diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
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@@ -1 +1,117 @@
-# openproject-mcp
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+# openproject-mcp
+
+`openproject-mcp` is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that connects AI assistants (such as Claude Desktop, Cursor, and Antigravity) to [OpenProject](https://github.com/opf/openproject) via OpenProject's REST API v3.
+
+It allows agents to browse, query, and reason about OpenProject workspaces using personal API keys over standard MCP transports (stdio).
+
+---
+
+## Features
+
+- **Project Discovery**: List accessible projects, inspect hierarchies, and retrieve project details.
+- **Work Package Browsing**: Query work packages with status, type, and custom filters; inspect work package details and relationships.
+- **Saved Queries (Views)**: Discover and execute saved project and global queries.
+- **Taxonomies & Metadata**: Query work package types (Tasks, Bugs, Features), statuses, priorities, and users to enable structured agent reasoning.
+- **HAL+JSON Normalization**: Converts OpenProject's verbose HAL+JSON representations into concise, token-efficient structures.
+- **Secure Authentication**: Uses OpenProject Personal API tokens via HTTP Basic Auth (`apikey:<token>`) with zero credential storage inside the codebase.
+
+---
+
+## Project Documentation
+
+- [AGENTS.md](AGENTS.md): Guidelines, coding standards, and workflow instructions for AI coding agents.
+- [docs/ARCHITECTURE.md](docs/ARCHITECTURE.md): System architecture, layer diagrams, tool schemas, and technical design.
+- [docs/DECISIONS.md](docs/DECISIONS.md): Architectural Decision Records (ADRs) documenting stack choices, protocols, and designs.
+
+---
+
+## Quickstart: Local OpenProject Test Stack
+
+A complete OpenProject 17 environment with PostgreSQL 17 and Memcached is included via Docker Compose for local testing and agentic validation.
+
+### Prerequisites
+
+- Docker and Docker Compose (v2+)
+- Node.js (>= 18) and npm
+
+### 1. Start the Environment & Seed Data
+
+Run the start script to boot the containers, wait for health checks, seed sample data, and generate a personal API token:
+
+```bash
+./scripts/start.sh
+```
+
+Or step-by-step:
+
+```bash
+# 1. Start the Docker Compose stack in the background
+docker compose up -d
+
+# 2. Wait for health checks, seed test data, and generate credentials
+./scripts/seed.sh
+```
+
+This will automatically create `.env.test` and `.env.local` containing the generated credentials:
+
+```env
+OPENPROJECT_BASE_URL=http://localhost:8080
+OPENPROJECT_API_KEY=opapi-...
+OPENPROJECT_TEST_PROJECT=mcp-test-project
+```
+
+### 2. Verify OpenProject is Running
+
+Once seeded, OpenProject is accessible at [http://localhost:8080](http://localhost:8080):
+- **Username**: `admin`
+- **Password**: `admin12345678`
+
+You can verify the API v3 connection directly using `curl`:
+
+```bash
+curl -u "apikey:$(grep OPENPROJECT_API_KEY .env.test | cut -d= -f2)" \
+  http://localhost:8080/api/v3/projects
+```
+
+### 3. Stop the Stack
+
+```bash
+./scripts/stop.sh
+# or
+docker compose down
+```
+
+To also remove database and asset volumes:
+
+```bash
+docker compose down -v
+```
+
+---
+
+## Configuration
+
+The MCP server accepts configuration through environment variables or a `.env` file:
+
+| Variable | Description | Default |
+| :--- | :--- | :--- |
+| `OPENPROJECT_BASE_URL` | Base URL of the OpenProject instance | `http://localhost:8080` |
+| `OPENPROJECT_API_KEY` | Personal API token (created under My Account > Access tokens) | - |
+| `PORT` | Local port for the Docker Compose web container | `8080` |
+| `TAG` | OpenProject container image tag | `17-slim` |
+| `POSTGRES_VERSION` | PostgreSQL container image tag | `17` |
+
+---
+
+## Development Roadmap
+
+- **Phase 1 (Current)**: Read-only browsing tools for projects, work packages, queries, and taxonomies.
+- **Phase 2**: Mutating operations (create/update work packages, add comments, log time).
+- **Phase 3**: Attachment reading and document resources.
+- **Phase 4**: SSE / Stream transport for remote server deployments.
+
+---
+
+## License
+
+GNU General Public License v3.0 (aligned with OpenProject Community Edition).
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diff --git a/docs/DECISIONS.md b/docs/DECISIONS.md
index c2746c2..557d100 100644
--- a/docs/DECISIONS.md
+++ b/docs/DECISIONS.md
@@ -183,3 +183,25 @@ Adopt a **fixture-driven test strategy**:
   - Safe regression detection when updating normalizers or tool handlers.
 - **Negative**:
   - Fixtures must be periodically verified when targeting major new OpenProject versions.
+
+---
+
+## ADR-009: Target OpenProject 17 as Primary Runtime and Test Environment
+
+### Status
+Accepted
+
+### Context
+OpenProject 17 is the current major stable release, featuring optimized container images (`17-slim`, ~410MB), modern Rails 7.x foundations, updated API v3 behaviors, and streamlined dependency footprints.
+
+### Decision
+Target **OpenProject 17** (`openproject/openproject:17-slim`) for all containerized local development stacks, automated seeding scripts, and live integration testing environments.
+
+### Consequences
+- **Positive**:
+  - Aligns MCP server features with the current active OpenProject release.
+  - Much smaller docker image download footprint compared to older releases (~410MB vs ~865MB).
+  - Ensured compatibility with the latest API v3 specifications and authentication mechanics.
+- **Negative**:
+  - Ensures we adhere to OpenProject 17's specific cache configuration and host name variables.
+