diff --git a/utilities/new_client.py b/utilities/new_client.py
index 9b3ddcb1ae9a..43fb4b776514 100644
--- a/utilities/new_client.py
+++ b/utilities/new_client.py
@@ -206,7 +206,7 @@ def update_stub_packages(ctx: Context) -> None:
 
 def write_readme(ctx: Context) -> None:
     """Creates a README.md from a template."""
-    template = ctx.jinja_env.get_template("README.md")
+    template = ctx.jinja_env.get_template("README.md.tmpl")
     pom = template.stream(
         api_version=ctx.api_version,
         description=ctx.description,
diff --git a/utilities/templates/README.md b/utilities/templates/README.md.tmpl
similarity index 100%
rename from utilities/templates/README.md
rename to utilities/templates/README.md.tmpl