diff --git a/runtime/README.md b/runtime/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..023d69882
--- /dev/null
+++ b/runtime/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,177 @@
+# runtime
+
+[![GoDoc](https://pkg.go.dev/badge/github.com/fluxcd/pkg/runtime?utm_source=godoc)](https://pkg.go.dev/github.com/fluxcd/pkg/runtime)
+
+runtime offers a set of standard controller runtime packages that can be used on their own, but are best (and at times,
+must be) used together to help with common operations.
+
+### Goals
+
+- Provide a better development and review experience while working with a set of controllers by creating simple
+  APIs for common controller and reconciliation operations, like working with Conditions and Events, and debugging.
+- Provide utilities to make it easier to adhere to the
+  [Kubernetes API conventions](https://github.com/kubernetes/community/blob/master/contributors/devel/sig-architecture/api-conventions.md)
+  and a selective set of other Kubernetes (SIG) standards like
+  [kstatus](https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/cli-utils/tree/master/pkg/kstatus).
+- Prefer adoption of existing standards and types (like
+  [`metav1.Condition`](https://pkg.go.dev/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1#Condition)) over creating new ones.
+- Provide solutions to common difficulties while performing certain Kubernetes operations as a controller, like
+  patching.
+- Standardise how a controller communicates with the outside world, to improve observation and operation experience.
+- Standardise the way controller runtime settings are configured, to improve end-user experience.
+
+### Non-goals
+
+- Become a toolbox for all problems, packages must be of interest to a wide range of controllers (and specifically,
+  their runtime operations) before introduction should be considered.
+- Adopting every relevant standard. Potential integrations will be carefully considered, and where they break backward
+  compatibility, introduced only in major version releases.
+
+## Supported standards
+
+The packages build upon the following standards:
+
+- [controller-runtime](https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/controller-runtime)
+- [Kubernetes API conventions](https://github.com/kubernetes/community/blob/master/contributors/devel/sig-architecture/api-conventions.md)
+- [Kubernetes meta API conditions](https://github.com/kubernetes/enhancements/blob/master/keps/sig-api-machinery/1623-standardize-conditions/README.md)
+- [kstatus](https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/cli-utils/tree/master/pkg/kstatus)
+
+## Usage
+
+To use the packages in your project, import `github.com/fluxcd/pkg/runtime` using `go get` or your dependency manager
+of choice:
+
+```shell
+go get github.com/fluxcd/pkg/runtime
+```
+
+### Runtime configuration options
+
+Several packages are available to align common runtime configuration flags across a set of controllers, easing the
+end-user operator experience.
+
+| Package | Description | Reference |
+|---|---|---|
+| `client` | Kubernetes runtime client configurations like QPS and burst | [![GoDoc](https://pkg.go.dev/badge/github.com/fluxcd/pkg/runtime/client?utm_source=godoc)](https://pkg.go.dev/github.com/fluxcd/pkg/runtime/client) |
+| `leaderelection` | Kubernetes leader election configurations like the lease duration | [![GoDoc](https://pkg.go.dev/badge/github.com/fluxcd/pkg/runtime/leaderelection?utm_source=godoc)](https://pkg.go.dev/github.com/fluxcd/pkg/runtime/leaderelection) |
+| `logger` | Runtime logger configurations like the encoding and log level | [![GoDoc](https://pkg.go.dev/badge/github.com/fluxcd/pkg/runtime/logger?utm_source=godoc)](https://pkg.go.dev/github.com/fluxcd/pkg/runtime/logger) |
+
+### Working with Conditions
+
+The [`conditions`](https://pkg.go.dev/github.com/fluxcd/pkg/runtime/conditions)
+package can be used on resources that implement the [`conditions.Getter`](https://pkg.go.dev/github.com/fluxcd/pkg/runtime/conditions#Getter)
+and/or [`conditions.Setter`](https://pkg.go.dev/github.com/fluxcd/pkg/runtime/conditions#Setter)
+interface, to enhance the experience of working with Conditions on a Kubernetes resource object during reconcile
+operations.
+
+More specifically, it allows you to:
+
+- Get a Condition from a Kubernetes resource, or a specific value from a Condition, using
+  [`conditions.Get`](https://pkg.go.dev/github.com/fluxcd/pkg/runtime/conditions#Get)
+  or one of the other available getter functions like
+  [`conditions.GetMessage`](https://pkg.go.dev/github.com/fluxcd/pkg/runtime/conditions#GetMessage).
+- Check if a Kubernetes resource has a Condition of a given type using
+  [`conditions.Has`](https://pkg.go.dev/github.com/fluxcd/pkg/runtime/conditions#Has),
+  or if it bears a Condition in a certain state, for example with
+  [`conditions.IsFalse`](https://pkg.go.dev/github.com/fluxcd/pkg/runtime/conditions#IsFalse).
