diff --git a/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/1-bug-report.yml b/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/1-bug-report.yml
index 07fe3cf7..f673301f 100644
--- a/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/1-bug-report.yml
+++ b/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/1-bug-report.yml
@@ -58,6 +58,7 @@ body:
       options:
         - refarch-gateway
         - refarch-integrations
+        - refarch-tools
         - refarch-cli
     validations:
       required: false
diff --git a/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/2-feature-request.yml b/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/2-feature-request.yml
index a529c277..c97e9020 100644
--- a/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/2-feature-request.yml
+++ b/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/2-feature-request.yml
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ body:
       options:
         - refarch-gateway
         - refarch-integrations
+        - refarch-tools
         - refarch-cli
     validations:
       required: false
diff --git a/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/3-maintenance-work.yml b/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/3-maintenance-work.yml
index 5b124fb8..10d77d8e 100644
--- a/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/3-maintenance-work.yml
+++ b/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/3-maintenance-work.yml
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ body:
       options:
         - refarch-gateway
         - refarch-integrations
+        - refarch-tools
         - refarch-cli
     validations:
       required: false
diff --git a/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/4-documentation-change.yml b/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/4-documentation-change.yml
index 74d079df..9f8be240 100644
--- a/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/4-documentation-change.yml
+++ b/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/4-documentation-change.yml
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ body:
       options:
         - refarch-gateway
         - refarch-integrations
+        - refarch-tools
         - refarch-cli
         - Other
     validations:
diff --git a/.github/labeler.yml b/.github/labeler.yml
index 41d772c1..2e76845c 100644
--- a/.github/labeler.yml
+++ b/.github/labeler.yml
@@ -18,6 +18,9 @@
 "Component: Integrations":
   - changed-files:
       - any-glob-to-any-file: [ 'refarch-integrations/**' ]
+"Component: Tools":
+  - changed-files:
+      - any-glob-to-any-file: [ 'refarch-tools/**' ]
 "Component: CLI":
   - changed-files:
       - any-glob-to-any-file: [ 'refarch-cli/**' ]
diff --git a/.github/release.yml b/.github/release.yml
index 4e41e7ba..3fd7c00e 100644
--- a/.github/release.yml
+++ b/.github/release.yml
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ changelog:
       exclude:
         labels:
           - "Component: Integrations"
+          - "Component: Tools"
           - "Component: CLI"
     - title: Gateway - 🎉 New Features
       labels:
@@ -14,6 +15,7 @@ changelog:
       exclude:
         labels:
           - "Component: Integrations"
+          - "Component: Tools"
           - "Component: CLI"
     - title: Gateway - 🐞 Bug Fixes
       labels:
@@ -21,6 +23,7 @@ changelog:
       exclude:
         labels:
           - "Component: Integrations"
+          - "Component: Tools"
           - "Component: CLI"
     - title: Gateway - 🔨 Maintenance
       labels:
@@ -28,6 +31,7 @@ changelog:
       exclude:
         labels:
           - "Component: Integrations"
+          - "Component: Tools"
           - "Component: CLI"
     - title: Gateway - 📔 Documentation
       labels:
@@ -35,6 +39,7 @@ changelog:
       exclude:
         labels:
           - "Component: Integrations"
+          - "Component: Tools"
           - "Component: CLI"
     - title: Gateway - ⬆️ Dependency Upgrades
       labels:
@@ -42,6 +47,7 @@ changelog:
       exclude:
         labels:
           - "Component: Integrations"
+          - "Component: Tools"
           - "Component: CLI"
     - title: Gateway - 🔒️ Security
       labels:
@@ -49,6 +55,7 @@ changelog:
