diff --git a/deploy-k3s/manifests/kratos/README.md b/deploy-k3s/manifests/kratos/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..55d6145
--- /dev/null
+++ b/deploy-k3s/manifests/kratos/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,92 @@
+# Ory Kratos — honeyDue identity service (Phase 1: infrastructure)
+
+This directory deploys [Ory Kratos](https://www.ory.sh/kratos/) into the
+`honeydue` namespace as the identity provider — replacing the hand-rolled auth
+in `internal/services/auth_service.go` etc.
+
+**Phase 1 is infrastructure only.** Once deployed, Kratos runs but nothing uses
+it yet — the honeyDue Go API still does its own auth. Phase 2 (backend swap)
+and Phase 3 (KMP/web clients) follow. Migrating onto Kratos can lose all
+existing user data — honeyDue is pre-production, so no user import is done.
+
+The deploy is **gated**: `03-deploy.sh` applies Kratos only when the
+`kratos-secrets` Secret exists, and `02-setup-secrets.sh` creates that Secret
+only when `config.yaml` has a `kratos:` block. Until then the existing stack
+deploys completely unaffected.
+
+## Files
+
+| File | What |
+|---|---|
+| `configmap.yaml` | `kratos.yml`, identity schema, Google/Apple OIDC claim mappers (no secrets) |
+| `migrate-job.yaml` | `kratos migrate sql` — schema migration, run before the Deployment |
+| `kratos.yaml` | Deployment (×2), Service, NetworkPolicies |
+| `ingress.yaml` | `auth.myhoneydue.com` → Kratos public API :4433 |
+
+## Operator prerequisites (must be done before deploying)
+
+1. **Kratos version** — Ory uses CalVer (`v25.x` / `v26.x`). Pick the current
+   stable, then replace `REPLACE_WITH_CURRENT_STABLE_TAG` in `kratos.yaml` and
+   `migrate-job.yaml` with `oryd/kratos:vXX.Y@sha256:<digest>`, and set the
+   matching `version:` in `configmap.yaml`.
+
+2. **Kratos database** — create a separate Neon database named `kratos` (do not
+   share honeyDue's). Capture its connection string as the DSN.
+
+3. **DNS** — add `auth.myhoneydue.com` in Cloudflare (proxied), pointing at the
+   cluster ingress like the other honeyDue hosts. Confirm the
+   `cloudflare-origin-cert` TLS secret covers `auth.myhoneydue.com`.
+
+4. **Google OAuth client** — Google Cloud Console → create an OAuth 2.0 client.
+   Redirect URI: `https://auth.myhoneydue.com/self-service/methods/oidc/callback/google`.
+   Put the **client ID** into `configmap.yaml` (`GOOGLE_OAUTH_CLIENT_ID`); the
+   **client secret** goes in `config.yaml`.
+
+5. **Apple Sign In** — Apple Developer → a Services ID + a Sign in with Apple
+   key. Return URL: `https://auth.myhoneydue.com/self-service/methods/oidc/callback/apple`.
+   Put the **Services ID / Team ID / Key ID** into `configmap.yaml`
+   (`APPLE_SERVICES_ID` / `APPLE_TEAM_ID` / `APPLE_PRIVATE_KEY_ID`); the **.p8
+   private key** goes in `config.yaml`.
+
+6. **`config.yaml`** — add a `kratos:` block:
+   ```yaml
+   kratos:
+     dsn: "postgres://USER:PASS@HOST/kratos?sslmode=require"
+     secrets_cookie: "<openssl rand -hex 16>"   # generate ONCE, keep stable
+     secrets_cipher: "<openssl rand -hex 16>"   # must be exactly 32 chars
+     smtp_connection_uri: "smtps://USER:PASS@smtp.fastmail.com:465/"
+     google_client_secret: "<from Google Cloud Console>"
+     apple_private_key: |
+       -----BEGIN PRIVATE KEY-----
+       ...
+       -----END PRIVATE KEY-----
+   ```
+   `secrets_cookie` / `secrets_cipher` must stay stable forever — rotating them
+   invalidates every session and makes encrypted data unreadable.
