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+# Merlin — Hands-Free Computer Control
+
+> *Part of the Circuit Forge LLC "AI for the tasks you hate most" suite.*
+
+[![Status](https://img.shields.io/badge/status-pre--alpha-lightgrey)](https://circuitforge.tech/software/merlin)
+[![ND Priority](https://img.shields.io/badge/%E2%98%85ND-priority-purple)](https://circuitforge.tech)
+[![License](https://img.shields.io/badge/license-BSL%201.1-blue)](LICENSE)
+
+**Alternative input, trained to you.** Merlin is a BCI and alternative input training harness — letting you control your computer via eye gaze, blink patterns, and hand gestures, with models trained on your own input so they work the way you actually move.
+
+## What it does
+
+Merlin uses your webcam to detect gaze direction, blink events, and hand gestures, then maps them to configurable actions (clicks, keystrokes, macros). A built-in training harness lets you record samples and fine-tune the models for your specific movement patterns.
+
+## Why it matters
+
+Commercial alternative input tools are expensive, inflexible, and assume a normative movement profile. Merlin is local-first and trainable — your models stay on your hardware and improve with use.
+
+## Core pipeline
+
+```
+Camera feed → MediaPipe detection (gaze / blink / gesture)
+→ Feature extraction → Action mapper → OS input event
+↑
+Training loop: record samples → fit scikit-learn model → reload
+```
+
+## Features
+
+- **Gaze estimation** — map where you look to cursor position or zone actions
+- **Blink detection** — single, double, and long-blink events → configurable actions
+- **Hand gesture recognition** — MediaPipe Hands → custom gesture vocabulary
+- **Training harness** — record labeled samples, retrain, hot-reload without restart
+- **FastAPI control API** — start/stop detection loop, reload config, check status (`localhost:8522`)
+- **Local-first** — no cloud inference, no data leaves your machine
+
+## Setup
+
+```bash
+conda run -n cf pip install -e .
+conda run -n cf python -m merlin.daemon
+```
+
+Config: `~/.merlin/config.yaml`
+
+## Product code (license key)
+
+`CFG-MRLN-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX`
+
+## License
+
+**BSL 1.1** — free for personal non-commercial self-hosting; converts to MIT after 4 years. Commercial use requires a paid license.