diff --git a/buildwin.bat b/buildwin.bat
index 9d74445..55ca71f 100644
--- a/buildwin.bat
+++ b/buildwin.bat
@@ -1,21 +1,21 @@
 @echo off
-REM ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-REM  Build a Windows‑x64 release binary and package it with checksums.
-REM  ‑ Clones vcpkg (if requested) and pins it to commit 4887ad6d14.
-REM ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+REM This script builds a Windows x64 release binary and creates a tarball with checksum.
+REM It requires vcpkg to be installed at root of C: drive (https://github.com/microsoft/vcpkg).
+REM This script will install Rust (using chocolatey) if it is not already installed.
+REM
+REM Call with -force to clone and bootstrap vcpkg if it is not found
+REM
 
 setlocal
 
+REM Set your Cargo project name manually here if desired:
 set "PROJECT_NAME=kingfisher"
-set "VCPKG_COMMIT=4887ad6d14"     REM ← known‑good vcpkg snapshot
 
-REM ── Require Windows ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+REM Optional check for OS:
 if NOT "%OS%"=="Windows_NT" (
     echo This script must be run on Windows.
     exit /b 1
 )
-
-REM ── Locate MSVC toolchain ──────────────────────────────────────────────────
 if "%VCINSTALLDIR%"=="" (
     echo VCINSTALLDIR not set - attempting auto-detection…
     for %%P in (
@@ -23,15 +23,20 @@ if "%VCINSTALLDIR%"=="" (
         "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Professional\VC"
         "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2019\Enterprise\VC"
         "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2019\Professional\VC"
-    ) do if exist "%%~P\Auxiliary\Build\vcvars64.bat" (
-        set "VCINSTALLDIR=%%~P"
-        echo Found Visual C++ Build Tools at: %%~P
-        goto :vc_found
+    ) do (
+        if exist "%%~P\Auxiliary\Build\vcvars64.bat" (
+            set "VCINSTALLDIR=%%~P"
+            echo Found Visual C++ Build Tools at: %%~P
+            goto :vc_found
+        )
     )
     echo ERROR: Could not find a suitable Visual Studio installation.
+    echo        Install “Desktop development with C++” or set VCINSTALLDIR.
     exit /b 1
 )
 :vc_found
+
+REM Strip trailing backslash if present
 if "%VCINSTALLDIR:~-1%"=="\" set "VCINSTALLDIR=%VCINSTALLDIR:~0,-1%"
 
 echo Initialising MSVC environment…
@@ -40,74 +45,79 @@ call "%VCINSTALLDIR%\Auxiliary\Build\vcvars64.bat" || (
     exit /b 1
 )
 
-REM ── Locate or bootstrap vcpkg, then pin to commit ──────────────────────────
-where vcpkg.exe >nul 2>&1
+REM Locate vcpkg.exe
+where vcpkg.exe >nul 2>nul
 if %ERRORLEVEL% NEQ 0 (
-    REM ----- vcpkg.exe not on PATH ------------------------------------------
     if exist "%HOMEDRIVE%\vcpkg\vcpkg.exe" (
-        REM vcpkg folder exists → pin it
-        echo Found existing vcpkg tree, pinning to %VCPKG_COMMIT%…
-        git -C "%HOMEDRIVE%\vcpkg" fetch --depth=1 origin %VCPKG_COMMIT%
-        git -C "%HOMEDRIVE%\vcpkg" checkout %VCPKG_COMMIT% ^
-            || (echo ERROR: checkout failed.&exit /b 1)
-    ) else if "%~1"=="-force" (
-        REM Fresh clone
-        echo Cloning and bootstrapping vcpkg at commit %VCPKG_COMMIT%…
-        if exist "%HOMEDRIVE%\vcpkg" rmdir /s /q "%HOMEDRIVE%\vcpkg"
-        git clone https://github.com/microsoft/vcpkg.git "%HOMEDRIVE%\vcpkg" ^
-            || (echo ERROR: git clone failed.&exit /b 1)
-        pushd "%HOMEDRIVE%\vcpkg"
-        git checkout %VCPKG_COMMIT% || (echo ERROR: checkout failed.&exit /b 1)
-        call .\bootstrap-vcpkg.bat  || (echo ERROR: bootstrap failed.&exit /b 1)
-        popd
+        set "VCPKG_EXE=%HOMEDRIVE%\vcpkg\vcpkg.exe"
+        echo Found vcpkg at: %VCPKG_EXE%
     ) else (
-        echo ERROR: vcpkg not found. Install it or rerun with -force.
-        exit /b 1
+        if "%~1"=="-force" (
+            echo Cloning and bootstrapping vcpkg...
+            if exist "%HOMEDRIVE%\vcpkg" (
+                rmdir /s /q "%HOMEDRIVE%\vcpkg"
+            )
+            git clone https://github.com/microsoft/vcpkg.git "%HOMEDRIVE%\vcpkg"
+            pushd "%HOMEDRIVE%\vcpkg"
+            dir
+            call .\bootstrap-vcpkg.bat
+            set "VCPKG_EXE=%CD%\vcpkg.exe"
+            popd
+            echo Installed vcpkg at: %VCPKG_EXE%
+        ) else (
+            echo ERROR: vcpkg not found. Please install it or re-run script with -force.
+            exit /b 1
+        )
     )
 ) else (
-    REM ----- vcpkg.exe already on PATH ---------------------------------------
-    for /f "tokens=*" %%i in ('where vcpkg.exe') do set "VCPKG_EXE=%%i"
+    for /f "tokens=*" %%i in ('where vcpkg.exe') do (
+        set "VCPKG_EXE=%%i"
+        goto :found_vcpkg
+    )
+    :found_vcpkg
     echo Found vcpkg at: %VCPKG_EXE%
-    REM Ensure the tree is on the expected commit
-    git -C "%HOMEDRIVE%\vcpkg" fetch --depth=1 origin %VCPKG_COMMIT%
-    git -C "%HOMEDRIVE%\vcpkg" checkout %VCPKG_COMMIT% ^
-        || (echo ERROR: checkout failed.&exit /b 1)
 )
-if not defined VCPKG_EXE set "VCPKG_EXE=%HOMEDRIVE%\vcpkg\vcpkg.exe"
 
