diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ed1633a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+FROM python:3.12-slim
+
+WORKDIR /app
+
+COPY requirements.txt .
+RUN pip install --no-cache-dir -r requirements.txt
+
+COPY . .
+
+EXPOSE 8000
+
+CMD ["uvicorn", "app:app", "--host", "0.0.0.0", "--port", "8000"]
diff --git a/QA.md b/QA.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..64602cc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/QA.md
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+app_type: web-api
+coverage_applies: true
+coverage_source: app
+coverage_threshold: 70
+coverage_tool: pytest-cov
+install_steps:
+- pip install -r requirements.txt
+lint_tool: ruff check .
+notes: Verify GET /hello returns 200 with correct JSON containing 'message' and valid
+  ISO 8601 'timestamp', 404 for non-existent routes, and 405 for wrong HTTP methods.
+stack: Python/FastAPI
+test_files:
+- tests/test_hello.py
+- tests/test_main.py
+- tests/test_models.py
+- tests/test_storage.py
+- tests/test_todos.py
+test_runner: pytest tests/ -v
+workspace: /tmp/forge-repos/hello-world-micro-api-c74aba96
diff --git a/RUNNING.md b/RUNNING.md
index 77896cf..7de254f 100644
--- a/RUNNING.md
+++ b/RUNNING.md
@@ -1,33 +1,59 @@
-# Running the Todo API
+# Hello World API
 
-## Prerequisites
+A minimal FastAPI application exposing a single `GET /hello` endpoint.
 
-- Python 3.10 or later
+## TEAM_BRIEF
+stack: Python/FastAPI
+test_runner: pytest tests/ -v
+lint_tool: ruff check .
+coverage_tool: pytest-cov
+coverage_threshold: 70
+coverage_applies: true
 
-## Install dependencies
+## Quick Start
+
+### Local
+
+```bash
+pip install -r requirements.txt
+uvicorn app:app --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8000
+```
+
+Open <http://localhost:8000/hello>
+
+### Docker
 
 ```bash
-pip install fastapi uvicorn pydantic
+docker compose up --build
 ```
 
-For running the test suite you will also need:
+## Run Tests
 
 ```bash
-pip install httpx pytest
+pip install -r requirements.txt
+pytest tests/ -v
 ```
 
-## Start the server
+Or via Docker:
 
 ```bash
-uvicorn main:app --reload --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8000
+docker compose run --rm api pytest tests/ -v
 ```
 
