diff --git a/.changeset/warm-actors-attend.md b/.changeset/warm-actors-attend.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..9b5927dffe
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/warm-actors-attend.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+'@backstage/create-app': patch
+---
+
+Tweaked `.eslintrc.js` files in the template to avoid having them apply during development. This change does not affect create apps.
diff --git a/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/.eslintrc.js b/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/.eslintrc.js.hbs
similarity index 100%
rename from packages/create-app/templates/default-app/.eslintrc.js
rename to packages/create-app/templates/default-app/.eslintrc.js.hbs
diff --git a/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/packages/app/.eslintrc.js b/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/packages/app/.eslintrc.js.hbs
similarity index 100%
rename from packages/create-app/templates/default-app/packages/app/.eslintrc.js
rename to packages/create-app/templates/default-app/packages/app/.eslintrc.js.hbs
diff --git a/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/packages/backend/.eslintrc.js b/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/packages/backend/.eslintrc.js.hbs
similarity index 100%
rename from packages/create-app/templates/default-app/packages/backend/.eslintrc.js
rename to packages/create-app/templates/default-app/packages/backend/.eslintrc.js.hbs