diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index fb1c8d0..8202000 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ RUN pip install --upgrade "pip>=25.1,<26" && pip install .
 
 FROM python:3.13-slim-bookworm AS runtime
 
-ARG APP_VERSION=0.0.1
+ARG APP_VERSION=0.1.0
 LABEL org.opencontainers.image.title="proxmox-api-simulator" \
       org.opencontainers.image.version="$APP_VERSION" \
       org.opencontainers.image.source="https://github.com/example/proxmox-api-simulator"
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 858c60b..37ddde3 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -3,10 +3,9 @@
 Stateful asynchronous Proxmox VE API simulator for testing API clients and
 infrastructure tooling without a real hypervisor cluster.
 
-The runnable foundation and authoritative contract toolchain are implemented.
-Imported methods can be registered dynamically, but no stateful Proxmox method
-is claimed as compatible yet; the vertical slice is tracked in
-[the implementation plan](docs/implementation-plan.md).
+Release 0.1.0 provides a deliberately narrow, stateful vertical slice backed by
+the authoritative imported PVE 9.2.3 contract. Compatibility claims and known
+limits are recorded in [the 0.1.0 compatibility report](docs/compatibility-0.1.0.md).
 
 The bundled PVE 9.2.3 declared contract contains 444 paths and 675 methods.
 Implemented semantics currently include version, ticket login, node listing and
@@ -24,7 +23,9 @@ make install
 make ci
 ```
 
-Local services use plain HTTP at this stage:
+Local services expose internal HTTP on port 8006 and a development-only HTTPS
+gateway on port 8007. The checked-in certificate and key are disposable local
+test credentials and must never be used in production:
 
