diff --git a/deploy/charts/operator/templates/NOTES.txt b/deploy/charts/operator/templates/NOTES.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..d4d35e8c50
--- /dev/null
+++ b/deploy/charts/operator/templates/NOTES.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+Thank you for installing {{ .Chart.Name }}!
+
+Release: {{ .Release.Name }}
+Namespace: {{ .Release.Namespace }}
+Chart version: {{ .Chart.Version }}
+Operator version: {{ .Chart.AppVersion }}
+
+The ToolHive Operator is being deployed. It watches ToolHive custom resources
+and reconciles MCP server workloads in your cluster.
+
+Learn more
+
+  Operator guide:
+    https://github.com/stacklok/toolhive/blob/main/docs/kind/deploying-mcp-server-with-operator.md
+
+  Example manifests:
+    https://github.com/stacklok/toolhive/tree/main/examples/operator
+
+  Documentation:
+    https://docs.stacklok.com/toolhive/
+
+{{- if eq .Values.operator.rbac.scope "namespace" }}
+
+Note: RBAC scope is set to "namespace". The operator only manages resources in:
+{{- range .Values.operator.rbac.allowedNamespaces }}
+  - {{ . }}
+{{- end }}
+{{- if not .Values.operator.rbac.allowedNamespaces }}
+  (no namespaces configured — set operator.rbac.allowedNamespaces)
+{{- end }}
+{{- end }}
diff --git a/deploy/charts/operator/tests/notes_test.yaml b/deploy/charts/operator/tests/notes_test.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..35cfaf611e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/deploy/charts/operator/tests/notes_test.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+suite: post-install notes
+# NOTES.txt is the only user-facing output after `helm install`. Pin the
+# release context and documentation links so template refactors don't silently
+# drop post-install guidance.
+release:
+  name: toolhive-operator
+  namespace: toolhive-system
+templates:
+  - NOTES.txt
+tests:
+  - it: renders release and namespace context
+    asserts:
+      - matchRegexRaw:
+          pattern: 'Release: toolhive-operator'
+      - matchRegexRaw:
+          pattern: 'Namespace: toolhive-system'
+
+  - it: includes documentation links
+    asserts:
+      - matchRegexRaw:
+          pattern: 'deploying-mcp-server-with-operator\.md'
+      - matchRegexRaw:
+          pattern: 'docs\.stacklok\.com/toolhive/'