diff --git a/CONTEXT.md b/CONTEXT.md
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+# Context: Supabase Operator
+
+Glossary of domain terms for this repo. Behavior language only, no implementation detail.
+
+## Terms
+
+### SupabaseProject
+The single CRD of this operator. Namespace scoped. Describes one Supabase instance: which external database and object storage to use, and per component settings. The operator deploys and manages all Supabase components (Kong, Auth, PostgREST, Realtime, Storage API, Meta, Studio) from it.
+
+### External dependency
+A service the operator needs but never creates or manages: PostgreSQL and S3 compatible object storage. The user provides both and hands the operator connection credentials through Secrets. The operator only validates and consumes them.
+
+### Secret contract
+The exact key names a credentials Secret must contain so the operator can consume it.
+- Database Secret keys: `host`, `port`, `database`, `username`, `password`
+- Storage Secret keys: `endpoint`, `region`, `bucket`, `accessKeyId`, `secretAccessKey`
+
+### Quickstart
+The documented golden path for a first time user: install the operator, install external dependencies with well known Helm charts (CloudNativePG for PostgreSQL, MinIO for object storage), create the credential Secrets, apply one SupabaseProject, reach a working Studio via port-forward. Target is a working Studio on a fresh cluster in minutes.
+
+### Database initialization
+The one time setup the operator runs against the external PostgreSQL after a project is created: creating the `_supabase` database, Supabase schemas, service roles, and extensions. Requires a superuser grade connection and the `supabase/postgres` image, because Supabase specific extensions must be present.
+
+### dev scaffolding
+The manifests under `dev/` used by maintainers for local development. Not user facing, not part of the quickstart.
diff --git a/docs/adr/0001-quickstart-via-charts-not-managed-mode.md b/docs/adr/0001-quickstart-via-charts-not-managed-mode.md
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+# ADR 0001: Quickstart uses well known Helm charts, not an operator managed mode
+
+Date: 2026-07-25
+
+Status: accepted
+
+## Context
+
+Issue #18 planned a "managed mode": `spec.database.managed: true` would make the operator provision an in-cluster PostgreSQL StatefulSet, and a similar flag would provision MinIO. The goal was a first working project in under 5 minutes on a bare cluster.
+
+Building that inside the operator means the operator takes on database lifecycle work: storage, upgrades, credentials, failure recovery. That is a large and permanent maintenance load, and mature tools already do it better.
+
+A second constraint: the operator only supports the `supabase/postgres` image, because database initialization needs Supabase specific extensions (pgjwt, pg_net and others) and superuser access. Any install path must produce a PostgreSQL running that image.
+
+## Decision
+
+Do not build managed mode. Keep PostgreSQL and S3 strictly user provided.
+
+Instead, ship a documented quickstart that installs the dependencies with well known Helm charts:
+
+- PostgreSQL via the CloudNativePG operator, with the cluster image set to `supabase/postgres`. Known required settings: `postgresUID: 101`, `postgresGID: 102` (the image does not use the CNPG default uid 26), and `enableSuperuserAccess: true` (database initialization needs superuser).
+- Object storage via the official MinIO chart (`charts.min.io`), standalone mode, bucket declared through chart values.
+
+The quickstart manifests live in the repo so users can apply them directly and docs cannot drift from them.
+
+## Consequences
+
+- The operator stays thin: it never owns database or storage lifecycle.
+- The 5 minute goal is met by documentation quality, not new operator code paths.
+- The CNPG plus `supabase/postgres` combination is community proven but not officially supported by either project; the quickstart must be verified end to end whenever images are bumped.
+- Issue #18 Phase A tasks about managed mode are superseded by this decision.
diff --git a/docs/quickstart/VALIDATION.md b/docs/quickstart/VALIDATION.md
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+# Quickstart validation
+
+This file records a successful run on a fresh kind cluster.
