diff --git a/charts/collab/templates/deployment.yaml b/charts/collab/templates/deployment.yaml
index 89e46fe..17e1b9b 100644
--- a/charts/collab/templates/deployment.yaml
+++ b/charts/collab/templates/deployment.yaml
@@ -29,6 +29,12 @@ spec:
         - name: {{ include "codetogether.fullname" . }}-pull-secret
       {{- end }}
       serviceAccountName: {{ include "codetogether.serviceAccountName" . }}
+
+      {{- with .Values.initContainers }}
+      initContainers:
+        {{- toYaml . | nindent 8 }}
+      {{- end }}
+      
       containers:
         - name: {{ .Chart.Name }}
           securityContext:
diff --git a/charts/collab/values.yaml b/charts/collab/values.yaml
index 6ab5418..6b514a0 100644
--- a/charts/collab/values.yaml
+++ b/charts/collab/values.yaml
@@ -212,6 +212,18 @@ serviceAccount:
 
 podAnnotations: {}
 
+# Optional: add initContainers (startup containers) to the pod spec.
+# Useful to wait for dependencies (e.g., Intel URL reachability, locator DB readiness, etc.)
+# before CodeTogether Collab starts.
+initContainers: []
+# Example (replace the `[]` above with the list below):
+#   - name: wait-for-intel
+#     image: busybox:1.36
+#     command: ["sh", "-c"]
+#     args:
+#       - >
+#         until nc -z your-intel-host 443; do echo "Waiting for Intel..."; sleep 2; done
+
 securityContext: {} #defaults
   # capabilities:
   #   drop:
diff --git a/charts/intel/Chart.yaml b/charts/intel/Chart.yaml
index 842b88b..2fa000d 100644
--- a/charts/intel/Chart.yaml
+++ b/charts/intel/Chart.yaml
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ name: codetogether-intel
 description: CodeTogether Intel provides advanced project insights for developers
 
 type: application
-version: 1.3.3
+version: 1.3.4
 appVersion: "2026.1.2"
 
 icon: https://www.codetogether.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/codetogether-circle-128.png
diff --git a/charts/intel/templates/deployment.yaml b/charts/intel/templates/deployment.yaml
index fe23ec7..110b1fd 100644
--- a/charts/intel/templates/deployment.yaml
+++ b/charts/intel/templates/deployment.yaml
@@ -27,6 +27,12 @@ spec:
         - name: {{ include "codetogether.fullname" . }}-pull-secret
       {{- end }}
       serviceAccountName: {{ include "codetogether.serviceAccountName" . }}
+
+      {{- with .Values.initContainers }}
+      initContainers:
+        {{- toYaml . | nindent 8 }}
+      {{- end }}
+
       containers:
         - name: {{ .Chart.Name }}
           securityContext:
@@ -169,6 +175,9 @@ spec:
             {{- toYaml .Values.ai.resources | nindent 12 }}
           {{- end }}
         {{- end }}
+        {{- with .Values.extraContainers }}
+        {{- toYaml . | nindent 8 }}
+        {{- end }}
       volumes:
         - name: properties-volume
           secret:
diff --git a/charts/intel/values.yaml b/charts/intel/values.yaml
index cb6a940..c6f6863 100644
--- a/charts/intel/values.yaml
+++ b/charts/intel/values.yaml
@@ -133,6 +133,18 @@ serviceAccount:
 
 podAnnotations: {}
 
+# Optional: add initContainers (startup containers) to the pod spec.
+# Useful to wait for Cassandra or run startup checks before Intel starts.
+initContainers: []
+# Example (replace the `[]` above with the list below):
+#   - name: wait-for-cassandra
+#     image: busybox:1.36
+#     command: ["sh", "-c"]
+#     args:
+#       - >
+#         until nc -z codetogether-cassandra.default.svc.cluster.local 9042;
+#         do echo "Waiting for Cassandra..."; sleep 2; done
+
 securityContext: {} #defaults
   # capabilities:
   #   drop:
@@ -208,4 +220,6 @@ extraVolumes: []
 #       subPath: config.yaml
 extraVolumeMounts: []
 
+extraContainers: []
+
 replicaCount: 1
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/compose/compose.dedicated-keycloak.yaml b/compose/compose.dedicated-keycloak.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fcf030f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/compose/compose.dedicated-keycloak.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+services:
+  # Readiness gate for dedicated/external Keycloak.
+  # Intel will wait until the realm OIDC metadata endpoint responds successfully.
+  keycloak-ready:
+    image: curlimages/curl:8.6.0
+    command: ["sh", "-lc", "sleep infinity"]
+    healthcheck:
+      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "curl -fsS https://${KEYCLOAK_FQDN}/realms/${KEYCLOAK_REALM}/.well-known/openid-configuration > /dev/null || exit 1"]
+      interval: 5s
+      timeout: 3s
+      retries: 60
+      start_period: 10s
+    networks:
+      - codetogethernet
+
+  codetogether-intel:
+    depends_on:
+      cassandra:
+        condition: service_healthy
+      keycloak-ready:
+        condition: service_healthy
+
+networks:
+  codetogethernet:
+    external: true
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/compose/dedicated-keycloak.md b/compose/dedicated-keycloak.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c578175
--- /dev/null
+++ b/compose/dedicated-keycloak.md
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+# Dedicated / External Keycloak: startup gate for Intel
+
+This overlay assumes you already have a Keycloak instance running outside of Docker Compose.
+
+If Keycloak is **not** started by Docker Compose (dedicated/external Keycloak), Intel may start too early.
+Use the overlay `compose.dedicated-keycloak.yaml` to make Intel wait until Keycloak is reachable.
+
+## Required `.env` entries
+
+Add these to the root `.env` (same directory you pass via `--env-file`):
+
+```dotenv
+KEYCLOAK_FQDN=<KEYCLOAK_FQDN>
+KEYCLOAK_REALM=<REALM>
+```
+
+`KEYCLOAK_REALM` must match the realm used in your OIDC URLs:
+`https://<KEYCLOAK_FQDN>/realms/<REALM>/...`
+
+## Run
+
+```bash
+docker compose \
+  -f compose/compose.yaml \
+  -f compose/compose.dedicated-keycloak.yaml \
+  --env-file ./.env \
+  up --pull always --wait -d
+```
\ No newline at end of file