diff --git a/.coderabbit.yaml b/.coderabbit.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..e333730a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.coderabbit.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+inheritance: true
+language: en-US
+reviews:
+  profile: "chill"
+  request_changes_workflow: false
+  high_level_summary: true
+  high_level_summary_placeholder: "@coderabbitai summary"
+  high_level_summary_in_walkthrough: true
+  review_status: true
+  collapse_walkthrough: true
+  sequence_diagrams: false
+  estimate_code_review_effort: false
+  poem: false
+  suggested_labels: false
+  changed_files_summary: true
+  auto_review:
+    enabled: true
+    drafts: true
+  path_filters:
+    - "!vendor/**"
+  tools:
+    golangci-lint:
+      enabled: true
+knowledge_base:
+  code_guidelines:
+    enabled: true
+    filePatterns:
+      - AGENTS.md
+      - .claude/agents/*.md
+      - .cursor/rules/*.mdc
+  learnings:
+    scope: local
diff --git a/AGENTS.md b/AGENTS.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..138e7e73
--- /dev/null
+++ b/AGENTS.md
@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
+# Agent Instructions
+
+This file provides context and rules for AI agents (Cursor, Claude Code, Copilot, etc.) working on the `karpenter-operator` repository.
+
+## What This Repo Is
+
+`karpenter-operator` is a CVO-managed (Cluster Version Operator) OpenShift operator that deploys and manages [Karpenter](https://karpenter.sh/) as an operand on OpenShift clusters. The operator discovers the cluster's cloud infrastructure at runtime and configures Karpenter accordingly.
+
+**This repo is currently scaffolding only.** The operator starts, runs health checks, and participates in leader election, but does not yet register any controllers or reconcile any resources. Cloud-provider logic, controllers, and CRDs will be added in subsequent commits.
+
+## Repository Layout
+
+```none
+cmd/                         Operator entry point
+pkg/operator/                Manager setup, options, validation
+pkg/version/                 Build-time version injection
+pkg/cloudprovider/           CloudProvider interface + per-provider implementations (planned)
+pkg/controllers/             Reconcilers (planned)
+install/                     CVO manifests (applied as-is to the cluster)
+```
+
+## Design Principles
+
+### Multi-cloud from the start
+
+This operator will eventually support deploying Karpenter on most major cloud providers, as well as Cluster API.
+Even though only AWS is being implemented first:
+
+- **Never import cloud-provider SDKs in generic packages.** Cloud-specific code belongs in `pkg/cloudprovider/<provider>/` (to be added). Generic code in `cmd/`, `pkg/operator/`, and `pkg/controllers/` must interact through interfaces.
+- **Use a `CloudProvider` interface** for anything provider-specific: credential readiness checks, operand configuration, node class reconciliation, CSR verification, etc.
+- **Detect the provider at runtime** from the OpenShift `Infrastructure` CR (`status.platformStatus.type`), not from build tags or hardcoded assumptions.
+- When adding AWS-specific behavior, always ask: "What would the Azure/GCP equivalent look like?" and leave room for it (interface methods, switch statements, TODOs).
+
+### CVO integration
+
+- Manifests in `install/` must carry `exclude.release.openshift.io/internal-openshift-hosted: "true"` and `include.release.openshift.io/self-managed-high-availability: "true"` annotations, or CVO will skip them.
+- CVO rewrites container image references in manifests when they match entries in `install/image-references`. Do not hardcode real image pullspecs — use the placeholder values from `image-references` instead.
+- CVO does not template or interpolate values in manifests. Any runtime configuration (cluster name, cloud provider details, etc.) must be discovered by the operator at startup.
+
+### Operator / operand separation
+
+- The **operator** (this binary) runs on control-plane nodes, discovers infrastructure, and manages the operand lifecycle.
+- The **operand** (Karpenter) is a separate image deployed by the operator into the same namespace. The operator creates the operand's Deployment, ServiceAccount, RBAC, and passes cloud configuration via environment variables and volume mounts.
+
+## Coding Conventions
+
+- **Dependencies** are vendored. Run `make vendor` after changing `go.mod`.
+- **Import ordering** is opinionated and enforced by `.golangci.yml`. Run `make lint` after changes to auto-fix.
+- **Linting and testing**: Run `make verify` to execute all checks. See `Makefile` for individual targets.
+- **No comments that just narrate code.** Comments should explain non-obvious intent, trade-offs, or constraints only.
diff --git a/CLAUDE.md b/CLAUDE.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..47dc3e3d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/CLAUDE.md
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+AGENTS.md
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..c4534057
--- /dev/null
+++ b/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+# karpenter-operator
+
+OpenShift operator that deploys and manages [Karpenter](https://karpenter.sh/) on Red Hat OpenShift clusters. Managed by the Cluster Version Operator (CVO) as part of the OpenShift release payload.
+
+## Building
+
+```bash
+make build        # Build the operator binary
+make test         # Run unit tests
+make lint         # Run golangci-lint
+make verify       # Run all checks (vet, fmt, lint, test)
+make docker-build # Build container image
+```
+
+## Deploying (dev)
+
+```bash
+make deploy \
+  IMG=quay.io/you/karpenter-operator:dev \
+  OPERAND_IMG=quay.io/you/karpenter:dev \
+  CLUSTER_NAME=my-cluster \
+  DEV=true
+```
+
+## Documentation
+
+- [AGENTS.md](AGENTS.md) — design principles and coding conventions for contributors and AI agents