       exclude:
         labels:
           - "Component: Integrations"
+          - "Component: Tools"
           - "Component: CLI"
 
     # refarch-integrations
@@ -58,6 +65,7 @@ changelog:
       exclude:
         labels:
           - "Component: API-Gateway"
+          - "Component: Tools"
           - "Component: CLI"
     - title: Integrations - 🎉 New Features
       labels:
@@ -65,6 +73,7 @@ changelog:
       exclude:
         labels:
           - "Component: API-Gateway"
+          - "Component: Tools"
           - "Component: CLI"
     - title: Integrations - 🐞 Bug Fixes
       labels:
@@ -72,6 +81,7 @@ changelog:
       exclude:
         labels:
           - "Component: API-Gateway"
+          - "Component: Tools"
           - "Component: CLI"
     - title: Integrations - 🔨 Maintenance
       labels:
@@ -79,6 +89,7 @@ changelog:
       exclude:
         labels:
           - "Component: API-Gateway"
+          - "Component: Tools"
           - "Component: CLI"
     - title: Integrations - 📔 Documentation
       labels:
@@ -86,6 +97,7 @@ changelog:
       exclude:
         labels:
           - "Component: API-Gateway"
+          - "Component: Tools"
           - "Component: CLI"
     - title: Integrations - ⬆️ Dependency Upgrades
       labels:
@@ -93,6 +105,7 @@ changelog:
       exclude:
         labels:
           - "Component: API-Gateway"
+          - "Component: Tools"
           - "Component: CLI"
     - title: Integrations - 🔒️ Security
       labels:
@@ -100,6 +113,65 @@ changelog:
       exclude:
         labels:
           - "Component: API-Gateway"
+          - "Component: Tools"
+          - "Component: CLI"
+
+    # refarch-tools
+    - title: Tools - 💥 Breaking Changes
+      labels:
+        - BREAKING
+      exclude:
+        labels:
+          - "Component: API-Gateway"
+          - "Component: Integrations"
+          - "Component: CLI"
+    - title: Tools - 🎉 New Features
+      labels:
+        - "Type: Feature"
+      exclude:
+        labels:
+          - "Component: API-Gateway"
+          - "Component: Integrations"
+          - "Component: CLI"
+    - title: Tools - 🐞 Bug Fixes
+      labels:
+        - "Type: Bug"
+      exclude:
+        labels:
+          - "Component: API-Gateway"
+          - "Component: Integrations"
+          - "Component: CLI"
+    - title: Tools - 🔨 Maintenance
+      labels:
+        - "Type: Maintenance"
+      exclude:
+        labels:
+          - "Component: API-Gateway"
+          - "Component: Integrations"
+          - "Component: CLI"
+    - title: Tools - 📔 Documentation
+      labels:
+        - "Type: Documentation"
+      exclude:
+        labels:
+          - "Component: API-Gateway"
+          - "Component: Integrations"
+          - "Component: CLI"
+    - title: Tools - ⬆️ Dependency Upgrades
+      labels:
+        - "Type: Dependency"
+      exclude:
+        labels:
+          - "Component: API-Gateway"
+          - "Component: Integrations"
+          - "Component: CLI"
+    - title: Tools - 🔒️ Security
+      labels:
+        - "Type: Security"
+      exclude:
+        labels:
+          - "Component: API-Gateway"
+          - "Component: Integrations"
           - "Component: CLI"
 
     # refarch-cli
@@ -110,6 +182,7 @@ changelog:
         labels:
           - "Component: API-Gateway"
           - "Component: Integrations"
+          - "Component: Tools"
     - title: CLI - 🎉 New Features
       labels:
         - "Type: Feature"
@@ -117,6 +190,7 @@ changelog:
         labels:
           - "Component: API-Gateway"
           - "Component: Integrations"
+          - "Component: Tools"
     - title: CLI - 🐞 Bug Fixes
       labels:
         - "Type: Bug"
@@ -124,6 +198,7 @@ changelog:
         labels:
           - "Component: API-Gateway"
           - "Component: Integrations"
+          - "Component: Tools"
     - title: CLI - 🔨 Maintenance
       labels:
         - "Type: Maintenance"
@@ -131,6 +206,7 @@ changelog:
         labels:
           - "Component: API-Gateway"
           - "Component: Integrations"
+          - "Component: Tools"
     - title: CLI - 📔 Documentation
       labels:
         - "Type: Documentation"
@@ -138,6 +214,7 @@ changelog:
         labels:
           - "Component: API-Gateway"
