diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d7b7d90
--- /dev/null
+++ b/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,131 @@
+# shannoncoat
+
+*which coat will Claude wear today?*
+
+Run multiple isolated Claude profiles on macOS — each one its own Claude Desktop
+**and** its own paired Claude Code setup — and tell their windows apart at a
+glance.
+
+Your normal Claude install is left completely alone. It stays exactly as it is
+and keeps working normally; shannoncoat only adds profiles alongside it.
+
+A menu-bar item allows quick switching and profile management.
+
+## Requirements
+
+- macOS 13 or later
+- Claude Desktop
+
+## Install
+
+1. Download `shannoncoat.app.zip` from the
+   [latest release](https://github.com/bdeshi/shannoncoat/releases/latest).
+2. Unzip it and move **shannoncoat.app** to `/Applications` or `~/Applications`.
+3. Open it. macOS will block the first launch, because the app isn't notarized.
+   Go to **System Settings → Privacy & Security**, find the blocked item, and
+   click **Open Anyway**.
+4. When prompted, grant **Accessibility**. The window tags are drawn from
+   Accessibility data and won't appear without it.
+
+## First run
+
+With nothing running, shannoncoat offers a list of your profiles and starts
+whichever you tick. You can start several at once.
+
+## Everyday use
+
+The menu bar shows a coloured dot per running profile — dot and name when only
+one is up, dots alone when there are more (hover for the names).
+
+Open the menu and:
+
+- **Click a profile** to switch to it. Every other running profile is quit
+  first, so you end up with just that one.
+- **Shift-click a profile** to open it *alongside* whatever is already running.
+- **Click a running profile** to bring its window to the front.
+
+A `⇆` marks the profile you last switched to. **Close Profile** quits one
+profile; **Quit Claude** quits all of them and leaves shannoncoat running.
+**Manage Profiles…** opens the main window.
+
+Quitting Claude by hand, from the Dock, or via Force Quit is picked up within
+about a second — the menu bar always reflects what is actually running.
+
+## Window tags
+
+Each managed Claude window carries a small tag in that profile's colour, so two
+otherwise identical windows are easy to tell apart.
+
+Drag a tag anywhere on its window; each profile remembers where you put its own.
+If you'd rather have something smaller, **Settings → Window tag → Colored dot**
+replaces the name chip with a plain dot.
+
+## Profiles
+
+**default** is your real, untouched Claude install. shannoncoat can start and
+stop it but never manages it, so it gets no tag and can't be deleted.
+
+To add a custom isolated profile, open **Manage Profiles… → +** and enter a
+name. The directories are optional — leave them blank and the profile gets
+`~/.shannoncoat/data/<name>/app` and `~/.shannoncoat/data/<name>/code`. Point
+them anywhere you like if you'd rather keep a profile's data with a project.
+
+Selecting a profile shows both paths, ready to copy.
+
+Each profile is a small JSON file at `~/.shannoncoat/<name>.json`, named after
+the profile. Two profiles may not share a directory — that would silently merge
+their Claude sessions, so shannoncoat refuses to start and tells you which files
+collide.
+
+Deleting a profile removes only that pointer file. **Its Claude data stays on
+disk**, so you can recreate the profile later and pick up where you left off. If
+it's running, it's quit first.
+
+## Settings
+
+- **Launch at Login** — start shannoncoat automatically.
+- **Window tag** — name chip or coloured dot.
+- **Automatically check for updates** — once a day at most.
+
+## Updates
+
+shannoncoat compares its version against the one published on GitHub. The
+automatic check posts a quiet notification; **Check for Updates…** in Settings
+reports either way.
+
+It never replaces itself. When a new version exists, download it from the
+releases page and swap the app in yourself.
+
+## Troubleshooting
+
+**The window tags don't appear.** Almost always Accessibility. Check
+**System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility**.
+
+If shannoncoat is listed *and already ticked* but the tags still don't show,
+select it, remove it with **−**, then add it back. This happens after replacing
+the app with a build that has a different code signature; the old entry stays
+visible but no longer applies, and toggling it off and on won't fix it.
+
+**Claude Desktop can't be found.** shannoncoat looks in `/Applications` and
+`~/Applications`. If yours is somewhere else, you'll be asked to locate it the
+first time you start a profile.
+
+**A profile won't quit.** Claude was asked to quit and declined — usually its
+own "unsaved work" or "still generating" dialog. shannoncoat deliberately waits
+rather than killing Claude underneath it. Answer the dialog.
+
+## Build from source
+
+Requires the Xcode Command Line Tools.
+
+```bash
+./build.sh
+```
+
+The app is written to `.build/shannoncoat.app`; copy it to `/Applications` or
+`~/Applications`.
+
+One thing worth setting up: an unsigned local build gets a new code identity
+every time, which silently invalidates its Accessibility grant on each rebuild.
+`.env.example` walks through creating a self-signed certificate once so the
+permission survives.
diff --git a/VERSION b/VERSION
index d169b2f..c5d54ec 100644
--- a/VERSION
+++ b/VERSION
@@ -1 +1 @@
-0.0.8
+0.0.9