diff --git a/docs/docs/getting_started/installation.md b/docs/docs/getting_started/installation.md
index f5d842a0..827c6e2f 100644
--- a/docs/docs/getting_started/installation.md
+++ b/docs/docs/getting_started/installation.md
@@ -5,9 +5,9 @@
 ### Prerequisites
 - Docker and Docker Compose
 - Go 1.19+ (for CORE service)
-- Ballerina (for APIs)
+- Ballerina 2201.13.4 (for APIs)
 
-### Start the System
+### Start the System (Using Docker)
 
 1. **Start databases**
    ```bash
@@ -23,6 +23,95 @@
    docker-compose up -d ingestion read
    ```
 
+### Start the System (Locally, without Docker)
+
+1. **Start databases** — choose one:
+
+   **Option A: Local databases (Docker)**
+   ```bash
+   docker-compose up -d mongodb neo4j postgres
+   ```
+
+   **Option B: Cloud databases** (e.g. [Neo4j Aura](https://neo4j.com/cloud/aura/), [MongoDB Atlas](https://www.mongodb.com/atlas), a managed PostgreSQL instance)
+
+   Skip the Docker step above and instead point core-api at your cloud instances by setting the connection variables in `opengin/core-api/.env` (or `.env.ps1` on Windows) before starting CORE in step 3:
+   ```bash
+   export NEO4J_URI=neo4j+s://<your-instance-id>.databases.neo4j.io
+   export NEO4J_USER=neo4j
+   export NEO4J_PASSWORD=<your-password>
+   export MONGO_URI=<your-mongodb-atlas-connection-string>
+   export POSTGRES_HOST=<your-postgres-host>
+   export POSTGRES_PORT=5432
+   export POSTGRES_USER=<your-postgres-user>
+   export POSTGRES_PASSWORD=<your-postgres-password>
+   export POSTGRES_DB=<your-postgres-db>
+   ```
+   (Windows PowerShell: same variables using `$env:NEO4J_URI="..."` syntax, in `.env.ps1`.)
+
+   Note Neo4j Aura uses the `neo4j+s://` scheme (encrypted), not `bolt://` — using `bolt://` against an Aura instance will fail to connect.
+
+2. **Start CORE service**
+
+   For LINUX & macOS
+   ```bash
+   cd opengin/core-api
+   cp env.template .env
+   source .env
+   go build -o core-service cmd/server/service.go cmd/server/utils.go
+   ./core-service
+   ```
+
+   For Windows (PowerShell)
+   ```powershell
+   cd opengin/core-api
+   Copy-Item env.template.ps1 .env.ps1
+   . .\.env.ps1
+   go build -o core-service.exe cmd/server/service.go cmd/server/utils.go
+   .\core-service.exe
+   ```
+
+   See [core-api/README.md](../../../opengin/core-api/README.md) for details.
+
+3. **Start ingestion-api** (make sure CORE service is running)
+
+   For LINUX & macOS
+   ```bash
+   cd opengin/ingestion-api
+   cp env.template .env
+   source .env
+   bal run
+   ```
+
+   For Windows (PowerShell)
+   ```powershell
+   cd opengin/ingestion-api
+   Copy-Item env.template.ps1 .env.ps1
+   . .\.env.ps1
+   bal run
+   ```
+
+   See [ingestion-api/README.md](../../../opengin/ingestion-api/README.md) for details.
+
+4. **Start read-api** (make sure CORE service is running)
+
+   For LINUX & macOS
+   ```bash
+   cd opengin/read-api
+   cp env.template .env
+   source .env
+   bal run
+   ```
+
+   For Windows (PowerShell)
+   ```powershell
+   cd opengin/read-api
+   Copy-Item env.template.ps1 .env.ps1
+   . .\.env.ps1
+   bal run
+   ```
+
+   See [read-api/README.md](../../../opengin/read-api/README.md) for details.
+
 ### Test the System
 
