PulseMesh Timecode Bridge — Windows
===================================

This folder is the whole install. There is no setup program; the exe runs
from wherever you unzipped it.

Quick start (Windows 11)
------------------------
1. Run the bundled Microsoft installer once (the file whose name starts
   with "Windows.MIDI.Services"). It adds Microsoft's MIDI runtime; with
   it, the bridge creates its own "PulseMesh TC" MIDI port every time it
   starts — nothing to name, nothing to keep running.

   The installer is Microsoft's, unmodified (we bundle it so you don't
   have to find it). It is a release candidate and not yet signed by
   Microsoft, so SmartScreen may ask the same "More info -> Run anyway"
   as for the bridge itself.

2. Double-click pm_gateway.exe. If Windows shows a blue "Windows protected
   your PC" screen, click "More info", then "Run anyway". The download is
   unsigned; a SHA-256 hash is published beside the zip if you want to
   verify it first.

3. A console window opens and stays open — that window IS the bridge.
   Minimize it, don't close it. On the same PC, open:

       http://127.0.0.1:9130

4. The page shows a short claim code. Claim it on pulsemesh.io (any
   browser, phones included). The bridge finishes pairing by itself.

5. In SkyBrush Server's smpte_timecode config, use
   "pattern": "*PulseMesh*". The bridge's own port ("PulseMesh TC") is
   already there — nothing to pick on the bridge page.

Windows 10, or a Windows 11 that can't take updates
---------------------------------------------------
Older Windows cannot create MIDI ports on its own and the Microsoft
installer above won't help. Use loopMIDI instead — the bridge picks it up
automatically:

1. Install loopMIDI (free, from Tobias Erichsen's site).
2. In loopMIDI, create a port named exactly:

       PulseMesh TC

3. Leave loopMIDI running (it starts with Windows by default), then
   continue from step 2 of the quick start. The bridge finds the port by
   its name; the bridge page will tell you if it can't.

Updating
--------
Stop the bridge (close the console window), replace pm_gateway.exe with
the new one, start it again. Your configuration and pairing survive —
they live outside this folder; the page footer shows the exact path and
the running version. The Microsoft MIDI installer does not need to be
run again.

Show-day notes
--------------
- Set Windows power settings to never sleep. A sleeping PC is a stopped
  bridge, and SkyBrush faults after 3 seconds of timecode silence.
