update README and metadata

README.md

@@ -1,21 +1,64 @@
 NLopt Python
 ============
 
-[![PyPI version](https://badge.fury.io/py/nlopt.svg)](https://badge.fury.io/py/nlopt)
-![Build](https://github.com/DanielBok/nlopt-python/workflows/Build/badge.svg?branch=master)
+[![PyPI version](https://badge.fury.io/py/nlopt.svg)](https://pypi.org/project/nlopt/)
+[![PyPI downloads](https://img.shields.io/pypi/dm/nlopt.svg)](https://pypi.org/project/nlopt/)
+[![Python versions](https://img.shields.io/pypi/pyversions/nlopt.svg)](https://pypi.org/project/nlopt/)
+[![License](https://img.shields.io/badge/license-MIT-blue.svg)](LICENSE)
+[![Build](https://github.com/DanielBok/nlopt-python/actions/workflows/build.yml/badge.svg)](https://github.com/DanielBok/nlopt-python/actions/workflows/build.yml)
+[![Nightly Build](https://github.com/DanielBok/nlopt-python/actions/workflows/nightly-build.yml/badge.svg)](https://github.com/DanielBok/nlopt-python/actions/workflows/nightly-build.yml)
+[![Documentation](https://img.shields.io/badge/docs-readthedocs-blue.svg)](https://nlopt.readthedocs.io/en/latest/NLopt_Python_Reference/)
 
-This project builds Python wheels for the NLopt library. NLopt contains various routines for non-linear optimization.
+Python wheels for [NLopt](https://github.com/stevengj/nlopt), a library for nonlinear optimization. NLopt provides
+a common interface to a large collection of optimization algorithms, both global and local, gradient-based and
+derivative-free, for constrained or unconstrained problems.
 
-## Versions supported
-
-The project supports Python versions 3.9+ and above for Windows, MacOS, and Linux.
+This project exists to make installing NLopt in Python as simple as `pip install nlopt` — no compiler, SWIG, or
+system NLopt installation required. Prebuilt wheels are published for Windows, macOS, and Linux.
 
 ## Installation
 
 ```bash
 pip install nlopt
 ```
 
+Prebuilt wheels are available for Python 3.10+ on Windows, macOS, and Linux (x86_64 and arm64). If no matching
+wheel is found for your platform, pip will fall back to building from source, which requires SWIG and a C++
+compiler.
+
+## Usage
+
+```python
+import nlopt
+import numpy as np
+
+def objective(x, grad):
+    return x[0] ** 2 + x[1] ** 2
+
+opt = nlopt.opt(nlopt.LN_COBYLA, 2)
+opt.set_min_objective(objective)
+opt.set_lower_bounds([-10, -10])
+opt.set_upper_bounds([10, 10])
+opt.set_xtol_rel(1e-6)
+
+x = opt.optimize(np.array([1.0, 1.0]))
+print(f"Minimum found at {x}, value = {opt.last_optimum_value()}")
+```
+
 ## Documentation
 
-For more information on how to use NLopt, refer to the [documentation](https://nlopt.readthedocs.io/en/latest/NLopt_Python_Reference/).
+Full API documentation, including the list of supported algorithms, is available at
+[nlopt.readthedocs.io](https://nlopt.readthedocs.io/en/latest/NLopt_Python_Reference/).
+
+## Releases
+
+Builds run nightly and publish dev versions to [TestPyPI](https://test.pypi.org/project/nlopt/) so regressions
+surface before a real release. Stable releases are cut from tagged GitHub Releases and published to
+[PyPI](https://pypi.org/project/nlopt/). The vendored `extern/nlopt` submodule is checked daily against upstream
+and bumped automatically via PR when a new NLopt version is released.
+
+## License
+
+This project wraps [NLopt](https://github.com/stevengj/nlopt), whose underlying routines are covered by a mix
+of licenses (mainly MIT and LGPL) depending on the algorithm — see [LICENSE](LICENSE) for details. The Python
+packaging in this repository is licensed under MIT.

setup.cfg

@@ -26,12 +26,12 @@ classifiers =
     Operating System :: Microsoft :: Windows
     Operating System :: Unix
     Programming Language :: C++
-    Programming Language :: Python :: 3.9
     Programming Language :: Python :: 3.10
     Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11
     Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12
     Programming Language :: Python :: 3.13
+    Programming Language :: Python :: 3.14
     Topic :: Scientific/Engineering
 
 [options]
-python_requires = >= 3.9
+python_requires = >= 3.10

setup.py

@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@
 
 setup(
     version=version,
-    python_requires=">=3.9",
+    python_requires=">=3.10",
     install_requires=["numpy >=2,<3"],
     setup_requires=["numpy >=2,<3"],
     ext_modules=[NLOptBuildExtension("nlopt._nlopt", version)],