From d71c01cbca22d8e03e49a548235b4801b789398e Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Ray Berezowski <6616212+rberezowski@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Tue, 2 Jun 2026 17:41:12 -0400
Subject: [PATCH] Organize release structure and documentation

---
 .gitignore                           |  1 +
 README.md                            | 70 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 Tools/New-TaskbarLauncherRelease.ps1 | 10 ++--
 docs/FOLDER-CLEANUP.md               | 37 +++++++++++++++
 docs/INSTALL.md                      | 47 +++++++++++++++++++
 docs/RELEASE.md                      | 67 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 6 files changed, 228 insertions(+), 4 deletions(-)
 create mode 100644 README.md
 create mode 100644 docs/FOLDER-CLEANUP.md
 create mode 100644 docs/INSTALL.md
 create mode 100644 docs/RELEASE.md

diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index f91cad3..44f48b7 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 bin/
 obj/
+builds/
 *.user
 *.suo
 *.pdb
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b7ecab8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,70 @@
+# Taskbar Launcher
+
+Taskbar Launcher is a small Windows tray launcher for folders, applications, scripts, files, and nested menus.
+
+## Features
+
+- System tray launcher
+- Global hotkey, default `Ctrl+Alt+Space`
+- Search/filter in the launcher popup
+- Nested menus and drag/drop ordering in Settings
+- Per-item icon and display mode
+- Automatic icon selection from app/folder targets
+- Portable `config.json`
+- Backup/restore config
+- Optional Start with Windows shortcut
+- Windows light/dark theme support
+
+## Project Layout
+
+```text
+TaskbarLauncher/
+  App.xaml
+  MainWindow.xaml
+  Models/
+  Services/
+  Views/
+  Tools/
+  docs/
+  builds/        generated locally, ignored by Git
+```
+
+## Build
+
+Requires the .NET 10 SDK on the developer machine.
+
+```powershell
+dotnet build
+```
+
+## Release
+
+Create the small framework-dependent release package:
+
+```powershell
+.\Tools\New-TaskbarLauncherRelease.ps1
+```
+
+Create a self-contained package that does not require users to install .NET:
+
+```powershell
+.\Tools\New-TaskbarLauncherRelease.ps1 -SelfContained
+```
+
+Release zips are written to:
+
+```text
+builds/releases/
+```
+
+## Versioning
+
+The app version is controlled in `TaskbarLauncher.csproj`.
+
+Recommended release flow:
+
+1. Update `<Version>` in `TaskbarLauncher.csproj`.
+2. Commit the change.
+3. Run `.\Tools\New-TaskbarLauncherRelease.ps1`.
+4. Tag the release, for example `v1.0.1`.
+5. Upload the generated zip to Gitea Releases.
diff --git a/Tools/New-TaskbarLauncherRelease.ps1 b/Tools/New-TaskbarLauncherRelease.ps1
index 6014bd8..844bb22 100644
--- a/Tools/New-TaskbarLauncherRelease.ps1
+++ b/Tools/New-TaskbarLauncherRelease.ps1
@@ -8,7 +8,6 @@ param(
 $ErrorActionPreference = "Stop"
 
 $projectDir = Split-Path -Parent $PSScriptRoot
-$workspaceDir = Split-Path -Parent $projectDir
 $projectPath = Join-Path $projectDir "TaskbarLauncher.csproj"
 
 [xml]$projectXml = Get-Content -LiteralPath $projectPath
@@ -18,10 +17,10 @@ if ([string]::IsNullOrWhiteSpace($version)) {
 }
 
 $packageKind = if ($SelfContained) { "self-contained" } else { "small" }
-$releaseRoot = Join-Path $workspaceDir "TaskbarLauncher-releases"
+$releaseRoot = Join-Path $projectDir "builds\releases"
 $releaseDir = Join-Path $releaseRoot "TaskbarLauncher-v$version-$packageKind"
 $zipPath = Join-Path $releaseRoot "TaskbarLauncher-v$version-$packageKind.zip"
-$buildDir = Join-Path $workspaceDir "TaskbarLauncher-build-release-$packageKind"
+$buildDir = Join-Path $projectDir "builds\intermediate\$packageKind"
 
 Get-Process TaskbarLauncher -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Stop-Process -Force
 
