diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index a2e74c9..9f39ba7 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -2,6 +2,30 @@
 
 Command-line tool to encode and decode arbitrary protobuf data.
 
+
+## Installation
+
+This program requires Crystal. See: https://crystal-lang.org/install/
+
+### Standalone
+
+1. Clone: `git clone https://github.com/iv-org/protodec && cd protodec`
+2. Build: `crystal build src/protodec.cr`
+3. See [Usage](#Usage) below
+
+
+### As a Crystal library
+
+Add this to your application's `shard.yml`:
+
+```yaml
+dependencies:
+  protodec:
+    github: iv-org/protodec
+    version: ~> 0.1.5
+```
+
+
 ## Usage
 
 ```
@@ -57,9 +81,13 @@ $ echo 'CkEKCeOCj+OBn+OBlxDSCSIQWmQ730+N8z8tsp3vp8YJQCoSCAESBzA4MDAwMDAaBQ26sSZE
 }
 ```
 
+## Windows
+
+Windows users can run the binaries in a linux-on-windows tool (like Git bash or WSL) or use the official [protobuf binaries](https://github.com/protocolbuffers/protobuf/releases) to encode/decode protobuf data.
+
 ## Contributing
 
-1. Fork it (<https://github.com/omarroth/protodec/fork>)
+1. Fork it (<https://github.com/iv-org/protodec/fork>)
 2. Create your feature branch (`git checkout -b my-new-feature`)
 3. Commit your changes (`git commit -am 'Add some feature'`)
 4. Push to the branch (`git push origin my-new-feature`)
diff --git a/shard.yml b/shard.yml
index 52f911d..33c49db 100644
--- a/shard.yml
+++ b/shard.yml
@@ -1,13 +1,14 @@
 name: protodec
-version: 0.1.2
+version: 0.1.5
 
 authors:
   - Omar Roth <omarroth@protonmail.com>
+  - Invidous team
 
 targets:
   protodec:
     main: src/protodec.cr
 
-crystal: 0.31.1
+crystal: ">= 0.34.0, < 2.0.0"
 
 license: GPLv3
diff --git a/src/protodec/utils.cr b/src/protodec/utils.cr
index 23bcb49..6c7c509 100644
--- a/src/protodec/utils.cr
+++ b/src/protodec/utils.cr
@@ -213,6 +213,9 @@ module Protodec
           when "bytes"
             VarLong.to_io(io, value.size.to_i64)
             value.as_a.each { |byte| io.write_byte byte.as_i.to_u8 }
+          else # "string"
+            VarLong.to_io(io, value.to_s.bytesize.to_i64)
+            io.print value.to_s
           end
         end
       else
@@ -465,9 +468,7 @@ module Protodec
       Any.new(raw.clone)
     end
 
-    def self.cast_json(object)
-      raise "Invalid type" if !object.is_a?(Hash)
-
+    def self.cast_json(object : Hash)
       JSON::Any.new(object.transform_values do |value|
         case value
         when .is_a?(Hash)