diff --git a/packages/app/control/scripts/seed-test-referral-data.ts b/packages/app/control/scripts/seed-test-referral-data.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..37de23046
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/app/control/scripts/seed-test-referral-data.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,108 @@
+/**
+ * Script to seed test data for local template referral testing
+ * 
+ * Creates:
+ * - Test user with GitHub link
+ * - Test app with membership
+ * - Returns app ID for use with echo-start
+ */
+
+import { PrismaClient } from '../src/generated/prisma/index.js';
+
+const prisma = new PrismaClient();
+
+async function main() {
+  console.log('Seeding test data for template referral system...\n');
+
+  // Create or get test user
+  const testEmail = 'test-template-user@example.com';
+  let user = await prisma.user.findUnique({
+    where: { email: testEmail },
+    include: { githubLink: true },
+  });
+
+  if (!user) {
+    console.log('Creating test user...');
+    user = await prisma.user.create({
+      data: {
+        email: testEmail,
+        name: 'Test Template User',
+        githubLink: {
+          create: {
+            githubId: 123456,
+            githubType: 'user',
+            githubUrl: 'https://github.com/Trynax',
+          },
+        },
+      },
+      include: { githubLink: true },
+    });
+    console.log(`Created user: ${user.email} (ID: ${user.id})`);
+  } else {
+    console.log(`Found existing user: ${user.email} (ID: ${user.id})`);
+    
+    // Ensure GitHub link exists
+    if (!user.githubLink) {
+      await prisma.githubLink.create({
+        data: {
+          userId: user.id,
+          githubId: 123456,
+          githubType: 'user',
+          githubUrl: 'https://github.com/Trynax',
+        },
+      });
+      console.log('✅ Added GitHub link for Trynax');
+    }
+  }
+
+  // Create or get test app
+  const testAppName = 'Test Template Referral App';
+  let app = await prisma.echoApp.findFirst({
+    where: { name: testAppName },
+    include: { appMemberships: true },
+  });
+
+  if (!app) {
+    console.log('\nCreating test app...');
+    app = await prisma.echoApp.create({
+      data: {
+        name: testAppName,
+        appMemberships: {
+          create: {
+            userId: user.id,
+            role: 'OWNER',
+            totalSpent: 0,
+          },
+        },
+      },
+      include: { appMemberships: true },
+    });
+    console.log(`Created app: ${app.name} (ID: ${app.id})`);
+  } else {
+    console.log(`\nFound existing app: ${app.name} (ID: ${app.id})`);
+  }
+
+  console.log('\nTest Data Summary:');
+  console.log('─────────────────────────────────────────────────────');
+  console.log(`User ID:        ${user.id}`);
+  console.log(`User Email:     ${user.email}`);
+  console.log(`GitHub URL:     ${user.githubLink?.githubUrl || 'https://github.com/Trynax'}`);
+  console.log(`App ID:         ${app.id}`);
+  console.log(`App Name:       ${app.name}`);
+  console.log('─────────────────────────────────────────────────────');
+  
+  console.log('\nTest Command:');
+  console.log(`cd /tmp && /root/developments/opensource/echo/packages/sdk/echo-start/dist/index.js \\`);
+  console.log(`  --template https://github.com/Trynax/commitcraft \\`);
+  console.log(`  --app-id ${app.id} \\`);
+  console.log(`  test-echo-local\n`);
+}
+
+main()
+  .catch((e) => {
+    console.error('Error seeding data:', e);
+    process.exit(1);
+  })
+  .finally(async () => {
+    await prisma.$disconnect();
+  });
diff --git a/packages/sdk/echo-start/src/index.ts b/packages/sdk/echo-start/src/index.ts
index e51102625..0ec4f5581 100644
--- a/packages/sdk/echo-start/src/index.ts
+++ b/packages/sdk/echo-start/src/index.ts
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import {
   outro,
   select,
   text,
+  confirm,
   spinner,
   log,
   isCancel,
@@ -14,6 +15,7 @@ import chalk from 'chalk';
 import { Command } from 'commander';
 import degit from 'degit';
 import { existsSync, readdirSync, readFileSync, writeFileSync } from 'fs';
+import { readFile } from 'fs/promises';
 import path from 'path';
 import { spawn } from 'child_process';
 
