diff --git a/target_versions.yml b/target_versions.yml
index 8191b681..92a08e11 100644
--- a/target_versions.yml
+++ b/target_versions.yml
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 #
 # This is stored in a separate file so we can share it between the template and
 # our CI configuration.
-target_rails_major_minor: '8.0' # specify as major.minor
+target_rails_major_minor: '8.1' # specify as major.minor
 
 # Set this to the minimum version of Ruby that the chosen Rails version supports.
 minimum_ruby_major_minor: '3.2'
diff --git a/variants/backend-base/app/template.rb b/variants/backend-base/app/template.rb
index f5a38d8b..5d7560cc 100644
--- a/variants/backend-base/app/template.rb
+++ b/variants/backend-base/app/template.rb
@@ -35,5 +35,3 @@
 
 remove_dir ".github/"
 remove_dir "app/views/pwa"
-remove_file "bin/dev"
-remove_file "bin/thrust"
diff --git a/variants/backend-base/bin/template.rb b/variants/backend-base/bin/template.rb
index b2952b48..4c6cdfdc 100644
--- a/variants/backend-base/bin/template.rb
+++ b/variants/backend-base/bin/template.rb
@@ -2,3 +2,7 @@
   copy_file "variants/backend-base/bin/#{bin}", "bin/#{bin}", force: true
   chmod "bin/#{bin}", "+x"
 end
+
+remove_file "bin/ci"
+remove_file "bin/dev"
+remove_file "bin/thrust"
diff --git a/variants/backend-base/config/environments/production.rb b/variants/backend-base/config/environments/production.rb
index d4823864..dd08f7c5 100644
--- a/variants/backend-base/config/environments/production.rb
+++ b/variants/backend-base/config/environments/production.rb
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@
            RUBY
 gsub_file! "config/environments/production.rb",
            <<-RUBY,
-  # Specify outgoing SMTP server. Remember to add smtp/* credentials via rails credentials:edit.
+  # Specify outgoing SMTP server. Remember to add smtp/* credentials via bin/rails credentials:edit.
   # config.action_mailer.smtp_settings = {
   #   user_name: Rails.application.credentials.dig(:smtp, :user_name),
   #   password: Rails.application.credentials.dig(:smtp, :password),
diff --git a/variants/backend-base/config/environments/staging.rb.tt b/variants/backend-base/config/environments/staging.rb.tt
index 3fa96ba0..f6399a32 100644
--- a/variants/backend-base/config/environments/staging.rb.tt
+++ b/variants/backend-base/config/environments/staging.rb.tt
@@ -4,7 +4,6 @@
 require_relative "production"
 
 Rails.application.configure do
-
   config.action_mailer.default_url_options = {
     host: "<%= TEMPLATE_CONFIG.staging_hostname %>",
     protocol: "https"
diff --git a/variants/backend-base/config/template.rb b/variants/backend-base/config/template.rb
index 5cb2bcf1..2ca886d8 100644
--- a/variants/backend-base/config/template.rb
+++ b/variants/backend-base/config/template.rb
@@ -6,6 +6,9 @@
 remove_file "config/master.key"
 remove_file "config/credentials.yml.enc"
 
+remove_file "config/ci"
+remove_file "config/bundler-audit.yml"
+
 copy_file "variants/backend-base/config/puma.rb", "config/puma.rb", force: true
 
 copy_file "variants/backend-base/config/initializers/generators.rb", "config/initializers/generators.rb"
@@ -57,23 +60,21 @@
   root "home#index"
 EO_ROUTES
 
-if File.exist? "config/storage.yml"
-  gsub_file! "config/storage.yml", /#   service: S3/ do
-    <<~YAML
-      #   service: S3
-      #   upload:
-      #     # TEAM DECISION REQUIRED: The correct caching duration for files
-      #     # stored by Active Storage is project dependent so you should discuss
-      #     # this with you team if you don't feel able to make the decision solo.
-      #     #
-      #     # These options are are not well documented in ActiveStorage. They
-      #     # are passed directly to the S3 SDK. Details:
-      #     # https://github.com/rails/rails/blob/master/activestorage/lib/active_storage/service/s3_service.rb
-      #     #
-      #     # * private: the browser should cache but intermediate proxies (e.g. CDNs) should not
-      #     # * max-age: the number of seconds to cache the file for
-      #     #
-      #     cache_control: 'private, max-age=<%= 365.days.seconds %>'
-    YAML
-  end
+gsub_file! "config/storage.yml", /#   service: S3/ do
+  <<~YAML
+    #   service: S3
+    #   upload:
+    #     # TEAM DECISION REQUIRED: The correct caching duration for files
+    #     # stored by Active Storage is project dependent so you should discuss
+    #     # this with you team if you don't feel able to make the decision solo.
+    #     #
+    #     # These options are are not well documented in ActiveStorage. They
+    #     # are passed directly to the S3 SDK. Details:
+    #     # https://github.com/rails/rails/blob/master/activestorage/lib/active_storage/service/s3_service.rb
+    #     #
+    #     # * private: the browser should cache but intermediate proxies (e.g. CDNs) should not
+    #     # * max-age: the number of seconds to cache the file for
+    #     #
+    #     cache_control: 'private, max-age=<%= 365.days.seconds %>'
+  YAML
 end