diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 2ec1dba..ba86414 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -2,3 +2,24 @@ __pycache__/
 *.pyc
 .pytest_cache/
 *.egg-info/
+node_modules/
+.npmrc
+.env
+.env.*
+__tests__/
+coverage/
+.nyc_output/
+dist/
+build/
+.cache/
+*.log
+.DS_Store
+tmp/
+.tmp/
+__pycache__/
+*.pyc
+.venv/
+venv/
+*.egg-info/
+.pytest_cache/
+READY_TO_PUBLISH
diff --git a/AGENTS.md b/AGENTS.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..464cf9a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/AGENTS.md
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+# AGENTS.md
+
+## Architecture
+
+- Python package: `deltatrace`
+- Core modules:
+  - `event_graph.py` for causal event DAGs
+  - `replay_engine.py` for deterministic replay
+  - `audit_log.py` for signed audit trails
+  - `adapters.py` for market-data and exchange adapters
+  - `demo.py` for an end-to-end pipeline example
+
+## Tech Stack
+
+- Python 3.10+
+- `setuptools` for packaging
+- `cryptography` for Ed25519 signing
+- `pytest` for test execution when available
+
+## Verification
+
+- `bash test.sh`
+- `python -m build`
+- `python -m pytest tests/ -v`
+
+## Contribution Rules
+
+- Keep changes minimal and focused.
+- Preserve deterministic behavior in replay and tests.
+- Prefer standard library code unless a dependency is clearly justified.
+- Update this file when packaging, test commands, or module layout changes.
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 053e5fa..649f31b 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -1,29 +1,53 @@
 # DeltaTrace
 
-Deterministic Replayable Latency & Compliance Tracing for Live Market-Execution Pipelines.
+Deterministic replay, latency accounting, and compliance tracing for live market-execution pipelines.
 
-A cross-layer traceability toolkit for high-frequency trading systems that enables deterministic replay of order lifecycles, end-to-end latency accounting, governance-ready audit trails, and vendor-agnostic adapters.
+DeltaTrace provides a small, production-oriented Python package for capturing market events as a causal graph, replaying them deterministically, and writing a tamper-evident audit trail for governance review.
 
-## Core Components
+## What It Does
 
-- **Event Graph**: Models market events (ticks, signals, orders, fills, risk checks) as a DAG with causal edges and latency budgets
-- **Replay Engine**: Deterministically replays captured event streams to reproduce decision paths
-- **Audit Log**: Crypto-signed, tamper-evident governance log for regulatory reviews
-- **Adapters**: Pluggable adapters for FIX feeds and exchange gateways
+- Models market-data ticks, signals, plan deltas, orders, fills, and risk checks as graph nodes.
+- Links nodes with causal edges and latency measurements.
+- Replays captured traces in deterministic order for incident analysis.
+- Signs audit entries with Ed25519 and chains them with SHA-256 hashes.
+- Includes two starter adapters:
+  - FIX feed adapter for FIX-like market data messages.
+  - Sandbox exchange adapter for order/fill simulation.
 
-## Quick Start
+## Package Layout
+
+- `deltatrace.event_graph`: event and DAG primitives.
+- `deltatrace.replay_engine`: deterministic replay runner.
+- `deltatrace.audit_log`: signed audit log with hash chaining.
+- `deltatrace.adapters`: FIX and sandbox adapters.
+- `deltatrace.demo`: end-to-end example pipeline.
+
+## Install
+
+```bash
+pip install -e .
+```
+
+## Run the Demo
 
 ```bash
-pip install -r requirements.txt
 python -m deltatrace.demo
 ```
 
-## Testing
+## Test And Build
 
 ```bash
 ./test.sh
 ```
 
+This script installs dependencies, verifies `python -m build`, runs the test suite, and executes the demo.
+
+## Publishing Notes
+
+- Project metadata lives in `pyproject.toml`.
+- The package README is wired as the long description for distribution builds.
+- The build backend is setuptools and supports standard wheel/sdist creation.
+
 ## License
 
 MIT
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 897d099..6c0588f 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -1,15 +1,27 @@
 [build-system]
-requires = ["setuptools>=68.0"]
-build-backend = "setuptools.backends._legacy:_Backend"
+requires = ["setuptools>=68.0", "wheel"]
+build-backend = "setuptools.build_meta"
 
 [project]
 name = "deltatrace"
 version = "0.1.0"
 description = "Deterministic Replayable Latency & Compliance Tracing for Live Market-Execution Pipelines"
+readme = "README.md"
 requires-python = ">=3.10"
 dependencies = [
     "cryptography>=41.0.0",
 ]
 
+[project.urls]
+Homepage = "https://example.com/deltatrace"
+Repository = "https://example.com/deltatrace.git"
+
 [project.optional-dependencies]
 test = ["pytest>=7.0"]
+
+[tool.setuptools]
+include-package-data = true
+
+[tool.setuptools.packages.find]
+where = ["."]
+include = ["deltatrace*"]
diff --git a/test.sh b/test.sh
index 89087f2..f336d23 100755
--- a/test.sh
+++ b/test.sh
@@ -3,11 +3,16 @@ set -e
 
 echo "=== DeltaTrace Test Suite ==="
 echo "Installing dependencies..."
-pip install -q cryptography>=41.0.0
+python -m pip install -q --upgrade pip
+python -m pip install -q build
+python -m pip install -q -e ".[test]"
+
+echo ""
+echo "Verifying package build..."
+python -m build
 
 echo ""
 echo "Running unit tests..."
-cd "$(dirname "$0")"
 python -m pytest tests/ -v --tb=short 2>/dev/null || python -m unittest discover -s tests -v
 
 echo ""