diff --git a/operator-framework-quarkus-extension/deployment/src/main/java/io/javaoperatorsdk/quarkus/extension/deployment/QuarkusExtensionProcessor.java b/operator-framework-quarkus-extension/deployment/src/main/java/io/javaoperatorsdk/quarkus/extension/deployment/QuarkusExtensionProcessor.java
index cdf308d5bf..9a407c0dc2 100644
--- a/operator-framework-quarkus-extension/deployment/src/main/java/io/javaoperatorsdk/quarkus/extension/deployment/QuarkusExtensionProcessor.java
+++ b/operator-framework-quarkus-extension/deployment/src/main/java/io/javaoperatorsdk/quarkus/extension/deployment/QuarkusExtensionProcessor.java
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@
 import io.quarkus.deployment.builditem.CombinedIndexBuildItem;
 import io.quarkus.deployment.builditem.FeatureBuildItem;
 import io.quarkus.deployment.builditem.GeneratedClassBuildItem;
+import io.quarkus.deployment.builditem.IndexDependencyBuildItem;
 import io.quarkus.gizmo.ClassCreator;
 import io.quarkus.gizmo.ClassOutput;
 import io.quarkus.gizmo.MethodCreator;
@@ -55,6 +56,12 @@ FeatureBuildItem feature() {
     return new FeatureBuildItem(FEATURE);
   }
 
+  @BuildStep
+  void indexSDKDependencies(BuildProducer<IndexDependencyBuildItem> indexDependency) {
+    indexDependency.produce(
+        new IndexDependencyBuildItem("io.javaoperatorsdk", "operator-framework-core"));
+  }
+
   @BuildStep
   @Record(ExecutionTime.RUNTIME_INIT)
   void createConfigurationServiceAndOperator(
@@ -132,6 +139,13 @@ private ControllerConfiguration createControllerConfiguration(
 
     // generate configuration
     final var controllerAnnotation = info.classAnnotation(CONTROLLER);
+    if (controllerAnnotation == null) {
+      throw new IllegalArgumentException(
+          resourceControllerClassName
+              + " is missing the "
+              + Controller.class.getCanonicalName()
+              + " annotation");
+    }
     final var crdName =
         valueOrDefault(
             controllerAnnotation, "crdName", AnnotationValue::asString, EXCEPTION_SUPPLIER);
diff --git a/operator-framework-quarkus-extension/pom.xml b/operator-framework-quarkus-extension/pom.xml
index 623d2d1dff..b04cd947cb 100644
--- a/operator-framework-quarkus-extension/pom.xml
+++ b/operator-framework-quarkus-extension/pom.xml
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@
   <modules>
     <module>deployment</module>
     <module>runtime</module>
+    <module>tests</module>
   </modules>
   <dependencyManagement>
     <dependencies>
@@ -47,6 +48,10 @@
           <artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
           <version>${compiler-plugin.version}</version>
         </plugin>
+        <plugin>
+          <artifactId>maven-surefire-plugin</artifactId>
+          <version>${maven.surefire.version}</version>
+        </plugin>
       </plugins>
     </pluginManagement>
   </build>
diff --git a/operator-framework-quarkus-extension/runtime/pom.xml b/operator-framework-quarkus-extension/runtime/pom.xml
index f8b30000bb..17ed9ac7bf 100644
--- a/operator-framework-quarkus-extension/runtime/pom.xml
+++ b/operator-framework-quarkus-extension/runtime/pom.xml
@@ -18,7 +18,6 @@
       <groupId>io.javaoperatorsdk</groupId>
       <artifactId>operator-framework-core</artifactId>
       <version>${project.version}</version>
-      <scope>compile</scope>
     </dependency>
     <dependency>
       <groupId>io.quarkus</groupId>
@@ -78,16 +77,6 @@
           </annotationProcessorPaths>
         </configuration>
       </plugin>
-      <plugin>
-        <artifactId>maven-surefire-plugin</artifactId>
-        <version>${maven.surefire.version}</version>
-        <configuration>
-          <systemPropertyVariables>
-            <java.util.logging.manager>org.jboss.logmanager.LogManager</java.util.logging.manager>
-            <maven.home>${maven.home}</maven.home>
-          </systemPropertyVariables>
-        </configuration>
-      </plugin>
     </plugins>
   </build>
 </project>
diff --git a/operator-framework-quarkus-extension/tests/pom.xml b/operator-framework-quarkus-extension/tests/pom.xml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..5c5c183153
--- /dev/null
+++ b/operator-framework-quarkus-extension/tests/pom.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,83 @@
+<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
+<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0"
+  xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
+  xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 http://maven.apache.org/xsd/maven-4.0.0.xsd">
+  <parent>