 **Run E2E tests**
diff --git a/opengin/core-api/README.md b/opengin/core-api/README.md
index 9c3c357a..23b7e023 100644
--- a/opengin/core-api/README.md
+++ b/opengin/core-api/README.md
@@ -33,7 +33,18 @@ source .env
 # make sure to clean the dbs before running the tests
 go test -v ./... -count=1 -p=1
 ./core-service
+```
 
+For Windows (PowerShell)
+```powershell
+cd core-api
+Copy-Item env.template.ps1 .env.ps1
+# after updating the required fields to be added to the environment
+. .\.env.ps1
+# make sure to clean the dbs before running the tests
+go test -v ./... -count=1 -p=1
+.\core-service.exe
+```
 
 ## Go Module Setup
 
@@ -115,10 +126,16 @@ docker run -d \
 
 #### Validate 
 
+For LINUX & macOS
 ```bash
 brew install grpcurl
 ```
 
+For Windows, install grpcurl via Chocolatey:
+```powershell
+choco install grpcurl
+```
+
 ```bash
 grpcurl -plaintext localhost:50051 list
 ```
diff --git a/opengin/core-api/env.template.ps1 b/opengin/core-api/env.template.ps1
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..7c646ff7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/opengin/core-api/env.template.ps1
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+$env:MONGO_URI=""
+$env:MONGO_DB_NAME=""
+$env:MONGO_COLLECTION=""
+
+## Uncomment the following for development
+
+# $env:NEO4J_URI=$env:NEO4J_DEVELOPMENT_DB_URI
+# $env:NEO4J_USER=$env:NEO4J_DEVELOPMENT_USERNAME
+# $env:NEO4J_PASSWORD=$env:NEO4J_DEVELOPMENT_PASSWORD
+
+## If commented, uncomment the following will be used for testing
+
+# $env:NEO4J_URI=$env:NEO4J_TESTING_DB_URI
+# $env:NEO4J_USER=$env:NEO4J_TESTING_USERNAME
+# $env:NEO4J_PASSWORD=$env:NEO4J_TESTING_PASSWORD
+
+## PostgreSQL configuration
+
+$env:POSTGRES_HOST="localhost"
+$env:POSTGRES_PORT="5432"
+$env:POSTGRES_USER="postgres"
+$env:POSTGRES_PASSWORD="postgres"
+$env:POSTGRES_DB="opengin"
+$env:POSTGRES_SSL_MODE="disable"
+$env:POSTGRES_TEST_DB_URI="postgresql://postgres:postgres@localhost:5432/opengin?sslmode=disable"
+
+$env:CORE_SERVICE_HOST="localhost"
+$env:CORE_SERVICE_PORT="50051"
diff --git a/opengin/ingestion-api/README.md b/opengin/ingestion-api/README.md
index 3e6cdb5b..b1141a26 100644
--- a/opengin/ingestion-api/README.md
+++ b/opengin/ingestion-api/README.md
@@ -1,56 +1,78 @@
 # Ingestion API
 
-## Generate Open API 
+## Prerequisites
 
-This will generate the endpoints for the Ingestion API server using the OpenAPI specification. 
+⚠️ **Warning**  
+You should have the Ballerina version of **2201.11.0** in your device. You can download it by following link
+```bash
+https://ballerina.io/downloads/archived/#swan-lake-archived-versions
+```
+
+## Generate OpenAPI Service
+
+This will generate the endpoints for the Ingestion API server using the OpenAPI specification.
 The OpenAPI specification is the base for public API for Ingestion API.
 