           - "Component: Integrations"
+          - "Component: Tools"
     - title: CLI - ⬆️ Dependency Upgrades
       labels:
         - "Type: Dependency"
@@ -145,6 +222,7 @@ changelog:
         labels:
           - "Component: API-Gateway"
           - "Component: Integrations"
+          - "Component: Tools"
     - title: CLI - 🔒️ Security
       labels:
         - "Type: Security"
@@ -152,3 +230,4 @@ changelog:
         labels:
           - "Component: API-Gateway"
           - "Component: Integrations"
+          - "Component: Tools"
diff --git a/.github/workflows/build_tools.yaml b/.github/workflows/build_tools.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..d4a0eb1e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/build_tools.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+name: build-tools
+
+on:
+  pull_request:
+  push:
+    branches:
+      - main
+
+jobs:
+  build-maven:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - name: Checkout code
+        uses: actions/checkout@11bd71901bbe5b1630ceea73d27597364c9af683 # v4.2.2
+      - name: Maven build
+        uses: ./.github/actions/build-maven
+        with:
+          module: refarch-tools
diff --git a/.github/workflows/codeql.yaml b/.github/workflows/codeql.yaml
index d6f131a1..b3a4d5cf 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/codeql.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/codeql.yaml
@@ -13,4 +13,4 @@ jobs:
     with:
       analyze-java: true
       analyze-javascript-typescript-vue: true
-      java-build-paths: "['./refarch-gateway','./refarch-integrations']"
+      java-build-paths: "['./refarch-gateway','./refarch-integrations','./refarch-tools']"
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yaml b/.github/workflows/release.yaml
index 4be84f5d..db47dc6e 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yaml
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ on:
         options:
           - refarch-gateway
           - refarch-integrations
+          - refarch-tools
       release:
         description: 'Release?'
         type: boolean
diff --git a/refarch-tools/pom.xml b/refarch-tools/pom.xml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..735a27d7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/refarch-tools/pom.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,78 @@
+<?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">
+    <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
+
+    <parent>
+        <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
+        <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-parent</artifactId>
+        <version>3.3.4</version>
+        <relativePath />
+    </parent>
+
+    <groupId>de.muenchen.refarch</groupId>
+    <artifactId>refarch-tools</artifactId>
+    <name>refarch-tools</name>
+    <description>Collection of different RefArch development tools</description>
+    <version>1.0.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+    <packaging>pom</packaging>
+
+    <modules>
+        <module>refarch-pmd</module>
+    </modules>
+
+    <properties>
+        <!-- Compilation -->
+        <java.version>21</java.version>
+        <maven.compiler.source>${java.version}</maven.compiler.source>
+        <maven.compiler.target>${java.version}</maven.compiler.target>
+        <maven.compiler.release>${java.version}</maven.compiler.release>
+
+        <!-- Release -->
+        <maven-release-plugin.version>3.1.1</maven-release-plugin.version>
+    </properties>
+
+    <build>
+        <plugins>
+            <!-- Build -->
+            <plugin>
+                <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
+                <artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
+            </plugin>
+            <!-- Release -->
+            <plugin>
+                <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
+                <artifactId>maven-release-plugin</artifactId>
+                <version>${maven-release-plugin.version}</version>
+                <configuration>
+                    <autoVersionSubmodules>true</autoVersionSubmodules>
+                </configuration>
+            </plugin>
+            <plugin>
