commit 6ef859759ed7861abf5a7f92d5aaa3782c7397b8
Author: pyr0ball <pyr0ball@noreply.opensourcesolarpunk.com>
Date:   Mon Jun 1 11:05:32 2026 -0700

    feat: add initial README

diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ad96649
--- /dev/null
+++ b/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,96 @@
+<div align="center">
+
+# Waxwing
+
+**Local-first gardening assistant. Grow schedules, plant tracking, tree and graft registry — no cloud required.**
+
+[![Status](https://img.shields.io/badge/status-backlog-lightgrey)](https://git.opensourcesolarpunk.com/Circuit-Forge/waxwing)
+[![License](https://img.shields.io/badge/license-BSL%201.1-blue)](LICENSE)
+[![CircuitForge](https://img.shields.io/badge/CircuitForge-LLC-green)](https://circuitforge.tech)
+
+[Website](https://circuitforge.tech) · [Roadmap](https://git.opensourcesolarpunk.com/Circuit-Forge/roadmap) · [All Products](https://circuitforge.tech/#products)
+
+</div>
+
+---
+
+> *Part of the [Circuit Forge LLC](https://circuitforge.tech) menagerie — AI for the tasks the system made hard on purpose.*
+
+**Status:** Backlog — not yet started. See the [roadmap](https://git.opensourcesolarpunk.com/Circuit-Forge/roadmap) for priority order.
+
+## What it does
+
+Waxwing tracks your plants, trees, and grafts from planting to harvest: timed care reminders, multi-year growth logs, variety registries, and LLM-assisted diagnosis when something looks wrong.
+
+The Bohemian waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus) roams in tight flocks that arrive at a berry source at exactly the moment of peak ripeness — not a day early, not a day late. That precision timing is the entire point of the product. Your tomatoes don't care that you forgot to check them.
+
+## Why it is hard
+
+Home gardening fails quietly:
+
+- Planting windows are narrow and easy to miss without a record of last year's dates
+- Graft take and tree health degrade slowly, so problems are invisible until they are not
+- Variety tracking across multiple beds and seasons requires memory most people do not have
+- Commercial apps are either too simple (reminders only) or too complex (farm management software designed for acres)
+
+## Core pipeline
+
+```
+Add plants and trees to your registry (species, variety, planting date, location)
+  → Generate care schedule (watering, feeding, pruning, spraying)
+  → Timed reminders → Human confirms action
+  → Log observation (photo, note, measurement)
+  → LLM-assisted diagnosis from photo or symptom description
+  → Build multi-year growth and harvest history
+```
+
+## Feature areas
+
+- **Plant registry**: common name, Latin binomial, variety, rootstock, grafting date and scion source
+- **Grow calendar**: planting windows, last frost integration, days-to-maturity countdowns
+- **Graft tracker**: union success rate, scion-rootstock compatibility notes, photo log
+- **Diagnosis**: photo upload or symptom description; visual model suggests deficiencies, pests, or disease
+- **Harvest log**: yield by variety and season; searchable history
+- **Offline-first**: all data stays local; no account required for core features
+
+## Privacy · Safety · Accessibility
+
+**Privacy:** Your grow data stays on your device. No account required for core use. Cloud sync (Paid tier) is opt-in and encrypted in transit.
+
+**Safety:** Diagnosis suggestions are starting points, not prescriptions. Pesticide and treatment recommendations always link to label instructions and require user confirmation before logging.
+
+**Accessibility:** Plant names displayed in both common and Latin. Care reminders support multiple notification modes. High-contrast and large-text modes follow system preferences.
+
+## Tiers
+
+| Tier | What you get |
+|------|-------------|
+| **Free** | Full plant registry, grow calendar, harvest log, local LLM diagnosis |
+| **Paid** | Cloud sync across devices, photo backup, community variety library |
+| **Premium** | Fine-tuned visual model for your specific varieties, multi-site support |
+
+## Product code
+
+License key format: `CFG-WXWG-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX`
+
+## Get involved
+
+Waxwing is pre-development. The best thing you can do right now is open an issue with:
+
+- A specific pain point you hit with existing garden tracking apps
+- A plant type or growing style (tropical houseplants, fruit trees, food forest, etc.) you want supported
+- Features you have tried in other tools and found lacking
+
+Early issues shape what gets built first. Star the repo to follow progress.
+
+## Tech notes
+
+- Built on the shared [circuitforge-core](https://git.opensourcesolarpunk.com/Circuit-Forge/circuitforge-core) scaffold
+- Visual model: local vision LLM for leaf and fruit diagnosis
+- Calendar integration: iCal export for reminders
+- Data format: SQLite local store, JSON export for portability
+- Graft registry: tracks rootstock, scion, union date, take confirmation, and annual vigor notes
+
+## License
+
+[Business Source License 1.1](LICENSE) — free for personal non-commercial self-hosting. Converts to MIT after four years. Commercial use requires a [paid license](https://circuitforge.tech/pricing).