@@ -78,6 +80,10 @@ const DEFAULT_TEMPLATES = {
 type TemplateName = keyof typeof DEFAULT_TEMPLATES;
 type PackageManager = 'pnpm' | 'npm' | 'yarn' | 'bun';
 
+const ECHO_BASE_URL =
+  (typeof process !== 'undefined' && process.env?.ECHO_BASE_URL) ||
+  'https://echo.merit.systems';
+
 function printHeader(): void {
   console.log();
   console.log(`${chalk.cyan('Echo Start')} ${chalk.gray(`(${VERSION})`)}`);
@@ -181,6 +187,70 @@ function isExternalTemplate(template: string): boolean {
   );
 }
 
+async function extractReferralCodeFromTemplate(
+  templatePath: string
+): Promise<string | null> {
+  const configFile = path.join(templatePath, 'echo.config.json');
+
+  if (!existsSync(configFile)) {
+    return null;
+  }
+
+  try {
+    const content = await readFile(configFile, 'utf-8');
+    const config = JSON.parse(content);
+    return config.referralCode || config.echo?.referralCode || null;
+  } catch {
+    return null;
+  }
+}
+
+async function registerTemplateReferral(
+  appId: string,
+  templatePath: string,
+  apiKey: string
+): Promise<void> {
+  try {
+    const referralCode = await extractReferralCodeFromTemplate(templatePath);
+
+    if (!referralCode) {
+      log.info('No referral code found in template echo.config.json');
+      return;
+    }
+
+    log.step(`Found template referral code, applying...`);
+
+    const response = await fetch(`${ECHO_BASE_URL}/api/v1/user/referral`, {
+      method: 'POST',
+      headers: {
+        'Content-Type': 'application/json',
+        Authorization: `Bearer ${apiKey}`,
+      },
+      body: JSON.stringify({
+        echoAppId: appId,
+        code: referralCode,
+      }),
+    });
+
+    if (!response.ok) {
+      const errorData = (await response.json()) as { message?: string };
+      log.warn(
+        `Referral code could not be applied: ${errorData.message || 'Unknown error'}`
+      );
+      return;
+    }
+
+    const result = (await response.json()) as { success?: boolean };
+    if (result.success) {
+      log.success('Template referral code applied successfully');
+    }
+  } catch (error) {
+    log.warn(
+      `Referral registration error: ${error instanceof Error ? error.message : 'Unknown error'}`
+    );
+  }
+}
+
 function resolveTemplateRepo(template: string): string {
   let repo = template;
 
@@ -366,7 +436,36 @@ async function createApp(projectDir: string, options: CreateAppOptions) {
 
     log.step('Configuring project files');
 
-    // Update package.json with the name of the project
+    if (isExternal) {
+      const referralCode = await extractReferralCodeFromTemplate(
+        absoluteProjectPath
+      );
+
+      if (referralCode) {
+        const shouldApplyReferral = await confirm({
+          message: 'This template includes a referral code. Apply it?',
+          initialValue: true,
+        });
+
+        if (!isCancel(shouldApplyReferral) && shouldApplyReferral) {
+          const apiKey = await text({
+            message: 'Enter your Echo API key:',
+            placeholder: 'Your API key from https://echo.merit.systems/keys',
+            validate: (value: string) => {
+              if (!value.trim()) {
+                return 'API key is required to apply referral code';
+              }
+              return;
+            },
+          });
+
+          if (!isCancel(apiKey)) {
+            await registerTemplateReferral(appId, absoluteProjectPath, apiKey);
+          }
+        }
+      }
+    }
+
     const packageJsonPath = path.join(absoluteProjectPath, 'package.json');
     // Technically this is checked above, but good practice to check again
     if (existsSync(packageJsonPath)) {