+                <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
+                <artifactId>maven-deploy-plugin</artifactId>
+                <configuration>
+                    <skip>true</skip>
+                </configuration>
+            </plugin>
+        </plugins>
+    </build>
+
+    <scm>
+        <url>https://github.com/it-at-m/refarch.git</url>
+        <connection>scm:git:https://github.com/it-at-m/refarch.git</connection>
+        <developerConnection>scm:git:https://github.com/it-at-m/refarch.git</developerConnection>
+        <tag>HEAD</tag>
+    </scm>
+    <licenses>
+        <license>
+            <name>MIT</name>
+        </license>
+    </licenses>
+    <developers>
+        <developer>
+            <organization>it@M</organization>
+            <email>opensource@muenchen.de</email>
+            <url>https://github.com/it-at-m</url>
+        </developer>
+    </developers>
+</project>
diff --git a/refarch-tools/refarch-pmd/pom.xml b/refarch-tools/refarch-pmd/pom.xml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..cea256fc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/refarch-tools/refarch-pmd/pom.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+<?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">
+    <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
+
+    <parent>
+        <groupId>de.muenchen.refarch</groupId>
+        <artifactId>refarch-tools</artifactId>
+        <version>1.0.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+    </parent>
+
+    <groupId>de.muenchen.refarch.tools</groupId>
+    <artifactId>refarch-pmd</artifactId>
+    <name>refarch-pmd</name>
+    <description>Default RefArch configuration for PMD</description>
+</project>
diff --git a/refarch-tools/refarch-pmd/src/main/java/de/muenchen/refarch/tools/pmd/PmdConfiguration.java b/refarch-tools/refarch-pmd/src/main/java/de/muenchen/refarch/tools/pmd/PmdConfiguration.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..d632bf3a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/refarch-tools/refarch-pmd/src/main/java/de/muenchen/refarch/tools/pmd/PmdConfiguration.java
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+package de.muenchen.refarch.tools.pmd;
+
+/**
+ * Dummy class for javadoc generation required by central-publishing-maven-plugin
+ */
+public class PmdConfiguration {
+}
diff --git a/refarch-tools/refarch-pmd/src/main/resources/refarch-pmd-ruleset.xml b/refarch-tools/refarch-pmd/src/main/resources/refarch-pmd-ruleset.xml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..322f8dcd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/refarch-tools/refarch-pmd/src/main/resources/refarch-pmd-ruleset.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+<?xml version="1.0"?>
+
+<ruleset name="Custom Rules"
+         xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
+
+    <description>
+        RefArch PMD Ruleset
+    </description>
+    <rule ref="category/java/bestpractices.xml">
+        <exclude name="GuardLogStatement"/>
+        <exclude name="UnitTestContainsTooManyAsserts"/>
+        <exclude name="UnitTestAssertionsShouldIncludeMessage"/>
+    </rule>
+    <rule ref="category/java/codestyle.xml">
+        <exclude name="AtLeastOneConstructor"/>
+        <exclude name="LongVariable"/>
+        <exclude name="OnlyOneReturn"/>
+        <exclude name="ShortVariable"/>
+    </rule>
+    <rule ref="category/java/design.xml">
+        <exclude name="AvoidCatchingGenericException"/>
+        <exclude name="AvoidThrowingRawExceptionTypes"/>
+        <exclude name="ExcessiveImports"/>
+        <exclude name="LoosePackageCoupling" />
+        <exclude name="LawOfDemeter"/>
+        <exclude name="SignatureDeclareThrowsException"/>
+        <exclude name="TooManyMethods"/>
+    </rule>
+    <rule ref="category/java/errorprone.xml"/>
+    <rule ref="category/java/security.xml"/>
+    <rule ref="category/java/multithreading.xml">
+        <exclude name="UseConcurrentHashMap"/>
+    </rule>
+    <rule ref="category/java/bestpractices.xml/UnitTestShouldIncludeAssert">
+        <properties>
+            <!-- From Spring WebTestClient -->
+            <property name="extraAssertMethodNames" value="expectStatus,expectHeader" />
+        </properties>
+    </rule>
+</ruleset>