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+# Quickstart Stateless Migration Tutorial
+
+This quickstart covers a generic stateless migration workflow in Crane using the current pipeline:
+
+`export -> transform -> apply -> validate`
+
+## Prerequisites
+
+- `crane` CLI installed
+- Kubernetes access configured for source and target contexts
+- A namespace in the source cluster containing the resources you want to migrate
+
+Before running any Crane commands, make sure your local `kubeconfig` already includes valid contexts for both clusters. Crane runs locally and uses the `--context` flag to talk directly to each cluster using your existing Kubernetes RBAC permissions.
+
+## 1) Set Environment Variables
+
+```bash
+export SOURCE_CONTEXT=src-cluster
+export TARGET_CONTEXT=tgt-cluster
+export SOURCE_NAMESPACE=source-namespace
+```
+
+## 2) Export
+
+`crane export` discovers resources in the source namespace and writes them as Kubernetes manifest files on disk.
+
+Run export with an explicit export directory:
+
+- `-e export` tells Crane to write exported manifests under the `export/` directory.
+
+```bash
+crane export \
+  --context "${SOURCE_CONTEXT}" \
+  -n "${SOURCE_NAMESPACE}" \
+  -e export
+```
+
+Example output snippet (abbreviated):
+
+```text
+INFO[0000] adding resource: secrets to the list of GVRs to be extracted
+INFO[0000] adding resource: services to the list of GVRs to be extracted
+INFO[0000] adding resource: deployments to the list of GVRs to be extracted
+INFO[0000] No matching cluster-scoped resources found; _cluster/ directory will be empty
+INFO[0000] Writing objects of resource: secrets to the output directory
+INFO[0000] Writing objects of resource: services to the output directory
+INFO[0000] Writing objects of resource: deployments to the output directory
+```
+
+What you can expect to see (example):
+
+- Log lines showing resources discovered for extraction (for example, `secrets`, `services`, `configmaps`, `deployments`)
+- A write phase with lines like `Writing objects of resource: <name> to the output directory`
+- If no cluster-scoped objects match, a message that `_cluster/` will be empty
+- Exported manifests written under `export/resources/${SOURCE_NAMESPACE}/`
+- If extraction fails for specific objects, failure artifacts are written under `export/failures/${SOURCE_NAMESPACE}/`
+
+## 3) Transform (Default Stage)
+
+`crane transform` takes exported manifests (output from `crane export`), cleans and updates them in stages, and saves the results in `transform/`.
+
+A stage is one step in the transform pipeline.
+
+Think of it like an assembly line:
+- Stage 1 takes your exported manifests and makes the first set of changes.
+- Stage 2 takes Stage 1 output and applies the next changes.
+
+Example: `10_KubernetesPlugin` runs first, then `25_CustomStage` runs on top of that result.
+
+Run transform with explicit input and stage directories:
+
+- `-e export` tells Crane to read exported resources from the `export/` directory.
+- `-t transform` tells Crane to write and execute transform stages under the `transform/` directory.
+
+```bash
+crane transform -e export -t transform
+```
+
+Example output snippet (abbreviated):
+
+```text
+INFO[0000] No existing stages found, creating default stages for 1 plugin(s)
+INFO[0000] Creating default stage for plugin: KubernetesPlugin -> 10_KubernetesPlugin
+INFO[0000] Created 1 default stage(s): [10_KubernetesPlugin]
+INFO[0000] Populating and executing all default stages
+INFO[0000] Executing stage 1/1: 10_KubernetesPlugin
+INFO[0000] Stage 10_KubernetesPlugin: loaded 10 input resource(s)
+INFO[0000] Stage 10_KubernetesPlugin: produced 4 output resource(s)
+INFO[0000] Successfully completed 1 stage(s)
+```
+
+What you can expect to see (example):
+
+- Default stage creation logs when no stages exist yet
+- Stage execution progress (for example, `Executing stage 1/1: 10_KubernetesPlugin`)
+- Input and output resource counts per stage
+- A success line indicating all stages completed
+- Stage artifacts in `transform/10_KubernetesPlugin/`: `input/`, `patches/`, `output/`, `kustomization.yaml`
+
+Stage naming uses numeric prefixes to control order. For example, `10_KubernetesPlugin` runs before `25_CustomStage`, and Crane executes stages from lowest number to highest number.
+
+Expected transform directory shape (example):
+
+```text
+transform/
+└── 10_KubernetesPlugin
+    ├── input/
+    │   ├── ...ConfigMap...
+    │   ├── ...Deployment...
+    │   ├── ...Secret...
+    │   └── ...Service...
+    ├── kustomization.yaml
+    ├── output/
+    │   └── <source-namespace>/
+    │       ├── ...ConfigMap...
+    │       ├── ...Deployment...
+    │       ├── ...Secret...
+    │       └── ...Service...
+    └── patches/
+        ├── ...Deployment.patch.yaml
+        ├── ...ConfigMap.patch.yaml
+        ├── ...Secret.patch.yaml
+        └── ...Service.patch.yaml
+```
+
+## 4) Optional: Add Additional Stages
+
+You can add a custom pass-through stage:
+
+```bash
+crane transform -e export -t transform 25_CustomStage
+```
+
+What you should see (example):
+
+- `transform/25_CustomStage/` with `input/`, `output/`, `kustomization.yaml`
+
+Custom stages are rendered with Kustomize. After editing resources in your custom stage, you can preview the rendered manifests before `crane apply`:
+
+```bash
+kubectl kustomize transform/25_CustomStage
+```
+
+In most pipelines, your custom stage is the last stage under `transform/`, so rendering that directory should show the manifests that will feed into the final apply output.
