doc updates

.github/workflows/install-test.yml

@@ -3,8 +3,26 @@ name: Install Test
 on:
   pull_request:
     branches: [main]
+    paths-ignore:
+      - '**/*.md'
+      - 'docs/**'
+      - 'LICENSE*'
+      - 'NOTICE*'
+      - '.gitignore'
+      - '.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/**'
+      - '.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE/**'
+      - '.github/CODEOWNERS'
   push:
     branches: [main]
+    paths-ignore:
+      - '**/*.md'
+      - 'docs/**'
+      - 'LICENSE*'
+      - 'NOTICE*'
+      - '.gitignore'
+      - '.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/**'
+      - '.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE/**'
+      - '.github/CODEOWNERS'
   workflow_dispatch:
 
 permissions:

.github/workflows/stackql-deploy-actions-test.yml

@@ -4,6 +4,15 @@ on:
   pull_request:
     branches:
       - main
+    paths-ignore:
+      - '**/*.md'
+      - 'docs/**'
+      - 'LICENSE*'
+      - 'NOTICE*'
+      - '.gitignore'
+      - '.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/**'
+      - '.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE/**'
+      - '.github/CODEOWNERS'
   workflow_dispatch:
 
 # Each job deploys its own SSM parameter: stack_env is part of the parameter name

CONTRIBUTING.md

@@ -0,0 +1,74 @@
+# Contributing
+
+Read [README.md](./README.md) for usage and supported platforms. This repository
+contains a Bash composite GitHub Action that installs and runs the prebuilt
+`stackql-deploy` CLI.
+
+## Repository layout
+
+- [action.yml](./action.yml): inputs, outputs, installation, and command execution.
+- [tests/test_install.py](./tests/test_install.py): installer regression tests.
+- [.github/workflows](./.github/workflows): installation and AWS integration checks.
+- [examples/aws-ssm-parameter](./examples/aws-ssm-parameter): the AWS integration stack.
+- [docs/OUTPUTS.md](./docs/OUTPUTS.md): deployment output examples.
+
+## Local setup and tests
+
+Use Python 3.12, matching CI, with virtual environment support. Run the commands
+below in Bash on Linux, macOS, or WSL from the repository root. The tests require
+`bash`, `tar`, `unzip`, `chmod`, and `file` on the shell's `PATH`.
+
+```bash
+python3 -m venv .venv
+source .venv/bin/activate
+python -m pip install PyYAML==6.0.3
+python -m unittest discover -s tests -v
+```
+
+The tests execute the installation script from `action.yml` with mocked downloads
+and platform detection. They cover architecture selection, existing installations,
+unsupported platforms, and failure handling. They need no cloud credentials or
+real `stackql-deploy` binary.
+
+## CI checks
+
+Automatic CI skips changes limited to Markdown files, `docs/`, `LICENSE*`,
+`NOTICE*`, `.gitignore`, issue and pull request templates, or `.github/CODEOWNERS`.
+Changes that also touch action code, scripts, tests, examples, or workflows still
+run CI. Manual workflow runs remain available.
+
+[Install Test](./.github/workflows/install-test.yml) runs the Python tests and
+checks real binary installation, architecture, and reuse on Linux, macOS, and
+Windows for x86_64 and ARM64. It runs on pull requests and pushes to `main`, and
+can also be started manually. It needs no cloud credentials.
+
+[AWS SSM integration tests](./.github/workflows/stackql-deploy-actions-test.yml)
+deploy, test, update, and tear down an SSM parameter across the same platforms.
+They also check multiline `env_vars` on Ubuntu. These tests create real AWS
+resources and require:
+
+- Repository secrets `AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID` and `AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY`, plus
+  `AWS_SESSION_TOKEN` when using temporary credentials.
+- Repository variable `AWS_REGION`.
+- AWS permissions to deploy, read, update, and delete the example stack's resources.
+
+GitHub does not pass repository secrets to workflows triggered by
+[pull requests from forks](https://docs.github.com/en/actions/reference/workflows-and-actions/events-that-trigger-workflows#workflows-in-forked-repositories).
+These contributions need a maintainer to arrange credentialed integration testing.
+
+## Pull requests
+
+- Create a branch for one coherent change and open the pull request against `main`.
+- Explain the problem, the resulting behavior, and which checks you ran.
+- Add or update tests for functional changes, including affected platforms.
+- Update usage and output documentation when changing action inputs or outputs.
+- Keep credentials, virtual environments, downloaded binaries, and generated
+  deployment outputs out of commits.
+
+## Issues and security
+
+For bugs, include the action version, runner OS and architecture, a minimal
+workflow, and relevant logs with secrets removed. Use the repository's issue
+templates for bugs, feature requests, and questions.
+
+Report suspected vulnerabilities privately as described in [SECURITY.md](./SECURITY.md).

LICENSE

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 MIT License
 
-Copyright (c) 2024 StackQL Studios
+Copyright (c) 2026 StackQL Studios
 
 Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
 of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal

README.md

@@ -1,5 +1,21 @@
-[![StackQL Deploy Actions Test](https://github.com/stackql/stackql-deploy-action/actions/workflows/stackql-deploy-actions-test.yml/badge.svg?event=pull_request)](https://github.com/stackql/stackql-deploy-action/actions/workflows/stackql-deploy-actions-test.yml)
-[![StackQL](https://stackql.io/img/stackql-logo-bold.png)](https://github.com/stackql/stackql)
+[stars]: https://img.shields.io/github/stars/stackql/stackql?style=flat-square "GitHub Stars"
+[logo]: https://stackql.io/img/stackql-logo-bold.png "stackql logo"
+[stackql]: https://github.com/stackql/stackql
+[homepage]: https://stackql.io/
+[downloads]: https://img.shields.io/github/downloads/stackql/stackql/total?label=github%20downloads
+
+<div align="center">
+
+[![logo]][homepage]  
+
+[![Marketplace](https://img.shields.io/badge/Marketplace-stackql--deploy--action-blue?logo=github)](https://github.com/marketplace/actions/stackql-deploy-action)
+[![Release](https://img.shields.io/github/v/release/stackql/stackql-deploy-action)](https://github.com/stackql/stackql-deploy-action/releases)
+[![CI](https://github.com/stackql/stackql-deploy-action/actions/workflows/stackql-deploy-actions-test.yml/badge.svg)](https://github.com/stackql/setup-stackql-mcp/actions/workflows/stackql-deploy-actions-test.yml)
+[![License](https://img.shields.io/github/license/stackql/stackql-deploy-action)](LICENSE)
+![downloads]
+[![stars]][stackql]
+
+</div>
 
 # stackql-deploy
 Github Action to execute `stackql-deploy` to deploy or test a stack.  [`stackql-deploy`](https://github.com/stackql/stackql-deploy) is a declarative, state-file-less IaC framework, based upon [`stackql`](https://github.com/stackql/stackql) queries.

SECURITY.md

@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+# Security policy
+
+Please report security vulnerabilities privately to StackQL Studios.
+
+Do not open public issues for suspected vulnerabilities in this repository or in findings produced by this tool.
+
+Use one of the private reporting channels below:
+
+- Email: security@stackql.io
+- GitHub private vulnerability report for this repository
+
+When reporting, include reproduction details, affected version, and impact.