secrets.yaml` (or set `OPENAI_API_KEY` env var).
 
-   - `OPENAI_API_KEY` (recommended)
-   - `ANTHROPIC_API_KEY` (optional)
+NOTE: You can use another supported provider (e.g. Anthropic) instead, just be sure to set its API key in the `mcp_agent.secrets.yaml` (or set its env var) and import/use the relevant `AugmentedLLM` in `main.py`.
 
 2. Review `mcp_agent.config.yaml`:
 
@@ -30,6 +29,7 @@ Welcome! This project was generated by `mcp-agent init`. It’s a minimal, reada
 3. Run locally:
 
 ```bash
+uv pip install -r requirements.txt
 uv run main.py
 ```
 
@@ -38,23 +38,58 @@ You’ll see two summaries printed:
 - A summary of `README.md` from your current directory.
 - A summary of the intro page at modelcontextprotocol.io.
 
-4. Deploy a remote MCP server:
-
-### Run as an MCP server
+4. Run locally as an MCP server:
 
 - In `main.py`, UNCOMMENT the server lines that call `create_mcp_server_for_app(agent_app)` and `run_sse_async()`.
 - Start the server: `uv run main.py`
+- Once you see the server started, e.g.
+  ```bash
+  Uvicorn running on http://127.0.0.1:8000
+  ```
+  you can connect to it with your preferred MCP Client. For example, you can use [MCP Inspector](https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/inspector) to explore and test the server:
+
+```bash
+npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector --transport sse --server-url http://127.0.0.1:8000/sse
+```
+
+5. Deploy as a remote MCP server:
+
+When you're ready to deploy, ensure the required API keys are set in `mcp_agent.secrets.yaml` and then run:
+
+```bash
+uv run mcp-agent login
+```
+
+to authenticate to mcp-agent cloud. You will be redirected to the login page, create an mcp-agent cloud account through Google or Github.
 
-When you're ready to deploy, simply run:
+Set up your mcp-agent cloud API Key and copy & paste it into your terminal
 
 ```bash
-mcp-agent deploy "hello_world"
+INFO: Directing to MCP Agent Cloud API login...
+Please enter your API key 🔑:
 ```
 
-- This wraps your app as a hosted MCP SSE server.
-- Anything decorated with `@app.tool` (or `@app.async_tool`) runs as a Temporal workflow in the cloud.
+In your terminal, deploy the MCP app:
+
+```bash
+uv run mcp-agent deploy hello_world
+```
+
+You will then be prompted to specify the type of secret to save your OpenAI API key as. Select (1) deployment secret so that it is available to the deployed server.
+
+The `deploy` command will bundle the app files and deploy them, wrapping your app as a hosted MCP SSE server with a URL of the form:
+`https://<server_id>.deployments.mcp-agent.com`.
+
+Anything decorated with `@app.tool` (or `@app.async_tool`) runs as a Temporal workflow in the cloud.
+
+Since the mcp-agent app is exposed as an MCP server, it can be used in any MCP client just
+like any other MCP server. For example, you can inspect and test the server using MCP Inspector:
+
+```bash
+npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector --transport sse --server-url https://<server_id>.deployments.mcp-agent.com/sse
+```
 
-Notes
+## Notes
 
 - `app_ctx` is the MCPApp Context (configuration, logger, upstream session, etc.).
 - Logging uses `app.logger` and is forwarded as notifications when connected to an MCP client.
diff --git a/src/mcp_agent/data/templates/basic_agent.py b/src/mcp_agent/data/templates/basic_agent.py
index 8cfc33f3a..3277e643f 100644
--- a/src/mcp_agent/data/templates/basic_agent.py
+++ b/src/mcp_agent/data/templates/basic_agent.py
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
   - @app.tool and @app.async_tool decorators to expose your agents as long-running tools on an MCP server.
   - Advanced MCP features: Notifications, sampling, and elicitation
 
-You can run this example locally using "uv run main.py", and also deploy it as an MCP server using "mcp-agent deploy".
+You can run this example locally using "uv run main.py", and also deploy it as an MCP server using "uv run mcp-agent deploy".
 