 ```bash
 cp .env.example .env
@@ -38,6 +39,27 @@ curl -X POST -d 'username=root@pam&password=secret' \
   http://localhost:8006/api2/json/access/ticket
 ```
 
+Unmodified proxmoxer 2.3 clients use the HTTPS gateway:
+
+```python
+from proxmoxer import ProxmoxAPI
+
+proxmox = ProxmoxAPI(
+    "localhost",
+    port=8007,
+    user="root@pam",
+    password="secret",
+    verify_ssl=False,  # local self-signed development certificate
+)
+print(proxmox.version.get())
+print(proxmox.nodes("pve1").qemu.get())
+```
+
+Run the external-client smoke flow against the Compose network with
+`PROXMOXER_HOST=tls-gateway`, `PROXMOXER_PORT=8443`, and pytest marker
+`compatibility`. It covers login, reads, CSRF-protected mutation, and UPID task
+completion.
+
 Database migrations are ordered SQL files applied transactionally and recorded
 with SHA-256 checksums. Re-running `make db-migrate` is safe; changing an already
 applied migration is rejected instead of silently drifting the schema.
diff --git a/app/main.py b/app/main.py
index 3f43ecb..69c805f 100644
--- a/app/main.py
+++ b/app/main.py
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ def create_app(
         resolved_workers = (task_worker,)
     app = FastAPI(
         title=resolved.app_name,
-        version="0.0.1",
+        version="0.1.0",
         lifespan=create_lifespan(resolved, database_factory, resolved_workers or ()),
     )
     app.state.settings = resolved
diff --git a/app/tasks/worker.py b/app/tasks/worker.py
index d1d50f8..2e8c7f9 100644
--- a/app/tasks/worker.py
+++ b/app/tasks/worker.py
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 from __future__ import annotations
 
 import asyncio
+import logging
 from collections.abc import Awaitable, Callable
 from dataclasses import dataclass, field
 from typing import Any
@@ -10,6 +11,7 @@ from typing import Any
 from app.tasks.repository import Task, TaskRepository
 
 TaskHandler = Callable[[Task], Awaitable[dict[str, Any] | None]]
+logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
 
 @dataclass(slots=True)
@@ -31,7 +33,14 @@ class TaskWorker:
                 if len(self._running) >= self.concurrency:
                     await asyncio.sleep(self.poll_seconds)
                     continue
-                task = await self.repository.claim(self.worker_id, self.lease_seconds)
+                try:
+                    task = await self.repository.claim(self.worker_id, self.lease_seconds)
+                except asyncio.CancelledError:
+                    raise
+                except Exception:
+                    logger.exception("task claim failed; polling will retry")
+                    await asyncio.sleep(self.poll_seconds)
+                    continue
                 if task is None:
                     await asyncio.sleep(self.poll_seconds)
                     continue
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index 56564de..0ebc807 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -41,5 +41,24 @@ services:
     security_opt:
       - no-new-privileges:true
 
+  tls-gateway:
+    image: nginx:1.28.0-alpine
+    depends_on:
+      simulator:
+        condition: service_healthy
+    ports:
+      - "8007:8443"
+    volumes:
+      - ./docker/tls/nginx.conf:/etc/nginx/nginx.conf:ro
+      - ./docker/tls/server.crt:/etc/nginx/tls/server.crt:ro
+      - ./docker/tls/server.key:/etc/nginx/tls/server.key:ro
+    read_only: true
+    tmpfs:
+      - /var/cache/nginx
+      - /var/run
+      - /tmp
+    security_opt:
+      - no-new-privileges:true
+
 volumes:
   postgres-data:
diff --git a/docker/tls/nginx.conf b/docker/tls/nginx.conf
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c415402
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docker/tls/nginx.conf
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+events {}
+http {
+    server {
+        listen 8443 ssl;
+        server_name localhost;
+        ssl_certificate /etc/nginx/tls/server.crt;
+        ssl_certificate_key /etc/nginx/tls/server.key;
+        ssl_protocols TLSv1.2 TLSv1.3;
+        location / {
+            proxy_pass http://simulator:8006;
+            proxy_set_header Host $host;
+            proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto https;
+            proxy_set_header X-Request-ID $request_id;
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/docker/tls/server.crt b/docker/tls/server.crt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..bce557b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docker/tls/server.crt
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----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-----END CERTIFICATE-----
diff --git a/docker/tls/server.key b/docker/tls/server.key
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5cc6910
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docker/tls/server.key
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+-----BEGIN PRIVATE KEY-----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+-----END PRIVATE KEY-----
diff --git a/docs/compatibility-0.1.0.md b/docs/compatibility-0.1.0.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..878e6b6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/compatibility-0.1.0.md
@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+# Compatibility report — 0.1.0
+
+This report records evidence for simulator release 0.1.0 against the bundled
+Proxmox VE 9.2.3 API contract. It is a limitation matrix, not a claim of general
+Proxmox compatibility.
+
+## Summary
+
+| Level | Methods | Contract share | Evidence |
+|---|---:|---:|---|
+| Declared and dynamically routed | 675 | 100% | Imported immutable API Viewer artifact |
+| Stateful semantics implemented | 13 | 1.93% | Handler registry and unit/integration tests |
+| Schema-only or explicitly unsupported | 662 | 98.07% | Default 501 fallback |