+
+## Deploy
+
+```bash
+cd honeyDueAPI-go
+export KUBECONFIG="$(pwd)/deploy-k3s/kubeconfig"
+./deploy-k3s/scripts/02-setup-secrets.sh   # creates kratos-secrets from config.yaml
+./deploy-k3s/scripts/03-deploy.sh          # applies kratos manifests, runs migrate, rolls
+```
+
+`03-deploy.sh` applies `configmap.yaml` → runs `migrate-job.yaml` → waits →
+applies `kratos.yaml` + `ingress.yaml`.
+
+## Verify
+
+- `kubectl -n honeydue get pods -l app.kubernetes.io/name=kratos` — 2/2 Running
+- `kubectl -n honeydue logs job/kratos-migrate` — migration succeeded
+- `curl https://auth.myhoneydue.com/health/ready` — `{"status":"ok"}`
+- `curl https://auth.myhoneydue.com/self-service/registration/api` — returns a flow
+
+## Not yet done (later phases)
+
+- **Phase 2** — honeyDue Go backend: swap `middleware/auth.go` for Kratos
+  session validation, drop the hand-rolled auth code, rebuild the `users`
+  table keyed on the Kratos identity ID.
+- **Phase 3** — KMP mobile + Next.js web clients point at Kratos flows.
+- Admin-panel auth stays on its own JWT (out of scope).
diff --git a/deploy-k3s/manifests/kratos/configmap.yaml b/deploy-k3s/manifests/kratos/configmap.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..53a4fec
--- /dev/null
+++ b/deploy-k3s/manifests/kratos/configmap.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,204 @@
+# Ory Kratos configuration for honeyDue.
+#
+# Secrets are NOT in this ConfigMap. The DSN, cookie/cipher secrets, SMTP URI
+# and OIDC client secrets are injected as environment variables from the
+# kratos-secrets Secret (see kratos.yaml). Kratos is configured natively via
+# env vars, so this is the idiomatic split — only non-secret config here.
+#
+# OPERATOR: replace the GOOGLE_OAUTH_CLIENT_ID / APPLE_* client-id placeholders
+# below with the real (non-secret) OAuth client identifiers once the Apple and
+# Google OAuth apps exist. The matching secrets go in kratos-secrets.
+apiVersion: v1
+kind: ConfigMap
+metadata:
+  name: kratos-config
+  namespace: honeydue
+  labels:
+    app.kubernetes.io/name: kratos
+    app.kubernetes.io/part-of: honeydue
+data:
+  kratos.yml: |
+    # version must track the Kratos image tag — confirm against the deployed
+    # Kratos release (Ory uses CalVer, e.g. v26.x). See kratos/README.md.
+    version: v1.3.0
+
+    serve:
+      public:
+        base_url: https://auth.myhoneydue.com/
+        cors:
+          enabled: true
+          allowed_origins:
+            - https://myhoneydue.com
+            - https://app.myhoneydue.com
+            - https://admin.myhoneydue.com
+          allowed_methods: [GET, POST, PUT, PATCH, DELETE]
+          allowed_headers: [Authorization, Content-Type, X-Session-Token, Cookie]
+          exposed_headers: [Content-Type, Set-Cookie]
+      admin:
+        base_url: http://kratos.honeydue.svc.cluster.local:4434/
+
+    selfservice:
+      default_browser_return_url: https://app.myhoneydue.com/
+      allowed_return_urls:
+        - https://app.myhoneydue.com
+        - https://myhoneydue.com
+        - honeydue://callback
+
+      methods:
+        password:
+          enabled: true
+        code:                       # email one-time codes (verify/recover)
+          enabled: true
+        oidc:
+          enabled: true
+          config:
+            providers:
+              # index 0 — Google. client_secret is injected via env var
+              # SELFSERVICE_METHODS_OIDC_CONFIG_PROVIDERS_0_CLIENT_SECRET.
