diff --git a/.pre-commit-config.yaml b/.pre-commit-config.yaml
index 9772489..fddf44b 100644
--- a/.pre-commit-config.yaml
+++ b/.pre-commit-config.yaml
@@ -33,16 +33,14 @@ repos:
types: [text]
require_serial: true
# cargo fmt and clippy
- - id: cargo-fmt-conda
- name: cargo-fmt-conda
- description: "Run `cargo fmt` for formatting rust sources."
+ - id: cargo-fmt
+ name: cargo-fmt
entry: pixi run -e default cargo fmt --
language: system
require_serial: false
types: [rust]
- - id: clippy-conda
- name: clippy-conda
- description: "Run `clippy` to lint rust sources."
+ - id: cargo-clippy
+ name: cargo-clippy
entry: pixi run -e default cargo clippy --all-targets --all-features --workspace -- -D warnings
pass_filenames: false
language: system
diff --git a/LICENSE b/LICENSE
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..eeec25e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/LICENSE
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+Copyright 2023 QuantCo Inc., Pavel Zwerschke, Daniel Elsner, Bela Stoyan
+
+Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:
+
+1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
+
+2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
+
+3. Neither the name of the copyright holder nor the names of its contributors may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software without specific prior written permission.
+
+THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS βAS ISβ AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT HOLDER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 2262afe..af6cdb3 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -1 +1,122 @@
-# `pixi-pack` π¦
+# `pixi-pack`
+
+
+
+
π¦ A tool to pack and unpack conda environments created with pixi
+
+
+## π Table of Contents
+
+- [Introduction](#-introduction)
+- [Installation](#-installation)
+- [Usage](#-usage)
+
+## π Introduction
+
+Starting with a [pixi](https://pixi.sh) lockfile `pixi.lock`, you can create a packed environment that can be shared with others.
+This environment can be unpacked on any system using `pixi-pack` to recreate the original environment.
+
+In contrast to [`conda-pack`](https://conda.github.io/conda-pack/), `pixi-pack` does not require the original conda environment to be present on the system for packing.
+Instead, it uses the lockfile to download the required packages and puts them into a `.tar.zstd` archive.
+This archive can then be shared with others and installed using `pixi-pack unpack` to recreate the original environment.
+
+The original motivation behind `pixi-pack` was to create a `conda-pack` alternative that does not have the same reproducibility issues as `conda-pack`.
+It also aims to allow cross-platform building packs, so you can create a pack for `win-64` on a `linux-64` system.
+
+## πΏ Installation
+
+You can install `pixi-pack` using `pixi`:
+
+```bash
+pixi global install pixi-pack
+```
+
+Or using `cargo`:
+
+```bash
+cargo install --locked --git https://github.com/quantco/pixi-pack.git
+```
+
+## π― Usage
+
+### `pixi-pack pack`: Packing an environment
+
+With `pixi-pack pack`, you can pack a conda environment into a `environment.tar.zstd` file:
+
+```bash
+pixi-pack pack --manifest-file pixi.toml --environment prod --platform linux-64
+```
+
+This will create a `environment.tar.zstd` file that contains all conda packages required to create the environment.
+
+```
+# environment.tar.zstd
+| pixi-pack.json
+| environment.yml
+| channel
+| βββ noarch
+| | βββ tzdata-2024a-h0c530f3_0.conda
+| | βββ ...
+| | βββ repodata.json
+| βββ linux-64
+| βββ ca-certificates-2024.2.2-hbcca054_0.conda
+| βββ ...
+| βββ repodata.json
+```
+
+### `pixi-pack unpack`: Unpacking an environment
+
+With `pixi-pack unpack environment.tar.zstd`, you can unpack the environment on your target system.
+This will create a new conda environment in `./env` that contains all packages specified in your `pixi.toml`.
+It also creates an `activate.sh` (or `activate.bat` on Windows) file that lets you activate the environment
+without needing to have `conda` or `micromamba` installed.
+
+```bash
+$ pixi-pack unpack environment.tar.zstd
+$ ls
+env/
+activate.sh
+environment.tar.zstd
+$ cat activate.sh
+export PATH="/home/user/project/env/bin:..."
+export CONDA_PREFIX="/home/user/project/env"
+. "/home/user/project/env/etc/conda/activate.d/activate_custom_package.sh"
+```
+
+### Cross-platform packs
+
+Since `pixi-pack` just downloads the `.conda` and `.tar.bz2` files from the conda repositories, you can trivially create packs for different platforms.
+
+```bash
+pixi-pack pack --platform win-64
+```
+
+> [!NOTE]
+> You can only `unpack` a pack on a system that has the same platform as the pack was created for.
+
+### Inject additional packages
+
+You can inject additional packages into the environment that are not specified in `pixi.lock` by using the `--inject` flag:
+
+```bash
+pixi-pack pack --inject local-package-1.0.0-hbefa133_0.conda --manifest-pack pixi.toml
+```
+
+This can be particularly useful if you build the project itself and want to include the built package in the environment but still want to use `pixi.lock` from the project.
+
+### Unpacking without `pixi-pack`
+
+If you don't have `pixi-pack` available on your target system, you can still install the environment if you have `conda` or `micromamba` available.
+Just decompress the `environment.tar.zstd`, then you have a local channel on your system where all necessary packages are available.
+Next to this local channel, you will find an `environment.yml` file that contains the environment specification.
+You can then install the environment using `conda` or `micromamba`:
+
+```bash
+tar --zstd -xvf environment.tar.zstd
+micromamba create -p ./env --file environment.yml --override-channels -c "file://$(pwd)/channel"
+# or
+conda create -p ./env --file environment.yml --override-channels -c "file://$(pwd)/channel"
+```
+
+> [!NOTE]
+> The `environment.yml` and `repodata.json` files are only for this use case, `pixi-pack unpack` does not use them.