diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index fb99d4a..a170f97 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -1,10 +1,53 @@
-*.env
-*.wav
+# ===================================================================
+# VDM - Git Ignore File
+# ===================================================================
+
+# --- Python Virtual Environments ---
+# Ignore the entire virtual environment folder.
+.venv/
+venv/
+ENV/
+
+# --- Python Cache & Artifacts ---
+# Ignore Python's bytecode cache folders and files.
+__pycache__/
 *.pyc
-memory/chroma_db/85bfab4b-517c-4773-b8a8-e8358c4e4337/data_level0.bin
-memory/chroma_db/85bfab4b-517c-4773-b8a8-e8358c4e4337/header.bin
-memory/chroma_db/85bfab4b-517c-4773-b8a8-e8358c4e4337/length.bin
-memory/chroma_db/85bfab4b-517c-4773-b8a8-e8358c4e4337/link_lists.bin
-memory/chroma_db/chroma.sqlite3
-memory/users.json
-memory/vdm_sessions.db
+*.pyo
+*.pyd
+
+# --- Project-Specific Generated Files & Secrets ---
+# Ignore environment files containing secrets.
+*.env
+
+# Ignore the entire directory for SQLite databases.
+/database/
+
+# Ignore the ChromaDB vector store directory.
+/memory/chroma_db/
+
+# Ignore the directory for generated audio files.
+/audio_out/
+
+# Ignore locally generated SSL certificates.
+/ssl/
+
+# Ignore local diagnostic files.
+local_digest.txt
+
+# --- Common OS & Editor Files ---
+# Ignore common user-specific files from editors and operating systems.
+.vscode/
+.idea/
+.project
+.settings
+*.suo
+*.ntvs*
+*.njsproj
+*.sln
+*.sw?
+
+# macOS
+.DS_Store
+
+# Windows
+Thumbs.db
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/logo.png b/logo.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8750b63
Binary files /dev/null and b/logo.png differ
diff --git a/todo.md b/todo.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c6fb30b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/todo.md
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+# VDM Project To-Do List
+
+This document tracks major functional, operational, and architectural improvements for the VDM server. Unlike `roadmap.md`, this list is focused on engineering and deployment tasks rather than user-facing gameplay features.
+
+---
+## 1. Production-Ready Web Server & SSL
+
+**Goal:** Move beyond the development server and `mkcert` to a proper, secure production setup.
+
+- **[ ] Reverse Proxy:** Deploy the application behind a production-grade reverse proxy like **Nginx** or **Caddy**. This is the standard for web applications, providing better performance, security, and stability than running Uvicorn directly exposed to the internet.
+- **[ ] Proper SSL:** Use the reverse proxy to manage SSL certificates automatically with **Let's Encrypt**. This will provide a real, trusted certificate for any domain the application is hosted on, removing the need for `mkcert`.
+- **[ ] Process Management:** Use a process manager like **Gunicorn** to run the FastAPI application, allowing for multiple worker processes and better resource management.
+
+---
+## 2. Docker Support
+
+**Goal:** Containerize the entire application for easy, reproducible, and isolated deployments.
+
+- **[ ] Create a `Dockerfile`:** Define the environment for the VDM server, including the Python version, dependency installation from `requirements.txt`, and the command to run the server.
+- **[ ] Create a `docker-compose.yml`:** Write a Compose file to make it trivial to start the entire application stack (the VDM server and potentially its databases) with a single `docker-compose up` command. This dramatically simplifies setup for new developers and production environments.