+              - id: google
+                provider: google
+                client_id: GOOGLE_OAUTH_CLIENT_ID
+                mapper_url: file:///etc/kratos/oidc.google.jsonnet
+                scope: [openid, email, profile]
+              # index 1 — Apple. apple_private_key is injected via env var
+              # SELFSERVICE_METHODS_OIDC_CONFIG_PROVIDERS_1_APPLE_PRIVATE_KEY.
+              - id: apple
+                provider: apple
+                client_id: APPLE_SERVICES_ID
+                apple_team_id: APPLE_TEAM_ID
+                apple_private_key_id: APPLE_PRIVATE_KEY_ID
+                mapper_url: file:///etc/kratos/oidc.apple.jsonnet
+                scope: [openid, email, name]
+
+      flows:
+        error:
+          ui_url: https://app.myhoneydue.com/auth/error
+        login:
+          ui_url: https://app.myhoneydue.com/auth/login
+          lifespan: 10m
+        registration:
+          ui_url: https://app.myhoneydue.com/auth/registration
+          lifespan: 10m
+          after:
+            password:
+              hooks:
+                - hook: session     # auto-login after registration
+            oidc:
+              hooks:
+                - hook: session
+        verification:
+          enabled: true
+          ui_url: https://app.myhoneydue.com/auth/verification
+          use: code
+          after:
+            default_browser_return_url: https://app.myhoneydue.com/
+        recovery:
+          enabled: true
+          ui_url: https://app.myhoneydue.com/auth/recovery
+          use: code
+        settings:
+          ui_url: https://app.myhoneydue.com/auth/settings
+          privileged_session_max_age: 15m
+        logout:
+          after:
+            default_browser_return_url: https://app.myhoneydue.com/
+
+    log:
+      level: info
+      format: json
+      leak_sensitive_values: false
+
+    ciphers:
+      algorithm: xchacha20-poly1305
+
+    hashers:
+      algorithm: bcrypt
+      bcrypt:
+        cost: 12
+
+    identity:
+      default_schema_id: honeydue
+      schemas:
+        - id: honeydue
+          url: file:///etc/kratos/identity.schema.json
+
+    courier:
+      smtp:
+        from_address: noreply@myhoneydue.com
+        from_name: honeyDue
+        # connection_uri is injected via env COURIER_SMTP_CONNECTION_URI
+
+    session:
+      lifespan: 720h                # 30-day sessions (mobile)
+      cookie:
+        domain: myhoneydue.com
+        same_site: Lax
+
+  identity.schema.json: |
+    {
+      "$id": "https://honeydue.app/identity.schema.json",
+      "$schema": "http://json-schema.org/draft-07/schema#",
+      "title": "honeyDue user",
+      "type": "object",
+      "properties": {
+        "traits": {
+          "type": "object",
+          "properties": {
+            "email": {
+              "type": "string",
+              "format": "email",
+              "title": "Email",
+              "minLength": 3,
+              "maxLength": 320,
+              "ory.sh/kratos": {
+                "credentials": {
+                  "password": { "identifier": true },
+                  "code": { "identifier": true, "via": "email" },
+                  "totp": { "account_name": true }
+                },
+                "verification": { "via": "email" },
+                "recovery": { "via": "email" }
+              }
+            },
+            "name": {
+              "type": "object",
+              "title": "Name",
+              "properties": {
+                "first": { "type": "string", "title": "First name", "maxLength": 100 },
+                "last": { "type": "string", "title": "Last name", "maxLength": 100 }
+              }
+            }
+          },
+          "required": ["email"],
+          "additionalProperties": false
+        }
+      }
+    }
+
+  oidc.google.jsonnet: |
+    // Maps Google OIDC claims onto the honeyDue identity schema.
+    local claims = std.extVar('claims');
+    {
+      identity: {
+        traits: {
+          email: claims.email,
+          [if 'given_name' in claims || 'family_name' in claims then 'name']: {
+            first: if 'given_name' in claims then claims.given_name else '',
+            last: if 'family_name' in claims then claims.family_name else '',
+          },
+        },
+      },
+    }
+
+  oidc.apple.jsonnet: |
+    // Maps Apple OIDC claims onto the honeyDue identity schema. Apple only
+    // returns the name on the very first authorization and not in the ID
+    // token claims, so only email is mapped here.
