From bfff85f700e4fb776b1cd6051d3b77d2941ceabe Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Nic Cope <nicc@rk0n.org>
Date: Wed, 6 Aug 2025 13:48:18 -0700
Subject: [PATCH] Add ops to "What's Crossplane?"

Feels like it belongs here as a top-level tool, despite being alpha.

Signed-off-by: Nic Cope <nicc@rk0n.org>
---
 content/master/whats-crossplane/_index.md | 61 ++++++++++++++++++++++-
 1 file changed, 59 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

diff --git a/content/master/whats-crossplane/_index.md b/content/master/whats-crossplane/_index.md
index 78952bb1..f60de526 100644
--- a/content/master/whats-crossplane/_index.md
+++ b/content/master/whats-crossplane/_index.md
@@ -46,13 +46,14 @@ involved in writing a controller.
 
 ## Crossplane components
 
-Crossplane has three major components:
+Crossplane has four major components:
 
 * [Composition](#composition)
 * [Managed resources](#managed-resources)
+* [Operations](#operations)
 * [Package manager](#package-manager)
 
-You can use all three components to build your control plane, or pick only the
+You can use all four components to build your control plane, or pick only the
 ones you need.
 
 ### Composition
@@ -223,6 +224,62 @@ GCP, Terraform, Helm, GitHub, etc to support Crossplane v2 soon.
 <!-- vale gitlab.FutureTense = YES -->
 {{</hint>}}
 
+### Operations
+
+Operations let you run operational tasks using function pipelines.
+
+While composition and managed resources focus on creating and managing
+infrastructure, operations handle tasks that don't fit the typical resource
+creation pattern - like certificate monitoring, rolling upgrades, or scheduled
+maintenance.
+
+**Operations run function pipelines to completion like a Kubernetes Job.**
+Instead of continuously managing resources, they perform specific tasks and
+report the results.
+
+```mermaid
+flowchart TD
+user(User)
+
+subgraph control [Control Plane]
+  operation(SSL Monitor Operation API)
+  
+  subgraph crossplane [Operation Engine]
+    fn(Python Function)
+  end
+  
+  ingress(Ingress API)
+end
+
+subgraph ext [External System]
+  cert(SSL Certificate)
+end
+
+user -- create --> operation
+crossplane watch@<-- watch --> operation
+crossplane -- read --> ingress
+crossplane -- check --> cert
+crossplane -- annotate --> ingress
+
+watch@{animate: true}
+```
+
+Operations support three modes:
+
+* **Operation** - Run once to completion
+* **CronOperation** - Run on a scheduled basis
+* **WatchOperation** - Run when resources change
+
+You can use operations alongside composition and managed resources to build
+complete operational workflows for your control plane.
+
+Follow [Get Started with Operations]({{<ref "../get-started/get-started-with-operations">}})
+to see how operations work.
+
+{{<hint "note">}}
+Operations are an alpha feature available in Crossplane v2.
+{{</hint>}}
+
 ### Package manager
 
 The Crossplane package manager lets you install new managed resources and