+
+## Tested versions
+
+```text
+kind v0.32.0
+Kubernetes v1.36.1
+CloudNativePG chart 0.29.0
+CloudNativePG 1.30.0
+MinIO chart 5.4.0
+MinIO RELEASE.2024-12-18T13-15-44Z
+cert-manager v1.21.0
+Supabase PostgreSQL 15.14.1.021
+Supabase Operator image ghcr.io/strrl/supabase-operator:358f551-dirty
+Supabase Operator chart 0.1.0
+```
+
+## Commands
+
+Create the cluster and add the chart sources.
+
+```sh
+kind create cluster --name quickstart-claude --wait 120s
+
+helm repo add cnpg https://cloudnative-pg.github.io/charts
+helm repo add minio https://charts.min.io/
+helm repo add jetstack https://charts.jetstack.io
+helm repo update cnpg minio jetstack
+```
+
+Install CloudNativePG and create PostgreSQL.
+
+```sh
+helm upgrade --install cnpg cnpg/cloudnative-pg \
+  --kube-context kind-quickstart-claude \
+  --namespace cnpg-system \
+  --create-namespace \
+  --version 0.29.0 \
+  --wait \
+  --timeout 5m
+
+kubectl --context kind-quickstart-claude \
+  apply -f docs/quickstart/postgres-cluster.yaml
+kubectl --context kind-quickstart-claude \
+  wait --namespace supabase-quickstart \
+  --for=condition=Ready \
+  cluster/supabase-postgres \
+  --timeout 10m
+kubectl --context kind-quickstart-claude \
+  get cluster supabase-postgres \
+  --namespace supabase-quickstart \
+  -o custom-columns='NAME:.metadata.name,READY:.status.conditions[?(@.type=="Ready")].status,IMAGE:.spec.imageName,UID:.spec.postgresUID,GID:.spec.postgresGID'
+```
+
+Confirm that PostgreSQL accepts a TLS connection.
+
+```sh
+kubectl --context kind-quickstart-claude \
+  run postgres-tls-check \
+  --namespace supabase-quickstart \
+  --image=postgres:15-alpine \
+  --restart=Never \
+  --command \
+  -- sh -c 'PGPASSWORD=quickstart-postgres-password psql "host=supabase-postgres-rw port=5432 dbname=postgres user=postgres sslmode=require" -Atc "select ssl from pg_stat_ssl where pid = pg_backend_pid()"'
+kubectl --context kind-quickstart-claude \
+  wait --namespace supabase-quickstart \
+  --for=jsonpath='{.status.phase}'=Succeeded \
+  pod/postgres-tls-check \
+  --timeout 2m
+kubectl --context kind-quickstart-claude \
+  logs postgres-tls-check \
+  --namespace supabase-quickstart
+```
+
+Install MinIO and confirm the declared bucket.
+
+```sh
+helm upgrade --install minio minio/minio \
+  --kube-context kind-quickstart-claude \
+  --namespace supabase-quickstart \
+  --create-namespace \
+  --version 5.4.0 \
+  --values docs/quickstart/minio/values.yaml \
+  --wait \
+  --timeout 5m
+kubectl --context kind-quickstart-claude \
+  rollout status deployment/minio \
+  --namespace supabase-quickstart \
+  --timeout 5m
+kubectl --context kind-quickstart-claude \
+  run minio-check \
+  --namespace supabase-quickstart \
+  --image=quay.io/minio/mc:RELEASE.2024-11-21T17-21-54Z \
+  --restart=Never \
+  --command \
+  -- sh -c 'mc alias set quickstart http://minio:9000 storage-admin quickstart-minio-password >/dev/null && mc stat quickstart/supabase-storage'
+kubectl --context kind-quickstart-claude \
+  wait --namespace supabase-quickstart \
+  --for=jsonpath='{.status.phase}'=Succeeded \
+  pod/minio-check \
+  --timeout 2m
+kubectl --context kind-quickstart-claude \
+  logs minio-check \
+  --namespace supabase-quickstart
+```
+
+Install cert-manager, apply the Secrets, build the operator, and install its
+chart.