+    local claims = std.extVar('claims');
+    {
+      identity: {
+        traits: {
+          email: claims.email,
+        },
+      },
+    }
diff --git a/deploy-k3s/manifests/kratos/ingress.yaml b/deploy-k3s/manifests/kratos/ingress.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9637aa5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/deploy-k3s/manifests/kratos/ingress.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+# Public ingress for Ory Kratos — auth.myhoneydue.com → Kratos public API :4433.
+#
+# Chains the same edge middlewares as the honeyDue API ingress: cloudflare-only
+# (reject non-Cloudflare source IPs), security-headers, and the general
+# rate-limit. Kratos's self-service flows are multi-request, so the strict
+# auth-rate-limit (5/min) is intentionally NOT used here — Kratos applies its
+# own per-flow protections.
+#
+# OPERATOR: confirm the cloudflare-origin-cert TLS secret covers
+# auth.myhoneydue.com (apex + wildcard origin cert), and add the
+# auth.myhoneydue.com DNS record in Cloudflare (proxied) → cluster ingress.
+apiVersion: networking.k8s.io/v1
+kind: Ingress
+metadata:
+  name: honeydue-auth
+  namespace: honeydue
+  labels:
+    app.kubernetes.io/name: kratos
+    app.kubernetes.io/part-of: honeydue
+  annotations:
+    traefik.ingress.kubernetes.io/router.middlewares: honeydue-cloudflare-only@kubernetescrd,honeydue-security-headers@kubernetescrd,honeydue-rate-limit@kubernetescrd
+spec:
+  ingressClassName: traefik
+  tls:
+    - hosts:
+        - auth.myhoneydue.com
+      secretName: cloudflare-origin-cert
+  rules:
+    - host: auth.myhoneydue.com
+      http:
+        paths:
+          - path: /
+            pathType: Prefix
+            backend:
+              service:
+                name: kratos
+                port:
+                  number: 4433
diff --git a/deploy-k3s/manifests/kratos/kratos.yaml b/deploy-k3s/manifests/kratos/kratos.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..52f0235
--- /dev/null
+++ b/deploy-k3s/manifests/kratos/kratos.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,198 @@
+# Ory Kratos — identity service for honeyDue.
+#
+# Deployed only once the operator has completed the prerequisites in
+# kratos/README.md (Neon `kratos` database, auth.myhoneydue.com DNS, Apple +
+# Google OAuth apps, and the kratos-secrets Secret). Until then 03-deploy.sh
+# skips the Kratos apply, so the existing stack is unaffected.
+#
+# IMAGE: oryd/kratos uses CalVer (v25.x / v26.x). The tag below is a
+# fail-loud placeholder — set the current stable tag and pin a @sha256:
+# digest (like redis/vmagent) before deploying. See kratos/README.md.
+# The schema-migration Job is in migrate-job.yaml (run before this).
+---
+apiVersion: apps/v1
+kind: Deployment
+metadata:
+  name: kratos
+  namespace: honeydue
+  labels:
+    app.kubernetes.io/name: kratos
+    app.kubernetes.io/part-of: honeydue
+spec:
+  replicas: 2
+  strategy:
+    type: RollingUpdate
+    rollingUpdate:
+      maxUnavailable: 0
+      maxSurge: 1
+  selector:
+    matchLabels:
+      app.kubernetes.io/name: kratos
+  template:
+    metadata:
+      labels:
+        app.kubernetes.io/name: kratos
+        app.kubernetes.io/part-of: honeydue
+    spec:
+      automountServiceAccountToken: false
+      securityContext:
+        runAsNonRoot: true
+        seccompProfile:
+          type: RuntimeDefault
+      containers:
+        - name: kratos
+          image: oryd/kratos:REPLACE_WITH_CURRENT_STABLE_TAG
+          imagePullPolicy: IfNotPresent
+          args:
+            - serve
+            - --config
+            - /etc/kratos/kratos.yml
+            - --watch-courier      # send verification/recovery email in-process
+          ports:
+            - name: public
+              containerPort: 4433
+            - name: admin
+              containerPort: 4434
+          env:
+            # Kratos is configured natively via env vars; secrets come from
+            # the kratos-secrets Secret rather than the ConfigMap.
+            - name: DSN
+              valueFrom: { secretKeyRef: { name: kratos-secrets, key: dsn } }
+            - name: SECRETS_COOKIE
+              valueFrom: { secretKeyRef: { name: kratos-secrets, key: secrets_cookie } }
+            - name: SECRETS_CIPHER
+              valueFrom: { secretKeyRef: { name: kratos-secrets, key: secrets_cipher } }
+            - name: COURIER_SMTP_CONNECTION_URI
+              valueFrom: { secretKeyRef: { name: kratos-secrets, key: smtp_connection_uri } }
+            # OIDC provider secrets — index must match the providers list
+            # order in configmap.yaml (0 = google, 1 = apple).
+            - name: SELFSERVICE_METHODS_OIDC_CONFIG_PROVIDERS_0_CLIENT_SECRET
+              valueFrom: { secretKeyRef: { name: kratos-secrets, key: google_client_secret } }
+            - name: SELFSERVICE_METHODS_OIDC_CONFIG_PROVIDERS_1_APPLE_PRIVATE_KEY
+              valueFrom: { secretKeyRef: { name: kratos-secrets, key: apple_private_key } }
+          volumeMounts:
+            - name: config
+              mountPath: /etc/kratos
+              readOnly: true
+            - name: tmp
+              mountPath: /tmp
+          readinessProbe:
+            httpGet:
+              path: /health/ready
+              port: 4434
+            initialDelaySeconds: 5
+            periodSeconds: 10
+          livenessProbe:
+            httpGet:
+              path: /health/alive
+              port: 4434
+            initialDelaySeconds: 10
+            periodSeconds: 30
+          resources:
+            requests:
+              cpu: 100m
+              memory: 128Mi
+            limits:
+              cpu: "1"
+              memory: 512Mi
+          securityContext:
+            allowPrivilegeEscalation: false
+            readOnlyRootFilesystem: true
+            capabilities:
+              drop: ["ALL"]
+      volumes:
+        - name: config
+          configMap:
+            name: kratos-config
+        - name: tmp
+          emptyDir:
+            sizeLimit: 64Mi
+---
+apiVersion: v1
+kind: Service
+metadata:
+  name: kratos
+  namespace: honeydue
+  labels:
+    app.kubernetes.io/name: kratos
+    app.kubernetes.io/part-of: honeydue
+spec:
+  selector:
+    app.kubernetes.io/name: kratos
+  ports:
+    - name: public
+      port: 4433
+      targetPort: 4433
+    - name: admin
+      port: 4434
+      targetPort: 4434
+---
+# Ingress to Kratos: Traefik (the auth.myhoneydue.com IngressRoute) and the
+# honeyDue api pods (session whoami) may reach the public API :4433. The
+# admin API :4434 takes no cluster ingress — it is reachable only in-pod.
+apiVersion: networking.k8s.io/v1
+kind: NetworkPolicy
+metadata:
+  name: allow-ingress-to-kratos
+  namespace: honeydue
+spec:
+  podSelector:
+    matchLabels:
+      app.kubernetes.io/name: kratos
+  policyTypes:
+    - Ingress
+  ingress:
+    - from:
+        - namespaceSelector:
+            matchLabels:
+              kubernetes.io/metadata.name: kube-system
+        - podSelector:
+            matchLabels:
+              app.kubernetes.io/name: api
+      ports:
+        - port: 4433
+          protocol: TCP
+---
+# Kratos egress: DNS, the Neon Postgres database, SMTP, and HTTPS to the
+# OIDC providers (Apple/Google token + JWKS endpoints).
+apiVersion: networking.k8s.io/v1
+kind: NetworkPolicy
+metadata:
+  name: allow-egress-from-kratos
+  namespace: honeydue
+spec:
+  podSelector:
+    matchLabels:
+      app.kubernetes.io/name: kratos
+  policyTypes:
+    - Egress
+  egress:
+    - to:
+        - namespaceSelector: {}
+      ports:
+        - port: 53
+          protocol: UDP
+        - port: 53
+          protocol: TCP
+    # Neon Postgres (external)
+    - to:
+        - ipBlock:
+            cidr: 0.0.0.0/0
+            except:
+              - 10.42.0.0/16
+              - 10.43.0.0/16
+      ports:
+        - port: 5432
+          protocol: TCP
+    # SMTP (Fastmail) + HTTPS to Apple/Google OIDC endpoints (external)
+    - to:
+        - ipBlock:
+            cidr: 0.0.0.0/0
+            except:
+              - 10.42.0.0/16
+              - 10.43.0.0/16
+      ports:
+        - port: 465
+          protocol: TCP
+        - port: 443
+          protocol: TCP
diff --git a/deploy-k3s/manifests/kratos/migrate-job.yaml b/deploy-k3s/manifests/kratos/migrate-job.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..03c61ff
--- /dev/null
+++ b/deploy-k3s/manifests/kratos/migrate-job.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+# Ory Kratos schema migration — runs `kratos migrate sql` against the Kratos
+# database before the Kratos Deployment rolls. 03-deploy.sh applies this,
+# waits for completion, then applies kratos.yaml.
+#
+# IMAGE: set the same oryd/kratos tag as kratos.yaml (Ory CalVer v25.x/v26.x);
+# pin a @sha256: digest. See kratos/README.md.
+apiVersion: batch/v1
+kind: Job
+metadata:
+  name: kratos-migrate
+  namespace: honeydue
+  labels:
+    app.kubernetes.io/name: kratos
+    app.kubernetes.io/part-of: honeydue
+spec:
+  backoffLimit: 0
+  template:
+    metadata:
+      labels:
+        app.kubernetes.io/name: kratos
+        app.kubernetes.io/part-of: honeydue
+    spec:
+      restartPolicy: Never
+      automountServiceAccountToken: false
+      securityContext:
+        runAsNonRoot: true
+        seccompProfile:
+          type: RuntimeDefault
+      containers:
+        - name: kratos-migrate
+          image: oryd/kratos:REPLACE_WITH_CURRENT_STABLE_TAG
+          imagePullPolicy: IfNotPresent
+          args: ["migrate", "sql", "-e", "--yes"]
+          env:
+            - name: DSN
+              valueFrom:
+                secretKeyRef:
+                  name: kratos-secrets
+                  key: dsn
+          securityContext:
+            allowPrivilegeEscalation: false
+            readOnlyRootFilesystem: true
+            capabilities:
+              drop: ["ALL"]
+          resources:
+            requests:
+              cpu: 50m
+              memory: 64Mi
+            limits:
+              cpu: 500m
+              memory: 256Mi
diff --git a/deploy-k3s/scripts/02-setup-secrets.sh b/deploy-k3s/scripts/02-setup-secrets.sh
index d5c52b5..0fa997b 100755
--- a/deploy-k3s/scripts/02-setup-secrets.sh
+++ b/deploy-k3s/scripts/02-setup-secrets.sh
@@ -164,6 +164,35 @@ else
   warn "Admin panel will NOT have basic auth protection."
 fi
 
+# --- Create Kratos secrets (Ory Kratos identity service) ---
+# Created only when config.yaml has a kratos.dsn. Until then 03-deploy.sh skips
+# the Kratos deploy entirely, so the existing stack is unaffected.
+
+KRATOS_DSN="$(cfg kratos.dsn 2>/dev/null || true)"
+if [[ -n "${KRATOS_DSN}" ]]; then
+  log "Creating kratos-secrets..."
