diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c234a33
--- /dev/null
+++ b/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+# go-agentic
+
+AI service lifecycle and task management library for the Lethean agent platform. Provides per-agent token quota enforcement with Memory, SQLite, and Redis backends; an agent registry with heartbeat and reap semantics; a priority-based task router and dispatch loop with exponential backoff and dead-lettering; context building from git history and source files; and a `claude` CLI subprocess runner for commit and prompt tasks. Integrates with the Core dependency injection framework as a named service.
+
+**Module**: `forge.lthn.ai/core/go-agentic`
+**Licence**: EUPL-1.2
+**Language**: Go 1.25
+
+## Quick Start
+
+```go
+import "forge.lthn.ai/core/go-agentic"
+
+// Allowance enforcement
+svc := agentic.NewAllowanceService(agentic.NewSQLiteStore("~/.config/agentic/allowance.db"))
+if err := svc.Check(agentID, model); err != nil {
+    // quota exceeded
+}
+
+// Dispatch loop
+dispatcher := agentic.NewDispatcher(registry, router, svc, client)
+go dispatcher.DispatchLoop(ctx, 60*time.Second)
+```
+
+## Documentation
+
+- [Architecture](docs/architecture.md) — allowance management, agent registry, task router, dispatch loop, context builder
+- [Development Guide](docs/development.md) — building, testing, contributing
+- [Project History](docs/history.md) — completed phases and known limitations
+
+## Build & Test
+
+```bash
+go test ./...
+go test -race ./...
+go build ./...
+```
+
+## Licence
+
+European Union Public Licence 1.2 — see [LICENCE](LICENCE) for details.