+
+```sh
+helm upgrade --install cert-manager jetstack/cert-manager \
+  --kube-context kind-quickstart-claude \
+  --namespace cert-manager \
+  --create-namespace \
+  --version v1.21.0 \
+  --set crds.enabled=true \
+  --wait \
+  --timeout 5m
+
+kubectl --context kind-quickstart-claude \
+  apply -f docs/quickstart/database-secret.yaml
+kubectl --context kind-quickstart-claude \
+  apply -f docs/quickstart/storage-secret.yaml
+kubectl --context kind-quickstart-claude \
+  apply -f docs/quickstart/studio-basic-auth-secret.yaml
+
+OPERATOR_IMAGE_TAG="$(bash hack/commit-hash.sh)"
+make image
+kind load docker-image \
+  "ghcr.io/strrl/supabase-operator:${OPERATOR_IMAGE_TAG}" \
+  --name quickstart-claude
+
+helm upgrade --install supabase-operator ./helm/supabase-operator \
+  --kube-context kind-quickstart-claude \
+  --namespace supabase-operator-system \
+  --create-namespace \
+  --set image.repository=ghcr.io/strrl/supabase-operator \
+  --set "image.tag=${OPERATOR_IMAGE_TAG}" \
+  --set image.pullPolicy=IfNotPresent \
+  --wait \
+  --timeout 5m
+```
+
+Apply the project and check every component.
+
+```sh
+kubectl --context kind-quickstart-claude \
+  apply -f docs/quickstart/supabase-project.yaml
+kubectl --context kind-quickstart-claude \
+  wait --namespace supabase-quickstart \
+  --for=jsonpath='{.status.phase}'=Running \
+  supabaseproject/quickstart \
+  --timeout 10m
+kubectl --context kind-quickstart-claude \
+  get supabaseproject quickstart \
+  --namespace supabase-quickstart \
+  -o custom-columns='NAME:.metadata.name,PHASE:.status.phase'
+kubectl --context kind-quickstart-claude \
+  get deployment \
+  --namespace supabase-quickstart \
+  -o custom-columns='NAME:.metadata.name,READY:.status.readyReplicas,DESIRED:.spec.replicas'
+```
+
+In one terminal, forward Kong.
+
+```sh
+kubectl --context kind-quickstart-claude \
+  port-forward service/quickstart-kong 18000:8000 \
+  --namespace supabase-quickstart
+```
+
+In another terminal, check the unauthenticated and authenticated responses.
+
+```sh
+curl \
+  --output /dev/null \
+  --silent \
+  --write-out 'HTTP %{http_code}\n' \
+  http://127.0.0.1:18000/
+curl \
+  --user supabase:quickstart-studio-password \
+  --location \
+  --output /dev/null \
+  --silent \
+  --show-error \
+  --write-out 'HTTP %{http_code}\n' \
+  http://127.0.0.1:18000/
+```
+
+## Selected outputs
+
+```text
+CloudNativePG:
+NAME                READY   IMAGE                           UID   GID
+supabase-postgres   True    supabase/postgres:15.14.1.021   101   102
+
+Database TLS check:
+t
+
+MinIO:
+Name      : supabase-storage
+Type      : folder
+Location  : us-east-1
+Objects count: 0
+
+SupabaseProject:
+NAME         PHASE
+quickstart   Running
+
+Deployments:
+minio                  1   1
+quickstart-auth        1   1
+quickstart-kong        1   1
+quickstart-meta        1   1
+quickstart-postgrest   1   1
+quickstart-realtime    1   1
+quickstart-storage     1   1
+quickstart-studio      1   1
+
+Studio through Kong:
+HTTP 401
+HTTP 200
+```
+
+## Static checks
+
+```sh
+kubectl --context kind-quickstart-claude \
+  apply --dry-run=client -f docs/quickstart/
+helm template minio minio/minio \
+  --kube-context kind-quickstart-claude \
+  --namespace supabase-quickstart \
+  --version 5.4.0 \
+  --values docs/quickstart/minio/values.yaml
+helm lint ./helm/supabase-operator
+git diff --check
+```
diff --git a/docs/quickstart/database-secret.yaml b/docs/quickstart/database-secret.yaml
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+apiVersion: v1
+kind: Secret
+metadata:
+  name: supabase-db-credentials
+  namespace: supabase-quickstart
+type: Opaque
+stringData:
+  host: supabase-postgres-rw.supabase-quickstart.svc.cluster.local
+  port: "5432"
+  database: postgres
+  username: postgres
+  password: quickstart-postgres-password
diff --git a/docs/quickstart/minio/values.yaml b/docs/quickstart/minio/values.yaml
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+mode: standalone
+
+rootUser: storage-admin
+rootPassword: quickstart-minio-password
+
+replicas: 1
+
+persistence:
+  enabled: true
+  size: 1Gi
+
+resources:
+  requests:
+    memory: 256Mi
+    cpu: 250m
+  limits:
+    memory: 512Mi
+    cpu: 500m
+
+buckets:
+  - name: supabase-storage
+    policy: none
+    purge: false
diff --git a/docs/quickstart/postgres-cluster.yaml b/docs/quickstart/postgres-cluster.yaml
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+apiVersion: v1
+kind: Namespace
+metadata:
+  name: supabase-quickstart
+---
+apiVersion: v1
+kind: Secret
+metadata:
+  name: postgres-superuser
+  namespace: supabase-quickstart
+type: kubernetes.io/basic-auth
+stringData:
+  username: postgres
+  password: quickstart-postgres-password
+---
+apiVersion: postgresql.cnpg.io/v1
+kind: Cluster
+metadata:
+  name: supabase-postgres
+  namespace: supabase-quickstart
+spec:
+  instances: 1
+  imageName: supabase/postgres:15.14.1.021
+  postgresUID: 101
+  postgresGID: 102
+  enableSuperuserAccess: true
+  superuserSecret:
+    name: postgres-superuser
+  storage:
+    size: 1Gi
diff --git a/docs/quickstart/storage-secret.yaml b/docs/quickstart/storage-secret.yaml
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+++ b/docs/quickstart/storage-secret.yaml
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+apiVersion: v1
+kind: Secret
+metadata:
+  name: supabase-storage-credentials
+  namespace: supabase-quickstart
+type: Opaque
+stringData:
+  endpoint: http://minio.supabase-quickstart.svc.cluster.local:9000
+  region: us-east-1
+  bucket: supabase-storage
+  accessKeyId: storage-admin
+  secretAccessKey: quickstart-minio-password
diff --git a/docs/quickstart/studio-basic-auth-secret.yaml b/docs/quickstart/studio-basic-auth-secret.yaml
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index 0000000..18bbb01
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/quickstart/studio-basic-auth-secret.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+apiVersion: v1
+kind: Secret
+metadata:
+  name: supabase-studio-basic-auth
+  namespace: supabase-quickstart
+type: Opaque
+stringData:
+  username: supabase
+  password: quickstart-studio-password
diff --git a/docs/quickstart/supabase-project.yaml b/docs/quickstart/supabase-project.yaml
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--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/quickstart/supabase-project.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+apiVersion: supabase.strrl.dev/v1alpha1
+kind: SupabaseProject
+metadata:
+  name: quickstart
+  namespace: supabase-quickstart
+spec:
+  projectId: quickstart
+  database:
+    secretRef:
+      name: supabase-db-credentials
+    sslMode: require
+  storage:
+    secretRef:
+      name: supabase-storage-credentials
+    forcePathStyle: true
+  studio:
+    dashboardBasicAuthSecretRef:
+      name: supabase-studio-basic-auth