README.md

@@ -27,7 +27,13 @@ never restarts the shard.
 
 ## Status
 
-**Phase 1 (installer core) is built, on the `edge` branch. Nothing is released yet.**
+**Phases 1 to 4 are built, on the `edge` branch. Nothing is released yet.**
+
+The binary does everything
+[`installer/INSTALL.md`](https://gitea.whitlocktech.com/RunicGateway/docs/src/branch/main/installer/INSTALL.md)
+describes: bundle resolution, ServUO detection and validation, the overlay sync,
+the opt-in patch tier, `install.json`, the uo-link sidecar and its service, the
+token handoff, and `doctor` / `update` / `uninstall`.
 
 The design of record is
 [`installer/PLAN.md`](https://gitea.whitlocktech.com/RunicGateway/docs/src/branch/main/installer/PLAN.md)
@@ -42,17 +48,29 @@ sidecar + overlay combination, recomposed on every component release and nightly
 |---|---|
 | 0 — prerequisites in the other repos | ✅ merged |
 | 1 — installer core: bundle resolution, ServUO detection, overlay sync, `install.json` | ✅ on `edge` |
-| 2 — uo-link install + service registration | next |
+| 2 — uo-link install + service registration | ✅ on `edge` |
-| 3 — the opt-in stock-file patch tier | |
+| 3 — the opt-in stock-file patch tier | ✅ on `edge` |
-| 4 — `doctor`, `update`, `uninstall` | |
+| 4 — `doctor`, `update`, `uninstall` | ✅ on `edge` |
+| 5 — packaging polish: Linux `aarch64`, backup before overwrite | in progress |
 
 **Why `edge`:** `release.yml` publishes an installer binary on every push to
-`main`, and a binary that deploys the overlay but cannot yet install the sidecar
+`main`, so nothing lands there until the whole tool is worth handing to an
-is not something to hand an operator. Phases 1 and 2 land on `edge`; the
+operator. The `edge → main` cutover cuts the first release. PRs into `edge` run
-`edge → main` cutover cuts the first release. PRs into `edge` run the same gates
+the same gates as PRs into `main`.
-as PRs into `main`.
 
-Until then, the way to install is by hand —
+**What the cutover is waiting on**, per PLAN.md §5:
+
+1. **Phase 5**, packaging polish — deliberately *before* the first release rather
+   than after it, because it changes the release layout, and shipping first would
+   mean a first release immediately superseded by the next. There is no `.deb`
+   and no MSI: both would give the sidecar binary, its service unit and its
+   service account a second owner beside this tool.
+2. **The Windows SCM half verified on a real host.** `sc create`, the virtual
+   service account, the failure actions and the token-file ACL have never been
+   executed anywhere. Running the *systemd* half for real is what turned up a bug
+   no unit test had, so this is not a formality.
+
+Until the cutover, the way to install is by hand —
 [INSTALL.md Appendix A](https://gitea.whitlocktech.com/RunicGateway/docs/src/branch/main/installer/INSTALL.md#appendix-a--installing-by-hand)
 is the same deployment done with `curl`, `tar` and `systemctl`.
 
@@ -66,7 +84,7 @@ is the same deployment done with `curl`, `tar` and `systemctl`.
 | [RunicGateway/website](https://gitea.whitlocktech.com/RunicGateway/website) | The public site and admin panel. The installer never contacts it — it prints values for Admin → Shard. |
 | [RunicGateway/docs](https://gitea.whitlocktech.com/RunicGateway/docs) | All project documentation, including the installer plan. |
 
-## Planned commands
+## Commands
 
 | Command | What it does |
 |---|---|
@@ -90,6 +108,10 @@ is the same deployment done with `curl`, `tar` and `systemctl`.
 - **A successful copy is not a working bridge.** ServUO ignores the script build's
   exit code and silently reloads the previous `Scripts.dll`, so diagnostics verify
   post-boot state rather than trusting a clean boot.
+- **What a run overwrites is copied first.** Every `.cs` file the overlay owns is
+  replaced unconditionally, so an operator's edit to one is saved under
+  `backups/<timestamp>/` before it goes. Restoring is theirs to do — this tool
+  will not put an old file back over a newer release.
 - **The audience is public** — any ServUO operator, not only shards we run.
 
 ## Build & run
@@ -103,8 +125,12 @@ cargo run -- install --servuo /path/to/ServUO --verify   # dry run: writes nothi
 cargo fmt --check && cargo clippy --all-targets -- -D warnings && cargo test
 ```
 
-`RUNICGATEWAY_STATE_DIR` relocates `install.json` (normally `/etc/runicgateway`
+`RUNICGATEWAY_STATE_DIR` relocates **everything the installer writes** — state,
-or `%ProgramData%\RunicGateway`), which is how a run is tested without root.
+data, and the sidecar binary (normally `/etc/runicgateway`, `/var/lib/runicgateway`
+and `/usr/bin`, or `%ProgramData%\RunicGateway` and `%ProgramFiles%\RunicGateway`).
+It also suppresses service registration, since there is no such thing as a
+relocated systemd unit or Windows service. That is how a full run is tested
+without root.
 
 Two layout notes that look odd until you know why: