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+# 🧩 Agentless Proxy App
+
+[![Issues](https://img.shields.io/github/issues/service-mesh-patterns/agentless-proxy-app)](https://github.com/service-mesh-patterns/agentless-proxy-app/issues)
+[![Pull Requests](https://img.shields.io/github/issues-pr/service-mesh-patterns/agentless-proxy-app)](https://github.com/service-mesh-patterns/agentless-proxy-app/pulls)
+[![Last Commit](https://img.shields.io/github/last-commit/service-mesh-patterns/agentless-proxy-app)](https://github.com/service-mesh-patterns/agentless-proxy-app/commits)
+[![License](https://img.shields.io/github/license/service-mesh-patterns/agentless-proxy-app)](LICENSE)
+
+A lightweight demo application to showcase agentless service mesh patterns under the Service Mesh Patterns initiative. 🚀
+
+---
+
+## ✨ Overview
+
+The **Agentless Proxy App** is a microservice designed to demonstrate and test sidecarless service mesh architectures. It provides a practical way to explore service mesh capabilities without the overhead of sidecar proxies.
+
+### 🔍 What it does:
+- Showcases traffic flow in a sidecarless service mesh  
+- Validates routing, observability, and security features  
+- Simulates service communication for mesh compatibility testing
+
+---
+
+## 📸 Architecture Preview
+
+> _Service Mesh Diagram Placeholder_  
+We welcome contributions to enhance or update this diagram! ✨
+
+---
+
+## 🚀 Getting Started
+
+### ✅ Prerequisites
+
+Ensure the following tools are installed on your machine:
+- Docker 🐳
+- Kubernetes ☸️
+- kubectl 🛠️
+
+### 🛠 Installation
+
+```bash
+# Clone the repository
+git clone https://github.com/service-mesh-patterns/agentless-proxy-app.git
+cd agentless-proxy-app
+
+# Deploy to Kubernetes
+kubectl apply -f manifests/deployment.yaml
+
+# Access the application
+kubectl port-forward svc/agentless-proxy-app 8080:80
+```
+
+## 🔧 Tech Stack
+
+Depending on the version/branch, this app can be implemented in:
+
+- Python 🐍  
+- Node.js 📦  
+- Go 🐹  
+
+---
+
+## 🤝 Contributing
+
+We ❤️ contributions from the community! Whether you're fixing a bug, adding a feature, or improving documentation — your help is welcome.
+
+### 🪄 How to Contribute
+
+```bash
+1. 🍴 Fork this repository  
+2. 🌿 Create a new feature branch: git checkout -b feature/awesome-feature  
+3. 💾 Commit your changes: git commit -m "Add awesome feature"  
+4. 🚀 Push to the branch: git push origin feature/awesome-feature  
+5. 📬 Open a Pull Request  
+
+```
+
+## 📌 New to open source? 
+Check out the [Layer5 Contributor Guide](https://layer5.io/community/handbook).
+
+---
+
+## 🧪 Sample Manifest
+
+Below is a sample Kubernetes Deployment manifest for the app:
+
+```yaml
+apiVersion: apps/v1
+kind: Deployment
+metadata:
+  name: agentless-proxy-app
+spec:
+  replicas: 1
+  selector:
+    matchLabels:
+      app: agentless-proxy-app
+  template:
+    metadata:
+      labels:
+        app: agentless-proxy-app
+    spec:
+      containers:
+        - name: app
+          image: your-image-name
+          ports:
+            - containerPort: 80
+```
+
+💡 Want more manifests (e.g., `Service`, `Ingress`)? Let us know and we’ll add them!
+
+---
+
+## 📄 License
+
+This project is licensed under the [Apache License 2.0](https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0).
+
+---
+
+## 🌐 Community & Support
+
+Join the Layer5 Community to connect with contributors, ask questions, and explore more cloud native tools:
+
+- 🐛 [Report bugs or suggest features](https://github.com/service-mesh-patterns/agentless-proxy-app/issues)
+- 💬 [Chat with us on Layer5 Slack](https://layer5.io/slack)
+- 📚 [Explore more Service Mesh Patterns](https://github.com/service-mesh-patterns)
+
+---
+
+## 🎨 Want More?
+
+We’re happy to add:
+
+- 🔽 Collapsible sections for readability  
+- 📦 More deployment manifests (e.g., Service, Ingress)  
+- 👥 Contributor or sponsor sections  
+- 🖼 Architecture diagrams or Figma links  
+
+Let us know how you’d like to enhance this README! 🌟
+