+    <artifactId>operator-framework-quarkus-extension-parent</artifactId>
+    <groupId>io.javaoperatorsdk</groupId>
+    <version>1.6.2-SNAPSHOT</version>
+  </parent>
+  <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
+
+  <artifactId>operator-framework-quarkus-tests</artifactId>
+  <name>Operator SDK - Quarkus Extension - Tests</name>
+
+
+  <properties>
+    <maven.compiler.source>11</maven.compiler.source>
+    <maven.compiler.target>11</maven.compiler.target>
+  </properties>
+
+  <dependencies>
+    <dependency>
+      <groupId>io.javaoperatorsdk</groupId>
+      <artifactId>operator-framework-quarkus-extension</artifactId>
+      <version>${project.version}</version>
+    </dependency>
+    <dependency>
+      <groupId>io.quarkus</groupId>
+      <artifactId>quarkus-resteasy-jackson</artifactId>
+    </dependency>
+    <dependency>
+      <groupId>io.quarkus</groupId>
+      <artifactId>quarkus-junit5-internal</artifactId>
+      <scope>test</scope>
+    </dependency>
+    <dependency>
+      <groupId>io.rest-assured</groupId>
+      <artifactId>rest-assured</artifactId>
+      <scope>test</scope>
+    </dependency>
+    <dependency>
+      <groupId>org.assertj</groupId>
+      <artifactId>assertj-core</artifactId>
+      <scope>test</scope>
+    </dependency>
+  </dependencies>
+
+  <build>
+    <plugins>
+      <plugin>
+        <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
+        <artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
+        <configuration>
+          <parameters>true</parameters>
+        </configuration>
+      </plugin>
+      <plugin>
+        <groupId>io.quarkus</groupId>
+        <artifactId>quarkus-maven-plugin</artifactId>
+        <version>${quarkus.version}</version>
+        <executions>
+          <execution>
+            <goals>
+              <goal>build</goal>
+            </goals>
+          </execution>
+        </executions>
+      </plugin>
+      <plugin>
+        <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
+        <artifactId>maven-surefire-plugin</artifactId>
+        <configuration>
+          <systemPropertyVariables>
+            <java.util.logging.manager>
+              org.jboss.logmanager.LogManager
+            </java.util.logging.manager>
+            <maven.home>${maven.home}</maven.home>
+          </systemPropertyVariables>
+        </configuration>
+      </plugin>
+    </plugins>
+  </build>
+</project>
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/operator-framework-quarkus-extension/tests/src/main/java/io/javaoperatorsdk/quarkus/it/TestController.java b/operator-framework-quarkus-extension/tests/src/main/java/io/javaoperatorsdk/quarkus/it/TestController.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..d29fc56d6e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/operator-framework-quarkus-extension/tests/src/main/java/io/javaoperatorsdk/quarkus/it/TestController.java
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+package io.javaoperatorsdk.quarkus.it;
+
+import io.javaoperatorsdk.operator.api.Context;
+import io.javaoperatorsdk.operator.api.Controller;
+import io.javaoperatorsdk.operator.api.DeleteControl;
+import io.javaoperatorsdk.operator.api.ResourceController;
+import io.javaoperatorsdk.operator.api.UpdateControl;
+
+@Controller(crdName = TestController.CRD_NAME, name = TestController.NAME)
+public class TestController implements ResourceController<TestResource> {
+  public static final String NAME = "test";
+  public static final String CRD_NAME = "test.example.com";
+
+  @Override
+  public DeleteControl deleteResource(TestResource resource, Context<TestResource> context) {
+    return null;
+  }
+
+  @Override
+  public UpdateControl<TestResource> createOrUpdateResource(
+      TestResource resource, Context<TestResource> context) {
+    return null;
+  }
+}
diff --git a/operator-framework-quarkus-extension/tests/src/main/java/io/javaoperatorsdk/quarkus/it/TestOperatorApp.java b/operator-framework-quarkus-extension/tests/src/main/java/io/javaoperatorsdk/quarkus/it/TestOperatorApp.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..ed6316ab0a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/operator-framework-quarkus-extension/tests/src/main/java/io/javaoperatorsdk/quarkus/it/TestOperatorApp.java
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+package io.javaoperatorsdk.quarkus.it;
+
+import io.javaoperatorsdk.operator.api.config.ConfigurationService;
+import io.javaoperatorsdk.operator.api.config.ControllerConfiguration;
+import javax.inject.Inject;
+import javax.ws.rs.GET;
+import javax.ws.rs.Path;
+import javax.ws.rs.PathParam;
+
+@Path("/operator")
+public class TestOperatorApp {
+
+  @Inject TestController controller;
+  @Inject ConfigurationService configurationService;
+
+  @GET
+  @Path("{name}")
+  //  @Produces(MediaType.TEXT_PLAIN)
+  public boolean getController(@PathParam("name") String name) {
+    return name.equals(controller.getName());
+  }
+
+  @GET
+  @Path("{name}/config")
+  public ControllerConfiguration getConfig(@PathParam("name") String name) {
+    return getController(name) ? configurationService.getConfigurationFor(controller) : null;
+  }
+}
diff --git a/operator-framework-quarkus-extension/tests/src/main/java/io/javaoperatorsdk/quarkus/it/TestResource.java b/operator-framework-quarkus-extension/tests/src/main/java/io/javaoperatorsdk/quarkus/it/TestResource.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..92a49075b5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/operator-framework-quarkus-extension/tests/src/main/java/io/javaoperatorsdk/quarkus/it/TestResource.java
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+package io.javaoperatorsdk.quarkus.it;
+
+import io.fabric8.kubernetes.client.CustomResource;
+
+public class TestResource extends CustomResource {}
diff --git a/operator-framework-quarkus-extension/tests/src/test/java/io/javaoperatorsdk/quarkus/it/QuarkusExtensionProcessorTest.java b/operator-framework-quarkus-extension/tests/src/test/java/io/javaoperatorsdk/quarkus/it/QuarkusExtensionProcessorTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..8b3355c6a0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/operator-framework-quarkus-extension/tests/src/test/java/io/javaoperatorsdk/quarkus/it/QuarkusExtensionProcessorTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,56 @@
+package io.javaoperatorsdk.quarkus.it;
+
+import static io.restassured.RestAssured.given;
+import static org.hamcrest.Matchers.equalTo;
+import static org.hamcrest.Matchers.is;
+
+import io.quarkus.test.QuarkusProdModeTest;
+import org.jboss.shrinkwrap.api.ShrinkWrap;
+import org.jboss.shrinkwrap.api.spec.JavaArchive;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.extension.RegisterExtension;
+
+/**
+ * This tests creates and starts an application accessed over REST to assess that injected values
+ * are present and what we expect.
+ */
+public class QuarkusExtensionProcessorTest {
+
+  @RegisterExtension
+  static final QuarkusProdModeTest config =
+      new QuarkusProdModeTest()
+          .setArchiveProducer(
+              () ->
+                  ShrinkWrap.create(JavaArchive.class)
+                      .addClasses(TestOperatorApp.class, TestController.class, TestResource.class))
+          .setApplicationName("basic-app")
+          .setApplicationVersion("0.1-SNAPSHOT")
+          .setRun(true);
+
+  @Test
+  void controllerShouldExist() {
+    // first check that we're not always returning true for any controller name :)
+    given().when().get("/operator/does_not_exist").then().statusCode(200).body(is("false"));
+
+    // given the name of the TestController, the app should reply true meaning that it is indeed
+    // injected
+    given().when().get("/operator/" + TestController.NAME).then().statusCode(200).body(is("true"));
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  void configurationForControllerShouldExist() {
+    // check that the config for the test controller can be retrieved and is conform to our
+    // expectations
+    final var resourceName = TestResource.class.getCanonicalName();
+    given()
+        .when()
+        .get("/operator/" + TestController.NAME + "/config")
+        .then()
+        .statusCode(200)
+        .body(
+            "customResourceClass", equalTo(resourceName),
+            "doneableClass", equalTo(resourceName + "Doneable"),
+            "name", equalTo(TestController.NAME),
+            "crdName", equalTo(TestController.CRD_NAME));
+  }
+}
diff --git a/operator-framework-spring-boot-starter-test/pom.xml b/operator-framework-spring-boot-starter-test/pom.xml
index 775b2aefc6..11ad82657d 100644
--- a/operator-framework-spring-boot-starter-test/pom.xml
+++ b/operator-framework-spring-boot-starter-test/pom.xml
@@ -32,12 +32,6 @@
   </dependencyManagement>
 
   <dependencies>
-    <dependency>
-      <groupId>io.fabric8</groupId>
-      <artifactId>kubernetes-server-mock</artifactId>
-      <version>4.12.0</version>
-    </dependency>
-
     <dependency>
       <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
       <artifactId>spring-boot-starter</artifactId>