docs: update project documentation, license, and release pipeline

- Switched project license to CC BY-NC 4.0 to restrict commercial use and reselling.
- Updated README.md with contribution branching guidelines and PR merge requirements.
- Added instructions for manually modifying fallback quotes/text in src-tauri/src/lib.rs.
- Updated tech stack prerequisites to reflect cargo-tauri CLI usage.
- Clarified maintainer release tagging workflow for GitHub Actions CI/CD.

.github/workflows/release.yml

@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ jobs:
     strategy:
       fail-fast: false
       matrix:
-        platform: [macos-latest, windows-latest]
+        platform: [macos-latest, windows-latest, ubuntu-latest]
 
     runs-on: ${{ matrix.platform }}
     steps:

LICENSE

@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0)
+
+Copyright (c) 2026 Xavier Voet
+
+You are free to:
+- Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format
+- Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material
+
+Under the following terms:
+- Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made.
+- NonCommercial — You may NOT use the material for commercial purposes or sell it under any circumstances.
+
+Full License Text: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/legalcode

README.md

@@ -0,0 +1,194 @@
+# ᛏ Cipher Master Engine
+
+An AI-powered desktop application built with **Rust** and **Tauri v2** that generates randomized cryptographic challenges, structural analysis hints, and solution sheets directly to your Desktop.
+
+---
+
+## ⚠️ Contribution & Branching Rules
+
+> **Important**: Changes must **never** be pushed directly to the `master` branch. 
+> All new features, bug fixes, or documentation updates should be developed on separate feature branches and submitted via Pull Requests to maintain pipeline integrity.
+
+---
+
+## 🌟 Key Features
+
+* **8 Cipher Engines**:
+  * **Elder Futhark Runes**: Custom handwritten runic character map.
+  * **Caesar Shift**: Dynamic rotational shift ($1..25$).
+  * **Atbash Cipher**: Reversed alphabet substitution.
+  * **Monoalphabetic Substitution**: Randomized key mapping.
+  * **Vigenère Cipher**: Polyalphabetic cipher using periodic key phrases.
+  * **Rail Fence (Zig-Zag)**: Multi-rail transposition matrix.
+  * **Affine Cipher**: Mathematical linear function cipher ($E(x) = (ax + b) \pmod{26}$).
+  * **A1Z26 Numeric**: Positional index substitution.
+* **Local AI Integration & Fallback Support**: Connects to a local [Ollama](https://ollama.com/) instance (`llama3.2:1b`) to generate dynamic quotes. If Ollama is not installed or running, the engine automatically uses internal text prompts.
+* **Difficulty Scaling**:
+  * **Easy**: Preserves original word boundaries, spaces, and punctuation. Generates detailed letter frequency and vowel count hints.
+  * **Medium**: Converts text to uppercase and strips all punctuation.
+  * **Hard**: Groups output into uniform 5-character blocks for classic cryptanalysis difficulty.
+* **Automated Desktop Outputs**: Generates three plain-text files on the user's Desktop upon execution:
+  * `cipher_challenge.txt`: Formatted ciphertext ready to solve.
+  * `cipher_hint.txt`: Cryptanalytic structural metrics and riddle clues.
+  * `cipher_solution.txt`: Full original plaintext and decryption parameters/keys.
+* **Cross-Platform Support**: Native desktop GUI built for macOS and Windows.
+
+---
+
+## ✏️ How to Manually Change Text / Quotes (Without Ollama)
+
+If you do not want to run Ollama locally or prefer using your own custom paragraphs, quotes, or text passages:
+
+1. Open `src-tauri/src/lib.rs` in your text editor.
+2. Locate the `fallback_quote` function:
+   ```rust
+   fn fallback_quote(length_choice: usize) -> String {
+       let topics = ["VIKINGS", "KNOWLEDGE", "FORTUNE", "STRATEGY", "FREEDOM"];
+       let actions = [
+           "SAILED ACROSS THE UNKNOWN", 
+           "DISCOVERED HIDDEN TRUTHS", 
+           "FAVORED THE BRAVE MINDS", 
+           "PROTECTED LIBERTY WITH SECRETS"
+       ];
+       // ...
+   }
+3. To hardcode a custom text passage or quote directly, modify the function to return your desired text string:
+```rust
+fn fallback_quote(_length_choice: usize) -> String {
