diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 2e9a1cd..e48769d 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -1,3 +1,7 @@
+# Quick links
+
+- **Ops / setup / deployment / testing**: `docs/OPERATIONS.md`
+
 # Dennis Konkol Portfolio - Modern Dark Theme
 
 Ein modernes, responsives Portfolio mit dunklem Design, coolen Animationen und einem integrierten Admin-Dashboard.
diff --git a/docs/OPERATIONS.md b/docs/OPERATIONS.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..261cecb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/OPERATIONS.md
@@ -0,0 +1,97 @@
+# Operations Guide (Dev, Texts, Testing, Deployment)
+
+## Where do I update texts?
+
+### 1) UI texts (recommended default)
+- **English**: `messages/en.json`
+- **Deutsch**: `messages/de.json`
+
+These are loaded via `next-intl` and are the source of truth for **labels, headings, buttons, validation messages** etc.
+
+### 2) Page content via CMS (optional overrides)
+Some sections support a CMS override via `/api/content/page` (falls back to `messages/*` automatically):
+- `home-hero`
+- `home-about`
+- `home-contact`
+
+If your DB/CMS tables are not available, the site will **not crash** and will keep showing the `messages/*` content.
+
+## Local development
+
+### Requirements
+- Node.js 18+
+- Docker (optional but recommended for DB/Redis)
+
+### Install
+```bash
+npm ci
+```
+
+### Run (recommended)
+```bash
+npm run dev
+```
+
+### Run without Docker (no DB/Redis)
+```bash
+npm run dev:simple
+```
+
+### Run plain Next.js dev server
+```bash
+npm run dev:next
+```
+
+### Environment
+Copy `env.example` → `.env.local` and adjust.
+
+## Testing
+
+### Unit tests (Jest)
+```bash
+npm run test
+```
+
+### E2E tests (Playwright)
+```bash
+npm run test:e2e
+```
+
+### Useful subsets
+```bash
+npm run test:hydration
+npm run test:critical
+```
+
+## Deployment overview
+
+### Branches
+- `dev` → staging/dev environment
+- `production` → live environment
+
+Deployments are driven by CI workflows in `.gitea/workflows/`.
+
+### Health checks
+- `/api/health`
+
+## Nginx Proxy Manager (high level)
+
+Create proxy hosts for your domains pointing to the respective ports.
+If you see `421 Misdirected Request`, make sure the reverse proxy forwards `Host` properly and consider forcing `proxy_http_version 1.1`.
+
+## Gitea variables/secrets (high level)
+
+Minimum required secrets/variables depend on which features you enable, but typical production/staging need:
+- Base URLs (per environment)
+- Admin auth/session secrets
+- Email credentials
+- Optional n8n webhook secret/token
+
+## Troubleshooting
+
+### “docker compose not found”
+Use `npm run dev:simple` or install Docker.
+
+### Prisma migrations / existing DB
+If you introduce migrations into an existing DB, baseline/resolve the initial migration once to avoid “table already exists” issues.
+