-REM ── LOCALAPPDATA fix for CI ------------------------------------------------
+REM Check if LOCALAPPDATA starts with a drive letter, if not set it to APPDATA
 if /I not "%LOCALAPPDATA:~1,1%"==":" (
-    echo LOCALAPPDATA lacks drive letter; pointing it at APPDATA.
+    echo LOCALAPPDATA does not start with a drive letter. Setting it to APPDATA.
     set "LOCALAPPDATA=%APPDATA%"
 )
 
-REM ── Install Hyperscan (unchanged) -----------------------------------------
-echo Installing hyperscan via vcpkg...
-"%VCPKG_EXE%" install hyperscan:x64-windows
+REM ── Install Hyperscan ------------------------------------------------------
+echo Installing Hyperscan via vcpkg...
+pushd "%HOMEDRIVE%\vcpkg"           REM ► work inside the vcpkg root
+"%VCPKG_EXE%" install hyperscan:x64-windows || (
+    echo ERROR: vcpkg install failed.
+    popd
+    exit /b 1
+)
+popd
 set "LIBHS_NO_PKG_CONFIG=1"
+
+REM Point vectorscan‑rs‑sys at the Hyperscan install
 set "HYPERSCAN_ROOT=%HOMEDRIVE%\vcpkg\installed\x64-windows"
 set "LIB=%HYPERSCAN_ROOT%\lib;%LIB%"
 set "INCLUDE=%HYPERSCAN_ROOT%\include;%INCLUDE%"
 
-REM ── Check for Rust toolchain (unchanged) -----------------------------------
-where rustc.exe >nul 2>&1
+REM Check for Rust, install if missing
+where rustc.exe >nul 2>nul
 if %ERRORLEVEL% NEQ 0 (
     echo Installing Rust...
     choco install rust-ms -y
     choco install cmake -y --installargs "ADD_CMAKE_TO_PATH=System"
     call refreshenv
+
 ) else (
     echo Rust is already installed.
 )
 
-REM ── Build (unchanged) ------------------------------------------------------
 echo Building for Windows x64...
 cargo build --release --target x86_64-pc-windows-msvc || (
     echo Cargo build failed.
     exit /b 1
 )
 
-REM ── Package & checksum (unchanged) ----------------------------------------
 echo Generating CHECKSUM.txt...
 powershell -Command ^
   "Get-FileHash .\target\x86_64-pc-windows-msvc\release\%PROJECT_NAME%.exe -Algorithm SHA256 | Out-File .\target\x86_64-pc-windows-msvc\release\CHECKSUM.txt"
@@ -116,20 +126,21 @@ if not exist "target\release" mkdir "target\release"
 copy /Y "target\x86_64-pc-windows-msvc\release\%PROJECT_NAME%.exe" "target\release\" >nul
 copy /Y "target\x86_64-pc-windows-msvc\release\CHECKSUM.txt" "target\release\CHECKSUM-windows-x64.txt" >nul
 
-pushd target\release
+cd target\release
 echo Creating archive: %PROJECT_NAME%-windows-x64.zip
 if exist "%PROJECT_NAME%-windows-x64.zip" del /f /q "%PROJECT_NAME%-windows-x64.zip"
 powershell -Command "Compress-Archive -Path '%PROJECT_NAME%.exe','CHECKSUM-windows-x64.txt' -DestinationPath '%PROJECT_NAME%-windows-x64.zip' -Force"
 
 if exist "%PROJECT_NAME%-windows-x64.zip" (
+    REM -- append the ZIP’s SHA-256 to the existing checksum file ----
     certutil -hashfile "%PROJECT_NAME%-windows-x64.zip" SHA256 >> "CHECKSUM-windows-x64.txt"
     echo Created: %PROJECT_NAME%-windows-x64.zip
 ) else (
     echo ERROR: Archive not created.
 )
+
 echo Archives in target\release:
 dir /b *.zip 2>nul || echo None found.
-popd
 
 endlocal
-exit /b 0
+exit /b 0
\ No newline at end of file