+
+For a deeper explanation of stage ordering, stage structure, and multi-stage behavior, see [Multi-Stage Kustomize Transform Pipeline](./multistage-pipeline.md).
+
+If a custom stage already contains edits, rerun with `--force` to regenerate the custom stage directories and custom stage artifacts under `transform/` (for example: `input/`, `output/`, `kustomization.yaml`):
+
+```bash
+crane transform -e export -t transform --force
+```
+
+## 5) Apply (Render Final Manifests)
+
+`crane apply` renders the final manifests from transform stages into deployable output files.
+
+Run apply with explicit transform and output directories:
+
+- `-t transform` tells Crane which staged transform directory to read.
+- `-o output` tells Crane where to write the final rendered manifests.
+
+```bash
+crane apply -t transform -o output
+```
+
+Example output snippet (abbreviated):
+
+```text
+INFO[0000] Applying all stages...
+INFO[0000] Applying final stage: 10_KubernetesPlugin
+INFO[0000] Successfully applied final stage to .../output/output.yaml
+```
+
+What you can expect to see (example):
+
+- `output/output.yaml` generated as one combined file containing all rendered resources (useful for a single `kubectl apply -f`).
+- `output/resources/` generated as separate files per resource (useful when you want to review, diff, or apply resources selectively).
+
+For namespace-only/non-admin scenarios:
+
+```bash
+crane apply \
+  --skip-cluster-scoped
+```
+
+## 6) Validate (Optional, Recommended)
+
+`crane validate` checks whether the rendered manifests are compatible with the target cluster API.
+
+Run live validation against the target cluster API. This step is optional, but strongly recommended before promoting manifests across environments:
+
+- `-i output` tells Crane which rendered manifest directory to validate.
+- `--validate-dir validate` tells Crane where to write validation reports and failure artifacts.
+
+```bash
+crane validate \
+  --context "${TARGET_CONTEXT}" \
+  -i output \
+  --validate-dir validate
+```
+
+Example output snippet (abbreviated):
+
+```text
+INFO[0000] Scanned 3 distinct GVK+namespace tuples
+INFO[0000] Validating in live mode against context "tgt-cluster"
+Mode: live (context: tgt-cluster)
+...
+Summary: 3 scanned, 3 compatible, 0 incompatible
+Result: PASSED — all resources compatible with target cluster
+INFO[0000] Wrote validation report to validate/report.json
+```
+
+What you can expect to see (example):
+
+- Terminal output includes `Mode: live` and a compatibility summary/result
+- For successful validation, `Result: PASSED` with all scanned resources marked compatible
+- Validation report generated at `validate/report.json`
+- If incompatibilities are found, failure artifacts are written under `validate/failures/`
+
+Example report structure:
+
+```json
+{
+  "mode": "live",
+  "clusterContext": "tgt-cluster",
+  "results": [
+    {
+      "apiVersion": "apps/v1",
+      "kind": "Deployment",
+      "namespace": "target-namespace",
+      "resourcePlural": "deployments",
+      "status": "OK"
+    },
+    {
+      "apiVersion": "v1",
+      "kind": "Secret",
+      "namespace": "target-namespace",
+      "resourcePlural": "secrets",
+      "status": "OK"
+    },
+    {
+      "apiVersion": "v1",
+      "kind": "Service",
+      "namespace": "target-namespace",
+      "resourcePlural": "services",
+      "status": "OK"
+    }
+  ],
+  "totalScanned": 3,
+  "compatible": 3,
+  "incompatible": 0
+}
+```
+
+## 7) Optional: Instructions-File Driven Transform
+
+For repeatable pipelines, drive stage behavior with an instructions file:
+
+```bash
+crane transform \
+  --instructions-file ./instructions.yaml
+```
+
+Example `instructions.yaml`:
+
+```yaml
+stages:
+  - KubernetesPlugin
+  - CustomStage
+```
+
+Stage directory names created from the example above:
+
+```text
+transform/
+├── 10_KubernetesPlugin/
+└── 20_CustomStage/
+```
+
+How this works:
+
+- Crane takes each entry in `stages:` and auto-generates stage directory names with numeric prefixes (`10_`, `20_`, `30_`, ...).
+- Prefix numbers control execution order from lowest to highest.
+
+What you should see (example):
+
+- Stage directories defined by the instructions file are created in `transform/`
+- Transform runs exactly the stages listed in `instructions.yaml`, in the same order they are provided
+
+## 8) Apply Cleaned Manifests to Target Cluster
+
+After validation passes and you are satisfied with the cleaned manifests, apply them to the target cluster:
+
+```bash
+kubectl --context "${TARGET_CONTEXT}" apply -f output/output.yaml
+```
+
+Make sure the target namespace already exists before applying manifests, so namespace-scoped resources do not fail during apply.
+
+## Troubleshooting
+
+### Export directory already exists
+
+Use `--overwrite` with `crane export`.
+
+### Apply or validate directory already exists
+
+Use `--overwrite` with `crane apply` or `crane validate`.
+
+### Existing custom stage blocks rerun
+
+Use `crane transform --force` to regenerate stage directories.
+
+### Validation shows incompatibilities
+
+- Check `validate/report.json` for `apiVersion`/`kind` mismatches
+- Update transforms, then rerun `crane apply` and `crane validate`