diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci-cd.yml b/.github/workflows/ci-cd.yml
index a98b15e..92ec171 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci-cd.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci-cd.yml
@@ -19,6 +19,18 @@ jobs:
       - name: Checkout code
         uses: actions/checkout@v4
 
+      - name: Set up Python
+        uses: actions/setup-python@v5
+        with:
+          python-version: '3.12'
+
+      - name: Install Ruff
+        run: pip install ruff
+
+      # Check code style and formatting issues
+      - name: Run Ruff linter
+        run: ruff check .
+
   test:
     name: Run Tests
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
@@ -28,6 +40,22 @@ jobs:
       - name: Checkout code
         uses: actions/checkout@v4
 
+      - name: Set up Python
+        uses: actions/setup-python@v5
+        with:
+          python-version: '3.12'
+
+      # Install all req packages
+      - name: Install dependencies
+        run: |
+          pip install -r requirements.txt
+          pip install pytest pytest-cov
+
+      # Run tests and check that at least 80% of code is tested
+      # If coverage is below 80%, this step will fail
+      - name: Run tests with coverage
+        run: pytest --cov=app --cov-report=term-missing --cov-fail-under=80
+
   build:
     name: Build Docker Image
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
@@ -40,3 +68,40 @@ jobs:
     steps:
       - name: Checkout code
         uses: actions/checkout@v4
+
+      # Set up Docker Buildx for building images
+      - name: Set up Docker Buildx
+        uses: docker/setup-buildx-action@v3
+
+      # Log in to GitHub Container Registry so we can push images
+      - name: Log in to GitHub Container Registry
+        uses: docker/login-action@v3
+        with:
+          registry: ghcr.io
+          username: ${{ github.actor }}
+          password: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+
+      # Prepare image tags based on whether this is a release or regular push
+      - name: Prepare Docker image tags
+        id: meta
+        uses: docker/metadata-action@v5
+        with:
+          images: ghcr.io/${{ github.repository }}
+          tags: |
+            type=ref,event=branch
+            type=sha,prefix={{branch}}-
+            type=semver,pattern={{version}}
+            type=semver,pattern={{major}}.{{minor}}
+            type=raw,value=latest,enable=${{ github.event_name == 'release' }}
+
+      # Build the Docker image and push it if this is a release
+      - name: Build and push Docker image
+        uses: docker/build-push-action@v5
+        with:
+          context: .
+          file: docker/Dockerfile
+          push: ${{ github.event_name == 'release' }}
+          tags: ${{ steps.meta.outputs.tags }}
+          labels: ${{ steps.meta.outputs.labels }}
+          cache-from: type=gha
+          cache-to: type=gha,mode=max
diff --git a/.pre-commit-config.yaml b/.pre-commit-config.yaml
index d337d10..48f7f6f 100644
--- a/.pre-commit-config.yaml
+++ b/.pre-commit-config.yaml
@@ -1,5 +1,47 @@
 repos:
+  # Basic checks - these catch common mistakes
   - repo: https://github.com/pre-commit/pre-commit-hooks
     rev: v5.0.0
     hooks:
+      # Removes extra spaces at the end of lines
       - id: trailing-whitespace
+      
+      # Stops you from committing files bigger than 500KB
+      - id: check-added-large-files
+        args: ['--maxkb=500']
+      
+      # Checks if YAML files have correct syntax
+      # Skips Helm chart files because they have special template syntax
+      - id: check-yaml
+        exclude: ^helm/
+        args: ['--unsafe']
+  
+  # Sorts your Python imports alphabetically so they look neat
+  - repo: https://github.com/pycqa/isort
+    rev: 5.13.2
+    hooks:
+      - id: isort
+        args: ['--profile', 'black']
+  
+  # Formats your Python code to look clean and consistent
+  - repo: https://github.com/psf/black
+    rev: 24.2.0
+    hooks:
+      - id: black
+        language_version: python3
+  
+  # Checks your Python code for security problems
+  - repo: https://github.com/PyCQA/bandit
+    rev: 1.7.7
+    hooks:
+      - id: bandit
+        args: ['-c', 'pyproject.toml']
+        additional_dependencies: ['bandit[toml]']
+  
+  # Makes sure you don't accidentally commit passwords or API keys
+  - repo: https://github.com/Yelp/detect-secrets
+    rev: v1.4.0
+    hooks:
+      - id: detect-secrets
+        args: ['--baseline', '.secrets.baseline']
+        exclude: package.lock.json
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 79bb814..dd2933b 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+<!-- Raymond Chan -->
 GitOps with FastAPI
 ==============
 
diff --git a/app/main.py b/app/main.py
index ae8adc6..364bed9 100644
--- a/app/main.py
+++ b/app/main.py
@@ -49,5 +49,16 @@ async def get_item(item_id: int):
     }
 
 
+@app.post("/api/items")
+async def create_item(name: str, description: str):
+    """Create a new item."""
+    return {
+        "id": 999,
+        "name": name,
+        "description": description,
+        "created": True
+    }
+
+
 if __name__ == "__main__":
     uvicorn.run(app, host="0.0.0.0", port=8000)
diff --git a/custom-values.yaml b/custom-values.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fdd948e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/custom-values.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+# Custom values for deploying with HPA
+# This file overrides the default values.yaml
+
+# Use the locally built image
+image:
+  repository: fastapi-gitops-starter
+  tag: local
+  pullPolicy: Never  # Never pull from registry, use local image
+
+# Disable image pull secret since we're using a local image
+registry:
+  createImagePullSecret: false
+
+imagePullSecrets: []
+
+# Configure the app's ingress host
+ingress:
+  enabled: true
+  className: "nginx"
+  hosts:
+    - host: minikube.test
+      paths:
+        - path: /GitOps-Starter
+          pathType: Prefix
+
+# Set resource limits and requests
+resources:
+  limits:
+    cpu: 500m
+    memory: 512Mi
+  requests:
+    cpu: 100m
+    memory: 128Mi
+
+# Enable Horizontal Pod Autoscaler (HPA)
+# HPA automatically scales the number of pods based on CPU/memory usage
+autoscaling:
+  enabled: true
+  minReplicas: 2              # Start with at least 2 pods
+  maxReplicas: 10             # Scale up to maximum 10 pods
+  targetCPUUtilizationPercentage: 10    # Scale up when CPU usage exceeds 10%
+  targetMemoryUtilizationPercentage: 80  # Scale up when memory usage exceeds 80%
diff --git a/tests/test_main.py b/tests/test_main.py
index db89e2f..87d1ca3 100644
--- a/tests/test_main.py
+++ b/tests/test_main.py
@@ -41,3 +41,21 @@ def test_get_item():
     assert data["id"] == 5
     assert data["name"] == "Item 5"
     assert "item number 5" in data["description"]
+
+
+def test_create_item():
+    """Test the create item endpoint."""
+    # Send a POST request
+    response = client.post(
+        "/api/items",
+        params={"name": "Test Item", "description": "This is a test item"}
+    )
+    # Check request
+    assert response.status_code == 200
+    # Get the response data
+    data = response.json()
+    # Check expected fields are in the response
+    assert data["id"] == 999
+    assert data["name"] == "Test Item"
+    assert data["description"] == "This is a test item"
+    assert data["created"]