diff --git a/.github/workflows/checks.yaml b/.github/workflows/checks.yaml
index b308341..43c2bfe 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/checks.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/checks.yaml
@@ -92,10 +92,13 @@ jobs:
       - name: Start Minikube cluster
         run: just cluster-start
       - *install-helm-step
-      - *install-ct-step
       - *add-chart-repos-step
-      - name: Install and test charts
-        run: ct install --config ./configs/chart-testing.yaml --all
+      - name: Build chart dependencies
+        run: just build-chart-deps
+      - name: Install charts
+        run: just deploy-all
+      - name: Test charts
+        run: just test-all
 
   spell-checker:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
diff --git a/Justfile b/Justfile
index 3b441c3..a834775 100644
--- a/Justfile
+++ b/Justfile
@@ -7,6 +7,10 @@ cluster := "eaasi"
 # Name of the cluster namespace
 namespace := "eaasi"
 
+# Defaults for database-cluster
+database_cluster_name := "database-cluster"
+database_cluster_ns := "database"
+
 ### HELPERS ###################################################################
 
 # Run spell checker
@@ -43,7 +47,7 @@ update-changelog chart version="" dir=(chart_dir / chart):
 
 # Add external chart repositories
 add-chart-repos:
-  # TODO: add repos!
+  helm repo add "cnpg" "https://cloudnative-pg.github.io/charts"
 
 # Build dependencies for all charts
 build-chart-deps:
@@ -80,6 +84,10 @@ render chart name=chart ns=namespace *args="":
   helm template "{{ name }}" "{{ chart_dir / chart }}" \
     --namespace "{{ ns }}" {{ args }} | less
 
+# Test a Helm chart release
+test release ns=namespace *args="":
+  helm test "{{ release }}" --namespace "{{ ns }}" {{ args }}
+
 ### MINIKUBE ##################################################################
 
 # Start a Minikube cluster
@@ -106,3 +114,26 @@ cluster-unpause name=cluster:
 # Delete a Minikube cluster
 cluster-delete name=cluster:
   minikube delete --profile "{{ name }}"
+
+### EAASI #####################################################################
+
+# Deploy the database-operator
+deploy-database-operator name="database-operator" ns="cnpg-system" *args="--wait": \
+  (upgrade "database" name ns "-f" (chart_dir / "database/configs/operator.yaml") args)
+
+# Deploy the database-cluster
+deploy-database-cluster name=database_cluster_name ns=database_cluster_ns *args="--wait": \
+  (upgrade "database" name ns args)
+
+# Deploy all components
+deploy-all: \
+  (deploy-database-operator) \
+  (deploy-database-cluster) \
+
+# Test the database-cluster
+test-database-cluster name=database_cluster_name ns=database_cluster_ns *args="": \
+  (test name ns args)
+
+# Test all components
+test-all: \
+  (test-database-cluster) \
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 776ec01..e1259c5 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ $ helm search repo eaasi
 ## Charts
 
 For more details, see the documentation for each chart:
+- [database](./charts/database/README.md)
 
 ## Development
 
@@ -113,6 +114,18 @@ Next, rebuild all required chart dependencies with:
 $ just build-chart-deps
 ```
 
+The [database](./charts/database) operator can be deployed with:
+
+```console
+$ just deploy-database-operator  # <name> <namespace>
+```
+
+Then, a [database](./charts/database) cluster can be deployed with:
+
+```console
+$ just deploy-database-cluster  # <name> <namespace>
+```
+
 ## License
 
 Helm charts for EAASI are distributed under the [Apache-2.0](./LICENSE) license.
diff --git a/charts/.gitkeep b/charts/.gitkeep
deleted file mode 100644
index e69de29..0000000
diff --git a/charts/database/.helmignore b/charts/database/.helmignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6e75903
--- /dev/null
+++ b/charts/database/.helmignore
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+# Patterns to ignore when building packages.
+
+CHANGELOG.md
+.DS_Store
+
+# Common VCS dirs
+.git/
+.gitignore
+.bzr/
+.bzrignore
+.hg/
+.hgignore
+.svn/
+
+# Common backup files
+*.swp
+*.bak
+*.tmp
+*.orig
+*~
+
+# Various IDEs
+.project
+.idea/
+*.tmproj
+.vscode/
diff --git a/charts/database/CHANGELOG.md b/charts/database/CHANGELOG.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..655bf65
--- /dev/null
+++ b/charts/database/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+# Changelog
+
+
+## 0.5.0 - *2025-08-26*
+
+### Features
+
+- Add initial operator config - ([`ec01985`](https://github.com/eaasi/helm-charts/commit/ec019857db9d8ec8d4421df9d57e51fd8fdfb62d) by @O7EG)
+- Add initial cluster config - ([`21e72aa`](https://github.com/eaasi/helm-charts/commit/21e72aae7a91ec2a3f894018a359cc42b2c045c6) by @O7EG)
+- Configure cluster's pod affinity - ([`0253975`](https://github.com/eaasi/helm-charts/commit/0253975bb5445897edc45eb2cda7aaeaa035c686) by @O7EG)
+- Add connection pooler for the primary instance - ([`c9730a7`](https://github.com/eaasi/helm-charts/commit/c9730a7a5adc9841ad6824249b7ff0517edb4e0c) by @O7EG)
+
+### Continuous Integration
+
+- Add helper for deploying database-operators - ([`39478ba`](https://github.com/eaasi/helm-charts/commit/39478ba46fde82d5b0ea5590634c726578059b61) by @O7EG)
+
+### Documentation
+
+- Add initial README - ([`87fd8c4`](https://github.com/eaasi/helm-charts/commit/87fd8c48e4324b1b78ce2d6479552d269663e92d) by @O7EG)
+- Describe a basic deployment procedure - ([`9d7d3b2`](https://github.com/eaasi/helm-charts/commit/9d7d3b2c308255e1b4f372e729aecd03edcbc26c) by @O7EG)
+- Describe available configuration parameters - ([`56558e6`](https://github.com/eaasi/helm-charts/commit/56558e6cb1bda369c8e47f1cc1b55de53a8259c5) by @O7EG)
+
+### Miscellaneous
+
+- Add initial `.helmignore` - ([`f830406`](https://github.com/eaasi/helm-charts/commit/f830406e30a9325a45db7c6c0a5e64b226fa4fe9) by @O7EG)
+- Add initial chart metadata - ([`631b0e6`](https://github.com/eaasi/helm-charts/commit/631b0e62c074e8552b3457ef2a7e6e0d96e138a8) by @O7EG)
+- Add dependency `@cnpg/cloudnative-pg` v0.23.2 - ([`d334337`](https://github.com/eaasi/helm-charts/commit/d3343379e2255eb0b61718417e52cd2f8a71103b) by @O7EG)
+- Add dependency `@cnpg/cluster` v0.2.1 - ([`84049a2`](https://github.com/eaasi/helm-charts/commit/84049a228fc9766b13e253dd364debc64ea838d5) by @O7EG)
+- Fail early when operator and cluster are enabled - ([`0ffa5c5`](https://github.com/eaasi/helm-charts/commit/0ffa5c5ff5c9c4cd5276fba0dd8503632e8b9d41) by @O7EG)
diff --git a/charts/database/Chart.lock b/charts/database/Chart.lock
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d0413a0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/charts/database/Chart.lock
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+dependencies:
+- name: cloudnative-pg
+  repository: https://cloudnative-pg.github.io/charts
+  version: 0.23.2
+- name: cluster
+  repository: https://cloudnative-pg.github.io/charts
+  version: 0.2.1
+digest: sha256:a08a4edc8fc4f25677834d9157b702c8eeb5c33ace93f60fd5f450f5ce393d76
+generated: "2025-03-20T17:10:37.269076118+01:00"
diff --git a/charts/database/Chart.yaml b/charts/database/Chart.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..37206a2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/charts/database/Chart.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2025 Yale University
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+
+apiVersion: v2
+name: database
+version: "0.5.0"
+description: EAASI Database Helm Chart
+type: application
+sources:
+  - https://github.com/eaasi/helm-charts
+dependencies:
+  - repository: "@cnpg"
+    name: cloudnative-pg
+    version: "0.23.2"
+    alias: operator
+    condition: operator.enabled
+  - repository: "@cnpg"
+    name: cluster
+    version: "0.2.1"
+    condition: cluster.enabled
diff --git a/charts/database/README.md b/charts/database/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c36ae5b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/charts/database/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+# EAASI Database Helm Chart
+
+This Helm chart deploys the EAASI Database on [Kubernetes](https://kubernetes.io/) using the [Helm](https://helm.sh) package manager.
+
+## Getting Started
+
+This chart depends on the [operator](https://github.com/cloudnative-pg/charts/tree/main/charts/cloudnative-pg) and the [cluster](https://github.com/cloudnative-pg/charts/tree/main/charts/cluster) charts from the [CloudNativePG](https://github.com/cloudnative-pg) project.
+
+### Adding the Repositories
+
+```console
+$ helm repo add cnpg "https://cloudnative-pg.github.io/charts"
+$ helm repo add eaasi "https://eaasi.github.io/helm-charts"
+```
+
+### Installing the Operator
+
+First, the *CNPG operator* must be installed, since it provides several CRDs required for setting up new database *clusters*.
+Skip this step if the operator is already installed in your K8s cluster:
+
+```console
+$ helm install database-operator eaasi/database \
+    --namespace cnpg-system --create-namespace \
+    -f ./configs/operator.yaml
+```
+
+### Creating a Cluster
+
+A new *CNPG cluster* can be created with the following command:
+
+```console
+$ helm install database-cluster eaasi/database \
+    --namespace database --create-namespace
+```
+
+## Configuration
+
+A minimal configuration for an operator and a cluster is provided in the default [values.yaml](./values.yaml) file.
+For further details on all available parameters, please refer to the configuration files of the upstream [operator](https://github.com/cloudnative-pg/charts/tree/main/charts/cloudnative-pg) and [cluster](https://github.com/cloudnative-pg/charts/tree/main/charts/cluster) charts.
+
+The extensive documentation for the CloudNativePG project can be found [here](https://cloudnative-pg.io/documentation/current/).
diff --git a/charts/database/configs/operator.yaml b/charts/database/configs/operator.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6ba6cd7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/charts/database/configs/operator.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2025 Yale University
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+
+# Override values for installing the operator
+
+operator:
+  # Enable the operator
+  enabled: true
+
+cluster:
+  # Disable the cluster
+  enabled: false
diff --git a/charts/database/templates/assertions.yaml b/charts/database/templates/assertions.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..549ea95
--- /dev/null
+++ b/charts/database/templates/assertions.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2025 Yale University
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+
+{{- if and .Values.operator.enabled .Values.cluster.enabled -}}
+{{- fail "Either the operator or the cluster should be enabled, not both!" -}}
+{{- end -}}
diff --git a/charts/database/values.yaml b/charts/database/values.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..206b9c0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/charts/database/values.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,58 @@
+# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2025 Yale University
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+
+# Default values for the EAASI Database
+
+# Configuration for the CNPG operator:
+# https://github.com/cloudnative-pg/charts/tree/main/charts/cloudnative-pg
+operator:
+  # -- Should the operator be enabled?
+  enabled: false
+  # -- Override operator name
+  fullnameOverride: cnpg-operator
+  # -- Override subchart name
+  # NOTE: The original chart name must be used here for now, because
+  #       the upstream chart hard-codes it in multiple templates!
+  nameOverride: cloudnative-pg
+  # -- Number of replicas
+  replicaCount: 1
+
+# Configuration for the CNPG cluster:
+# https://github.com/cloudnative-pg/charts/tree/main/charts/cluster
+cluster:
+  # -- Should the cluster be enabled?
+  enabled: true
+  # -- Override cluster name
+  fullnameOverride: eaasi
+  # -- Override subchart name
+  nameOverride: database-cluster
+  # -- Cluster mode of operation
+  mode: standalone
+  # -- Type of the CNPG database
+  type: postgresql
+  # -- Version of the CNPG database
+  version:
+    postgresql: "17.4"
+  # -- CNPG cluster config
+  cluster:
+    # -- Number of instances
+    instances: 1
+    # -- Affinity rules for Pods
+    affinity:
+      enablePodAntiAffinity: true
+      podAntiAffinityType: preferred
+      topologyKey: kubernetes.io/hostname
+    # -- Database storage config
+    storage:
+      size: 1Gi
+  # -- PgBouncer poolers
+  poolers:
+    - name: rw
+      type: rw
+      instances: 1
+      poolMode: transaction
+      parameters:
+        max_client_conn: "250"
+        default_pool_size: "20"
+        reserve_pool_size: "5"
+        min_pool_size: "5"
diff --git a/configs/committed.toml b/configs/committed.toml
index 39dcc37..ba8dcaf 100644
--- a/configs/committed.toml
+++ b/configs/committed.toml
@@ -24,3 +24,8 @@ allowed_types = [
   "style",
   "test",
 ]
+
+# allowed commit scopes
+allowed_scopes = [
+  "database",
+]
diff --git a/configs/typos.toml b/configs/typos.toml
index 8d38a84..c727fa6 100644
--- a/configs/typos.toml
+++ b/configs/typos.toml
@@ -6,6 +6,9 @@ extend-ignore-re = [
   "(?Rm)^.*(#|//)\\s*spellchecker:disable-line$",
   # ignore blocks with "spellchecker:<on|off>"
   "(?s)(#|//)\\s*spellchecker:off.*?\\n\\s*(#|//)\\s*spellchecker:on",
+  # ignore false positives triggered by "ba" surrounded by numbers
+  "[0-9]+ba",
+  "ba[0-9]+",
 ]
 
 [default.extend-words]