-The API will be available at <http://localhost:8000>.
+## API Reference
 
-Interactive docs are served at <http://localhost:8000/docs>.
+### GET /hello
 
-## Run the tests
+**Response** `200 OK`
 
-```bash
-pytest tests/
+```json
+{
+  "message": "hello world",
+  "timestamp": "2025-01-01T00:00:00+00:00"
+}
 ```
+
+| Field       | Type   | Description                              |
+|-------------|--------|------------------------------------------|
+| message     | string | Always `"hello world"`                   |
+| timestamp   | string | Current UTC time in ISO 8601 format      |
diff --git a/app.py b/app.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4e2dc4d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app.py
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+"""FastAPI application with a single GET /hello endpoint.
+
+Returns a JSON object containing a greeting message and the current
+UTC timestamp in ISO-8601 format.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import datetime
+
+from fastapi import FastAPI
+from pydantic import BaseModel
+
+
+class HelloResponse(BaseModel):
+    """Response model for the /hello endpoint."""
+
+    message: str
+    timestamp: str
+
+
+app = FastAPI(title="Hello World API")
+
+
+@app.get("/hello", response_model=HelloResponse)
+async def hello() -> HelloResponse:
+    """Return a hello world message with the current UTC timestamp."""
+    now = datetime.datetime.now(datetime.timezone.utc)
+    return HelloResponse(
+        message="hello world",
+        timestamp=now.isoformat(),
+    )
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    import uvicorn
+
+    uvicorn.run(app, host="0.0.0.0", port=8000)
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7fa5e30
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+services:
+  api:
+    build: .
+    ports:
+      - "8000:8000"
diff --git a/requirements.txt b/requirements.txt
index 5a6ebf7..cd45912 100644
--- a/requirements.txt
+++ b/requirements.txt
@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
-fastapi>=0.100.0
-uvicorn>=0.23.0
-pydantic>=2.0.0
-pytest>=7.0.0
-pytest-timeout>=2.1.0
-httpx>=0.24.0
+fastapi==0.115.6
+uvicorn[standard]==0.34.0
+pydantic==2.10.4
+httpx==0.28.1
+pytest==8.3.4
diff --git a/tests/test_hello.py b/tests/test_hello.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..28d2509
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_hello.py
@@ -0,0 +1,109 @@
+"""Comprehensive tests for the Hello World API /hello endpoint.
+
+Covers:
+- GET /hello returns 200
+- Response JSON contains 'message' key with value 'hello world'
+- Response JSON contains 'timestamp' key with a valid ISO 8601 string (UTC)
+- Response body contains exactly the expected keys
+- Non-existent routes return 404
+- Wrong HTTP method on /hello returns 405
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import datetime
+
+from fastapi.testclient import TestClient
+
+from app import app
+
+client = TestClient(app)
+
+
+def test_hello_returns_200() -> None:
+    """GET /hello must return HTTP 200 OK."""
+    response = client.get("/hello")
+    assert response.status_code == 200
+
+
+def test_hello_response_has_message_field() -> None:
+    """Response JSON must contain 'message' equal to 'hello world'."""
+    response = client.get("/hello")
+    body = response.json()
+    assert "message" in body
+    assert body["message"] == "hello world"
+
+
+def test_hello_response_has_timestamp_iso8601() -> None:
+    """Response JSON must contain 'timestamp' that is a valid ISO 8601 UTC string."""
+    response = client.get("/hello")
+    body = response.json()
+    assert "timestamp" in body
+
+    # Must parse without raising an exception
+    parsed = datetime.datetime.fromisoformat(body["timestamp"])
+
+    # Must carry timezone information (UTC)
+    assert parsed.tzinfo is not None
+    assert parsed.tzinfo == datetime.timezone.utc
+
+
+def test_hello_response_keys_exact() -> None:
+    """Response JSON must contain exactly 'message' and 'timestamp' keys."""
+    response = client.get("/hello")
+    body = response.json()
+    assert set(body.keys()) == {"message", "timestamp"}
+
+
+def test_hello_timestamp_is_recent() -> None:
+    """The returned timestamp should be within a few seconds of 'now'."""
+    before = datetime.datetime.now(datetime.timezone.utc)
+    response = client.get("/hello")
+    after = datetime.datetime.now(datetime.timezone.utc)
+
+    body = response.json()
+    ts = datetime.datetime.fromisoformat(body["timestamp"])
+
+    assert before <= ts <= after
+
+
+def test_hello_content_type_json() -> None:
+    """GET /hello must return a JSON content type."""
+    response = client.get("/hello")
+    assert "application/json" in response.headers["content-type"]
+
+
+def test_nonexistent_route_returns_404() -> None:
+    """A request to a route that does not exist must return 404."""
+    response = client.get("/")
+    assert response.status_code == 404
+
+
+def test_nonexistent_route_random_path_returns_404() -> None:
+    """A request to an arbitrary undefined path must return 404."""
+    response = client.get("/nonexistent")
+    assert response.status_code == 404
+
+
+def test_hello_method_not_allowed_post() -> None:
+    """POST /hello must return 405 Method Not Allowed."""
+    response = client.post("/hello")
+    assert response.status_code == 405
+
+
+def test_hello_method_not_allowed_put() -> None:
+    """PUT /hello must return 405 Method Not Allowed."""
+    response = client.put("/hello")
+    assert response.status_code == 405
+
+
+def test_hello_method_not_allowed_delete() -> None:
+    """DELETE /hello must return 405 Method Not Allowed."""
+    response = client.delete("/hello")
+    assert response.status_code == 405
+
+
+def test_hello_method_not_allowed_patch() -> None:
+    """PATCH /hello must return 405 Method Not Allowed."""
+    response = client.patch("/hello")
+    assert response.status_code == 405