diff --git a/LICENSE b/LICENSE
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..508643e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/LICENSE
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+Verstak Desktop
+Copyright (C) 2026 Verstak contributors
+
+This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under
+the terms of the GNU Affero General Public License as published by the Free
+Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any
+later version.
+
+This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT
+ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS
+FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU Affero General Public License for more
+details.
+
+The complete license text is available at:
+https://www.gnu.org/licenses/agpl-3.0.html
+
+SPDX-License-Identifier: AGPL-3.0-or-later
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 68d4610..cc67c2e 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -1,3 +1,81 @@
-# verstak-desktop
+# Verstak Desktop
 
-Verstak Core Platform + UI Shell — plugin runtime, capability registry, vault API, event bus, sync client
\ No newline at end of file
+Verstak is a local-first desktop workspace for files, notes, browser captures,
+activity and work journal entries. This repository contains the Go/Wails desktop
+host and UI shell; user-facing functions are delivered by official plugins.
+
+> **Alpha software.** Use a disposable vault while evaluating it. APIs, storage
+> formats and packaging can change before the first stable release.
+
+## What the alpha does
+
+- keeps each workspace's identity independent of its current directory name;
+- keeps browser captures in a reviewable Inbox, with archive and restore rather
+  than a destructive “remove from inbox” action;
+- records local file/note activity and, after review, turns it into journal
+  entries without creating a workspace automatically;
+- accepts optional browser domain-time batches. The browser extension is
+  opt-in: it sends only normalized domain names and bounded durations, never
+  URLs, page titles, page contents, keystrokes or navigation history;
+- runs official plugins from a `plugins/` directory next to the executable.
+
+## Components
+
+Clone these repositories as siblings when building a complete local setup:
+
+| Repository | Purpose |
+| --- | --- |
+| `verstak-desktop` | desktop host and UI shell |
+| `verstak-official-plugins` | Files, Notes, Browser Inbox, Activity, Journal and other official plugins |
+| `verstak-browser-extension` | Chromium/Firefox capture and optional domain-activity extension |
+| `verstak-sdk` | plugin manifest schema and TypeScript API |
+
+## Build from source (Linux)
+
+Requirements: Go, Node.js with npm, Python 3, the [Wails v2 build
+prerequisites](https://wails.io/docs/gettingstarted/installation/), and the
+WebKitGTK development package for your distribution.
+
+```bash
+git clone https://git.mirv.top/verstak/verstak-sdk.git
+git clone https://git.mirv.top/verstak/verstak-official-plugins.git
+git clone https://git.mirv.top/verstak/verstak-desktop.git
+git clone https://git.mirv.top/verstak/verstak-browser-extension.git
+
+cd verstak-sdk && ./scripts/build.sh
+cd ../verstak-official-plugins && ./scripts/build.sh
+cd ../verstak-desktop
+./scripts/install-dev-plugins.sh
+./scripts/build.sh
+```
+
+The Linux executable is placed in `build/bin/`. Start it with `--debug` to
+display internal plugin-provider IDs and write diagnostic logs.
+
+## Release artifacts
+
+Maintainers can create a Linux desktop tarball after the sibling repositories
+above have been built:
+
+```bash
+cd verstak-desktop
+./scripts/release.sh v0.1.0-alpha.1
+```
+
+It writes `release/verstak-desktop-linux-amd64-<version>.tar.gz` and a matching
+`SHA256SUMS` file. The archive is self-contained: unpack it and run the
+included executable. Browser and SDK packages have their own release scripts
+in their repositories.
+
+## Privacy and activity tracking
+
+The extension's passive domain tracker is disabled by default. Enabling it
+requires an explicit choice in the extension and lets the user maintain a
+domain exclusion list. Manual page, selection and link captures are separate
+actions; they enter Browser Inbox and never create a workspace or journal
+entry by themselves.
+
+## License
+
+Copyright © 2026 Verstak contributors. Licensed under
+[GNU AGPLv3 or later](LICENSE).
diff --git a/scripts/release.sh b/scripts/release.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..0399ec2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/release.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -euo pipefail
+
+ROOT="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")/.." && pwd)"
+VERSION="${1:-}"
+
+if [[ -z "$VERSION" || ! "$VERSION" =~ ^[A-Za-z0-9][A-Za-z0-9._-]*$ ]]; then
+  echo "usage: $0 <version>" >&2
+  echo "example: $0 v0.1.0-alpha.1" >&2
+  exit 2
+fi
+
+OFFICIAL_PLUGINS="${VERSTAK_OFFICIAL_PLUGINS_DIR:-$ROOT/../verstak-official-plugins}"
+if [[ ! -d "$OFFICIAL_PLUGINS" ]]; then
+  echo "official plugins repository not found: $OFFICIAL_PLUGINS" >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+echo "=== verstak desktop release $VERSION ==="
+(cd "$OFFICIAL_PLUGINS" && ./scripts/build.sh)
+"$ROOT/scripts/install-dev-plugins.sh"
+"$ROOT/scripts/build.sh"
+
+BINARY="$(find "$ROOT/build/bin" -maxdepth 1 -type f -name 'verstak-desktop*' -print -quit)"
+if [[ -z "$BINARY" ]]; then
+  echo "desktop binary was not produced in build/bin" >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+RELEASE_ROOT="$ROOT/release"
+STAGING="$RELEASE_ROOT/verstak-desktop-$VERSION-linux-amd64"
+ARCHIVE="$RELEASE_ROOT/verstak-desktop-linux-amd64-$VERSION.tar.gz"
+rm -rf "$STAGING" "$ARCHIVE"
+mkdir -p "$STAGING"
+
+cp "$BINARY" "$STAGING/verstak-desktop"
+cp "$ROOT/README.md" "$ROOT/LICENSE" "$STAGING/"
+cp -R "$ROOT/plugins" "$STAGING/plugins"
+tar -C "$RELEASE_ROOT" -czf "$ARCHIVE" "$(basename "$STAGING")"
+(cd "$RELEASE_ROOT" && sha256sum "$(basename "$ARCHIVE")" > SHA256SUMS)
+
+echo "release archive: $ARCHIVE"
+echo "checksums:       $RELEASE_ROOT/SHA256SUMS"