 > 💡 Note: Always make sure the contract has the expected endpoints and request params
-> before working on the code. The generated endpoints should not be editable at all. 
+> before working on the code. The generated endpoints should not be editable at all.
 > Maybe the only changes that can be done is adding error handlers, but request and response
-> must be defined in the contract. 
-
+> must be defined in the contract.
+> Note that this will create the update_api_service_copy.bal file
 
 ```bash
 bal openapi -i ../contracts/rest/ingestion_api.yaml --mode service
 ```
 
-## Generate GRPC Stubs
+## Generate gRPC Stubs
 
-The client stub generated here will be sending and receiving values via Grpc. 
-This will send requests to the corresponding CORE server endpoint. 
+The client stub generated here will be sending and receiving values via Grpc.
+This will send requests to the corresponding CORE server endpoint.
+This command will generate the types_v1_pb.bal file
 
 ```bash
 bal grpc --mode client --input ../core-api/protos/types_v1.proto --output .
 ```
 
 > 💡 **Note**  
-> At the generation make sure to remove any sample code generated to show how to use the API. Because that might add an unnecessary main file. 
+> At the generation make sure to remove any sample code generated to show how to use the API. Because that might add an unnecessary main file.
 
-## Set Environmental Variables
+## Environment Variables
 
-Following are the default values you should use. 
+For LINUX & macOS
+```bash
+cd opengin/ingestion-api
+cp env.template .env
+# update the required fields to set the environment variables
+source .env
+```
 
+For Windows (PowerShell)
+```powershell
+cd opengin/ingestion-api
+Copy-Item env.template.ps1 .env.ps1
+# after updating the required fields to be added to the environment
+. .\.env.ps1
+```
+
+Example .env configuration
 ```bash
+# For LINUX & macOS
 export CORE_SERVICE_HOST=localhost
 export CORE_SERVICE_PORT=50051
 export INGESTION_SERVICE_HOST=localhost
 export INGESTION_SERVICE_PORT=8080
-```
-
-## Development
 
-```bash
-cd ingestion-api
-cp env.template .env
-# update the required fields to set the environment variables
-source .env
-bal test
+# For Windows (paste on Powershell CLI)
+$env:CORE_SERVICE_HOST="localhost"
+$env:CORE_SERVICE_PORT="50051"
+$env:INGESTION_SERVICE_HOST="localhost"
+$env:INGESTION_SERVICE_PORT="8080"
 ```
 
-## Run Test
+## Run Tests
 
-Make sure the CORE server is running. (`cd design/core-api; ./core-server`)
+Make sure the CORE server is running.
+(LINUX & macOS: `cd opengin/core-api && ./core-service`; Windows: `cd opengin/core-api; .\core-service.exe`)
 
 ```bash
 # Run all tests in the current package
@@ -72,9 +94,6 @@ bal test --code-coverage
 ## Run Service
 
 ```bash
-cd ingestion-api
+cd opengin/ingestion-api
 bal run
 ```
-
-At the moment the port is hardcoded to 8080. This must be configurable via a config file.
-
diff --git a/opengin/ingestion-api/env.template.ps1 b/opengin/ingestion-api/env.template.ps1
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..17138548
--- /dev/null
+++ b/opengin/ingestion-api/env.template.ps1
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+# config format 1 (default for development)
+$env:CORE_SERVICE_HOST="0.0.0.0"
+$env:CORE_SERVICE_PORT="50051"
+$env:INGESTION_SERVICE_HOST="0.0.0.0"
+$env:INGESTION_SERVICE_PORT="8080"
+$env:CORE_SERVICE_URL="http://localhost:50051"
+
+# config format 2 (default for deployment)
+
+$env:CORE_SERVICE_URL="http://0.0.0.0:50051"
+$env:INGESTION_SERVICE_URL="http://0.0.0.0:8080"
diff --git a/opengin/read-api/README.md b/opengin/read-api/README.md
index d0ec6369..5cb75b5c 100644
--- a/opengin/read-api/README.md
+++ b/opengin/read-api/README.md
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # Read API
 
-## Implement OpenAPI Contract
+## Prerequisites
 
 ⚠️ **Warning**  
 You should have the Ballerina version of **2201.11.0** in your device. You can download it by following link
@@ -8,58 +8,53 @@ You should have the Ballerina version of **2201.11.0** in your device. You can d
 https://ballerina.io/downloads/archived/#swan-lake-archived-versions
 ```
 
-The Ballerina service can be generated by the following command. 
+## Generate OpenAPI Service
+
+This will generate the endpoints for the Read API server using the OpenAPI specification.
+The OpenAPI specification is the base for public API for Read API.
 
