diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0b44106
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+# Ignore build outputs in host directories
+host/*/*.html
+host/*/*.png
+host/*/*.pdf
+host/*/from_client/
+
+# Temporary files
+*.tmp
+tmp*/
+
+# OS and editor files
+.DS_Store
+Thumbs.db
+*~
+*.swp
diff --git a/LICENSE b/LICENSE
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7d2b621
--- /dev/null
+++ b/LICENSE
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+The MIT License (MIT)
+
+Copyright (c) 2025 thePR0M3TH3AN
+
+Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
+of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
+in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights
+to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
+copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is
+furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
+
+The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all
+copies or substantial portions of the Software.
+
+THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
+IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
+FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
+AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
+LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
+OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE
+SOFTWARE.
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 4652222..fd7db08 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+// 🔧 merged conflicting changes from codex/create-readme.md-with-project-overview vs main
+
 # VoxVera Flyers
 
 VoxVera provides scripts and templates for producing printable flyers with QR codes. These flyers link to content hosted through Tor and can also include a Nostr page. The project automates building the HTML, generating the QR codes, and copying all assets into a directory under `host/` so they can be served statically.
@@ -19,8 +21,12 @@ Run the helper script from the repository root:
 
 # use answers from an existing PDF form
 ./src/create_flyer.sh --from-pdf path/to/form.pdf
-```
+````
 
 The script updates `src/config.json`, regenerates QR codes, obfuscates `index-master.html` and `nostr-master.html`, and copies the resulting files plus PDFs and QR images into `host/<subdomain>`. The contents in that directory can then be hosted.
 
-See [src/README.md](src/README.md) for more details on the obfuscation scripts and additional usage notes.
+Additional documentation is available in the `src/` directory; see [src/README.md](src/README.md) for more details on the obfuscation scripts and additional usage notes.
+
+This project is licensed under the [MIT License](./LICENSE).
+
+```
diff --git a/src/create_flyer.sh b/src/create_flyer.sh
index 16357c2..97d6cfe 100755
--- a/src/create_flyer.sh
+++ b/src/create_flyer.sh
@@ -1,6 +1,17 @@
 #!/bin/bash
 
-set -e
+set -euo pipefail
+
+require_cmd() {
+  command -v "$1" >/dev/null 2>&1 || {
+    echo "Error: required command '$1' not found" >&2
+    exit 1
+  }
+}
+
+for cmd in jq node javascript-obfuscator html-minifier-terser; do
+  require_cmd "$cmd"
+done
 
 CONFIG_PATH="src/config.json"
 FROM_PDF=""
@@ -32,9 +43,6 @@ while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do
   esac
 done
 
-# Ensure jq is installed
-command -v jq >/dev/null 2>&1 || { echo "jq is required" >&2; exit 1; }
-
 # Helper function to update config
 update_config_interactive() {
   read -rp "Name: " name
diff --git a/src/obfuscate_index.sh b/src/obfuscate_index.sh
index efff80b..0e73187 100755
--- a/src/obfuscate_index.sh
+++ b/src/obfuscate_index.sh
@@ -1,5 +1,18 @@
 #!/bin/bash
 
+set -euo pipefail
+
+require_cmd() {
+  command -v "$1" >/dev/null 2>&1 || {
+    echo "Error: required command '$1' not found" >&2
+    exit 1
+  }
+}
+
+for cmd in javascript-obfuscator html-minifier-terser node; do
+  require_cmd "$cmd"
+done
+
 # Input and output file names
 input_file="index-master.html"
 output_file="index.html"
diff --git a/src/obfuscate_nostr.sh b/src/obfuscate_nostr.sh
index ed574f3..a0d0a53 100755
--- a/src/obfuscate_nostr.sh
+++ b/src/obfuscate_nostr.sh
@@ -1,5 +1,18 @@
 #!/bin/bash
 
+set -euo pipefail
+
+require_cmd() {
+  command -v "$1" >/dev/null 2>&1 || {
+    echo "Error: required command '$1' not found" >&2
+    exit 1
+  }
+}
+
+for cmd in javascript-obfuscator html-minifier-terser node; do
+  require_cmd "$cmd"
+done
+
 # Input and output file names
 input_file="nostr-master.html"
 output_file="nostr.html"