diff --git a/META-INF/MANIFEST.MF b/META-INF/MANIFEST.MF
index e3b70f5..fbb46c3 100644
--- a/META-INF/MANIFEST.MF
+++ b/META-INF/MANIFEST.MF
@@ -5,5 +5,8 @@ Bundle-SymbolicName: vaadin-eclipse-plugin;singleton:=true
 Bundle-Version: 1.0.0.qualifier
 Bundle-Vendor: Vaadin
 Require-Bundle: org.eclipse.ui
+Bundle-Activator: com.vaadin.plugin.Activator
+Bundle-ActivationPolicy: lazy
+Import-Package: org.osgi.framework,com.sun.net.httpserver
 Automatic-Module-Name: vaadin.eclipse.plugin
 Bundle-RequiredExecutionEnvironment: JavaSE-21
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 362e39d..b57880e 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -1 +1,8 @@
 # eclipse-plugin
+
+This repository contains a minimal Eclipse plug-in example for Vaadin.
+At workbench startup the plug-in is activated via an `org.eclipse.ui.startup` extension. The `BundleActivator` starts a small REST service using the JDK `HttpServer`. The server exposes a `/api/copilot` endpoint and its URL is stored in the `vaadin.copilot.endpoint` system property.
+
+## License
+
+This project is licensed under the Apache License 2.0. See the [LICENSE](LICENSE) file for details.
diff --git a/plugin.xml b/plugin.xml
index d85dcef..d845d6a 100644
--- a/plugin.xml
+++ b/plugin.xml
@@ -57,6 +57,11 @@
             </command>
          </toolbar>
       </menuContribution>
-   </extension>
+  </extension>
+
+  <extension
+        point="org.eclipse.ui.startup">
+     <startup class="com.vaadin.plugin.EarlyStartup"/>
+  </extension>
 
 </plugin>
diff --git a/src/com/vaadin/plugin/Activator.java b/src/com/vaadin/plugin/Activator.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f23d71f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/com/vaadin/plugin/Activator.java
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+package com.vaadin.plugin;
+
+import org.osgi.framework.BundleActivator;
+import org.osgi.framework.BundleContext;
+
+/**
+ * Bundle activator that starts the REST service when the plug-in is activated and stops it on shutdown.
+ */
+public class Activator implements BundleActivator {
+    private CopilotRestService restService;
+
+    @Override
+    public void start(BundleContext context) throws Exception {
+        restService = new CopilotRestService();
+        restService.start();
+        System.setProperty("vaadin.copilot.endpoint", restService.getEndpoint());
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void stop(BundleContext context) throws Exception {
+        if (restService != null) {
+            restService.stop();
+            restService = null;
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/com/vaadin/plugin/CopilotRestService.java b/src/com/vaadin/plugin/CopilotRestService.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b663b9a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/com/vaadin/plugin/CopilotRestService.java
@@ -0,0 +1,61 @@
+package com.vaadin.plugin;
+
+import com.sun.net.httpserver.HttpExchange;
+import com.sun.net.httpserver.HttpHandler;
+import com.sun.net.httpserver.HttpServer;
+import java.io.IOException;
+import java.io.InputStream;
+import java.io.OutputStream;
+import java.net.InetAddress;
+import java.net.InetSocketAddress;
+import java.nio.charset.StandardCharsets;
+
+/**
+ * Starts a small HTTP server for Copilot integration.
+ */
+public class CopilotRestService {
+    private HttpServer server;
+    private String endpoint;
+
+    /** Start the embedded HTTP server on a random port. */
+    public void start() throws IOException {
+        server = HttpServer.create(new InetSocketAddress(InetAddress.getLocalHost(), 0), 0);
+        server.createContext("/vaadin/copilot", new Handler());
+        server.start();
+        endpoint = "http://localhost:" + server.getAddress().getPort() + "/vaadin/copilot";
+        System.out.println("Copilot REST service started at " + endpoint);
+    }
+
+    /** Stop the server if it is running. */
+    public void stop() {
+        if (server != null) {
+            server.stop(0);
+            server = null;
+        }
+    }
+
+    /** Returns the full endpoint URL. */
+    public String getEndpoint() {
+        return endpoint;
+    }
+
+    private static class Handler implements HttpHandler {
+        @Override
+        public void handle(HttpExchange exchange) throws IOException {
+            if (!"POST".equalsIgnoreCase(exchange.getRequestMethod())) {
+                exchange.sendResponseHeaders(405, -1);
+                return;
+            }
+            InputStream is = exchange.getRequestBody();
+            String body = new String(is.readAllBytes(), StandardCharsets.UTF_8);
+
+            System.out.println("Received Copilot request: " + body);
+
+            byte[] resp = "OK".getBytes(StandardCharsets.UTF_8);
+            exchange.sendResponseHeaders(200, resp.length);
+            try (OutputStream os = exchange.getResponseBody()) {
+                os.write(resp);
+            }
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/com/vaadin/plugin/EarlyStartup.java b/src/com/vaadin/plugin/EarlyStartup.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..651a5b9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/com/vaadin/plugin/EarlyStartup.java
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+package com.vaadin.plugin;
+
+import org.eclipse.ui.IStartup;
+
+/**
+ * Ensures the plug-in is activated when the workbench starts so the {@link Activator} can launch the embedded REST
+ * service.
+ */
+public class EarlyStartup implements IStartup {
+
+    @Override
+    public void earlyStartup() {
+        // Trigger plug-in activation so the BundleActivator runs
+    }
+}