diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
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+++ b/README.md
@@ -1,35 +1,66 @@
-# Even Realities G2 — App Lab
+# Even G2 App Lab 🕶️⭐
 
-Dev workspace for Even G2 smart glasses apps. Naming theme: constellations/stars.
+> **The repo that gives back.** Everything here — docs, tooling notes, starter code, hard-won gotchas — is free for every Even Realities G2 developer. Take it, build on it, ship faster.
 
-## Toolchain (all installed globally)
-| Tool | Command | Version |
-|---|---|---|
-| Even Hub CLI | `evenhub` / `eh` | 0.1.13 |
-| Simulator | `evenhub-simulator` | 0.8.0 |
-| SDK (per-app dep) | `@evenrealities/even_hub_sdk` | 0.0.14 |
-| Node | v26.8.1 | — |
+Built and maintained by **drjones** — homelab warlord, red teamer, and the guy who reads the SDK type definitions so you don't have to. If this repo saved you a weekend of debugging, pour one out for the countless hours spent discovering that the simulator sends `sysEvent` but hardware sends `textEvent`.
 
-## Layout
-- `apps/` — one folder per app (web apps: Vite + TypeScript + SDK)
-- `docs/` — full Even Realities developer docs snapshot
-- `docs/pages/` — per-page markdown
-- `docs/site-data.json` / `docs/links.txt` — doc index
+## What's in here
+
+| Path | What it is |
+|---|---|
+| `apps/` | Working G2 apps — each one verified in the simulator before it lands |
+| `docs/pages/` | Full snapshot of the official Even Realities developer docs, converted to clean markdown (28 pages) — grep it, feed it to your agent, don't scrape it again |
+| `README.md` | This love letter |
+
+## Why this exists
+
+The G2 platform is awesome but the docs are a website and the SDK is a black box. This repo is:
+
+1. **A local docs mirror** — the entire developer documentation, markdown-ified, so it's searchable offline and LLM-friendly
+2. **Proven starter code** — every app here has been booted in the simulator, click-tested through the automation API, and screenshot-verified on the framebuffer
+3. **A graveyard of gotchas** — so they only kill each of us once
+
+## The golden gotchas (learned the hard way)
+
+- **Simulator ≠ hardware**: simulator clicks arrive as `sysEvent`, real glasses send `textEvent`. Handle BOTH or your app works in dev and dies in the wild.
+- **SDK 0.0.14 API**: bridge methods are on the instance (`bridge.createStartUpPageContainer(...)`), containers must be **class instances** (`new TextContainerProperty({...})`), not plain objects.
+- **`min_sdk_version` in `app.json` must match** the SDK version in `node_modules` — mismatch = rejected.
+- **HMR breaks the bridge** — restart the simulator after code changes.
+- **`waitForEvenAppBridge()` before everything** — instant in sim, waits on hardware.
+- **Network whitelist is NOT a CORS bypass** — your API needs real CORS headers too.
+- **npm `omit=dev` silently skips devDependencies** — check `npm config get omit` if `tsc` "doesn't exist".
+
+## Toolchain
+
+| Tool | Version |
+|---|---|
+| `evenhub` CLI | 0.1.13 |
+| `evenhub-simulator` | 0.8.0 |
+| `@evenrealities/even_hub_sdk` | 0.0.14 |
+| Node | 20+ |
+
+## Quick start (one app, five commands)
 
-## Quick loop
 ```bash
-cd apps/<name>
-npm run dev                                    # Vite on :5173
+npm create vite@latest my-app -- --template vanilla-ts
+cd my-app && npm install
+npm install @evenrealities/even_hub_sdk@latest
+npm run dev                                    # :5173
 evenhub-simulator http://localhost:5173/ --automation-port 9898
+```
+
+Then drive it like a robot (the way apps should be tested):
+
+```bash
 curl http://127.0.0.1:9898/api/ping            # -> pong
 curl -X POST http://127.0.0.1:9898/api/input -H 'Content-Type: application/json' -d '{"action":"click"}'
 curl -s http://127.0.0.1:9898/api/screenshot/glasses -o frame.png
 ```
 
-## Critical platform notes
-- Simulator sends clicks as `sysEvent`, hardware as `textEvent` — handlers must accept BOTH.
-- `min_sdk_version` in app.json must match the installed SDK version.
-- HMR reloads break the bridge — restart simulator after code changes.
-- `waitForEvenAppBridge()` before any SDK call.
-- Network whitelist ≠ CORS bypass — remote API needs real CORS headers too.
-- Full reference: docs/pages/
+## License / ethos
+
+Copy freely. The glasses render monochrome green at 576×288 — there's enough room in this world for all our apps. 🟢
+
+---
+
+*Hydroponics, homelabs, and head-mounted displays. — Indiana "drjones" Holmes*