+- Compose [`metav1.Condition`](https://pkg.go.dev/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1#Condition) structs in a certain
+  state using e.g. [`conditions.TrueCondition`](https://pkg.go.dev/github.com/fluxcd/pkg/runtime/conditions#TrueCondition)
+  or [`conditions.FalseCondition`](https://pkg.go.dev/github.com/fluxcd/pkg/runtime/conditions#FalseCondition).
+- Modify the conditions on a Kubernetes resource object using [`conditions.Set`](https://pkg.go.dev/github.com/fluxcd/pkg/runtime/conditions#Set)
+  or one of the available scoped functions like [`conditions.MarkTrue`](https://pkg.go.dev/github.com/fluxcd/pkg/runtime/conditions#MarkTrue).
+- Compose conditions based on other state and/or configurations using
+  [`conditions.SetAggregate`](https://pkg.go.dev/github.com/fluxcd/pkg/runtime/conditions#SetAggregate),
+  [`conditions.SetMirror`](https://pkg.go.dev/github.com/fluxcd/pkg/runtime/conditions#SetMirror)
+  and [`conditions.SetSummary`](https://pkg.go.dev/github.com/fluxcd/pkg/runtime/conditions#SetSummary).
+
+For all available functions, see the [package reference](https://pkg.go.dev/github.com/fluxcd/pkg/runtime/conditions).
+
+The package combines well with the [genric meta API package types](https://pkg.go.dev/github.com/fluxcd/pkg/apis/meta),
+and understands the [kstatus](#Supported-standards) Condition types if set up with
+[`conditions.WithNegativePolarityConditions`](https://pkg.go.dev/github.com/fluxcd/pkg/runtime/conditions#WithNegativePolarityConditions).
+
+### Safe patching
+
+The [`patch`](https://pkg.go.dev/github.com/fluxcd/pkg/runtime/patch) package offers a helper utility to safely patch
+a Kubernetes resource while taking into account a set of configuration options, and attempting to resolve merge
+conflicts and retry before bailing.
+
+It can be configured to understand "owned" Condition types using [`patch.WithOwnedConditions`](https://pkg.go.dev/github.com/fluxcd/pkg/runtime/patch#WithOwnedConditions),
+and offers other options like [`patch.WithObservedGeneration`](https://pkg.go.dev/github.com/fluxcd/pkg/runtime/patch#WithStatusObservedGeneration).
+
+For all available functions and examples, see the [package reference](https://pkg.go.dev/github.com/fluxcd/pkg/runtime/patch).
+
+### Forwarding Events
+
+The [`events`](https://pkg.go.dev/github.com/fluxcd/pkg/runtime/events) package contains an `events.Recorder` which can
+be used to forward events to an external endpoint that understands the `events.Event` payload. For [GitOps
+Toolkit](https://fluxcd.io/docs/components/) controllers, this is the notification-controller endpoint.
+
+The package is best used in combination with the [`controller.Metrics` helper](#Controller-helpers), as this allows you
+to record _and_ forward Kubernetes Events using the same API.
+
+### Recording Metrics
+
+The [`metrics`](https://pkg.go.dev/github.com/fluxcd/pkg/runtime/metrics) package offers a `metrics.Recorder` with a
+set of Prometheus collectors for common [GitOps Toolkit](https://fluxcd.io/docs/components/) Kubernetes
+resource objects metric points (`gotk_*`).
+
+The package is best used in combination with the [`controller.Events` helper](#Controller-helpers), as this allows you to record metrics using controller-runtime types.
+
+### Controller helpers
+
+The [`controller`](https://pkg.go.dev/github.com/fluxcd/pkg/runtime/controller) package offers a collection of helpers
+that can be embedded into a reconciler struct to provide them the capability to e.g. send Kubernetes Events and/or
+record metrics.
+
+| Helper | Description | Reference |
+|---|---|---|
+| `controller.Events` | Provides the capabilities to send Events to the Kubernetes API and an external event recorder | [![GoDoc](https://pkg.go.dev/badge/github.com/fluxcd/pkg/runtime/controller?utm_source=godoc)](https://pkg.go.dev/github.com/fluxcd/pkg/runtime/controller#Events) |
+| `controller.Metrics` | Provides the capabilities to record a set of common Prometheus metrics for a Kubernetes resource object | [![GoDoc](https://pkg.go.dev/badge/github.com/fluxcd/pkg/runtime/controller?utm_source=godoc)](https://pkg.go.dev/github.com/fluxcd/pkg/runtime/controller#Metrics) |
+
+### Predicates
+
+The [`predicates`](https://pkg.go.dev/github.com/fluxcd/pkg/runtime/predicates) package offers a set of [GitOps
+Toolkit](https://fluxcd.io/docs/components/) common controller-runtime predicates, for example to notice annotation
+changes.
+
+| Predicate | Description | Reference |
+|---|---|---|
+| `predicates.ReconcileRequestedPredicate` | Filter `meta.ReconcileRequestAnnotation` changes from update events |  [![GoDoc](https://pkg.go.dev/badge/github.com/fluxcd/pkg/runtime/predicates?utm_source=godoc)](https://pkg.go.dev/github.com/fluxcd/pkg/runtime/predicates#ReconcileRequestedPredicate) |
+
+### Errors
+
+The [`errors`](https://pkg.go.dev/github.com/fluxcd/pkg/runtime/errors) package contains a set of error types for
+generic reconciler errors. This provides consistent error messages for end-users and allows for e.g. error type
+checking.
+
+### Dependency ordering
+
+The [`dependency`](https://pkg.go.dev/github.com/fluxcd/pkg/runtime/dependency) package provides a topological sort
+function for Kubernetes resource objects that implement the [`dependency.Dependent`](https://pkg.go.dev/github.com/fluxcd/pkg/runtime/dependency#Dependent)
+interface. For example used in situations where you want to be able to schedule reconciliations as
+efficiently as possible, or in sequential batches in the right order.
+
+**NB:** at present the dependency ordering only works for dependencies of the same type, this should be changed or expanded in a
+future iteration, partly because it would enable [flux2#1599](https://github.com/fluxcd/flux2/discussions/1599).
+
+### Debugging
+
+The [`pprof`](https://pkg.go.dev/github.com/fluxcd/pkg/runtime/pprof) package allows setting up additional [Go `pprof`](https://golang.org/pkg/net/http/pprof/)
+HTTP handlers on the metrics endpoint of a controller-runtime manager for debugging purposes. A list of exposed
+endpoints can be found in [`pprof.Endpoints`](https://pkg.go.dev/github.com/fluxcd/pkg/runtime/pprof#Endpoints).
+
+See the [package reference](https://pkg.go.dev/github.com/fluxcd/pkg/runtime/pprof#SetupHandlers) for further
+instructions on how to use the package.
+
+### Testing
+
+The [`testenv`](https://pkg.go.dev/github.com/fluxcd/pkg/runtime/testenv) package can be utilized to control the
+lifecycle of a local Kubernetes api-server used for testing purposes, it is built upon controller-runtime's [`envtest`](https://book.kubebuilder.io/reference/envtest.html),
+and can be further configured using the same environment variables.
+
+The package offers an additional set of helper utilities around `envtest`, allowing configuration of the runtime
+scheme and Custom Resource Definitions using [`testenv.WithScheme`](https://pkg.go.dev/github.com/fluxcd/pkg/runtime/testenv#WithCRDPath)
+and [`testenv.WithCRDPath`](https://pkg.go.dev/github.com/fluxcd/pkg/runtime/testenv#WithCRDPath).
+
+For all available functions, see the [package reference](https://pkg.go.dev/github.com/fluxcd/pkg/runtime/testenv).
diff --git a/runtime/doc.go b/runtime/doc.go
index 929256810..a2c9c3ddd 100644
--- a/runtime/doc.go
+++ b/runtime/doc.go
@@ -14,6 +14,5 @@ See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 limitations under the License.
 */
 
-// Package runtime and subpackages contain generic helpers for use
-// with controller-runtime.
+// Package runtime and subpackages contain generic helpers for use with controller-runtime.
 package runtime
diff --git a/runtime/pprof/pprof.go b/runtime/pprof/pprof.go
index bf6ffaf4c..af2ce3724 100644
--- a/runtime/pprof/pprof.go
+++ b/runtime/pprof/pprof.go
@@ -25,10 +25,11 @@ import (
 	ctrl "sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime"
 )
 
-// HTTPPrefixPProf is the prefix appended to all endpoints.
+// HTTPPrefixPProf is the prefix appended to all Endpoints.
 const HTTPPrefixPProf = "/debug/pprof"
 
-var endpoints = map[string]http.Handler{
+// Endpoints defines the debugging endpoints that are added by SetupHandlers.
+var Endpoints = map[string]http.Handler{
 	HTTPPrefixPProf + "/":             http.HandlerFunc(pprof.Index),
 	HTTPPrefixPProf + "/cmdline":      http.HandlerFunc(pprof.Cmdline),
 	HTTPPrefixPProf + "/profile":      http.HandlerFunc(pprof.Profile),
@@ -60,7 +61,7 @@ func SetupHandlers(mgr ctrl.Manager, log logr.Logger) {
 		runtime.SetMutexProfileFraction(5)
 	}
 
-	for p, h := range endpoints {
+	for p, h := range Endpoints {
 		if err := mgr.AddMetricsExtraHandler(p, h); err != nil {
 			log.Error(err, "unable to add pprof handler")
 		}