 Let's get started!
 """
@@ -21,7 +21,12 @@
 from mcp_agent.agents.agent import Agent
 from mcp_agent.agents.agent_spec import AgentSpec
 from mcp_agent.core.context import Context as AppContext
+
+# UNCOMMENT to run this MCPApp as a server
+# from mcp_agent.server.app_server import create_mcp_server_for_app
 from mcp_agent.workflows.factory import create_agent
+
+# We are using the OpenAI augmented LLM for this example but you can swap with others (e.g. AnthropicAugmentedLLM)
 from mcp_agent.workflows.llm.augmented_llm_openai import OpenAIAugmentedLLM
 
 # Create the MCPApp, the root of mcp-agent.
@@ -134,7 +139,8 @@ async def main():
         print("Webpage summary:")
         print(webpage_summary)
 
-        # UNCOMMENT to run this MCPApp as an MCP server
+        # UNCOMMENT to run this MCPApp as an MCP server (also uncomment the import of create_mcp_server_for_app at the top)
+        # NOTE: You can comment-out the above agent runs if you only want to run the server
         #########################################################
         # Create the MCP server that exposes both workflows and agent configurations,
         # optionally using custom FastMCP settings
@@ -148,7 +154,7 @@ async def main():
     asyncio.run(main())
 
 # When you're ready to deploy this MCPApp as a remote SSE server, run:
-# > mcp-agent deploy "hello_world"
+# > uv run mcp-agent deploy "hello_world"
 #
 # Congrats! You made it to the end of the getting-started example!
 # There is a lot more that mcp-agent can do, and we hope you'll explore the rest of the documentation.
diff --git a/src/mcp_agent/data/templates/requirements.txt b/src/mcp_agent/data/templates/requirements.txt
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..b33e65149
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/mcp_agent/data/templates/requirements.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+mcp-agent
+
+# Optionally, include additional dependencies required for this project
+openai
+# anthropic
diff --git a/src/mcp_agent/data/templates/secrets.yaml b/src/mcp_agent/data/templates/secrets.yaml
index 7e80da4fc..d3d6a0cb0 100644
--- a/src/mcp_agent/data/templates/secrets.yaml
+++ b/src/mcp_agent/data/templates/secrets.yaml
@@ -2,26 +2,27 @@
 # WARNING: Keep this file secure and never commit to version control
 
 # Provider API Keys
+# We default to OpenAI, but you can configure your preferred providers here.
 # You can also set these as environment variables instead
 openai:
-  api_key: ""  # Or use OPENAI_API_KEY env var
+  api_key: "" # Or remove and use OPENAI_API_KEY env var
 
-anthropic:
-  api_key: ""  # Or use ANTHROPIC_API_KEY env var
+# anthropic:
+#   api_key: ""  # Or remove and use ANTHROPIC_API_KEY env var
 
-google:
-  api_key: ""  # Or use GOOGLE_API_KEY env var
+# google:
+#   api_key: ""  # Or remove and use GOOGLE_API_KEY env var
 
-azure:
-  api_key: ""  # Or use AZURE_API_KEY env var
-  base_url: ""  # https://your-resource.openai.azure.com/
-  api_version: "2024-02-01"
-  # use_default_azure_credential: false  # Set to true for DefaultAzureCredential
+# azure:
+#   api_key: ""  # Or remove and use AZURE_API_KEY env var
+#   base_url: ""  # https://your-resource.openai.azure.com/
+#   api_version: "2024-02-01"
+#   # use_default_azure_credential: false  # Set to true for DefaultAzureCredential
 
-bedrock:
-  aws_access_key_id: ""  # Or use AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID env var
-  aws_secret_access_key: ""  # Or use AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY env var
-  aws_region: "us-east-1"
+# bedrock:
+#   aws_access_key_id: ""  # Or remove and use AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID env var
+#   aws_secret_access_key: ""  # Or remove and use AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY env var
+#   aws_region: "us-east-1"
 
 # MCP Server environment variables
 # mcp:
@@ -31,4 +32,4 @@ bedrock:
 #         GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN: ghp_...
 #     brave-search:
 #       env:
-#         BRAVE_API_KEY: BSA_...
\ No newline at end of file
+#         BRAVE_API_KEY: BSA_...