 > 💡 Note: Always make sure the contract has the expected endpoints and request params
-> before working on the code. The generated endpoints should not be editable at all. 
+> before working on the code. The generated endpoints should not be editable at all.
 > Maybe the only changes that can be done is adding error handlers, but request and response
-> must be defined in the contract. 
+> must be defined in the contract.
 > Note that this will create the read_api_service.bal file and types.bal file
 
 ```bash
 bal openapi -i ../contracts/rest/read_api.yaml --mode service
 ```
 
-## Generate GRPC Stubs
+## Generate gRPC Stubs
 
-The client stub generated here will be sending and receiving values via Grpc. 
-This will send requests to the corresponding CORE server endpoint. 
+The client stub generated here will be sending and receiving values via Grpc.
+This will send requests to the corresponding CORE server endpoint.
 This command will generate the types_v1_pb.bal file
 
 ```bash
 bal grpc --mode client --input ../core-api/protos/types_v1.proto --output .
 ```
 
-## Development
+> 💡 **Note**  
+> At the generation make sure to remove any sample code generated to show how to use the API. Because that might add an unnecessary main file.
 
-⚠️ **Warning**  
-All the commands here are for the **LINUX** & **macOS**, but they work on the **Windows** too. but for the commands which does not works on the **Windows** We have given the working command by mentioning that. Please look for that.
+## Environment Variables
 
 For LINUX & macOS
 ```bash
 cd opengin/read-api
 cp env.template .env
 # update the required fields to set the environment variables
-# (you can find the example env configurations here)
 source .env
-# make sure core service is running
-bal test
-bal run
 ```
 
-For windows (make sure you open the **Powershell CLI**)
-```bash
+For Windows (PowerShell)
+```powershell
 cd opengin/read-api
-echo .env
+Copy-Item env.template.ps1 .env.ps1
 # after updating the required fields to be added to the environment
-# you have to copy and paste the env configurations on the Powershell CLI
-# (you can find the example env configurations here)
-# make sure core service is running
-bal test
-bal run
+. .\.env.ps1
 ```
 
-Example .env configurations
+Example .env configuration
 ```bash
 # For LINUX & macOS
 export CORE_SERVICE_HOST=localhost
@@ -74,4 +69,31 @@ $env:READ_SERVICE_HOST="localhost"
 $env:READ_SERVICE_PORT="8081"
 ```
 
+## Run Tests
+
+Make sure the CORE server is running.
+(LINUX & macOS: `cd opengin/core-api && ./core-service`; Windows: `cd opengin/core-api; .\core-service.exe`)
+
+```bash
+# Run all tests in the current package
+bal test
 
+# Run tests with verbose output
+bal test --test-report
+
+# Run a specific test file
+bal test tests/read_api_service_test.bal
+
+# Run a specific test function
+bal test --tests testEntityAttributeRetrieval
+
+# Run tests and generate a coverage report
+bal test --code-coverage
+```
+
+## Run Service
+
+```bash
+cd opengin/read-api
+bal run
+```
diff --git a/opengin/read-api/env.template.ps1 b/opengin/read-api/env.template.ps1
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..bba283ec
--- /dev/null
+++ b/opengin/read-api/env.template.ps1
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+$env:CORE_SERVICE_HOST="0.0.0.0"
+$env:CORE_SERVICE_PORT="50051"
+$env:READ_SERVICE_HOST="0.0.0.0"
+$env:READ_SERVICE_PORT="8081"
+
+$env:CORE_SERVICE_URL="http://0.0.0.0:50051"
+$env:READ_SERVICE_URL="http://0.0.0.0:8081"