diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 6e73417..05d1b8e 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -12,3 +12,7 @@ helm/argo-stack/charts/external-secrets-*.tgz
 .coverage
 htmlcov/
 .pytest_cache/
+
+# Vault cluster keys created from `make vault-init`
+secrets/
+cluster-keys.json
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 832af43..9e76e3c 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -121,7 +121,7 @@ show-limits:
 
 
 kind:
-	kind delete cluster || true
+# 	kind delete cluster || true
 	envsubst < kind-config.yaml | kind create cluster --config -
 
 minio:
@@ -385,19 +385,25 @@ help:
 # Vault Development Targets (Helm-based in-cluster deployment)
 # ============================================================================
 
+vault-init:
+	@echo "🌱 Initializing Vault..."
+	@mkdir -p secrets
+	@kubectl exec -n vault vault-0 -- vault operator init -key-shares=1 -key-threshold=1 -format=json > secrets/cluster-keys.json
+	@echo "🔓 Unsealing Vault..."
+	@kubectl exec -n vault vault-0 -- vault operator unseal $$(jq -r ".unseal_keys_b64[0]" secrets/cluster-keys.json)
+	@echo "🔑 Root Token: $$(jq -r ".root_token" cluster-keys.json)"
+
 vault-dev:
 	@echo "🔐 Installing Vault dev server in Kubernetes cluster..."
 	@helm repo add hashicorp https://helm.releases.hashicorp.com 2>/dev/null || true
 	@helm repo update hashicorp
+	
 	@kubectl create namespace vault 2>/dev/null || true
 	@helm upgrade --install vault hashicorp/vault \
 		--namespace vault \
-		--set server.dev.enabled=true \
-		--set server.dev.devRootToken=$(VAULT_TOKEN) \
-		--set injector.enabled=false \
-		--set ui.enabled=true \
-		--set server.dataStorage.enabled=false \
+		--values vault/values.yaml \
 		--wait --timeout 2m
+
 	@echo "⏳ Waiting for Vault to be ready..."
 	@kubectl wait --for=condition=Ready pod -l app.kubernetes.io/name=vault -n vault --timeout=120s
 	@echo "✅ Vault dev server running in cluster"
@@ -526,6 +532,7 @@ vault-auth:
                 ttl=1h
 	@kubectl exec -n vault vault-0 -- vault read auth/kubernetes/role/argo-stack
 	@echo "✅ Service account to Vault dev server added"
+
 vault-shell:
 	@echo "🐚 Opening shell in Vault pod..."
 	@kubectl exec -it -n vault vault-0 -- /bin/sh
diff --git a/docs/persistence.md b/docs/persistence.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..943d132
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/persistence.md
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+# Persistence
+
+> [!IMPORTANT]
+> This deployment uses **Vault Integrated Storage (Raft)** with Kubernetes PersistentVolumeClaims (PVCs)
+> to persist Vault data across pod restarts and node failures. Read this document carefully before
+> enabling persistence in a shared or production cluster.
+
+## 1. How Vault persistence works with Raft integrated storage
+
+This setup runs Vault using [Integrated Storage](https://developer.hashicorp.com/vault/docs/configuration/storage/raft),
+backed by persistent volumes:
+
+- Each Vault server pod in the StatefulSet mounts a **PersistentVolumeClaim**.
+- The Raft storage backend writes:
+  - The encrypted Vault data (key/value secrets, auth backends, leases, etc.).
+  - Raft logs and snapshots used for replication and recovery.
+- As long as the underlying PVCs remain intact, Vault’s data survives:
+  - Pod restarts
+  - Node drains or re-scheduling
+  - Helm upgrades of the chart
+
+In Raft mode:
+
+- One Vault node is the **leader**, handling reads and writes.
+- Other nodes are **followers**, replicating the Raft log.
+- If the leader fails, Raft elects a new leader from the remaining healthy nodes.
+
+The persistence behavior therefore depends on the lifecycle of the **PVCs**:
+
+- If pods are deleted but PVCs remain, **all Vault data is preserved**.
+- If PVCs are deleted or the underlying storage is recreated from scratch, Vault behaves like a **new,
+  empty cluster** and must be re-initialized.
+
+## 2. Initializing and unsealing Vault with persistent storage
+
+The first time you deploy Vault with persistent storage, the Raft backend is empty and Vault starts in a
+**sealed** and **uninitialized** state.
+
+### 2.1 One-time initialization
+
+Run these steps **once per new Raft storage** (per new set of PVCs). Do **not** re-run `vault operator init`
+against an already-initialized storage backend.
+
+1. Port-forward or otherwise access the active Vault pod:
+
+   ```bash
+   kubectl port-forward -n <namespace> \
+     svc/<vault-service-name> 8200:8200
diff --git a/vault/values.yaml b/vault/values.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f64a8a3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/vault/values.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+injector:
+  enabled: false
+
+ui:
+  enabled: true
+
+server:
+  dev:
+    enabled: false
+
+  ha:
+    enabled: true
+    replicas: 3
+
+    raft:
+      enabled: true
+      setNodeId: true
+      config: |
+        ui = true
+        listener "tcp" {
+          # TLS is disabled here to simplify local development and testing only.
+          # Do NOT use this configuration as-is in production environments.
+          # For production, you should enable TLS by setting `tls_disable = 0`
+          # and configuring `tls_cert_file` and `tls_key_file` (and related options)
+          # as documented in the Vault listener TCP configuration:
+          # https://developer.hashicorp.com/vault/docs/configuration/listener/tcp
+          tls_disable = 1
+          address = "[::]:8200"
+          cluster_address = "[::]:8201"
+        }
+        storage "raft" {
+          path = "/vault/data"
+        }
+
+  dataStorage:
+    enabled: true
+    size: 10Gi
+    mountPath: "/vault/data"
diff --git a/docs/vault-architecture-diagrams.md b/vault/vault-architecture-diagrams.md
similarity index 100%
rename from docs/vault-architecture-diagrams.md
rename to vault/vault-architecture-diagrams.md
diff --git a/docs/vault-integration-summary.md b/vault/vault-integration-summary.md
similarity index 100%
rename from docs/vault-integration-summary.md
rename to vault/vault-integration-summary.md
diff --git a/docs/vault-seeding-strategy.md b/vault/vault-seeding-strategy.md
similarity index 100%
rename from docs/vault-seeding-strategy.md
rename to vault/vault-seeding-strategy.md