@@ -46,7 +45,10 @@ Get-ChildItem -LiteralPath $releaseDir -Filter "*.pdb" -ErrorAction SilentlyCont
     Remove-Item -Force
 
 if ($IncludeCurrentConfig) {
-    $configPath = Join-Path $workspaceDir "TaskbarLauncher-editor-publish\config.json"
+    $configPath = Join-Path $projectDir "builds\local-self-contained\config.json"
+    if (!(Test-Path -LiteralPath $configPath)) {
+        $configPath = Join-Path (Split-Path -Parent $projectDir) "TaskbarLauncher-editor-publish\config.json"
+    }
     if (Test-Path -LiteralPath $configPath) {
         Copy-Item -LiteralPath $configPath -Destination (Join-Path $releaseDir "config.json") -Force
     }
diff --git a/docs/FOLDER-CLEANUP.md b/docs/FOLDER-CLEANUP.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6040822
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/FOLDER-CLEANUP.md
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+# Folder Cleanup Notes
+
+The source of truth is:
+
+```text
+demo_projects/TaskbarLauncher
+```
+
+The following sibling folders were created during early prototype/testing and are no longer the preferred release output:
+
+```text
+TaskbarLauncher-build
+TaskbarLauncher-build-handout
+TaskbarLauncher-build-preview
+TaskbarLauncher-build-release-small
+TaskbarLauncher-build-small
+TaskbarLauncher-editor-publish
+TaskbarLauncher-preview-publish
+TaskbarLauncher-releases
+TaskbarLauncher-small-handout
+TaskbarLauncher-small-publish
+TaskbarLauncher-small-handout.zip
+```
+
+Do not delete them until you confirm there is nothing in their `config.json` files or backups that you want to keep.
+
+Going forward, release output should be generated by:
+
+```powershell
+.\Tools\New-TaskbarLauncherRelease.ps1
+```
+
+The new release output location is:
+
+```text
+TaskbarLauncher/builds/releases
+```
diff --git a/docs/INSTALL.md b/docs/INSTALL.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a493d4b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/INSTALL.md
@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+# Install and Use Taskbar Launcher
+
+## Small Package
+
+The small package requires:
+
+- Windows x64
+- Microsoft .NET 10 Desktop Runtime x64
+
+Download .NET 10 Desktop Runtime:
+
+https://dotnet.microsoft.com/en-us/download/dotnet/10.0
+
+Install the **.NET Desktop Runtime** for **Windows x64**.
+
+## Install
+
+1. Extract the Taskbar Launcher zip to a folder.
+2. Run `TaskbarLauncher.exe`.
+3. The app appears in the system tray.
+4. Press `Ctrl+Alt+Space` to open the launcher.
+
+## Configure
+
+Open the tray menu and choose **Settings**.
+
+From Settings you can:
+
+- Add top-level menus
+- Add submenus
+- Add folders, apps, files, and websites
+- Drag/drop items to reorder
+- Set per-item icon sizes
+- Back up and restore `config.json`
+- Enable Start with Windows
+
+## Portable Settings
+
+The app stores settings in:
+
+```text
+config.json
+```
+
+Keep `config.json` beside `TaskbarLauncher.exe`.
+
+If `config.json` is missing, the app creates a clean starter config on first run.
diff --git a/docs/RELEASE.md b/docs/RELEASE.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0f29d75
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/RELEASE.md
@@ -0,0 +1,67 @@
+# Release Process
+
+## Branches
+
+Recommended Gitea layout:
+
+- `main`: stable released source code
+- `dev`: active development work
+
+Release builds should come from `main`.
+
+## Version Numbers
+
+Use semantic versioning:
+
+```text
+MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH
+```
+
+Examples:
+
+- `1.0.0`: first stable release
+- `1.0.1`: bug fix
+- `1.1.0`: new feature
+
+Update version fields in:
+
+```text
+TaskbarLauncher.csproj
+```
+
+## Build Release Zip
+
+Small package:
+
+```powershell
+.\Tools\New-TaskbarLauncherRelease.ps1
+```
+
+Self-contained package:
+
+```powershell
+.\Tools\New-TaskbarLauncherRelease.ps1 -SelfContained
+```
+
+Output:
+
+```text
+builds/releases/TaskbarLauncher-vVERSION-small.zip
+```
+
+## Publish to Gitea
+
+1. Commit all source changes.
+2. Merge `dev` into `main`.
+3. Tag the release:
+
+```powershell
+git tag v1.0.0
+git push origin main
+git push origin v1.0.0
+```
+
+4. In Gitea, create a release from the tag.
+5. Upload the zip from `builds/releases`.
+
+Older releases stay available through Gitea Releases and Git tags.