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A README that matches 0.20, with the developer material in docs/ - #768

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thcp wants to merge 6 commits into
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docs/readme-refresh
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thcp wants to merge 6 commits into
next-releasefrom
docs/readme-refresh

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@thcp

@thcp thcp commented Oct 5, 2026

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The README now describes StemDeck as it is, leads with the download, and reads like a page for musicians.

What changes

  • Download first: one file per setup, the same table as the release notes, with Linux and Docker/Unraid, and install notes per platform folded into a details block.
  • What you can do, grouped the way a musician uses it: split any song, practise with it, know the song, keep and share, Guide, and the phone. New screenshots from the current UI (the old one showed a Process button that no longer exists).
  • Honest Comparison corrected: StemDeck now has key change, a click track and synced lyrics, an import queue with playlists, and a phone UI over your own Wi-Fi. Chord detection is still something it does not have, and the table says so.
  • For developers: build from source, configuration, the HTTP API, troubleshooting and the disk layout move to docs/, word for word, linked from one table. The disk layout's claim that the job list is in memory and swept after 24 hours is replaced with how it works now (jobs/registry.json, deleted only by emptying the Trash or the opt-in auto-delete).
  • We Recommend, Star History, Disclaimer, License and Community are unchanged.

522 lines become 310. Every feature line was checked against the code or the app's own text. No em dashes.

Checked

  • Rendered through GitHub's own Markdown API (POST /markdown) and screenshotted with GitHub's stylesheet: tables, images and details blocks render as intended.
  • Screenshots come from an anonymised library ("Demo Song").

Closes #767

Thales added 6 commits October 5, 2026 09:55
… in docs/

The README's features and comparison described StemDeck as it was in May,
and parts were wrong: no pitch shift, lyrics or click track, one job at a
time, nothing on a phone, extract the Windows zip anywhere.

- Download comes first: the same one-file-per-setup table as the release
  notes, Linux and Docker/Unraid included, and install notes per platform
  that match the release (the quarantine flag on macOS, a writable folder
  for the Windows portable build).
- What you can do, grouped as a musician uses it: split, practise, know
  the song, keep and share, Guide, and the phone, with new screenshots
  from the current UI. Every line was checked against the code.
- The Honest Comparison is corrected and keeps its honest tone.
- Build from source, configuration, the HTTP API, troubleshooting and the
  disk layout move to docs/, word for word, except the disk layout, which
  described the job list as in-memory and swept after 24 hours.

522 lines become 310. No em dashes.

Closes #767
The two sections were lopsided: a thin strip of a screenshot squeezed into
a wide cell, and a tall phone picture beside a short paragraph. They are now
two equal cards, text on top and a picture fitted under it, with the Guide
shot cropped to the box it explains. Platforms and languages move to their
own centred line.

Refs #767
… latest release

Every file in the download table now links to releases/latest/download, so
it always serves the newest release without editing the README. Above the
table, badges show the latest version and its date and lead to the release
notes, and a folded block lists what is new in 0.20.0.

Refs #767
- Download is three platform cards, Windows, macOS and Linux, each with
  its icon and a direct button per build, and a Docker/Unraid line,
  instead of a table of file names.
- A Download button and the latest-version badge sit right under the
  pitch.
- Each feature card carries a gold line icon from the same set as the
  Instagram release posts, so the README matches StemDeck's own look.
- The horizontal rules between sections go: the heading underline already
  separates them.

Refs #767
- Every section heading carries a gold icon from the same set as the
  feature cards, in sentence case (We Recommend keeps its feature name).
- American English throughout, matching the app's own labels: practice,
  favorites, licenses.
- The developer table gets a header row like every other table.
- Community is the same badge row as the top of the page, not a table.
- The disclaimer names both link sources yt-dlp is used for, YouTube and
  SoundCloud; the rest of its text is unchanged.
- Contributing links to the open issues and to building from source.
- Each section the page links to has a named anchor, so the jump links
  hold whatever its heading contains.

Refs #767
…cannot back

- Download: a simple table, one row per OS with a small icon, and two
  columns named for the hardware each file fits, NVIDIA or Apple Silicon,
  and everything else. It no longer says where a build separates, which
  was not true for every Intel Mac. Docker gets its own line.
- No layout tables, buttons or badge pairs: GitHub draws a border on
  every table, and the decoration read as filler.
- What you can do lists every feature found in the app's own text:
  search, the beat grid editor, click options, sections, lyrics timing,
  export options, colored folders and tags, and updates. Its pictures and
  the keyboard shortcuts are removed.
- Claims describe what StemDeck does: what you import and its stems are
  saved in your library folder and not uploaded; song names go out for
  details and lyrics, and a fingerprint only with an AcoustID key.
  Statements about other services are kept general. Lead and backing
  vocals are marked not on Intel Macs, transcription as NVIDIA only.

Refs #767
@thcp

thcp commented Oct 5, 2026

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Replaced by a PR into main with the same commits, so the new README shows on the repository page now rather than at the next release.

@thcp thcp closed this Oct 5, 2026
@thcp
thcp deleted the docs/readme-refresh branch October 5, 2026 10:45
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