diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 9c88a97..d1843f9 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -8,10 +8,71 @@ import 'package:statbotics_client/statbotics_client.dart';
 final client = StatboticsClient();
 final events = await client.getEvents(2026);
 final teams = await client.getEventTeams('2026txhou');
+client.close();
 ```
 
 No API key needed. Transient server errors are retried with a pluggable `sleep` (inject a no-op in tests); non-transient failures throw `StatboticsApiException` with the status code.
 
+## Installation
+
+Add the dependency in `pubspec.yaml`:
+
+```yaml
+dependencies:
+  statbotics_client: ^0.1.0
+```
+
+Or pull the latest from Git:
+
+```yaml
+dependencies:
+  statbotics_client:
+    git: https://github.com/Project516/statbotics_client.git
+```
+
+## API reference
+
+`StatboticsClient` targets `https://api.statbotics.io/v3`. It needs no auth key.
+Single-object endpoints return `null` on 404; list endpoints return an empty
+list. Anything else outside 2xx throws `StatboticsApiException`. Remember to
+call `close()` when you are done so the underlying HTTP client is released.
+
+| Method | Endpoint | Returns |
+| --- | --- | --- |
+| `getEvent(eventKey)` | `GET /event/{eventKey}` | `StatboticsEvent?` |
+| `getEvents(year)` | `GET /events?year={year}` | `List<StatboticsEvent>` |
+| `getEventTeams(eventKey)` | `GET /team_events?event={eventKey}` | `List<StatboticsTeamEvent>` |
+| `getEventTeamsBasic(eventKey)` | `GET /teams?event={eventKey}` | `List<StatboticsTeamBasic>` |
+| `getEventMatches(eventKey)` | `GET /matches?event={eventKey}` | `List<StatboticsMatch>` |
+
+- `getEventTeams` sorts results by rank ascending.
+- `getEvents` sorts results by week then name.
+- `getEventMatches` sorts results by comp level (`qm`, `ef`, `qf`, `sf`, `f`)
+  then match number.
+- `getEventTeamsBasic` returns basic team info (number + nickname) and returns
+  an empty list if the endpoint is unavailable.
+
+The API is public and read-only, so models only decode the fields each endpoint
+exposes (EPA means and standard deviations on `StatboticsTeamEvent`, alliance
+teams on `StatboticsMatch`, dates and location on `StatboticsEvent`). Each model
+also round-trips through `toJson` for caching.
+
+## Retries and backoff
+
+The Statbotics API returns occasional 500s under load. `StatboticsClient`
+retries transient responses (HTTP 429 and any 5xx) up to `maxAttempts` times
+(default 3) with exponential backoff (`300 * attempt^2` ms) before surfacing
+the error. 404 and other 4xx are returned or thrown immediately, with no retry.
+
+```dart
+final client = StatboticsClient(
+  maxAttempts: 5,
+  sleep: (duration) async {
+    // use your own sleeper (e.g. a fake clock in tests)
+  },
+);
+```
+
 ## License
 
 AGPL-3.0