+| proxmoxer smoke exercised | 9 | 1.33% | Unmodified proxmoxer 2.3 compatibility test |
+
+The smoke set is `POST /access/ticket`, `GET /version`, `GET /nodes`,
+`GET /nodes/{node}/qemu`, `GET /nodes/{node}/qemu/{vmid}/status/current`, one of
+the two state mutations (`start` or `stop`), and repeated
+`GET /nodes/{node}/tasks/{upid}/status`. Both mutations have independent API and
+worker tests; a single smoke run chooses the transition valid for current state.
+
+## Implemented surface
+
+- Core: version, ticket login, node list/status, and cluster resources.
+- QEMU: list, configuration, current status, start, and stop.
+- Tasks: node task list, status, and append-only log.
+- Authentication: ticket cookie and ticket-bound CSRF validation for mutations.
+- Persistence: PostgreSQL resources, durable leased tasks, and deterministic
+  `small` seed data.
+
+## Known limitations
+
+| Area | 0.1.0 behavior |
+|---|---|
+| Other imported endpoints | Registered, but return explicit unsupported errors |
+| API tokens and broad ACL administration | Primitives exist; public management surface is incomplete |
+| QEMU lifecycle | No create, update, delete, snapshots, clone, or migration |
+| LXC, storage, pools, backup, HA | Contract-only; no stateful semantics yet |
+| Observation parity | Responses are contract-tested, but no sanitized real-PVE observation corpus exists |
+| TLS | Local nginx gateway with a checked-in self-signed development key only |
+| Client certification | proxmoxer 2.3 smoke only; Terraform and other clients are not certified |
+
+The live `/admin/compatibility` endpoint is the machine-readable source for
+declared and implemented counts. Unsupported methods remain failures by default
+so the simulator cannot silently overstate compatibility.
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 6c1c624..07e8546 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ build-backend = "hatchling.build"
 
 [project]
 name = "proxmox-api-simulator"
-version = "0.0.1"
+version = "0.1.0"
 description = "Stateful asynchronous Proxmox VE API simulator"
 readme = "README.md"
 requires-python = ">=3.13,<3.14"
@@ -26,6 +26,8 @@ dev = [
   "pytest>=8.4,<9",
   "pytest-asyncio>=1.1,<2",
   "pytest-cov>=6.2,<7",
+  "proxmoxer>=2.3,<2.4",
+  "requests>=2.32,<3",
   "ruff>=0.12,<0.13",
 ]
 
@@ -57,6 +59,7 @@ testpaths = ["tests"]
 markers = [
   "integration: requires PostgreSQL or another external service",
   "contract: validates imported API contracts",
+  "compatibility: exercises an external client against a running simulator",
 ]
 
 [tool.coverage.run]
diff --git a/tests/compatibility/__init__.py b/tests/compatibility/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c1212c3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/compatibility/__init__.py
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+"""External client compatibility tests."""
diff --git a/tests/compatibility/test_proxmoxer.py b/tests/compatibility/test_proxmoxer.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6dbda37
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/compatibility/test_proxmoxer.py
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+"""Unmodified proxmoxer HTTPS smoke flow."""
+
+import os
+import time
+
+import pytest
+from proxmoxer import ProxmoxAPI  # type: ignore[import-untyped]
+
+pytestmark = [
+    pytest.mark.compatibility,
+    pytest.mark.skipif(not os.getenv("PROXMOXER_HOST"), reason="running TLS simulator required"),
+]
+
+
+def test_proxmoxer_read_and_qemu_task_flow() -> None:
+    proxmox = ProxmoxAPI(
+        os.environ["PROXMOXER_HOST"],
+        port=int(os.getenv("PROXMOXER_PORT", "8007")),
+        user="root@pam",
+        password=os.getenv("PROXMOXER_PASSWORD", "secret"),
+        verify_ssl=False,
+    )
+
+    assert proxmox.version.get()["version"] == "9.2.3"
+    assert any(node["node"] == "pve1" for node in proxmox.nodes.get())
+    assert any(vm["vmid"] == 101 for vm in proxmox.nodes("pve1").qemu.get())
+
+    if os.getenv("PROXMOXER_MUTATION_TEST") == "1":
+        status = proxmox.nodes("pve1").qemu("101").status.current.get()
+        operation = "start" if status["status"] == "stopped" else "stop"
+        endpoint = proxmox.nodes("pve1").qemu("101").status(operation)
+        upid = endpoint.post()
+        for _attempt in range(100):
+            task = proxmox.nodes("pve1").tasks(upid).status.get()
+            if task["status"] == "stopped":
+                break
+            time.sleep(0.05)
+        assert task["status"] == "stopped"
+        assert task["exitstatus"] == "OK"
diff --git a/tests/unit/test_task_worker.py b/tests/unit/test_task_worker.py
index 3c41cc6..8529ad5 100644
--- a/tests/unit/test_task_worker.py
+++ b/tests/unit/test_task_worker.py
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 """Bounded task worker outcome tests."""
 
+import asyncio
 import uuid
 from typing import cast
 
@@ -72,3 +73,28 @@ async def test_worker_honors_persisted_cancellation() -> None:
 
     assert not called
     assert repository.finishes == [("cancelled", None)]
+
+
+async def test_worker_retries_after_claim_failure() -> None:
+    class RecoveringRepository:
+        attempts = 0
+
+        async def claim(self, _worker_id: str, _lease_seconds: float) -> None:
+            self.attempts += 1
+            if self.attempts == 1:
+                raise RuntimeError("database schema is not ready")
+            return None
+
+    repository = RecoveringRepository()
+    worker = TaskWorker(
+        cast(TaskRepository, repository),
+        "worker",
+        {},
+        poll_seconds=0.001,
+    )
+    running = asyncio.create_task(worker.run())
+    await asyncio.sleep(0.01)
+    worker.stop()
+    await running
+
+    assert repository.attempts > 1