diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci-cd.yml b/.github/workflows/ci-cd.yml
index a98b15e..7cebc8a 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci-cd.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci-cd.yml
@@ -13,20 +13,32 @@ jobs:
   lint:
     name: Lint Code
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    permissions:
-      contents: read
     steps:
       - name: Checkout code
         uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      - name: Set up Python
+        uses: actions/setup-python@v5
+        with:
+          python-version: '3.11'
+      - name: Install dependencies
+        run: pip install -r requirements.txt
+      - name: Lint with Ruff
+        run: ruff check app/
 
   test:
     name: Run Tests
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    permissions:
-      contents: read
     steps:
       - name: Checkout code
         uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      - name: Set up Python
+        uses: actions/setup-python@v5
+        with:
+          python-version: '3.11'
+      - name: Install dependencies
+        run: pip install -r requirements.txt
+      - name: Run tests with coverage
+        run: pytest --cov=app --cov-fail-under=80
 
   build:
     name: Build Docker Image
@@ -35,8 +47,28 @@ jobs:
     if: github.event_name == 'push' || github.event_name == 'release'
     permissions:
       contents: read
-      actions: read
       packages: write
     steps:
       - name: Checkout code
         uses: actions/checkout@v4
+
+      - name: Log in to GitHub Container Registry
+        if: github.event_name == 'release'
+        uses: docker/login-action@v3
+        with:
+          registry: ghcr.io
+          username: ${{ github.actor }}
+          password: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+
+      - name: Build Docker image
+        run: docker build -f docker/Dockerfile -t fastapi-gitops-starter .
+
+      - name: Tag and Push (Release only)
+        if: github.event_name == 'release'
+        run: |
+          VERSION=${{ github.event.release.tag_name }}
+          IMAGE_ID=ghcr.io/${{ github.repository_owner }}/fastapi-gitops-starter
+          docker tag fastapi-gitops-starter $IMAGE_ID:$VERSION
+          docker tag fastapi-gitops-starter $IMAGE_ID:latest
+          docker push $IMAGE_ID:$VERSION
+          docker push $IMAGE_ID:latest #
diff --git a/.github/workflows/markdown2pdf.yml b/.github/workflows/markdown2pdf.yml
index fcb4671..dd5035d 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/markdown2pdf.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/markdown2pdf.yml
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ jobs:
 
       - name: Replace links
         run: |
-          cp README.md README_WITH_LINKS.md 
+          cp README.md README_WITH_LINKS.md
           sed -i -e "s#\(^\!\[[^]]\+\](\)\(images/\)#\1$URL/\2#g" README_WITH_LINKS.md
           for file in sources/*; do sed -i -e "s#($file)#($URL/$file)#g" README_WITH_LINKS.md ; done
 
@@ -55,4 +55,4 @@ jobs:
         id: upload-readme-file
         with:
           name: 'README_WITH_LINKS.md'
-          path: README_WITH_LINKS.md
\ No newline at end of file
+          path: README_WITH_LINKS.md
diff --git a/.github/workflows/tests_md-urls.yml b/.github/workflows/tests_md-urls.yml
index f61463f..402cf3e 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/tests_md-urls.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/tests_md-urls.yml
@@ -16,4 +16,4 @@ jobs:
         with:
           file_types: .md,yaml,json
           retry_count: 3
-          exclude_patterns: http://IP:NODE_PORT,http://localhost,http://xxxxxxxxx.compute-1.amazonaws.com,http://IP,http://minikube.test,http://prometheus.monitoring:9090
\ No newline at end of file
+          exclude_patterns: http://IP:NODE_PORT,http://localhost,http://xxxxxxxxx.compute-1.amazonaws.com,http://IP,http://minikube.test,http://prometheus.monitoring:9090
diff --git a/.pre-commit-config.yaml b/.pre-commit-config.yaml
index d337d10..972cdf6 100644
--- a/.pre-commit-config.yaml
+++ b/.pre-commit-config.yaml
@@ -3,3 +3,29 @@ repos:
     rev: v5.0.0
     hooks:
       - id: trailing-whitespace
+      - id: end-of-file-fixer
+      - id: check-added-large-files
+      - id: check-yaml
+        exclude: ^helm/
+
+  - repo: https://github.com/pycqa/isort
+    rev: 5.13.2
+    hooks:
+      - id: isort
+
+  - repo: https://github.com/PyCQA/bandit
+    rev: 1.7.10
+    hooks:
+      - id: bandit
+        args: ["-s", "B101,B104"]
+
+  - repo: https://github.com/gitleaks/gitleaks
+    rev: v8.18.4
+    hooks:
+      - id: gitleaks
+
+  - repo: https://github.com/astral-sh/ruff-pre-commit
+    rev: v0.6.4
+    hooks:
+      - id: ruff
+        args: [--fix]
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 79bb814..a289605 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ GitOps with FastAPI
 
 ***University of Amsterdam***
 
-# 1. Introduction 
+# 1. Introduction
 
 In this tutorial, we use GitOps practices with FastAPI, including CI/CD pipelines, code quality tools, and automated testing.
 