+    "YOUR CUSTOM PARAGRAPH OR PHRASE GOES HERE".to_string()
+}
+```
+
+
+4. Rebuild or run `cargo tauri dev` to apply your custom text pool.
+
+---
+
+## 📁 Project Architecture
+
+```text
+cipher_game/
+├── .github/
+│   └── workflows/
+│       └── release.yml          # GitHub Actions CI/CD for cross-platform releases
+├── public/
+│   └── index.html               # Desktop application UI (Tauri frontend)
+├── src-tauri/
+│   ├── Cargo.toml               # Backend Rust dependencies and crate metadata
+│   ├── tauri.conf.json          # Tauri application and window settings
+│   ├── icons/                   # Multi-resolution application icons
+│   └── src/
+│       ├── lib.rs               # Encryption algorithms, AI client, & Tauri commands
+│       └── main.rs              # Application entry point
+├── app-icon.png                 # Master 1024x1024 source icon
+└── Cargo.toml                   # Workspace configuration
+```
+
+---
+
+## 🛠️ Tech Stack & Prerequisites
+
+### Core Tech Stack
+
+* **Language**: Rust
+* **Desktop Application Framework**: Tauri v2
+* **Frontend**: HTML5 / CSS3 / JavaScript (ES6+)
+* **Dependencies**:
+* `rand`: Pseudo-random key generation and shuffling.
+* `ureq`: Lightweight HTTP client for querying the local Ollama API.
+* `serde` / `serde_json`: JSON serialization for Tauri IPC and API communication.
+
+
+
+### Prerequisites
+
+* [Rust](https://www.rust-lang.org/tools/install) (1.75 or newer)
+* `cargo-tauri` CLI (Install via `cargo install tauri-cli --version "^2.0"`)
+* *(Optional)* [Ollama](https://ollama.com/) running locally on port `11434` with `llama3.2:1b` installed (`ollama pull llama3.2:1b`).
+
+---
+
+## 🚀 Local Development
+
+### 1. Clone the Repository
+
+```bash
+git clone [https://github.com/ReVax-2007/cipher_game.git](https://github.com/ReVax-2007/cipher_game.git)
+cd cipher_game
+```
+
+### 2. Create a Feature Branch
+
+```bash
+git checkout -b feature/my-new-feature
+```
+
+### 3. Run in Dev Mode
+
+Run the Tauri development environment:
+
+```bash
+cargo tauri dev
+```
+
+This compiles the Rust backend, serves the local frontend, and opens the interactive desktop application window.
+
+---
+
+## 📦 Building Production Installers
+
+### Local Mac Build (.dmg)
+
+To build a release installer locally on macOS:
+
+```bash
+cargo tauri build
+```
+
+The output installer will be saved at:
+
+```text
+src-tauri/target/release/bundle/dmg/Cipher Master_1.0.0_x64.dmg
+```
+
+---
+
+## 🌐 Automated Cross-Platform Releases
+
+Cross-platform builds (macOS `.dmg` and Windows `.exe`/`.msi`) are compiled automatically via **GitHub Actions** when a version tag is pushed to the repository.
+
+Having automated release documentation in a repository's `README.md` is standard practice, but phrasing it as an absolute guarantee can be confusing if the build pipeline requires manual PR reviews, branch protection checks, or maintainer approval before tag creation.
+
+In collaborative or open-source projects, contributors usually do not have permission to push tags to trigger releases themselves. Writing it from the perspective of **how maintainers trigger releases** clarifies the process for everyone.
+
+---
+
+## 🌐 Release Pipeline
+
+Release binaries for macOS (`.dmg`) and Windows (`.exe` / `.msi`) are automatically generated by GitHub Actions when a release tag is pushed by a repository maintainer.
+
+### For Maintainers: Creating a Release
+
+1. Ensure all feature PRs are reviewed, tested, and merged into `master`.
+2. Create and push a version tag on the latest `master` commit:
+
+   ```bash
+   git tag v1.0.x
+   git push origin v1.0.x
+   ```
+3. GitHub Actions executes the build pipeline, generating compiled assets and drafting a new release on the GitHub Releases page.
+
+---
+
+### Why this structure works better:
+
+* **Clear Roles:** Specifies that triggering releases is an action taken by maintainers after verification, rather than an automatic step for any contributor.
+* **Review-First:** Keeps the emphasis on merging verified code via PRs into `master` before tagging.
+* **Agnostic Context:** Works cleanly whether you are working on the project alone or with outside collaborators.
+
+
+---
+
+## 📜 License
+
+Distributed under the CC BY-NC 4.0 License (Non-Commercial Use Only). See `LICENSE` for details.