diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index a5d62f060..dac9ddd58 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -122,14 +122,61 @@ Run it yourself: `python examples/multi_tool_agent_test.py`
 
 ## How It Works
 
-Headroom doesn't summarize or truncate blindly. It uses **statistical analysis**:
+> Headroom optimizes LLM context *before* it hits the provider —
+> without changing your agent logic or tools.
 
-1. **Detects redundancy** - Repeated fields like `"language": "typescript"` across 100 items
-2. **Keeps what matters** - First items, last items, query-relevant matches, anomalies
-3. **Preserves errors** - Never drops items containing "error", "exception", "failed"
-4. **Maintains schema** - Output JSON structure stays identical
+```mermaid
+flowchart LR
+  User["Your App"]
+  Entry["Headroom"]
+  Transform["Context<br/>Optimization"]
+  LLM["LLM Provider"]
+  Response["Response"]
 
-The compression is **reversible** via CCR (Compress-Cache-Retrieve). If the LLM needs more data, it can request the original.
+  User --> Entry --> Transform --> LLM --> Response
+```
+
+### Inside Headroom
+
+```mermaid
+flowchart TB
+
+subgraph Pipeline["Transform Pipeline"]
+  CA["Cache Aligner<br/><i>Stabilizes dynamic tokens</i>"]
+  SC["Smart Crusher<br/><i>Removes redundant tool output</i>"]
+  CM["Context Manager<br/><i>Fits token budget</i>"]
+  CA --> SC --> CM
+end
+
+subgraph CCR["CCR: Compress-Cache-Retrieve"]
+  Store[("Compressed<br/>Store")]
+  Tool["Retrieve Tool"]
+  Tool <--> Store
+end
+
+LLM["LLM Provider"]
+
+CM --> LLM
+SC -. "Stores originals" .-> Store
+LLM -. "Requests full context<br/>if needed" .-> Tool
+```
+
+> Headroom never throws data away.
+> It compresses aggressively and retrieves precisely.
+
+### What actually happens
+
+1. **Headroom intercepts context** — Tool outputs, logs, search results, and intermediate agent steps.
+
+2. **Dynamic content is stabilized** — Timestamps, UUIDs, request IDs are normalized so prompts cache cleanly.
+
+3. **Low-signal content is removed** — Repetitive or redundant data is crushed, not truncated.
+
+4. **Original data is preserved** — Full content is stored separately and retrieved *only if the LLM asks*.
+
+5. **Provider caches finally work** — Headroom aligns prompts so OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google caches actually hit.
+
+For deep technical details, see [Architecture Documentation](docs/ARCHITECTURE.md).
 
 ---
 
diff --git a/docs/ARCHITECTURE.md b/docs/ARCHITECTURE.md
index 117d61aa7..938021c98 100644
--- a/docs/ARCHITECTURE.md
+++ b/docs/ARCHITECTURE.md
@@ -1,5 +1,51 @@
 # Headroom SDK: A Complete Explanation
 
+## Architecture Overview
+
+```mermaid
+flowchart TB
+    subgraph Entry["Entry Points"]
+        Proxy["Proxy Mode<br/><i>Zero code changes</i>"]
+        SDK["SDK Mode<br/><i>HeadroomClient</i>"]
+        Integrations["Integrations<br/><i>LangChain / Agno</i>"]
+    end
+
+    subgraph Pipeline["Transform Pipeline"]
+        direction TB
+
+        CA["Cache Aligner<br/>━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━<br/>Extracts dynamic content<br/>(dates, UUIDs, tokens)<br/>Stable prefix for caching"]
+
+        SC["Smart Crusher<br/>━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━<br/>Analyzes tool outputs<br/>Keeps: first, last, errors, outliers<br/>70-95% reduction"]
+
+        CM["Context Manager<br/>━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━<br/>Enforces token limits<br/>Scores by recency and relevance<br/>Fits context window"]
+
+        CA --> SC --> CM
+    end
+
+    subgraph Cache["Provider Cache Optimization"]
+        direction LR
+        Anthropic["Anthropic<br/><i>cache_control blocks</i><br/>90% savings"]
+        OpenAI["OpenAI<br/><i>Prefix alignment</i><br/>50% savings"]
+        Google["Google<br/><i>CachedContent API</i><br/>75% savings"]
+    end
+
+    subgraph CCR["CCR: Compress-Cache-Retrieve"]
+        Store[("Compression<br/>Store")]
+        Tool["Retrieve Tool<br/><i>LLM requests original</i>"]
+        Store <--> Tool
+    end
+
+    LLM["LLM API<br/><i>OpenAI / Anthropic / Google</i>"]
+
+    Entry --> Pipeline
+    Pipeline --> Cache
+    Cache --> LLM
+    SC -.->|"Stores original"| Store
+    LLM -.->|"If needed"| Tool
+```
+
+---
+
 ## What Problem Does Headroom Solve?
 
 When you use AI models like GPT-4 or Claude, you pay for **tokens** - the pieces of text you send (input) and receive (output). The problem is: