diff --git a/.claude/CLAUDE.md b/.claude/CLAUDE.md
index 07d5c886..19049acc 100755
--- a/.claude/CLAUDE.md
+++ b/.claude/CLAUDE.md
@@ -11,6 +11,18 @@
 - **Reference**: `.claude/reference/` — patterns.md, service-catalog.md, proxmox-inventory.md, github-api.md, authentik-state.md
 - **GitHub API**: `curl` with tokens from tfvars (`gh` CLI blocked by sandbox)
 
+## Critical Rule: Terraform Only
+
+**ALL infrastructure changes MUST go through Terraform/Terragrunt.** Never use `kubectl apply/edit/patch/set`, `helm install/upgrade`, or any manual cluster mutation as the final state.
+
+- **No exceptions for "quick fixes"** — even one-line changes must be in `.tf` files and applied via `scripts/tg apply`
+- **kubectl is for read-only operations and temporary debugging only** (get, describe, logs, exec, port-forward)
+- **If a resource isn't in Terraform yet**, evaluate whether it can be added before making manual changes. If manual change is unavoidable (e.g., emergency), document it immediately and create the Terraform resource in the same session
+- **kubectl scale/patch during migrations is acceptable** as a transient step, but the final state must be in Terraform and applied via `scripts/tg apply`
+- **Helm values live in Terraform** (templatefile or inline) — never `helm upgrade` directly
+
+Violations cause state drift, which causes future applies to break or silently revert changes.
+
 ## Instructions
 - **"remember X"**: Use `memory-tool store "content" --category facts --tags "tag1,tag2"` (via exec) for persistent cross-session memory. Also update this file + `AGENTS.md` (if shared knowledge), commit with `[ci skip]`. To recall: `memory-tool recall "query"`. To list: `memory-tool list`. To delete: `memory-tool delete <id>`. The native `memory_search` and `memory_get` tools are also available for searching indexed memory files. For **storing** new memories, always use the `memory-tool` CLI via exec.
 - **Apply**: Authenticate via `vault login -method=oidc`, then use `scripts/tg` (preferred — handles state decrypt/encrypt) or `terragrunt` directly. `scripts/tg` adds `-auto-approve` for `--non-interactive` applies.