+  KR_COOKIE="$(cfg kratos.secrets_cookie 2>/dev/null || true)"
+  KR_CIPHER="$(cfg kratos.secrets_cipher 2>/dev/null || true)"
+  KR_SMTP="$(cfg kratos.smtp_connection_uri 2>/dev/null || true)"
+  KR_GOOGLE="$(cfg kratos.google_client_secret 2>/dev/null || true)"
+  KR_APPLE="$(cfg kratos.apple_private_key 2>/dev/null || true)"
+  [[ -n "${KR_COOKIE}" && -n "${KR_CIPHER}" ]] \
+    || die "kratos.secrets_cookie / secrets_cipher must be set (generate once: openssl rand -hex 16)"
+  [[ ${#KR_CIPHER} -eq 32 ]] \
+    || die "kratos.secrets_cipher must be exactly 32 characters (openssl rand -hex 16)"
+  kubectl create secret generic kratos-secrets \
+    --namespace="${NAMESPACE}" \
+    --from-literal="dsn=${KRATOS_DSN}" \
+    --from-literal="secrets_cookie=${KR_COOKIE}" \
+    --from-literal="secrets_cipher=${KR_CIPHER}" \
+    --from-literal="smtp_connection_uri=${KR_SMTP}" \
+    --from-literal="google_client_secret=${KR_GOOGLE}" \
+    --from-literal="apple_private_key=${KR_APPLE}" \
+    --dry-run=client -o yaml | kubectl apply -f -
+else
+  warn "config.yaml has no kratos.dsn — skipping kratos-secrets (Kratos not yet configured)."
+fi
+
 # --- Done ---
 
 log ""
diff --git a/deploy-k3s/scripts/03-deploy.sh b/deploy-k3s/scripts/03-deploy.sh
index e49dbfc..e7b8e54 100755
--- a/deploy-k3s/scripts/03-deploy.sh
+++ b/deploy-k3s/scripts/03-deploy.sh
@@ -264,6 +264,27 @@ if [[ -d "${MANIFESTS}/observability" ]]; then
   fi
 fi
 
+# --- Ory Kratos (identity service) ---
+# Applied only when kratos-secrets exists — i.e. the operator has completed the
+# Kratos prerequisites in deploy-k3s/manifests/kratos/README.md. Otherwise
+# skipped, so the existing stack deploys unaffected.
+if kubectl -n "${NAMESPACE}" get secret kratos-secrets >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+  log "Deploying Ory Kratos..."
+  kubectl apply -f "${MANIFESTS}/kratos/configmap.yaml"
+  # The migrate Job is immutable — delete any prior run, then apply + wait.
+  kubectl delete job kratos-migrate -n "${NAMESPACE}" --ignore-not-found --wait=true >/dev/null
+  kubectl apply -f "${MANIFESTS}/kratos/migrate-job.yaml"
+  if ! kubectl wait --namespace="${NAMESPACE}" --for=condition=complete --timeout=5m job/kratos-migrate; then
+    warn "Kratos migration Job failed — logs:"
+    kubectl logs -n "${NAMESPACE}" job/kratos-migrate --tail=100 || true
+    die "aborting: Kratos schema migration failed"
+  fi
+  kubectl apply -f "${MANIFESTS}/kratos/kratos.yaml"
+  kubectl apply -f "${MANIFESTS}/kratos/ingress.yaml"
+else
+  log "kratos-secrets not present — skipping Kratos deploy (see manifests/kratos/README.md)."
+fi
+
 # --- Wait for rollouts ---
 
 log "Waiting for rollouts..."
@@ -281,6 +302,9 @@ fi
 if kubectl -n "${NAMESPACE}" get daemonset alloy-logs >/dev/null 2>&1; then
   kubectl rollout status daemonset/alloy-logs -n "${NAMESPACE}" --timeout=120s
 fi
+if kubectl -n "${NAMESPACE}" get deployment kratos >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+  kubectl rollout status deployment/kratos -n "${NAMESPACE}" --timeout=180s
+fi
 
 # --- Done ---