diff --git a/synth.py b/synth.py
index 091e63d5ab1..f36a3d5c3b6 100644
--- a/synth.py
+++ b/synth.py
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
 logging.basicConfig(level=logging.DEBUG)
 common_templates = gcp.CommonTemplates()
 templates = common_templates.node_library()
-s.copy(templates, excludes=[".github/CONTRIBUTING.md"])
+s.copy(templates, excludes=[".github/CONTRIBUTING.md", "README.md"])
 
 # repository_url = "https://github.com/googleapis/google-api-nodejs-client.git"
 # log.debug(f"Cloning {repository_url}.")