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ In this tutorial, we use GitOps practices with FastAPI, including CI/CD pipeline
 
 
 
-# 2. Tutorial 
+# 2. Tutorial
 
 The steps of this tutorial are as follows:
 - [Building REST APIs with FastAPI](#21-setting-up-the-project)
@@ -60,17 +60,17 @@ Prerequisites:
    ```
 
 * Set Up the Python Environmentt:
-   
+
    ```bash
    # Create a virtual environment
    python -m venv venv
-   
+
    # Activate the virtual environment
    # On Linux/MacOS:
    source venv/bin/activate
    # On Windows:
    venv\Scripts\activate
-   
+
    # Install dependencies
    pip install -r requirements.txt
    ```
@@ -110,7 +110,7 @@ Prerequisites:
    ```bash
    # Check for issues
    ruff check app/ tests/
-   
+
    # Fix auto-fixable issues
    ruff check app/ tests/ --fix
    ```
@@ -120,7 +120,7 @@ Prerequisites:
    ```bash
    # Check formatting
    black --check app/ tests/
-   
+
    # Format code
    black app/ tests/
    ```
@@ -134,7 +134,7 @@ Pre-commit hooks automatically run checks before each commit to ensure consisten
    ```bash
    # Install pre-commit
    pip install pre-commit
-   
+
    # Install the git hooks
    pre-commit install
    ```
@@ -142,11 +142,11 @@ Pre-commit hooks automatically run checks before each commit to ensure consisten
 * Using Pre-commit:
 
    Pre-commit will now run automatically on `git commit`. You can also run it manually:
-   
+
    ```bash
    # Run on all files
    pre-commit run --all-files
-   
+
    # Run on staged files
    pre-commit run
    ```
@@ -200,14 +200,14 @@ This repository includes a Helm chart for deploying the application to Kubernete
   - Kubernetes 1.19+
   - Helm 3.0+
 
-* Install the Helm Chart: 
+* Install the Helm Chart:
 
    ```bash
    helm install my-release ./helm/fastapi-gitops-starter
    ```
 
-* Uninstall the Helm Chart: 
-   
+* Uninstall the Helm Chart:
+
    ```bash
    helm uninstall my-release
    ```
@@ -239,7 +239,7 @@ including host and paths.
    * To make sure we do not commit secrets
    * To check code style
 
-  
+
 ## 3.2 Add a New Endpoint
 
 1. Open `app/main.py`
@@ -287,4 +287,4 @@ kubectl get hpa -n default -w
 ## 3.5 Questions
 
 1. The auto-scaling did not work as expected. What could be the possible reasons?
-2. How does Horizontal Pod Autoscaling (HPA) work in Kubernetes?
\ No newline at end of file
+2. How does Horizontal Pod Autoscaling (HPA) work in Kubernetes?
diff --git a/app/main.py b/app/main.py
index ae8adc6..7637ea4 100644
--- a/app/main.py
+++ b/app/main.py
@@ -51,3 +51,13 @@ async def get_item(item_id: int):
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":
     uvicorn.run(app, host="0.0.0.0", port=8000)
+
+@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
+    }
diff --git a/custom-values.yaml b/custom-values.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..62bc04b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/custom-values.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+autoscaling:
+  enabled: true
+  minReplicas: 1
+  maxReplicas: 5
+  targetCPUUtilizationPercentage: 10
+
+resources:
+  limits:
+    cpu: 100m
+    memory: 128Mi
+  requests:
+    cpu: 50m
+    memory: 64Mi
diff --git a/helm/fastapi-gitops-starter/example-values.yaml b/helm/fastapi-gitops-starter/example-values.yaml
index 2a02efb..1b7fe00 100644
--- a/helm/fastapi-gitops-starter/example-values.yaml
+++ b/helm/fastapi-gitops-starter/example-values.yaml
@@ -28,5 +28,3 @@ autoscaling:
   minReplicas: 1
   maxReplicas: 3
   targetCPUUtilizationPercentage: 10
-
-
diff --git a/helm/fastapi-gitops-starter/secret-example-values.yaml b/helm/fastapi-gitops-starter/secret-example-values.yaml
index 68c2a0e..a5d5e73 100644
--- a/helm/fastapi-gitops-starter/secret-example-values.yaml
+++ b/helm/fastapi-gitops-starter/secret-example-values.yaml
@@ -34,5 +34,3 @@ autoscaling:
   minReplicas: 1
   maxReplicas: 3
   targetCPUUtilizationPercentage: 10
-
-
diff --git a/tests/test_main.py b/tests/test_main.py
index db89e2f..3890a5a 100644
--- a/tests/test_main.py
+++ b/tests/test_main.py
@@ -41,3 +41,18 @@ def test_get_item():
     assert data["id"] == 5
     assert data["name"] == "Item 5"
     assert "item number 5" in data["description"]
+    "This is the end of test_main.py"
+
+def test_create_item():
+    """Test the creation of a new item."""
+    response = client.post(
+        "/api/items",
+        params={"name": "New Item", "description": "This is a test item"}
+    )
+    assert response.status_code == 200
+    assert response.json() == {
+        "id": 999,
+        "name": "New Item",
+        "description": "This is a test item",
+        "created": True
+    }