docs: improve getting started and README documentation

README.md

@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ for contribution guidelines.
 Click [here](https://polaris.apache.org/in-dev/unreleased/) for a quick overview of Polaris.
 
 ## Quickstart
-Click [here](https://polaris.apache.org/in-dev/unreleased/getting-started/quick-start/) for the quickstart experience.
+Click [here](https://polaris.apache.org/in-dev/unreleased/getting-started/) for the quickstart experience, which will help you set up a Polaris instance locally or on any supported cloud provider.
 
 ## Project Structure
 

site/content/in-dev/unreleased/getting-started/_index.md

@@ -23,22 +23,16 @@ type: docs
 weight: 101
 ---
 
-There are several options for getting started with Apache Polaris.
+Welcome to Apache Polaris! This section provides several ways to get started with Polaris.
 
-To quickly try out Apache Polaris, please use the [quickstart guide](./quick-start). For other examples, please see below.
+## Quick Start Options
 
-## Docker Compose Examples
-Each of the proceeding Docker Compose examples provides a complete working environment with detailed instructions.
+Choose the method that best fits your needs:
 
-### Next Steps
+- **[Binary Distribution]({{% relref "binary-distribution" %}})**: Download and run the pre-built binary distribution. This is the fastest way to get started with Polaris.
 
-1. Check & install dependencies
-2. Choose the way you want to deploy Polaris
-3. Create a catalog
-4. Check Using Polaris page
+- **[Quickstart]({{% relref "quick-start" %}})**: Use Docker Compose to quickly start Polaris with a pre-configured setup. This is ideal for trying out Polaris without installing dependencies.
 
-### Getting Help
+## Getting Help
 
-- Documentation: https://polaris.apache.org
-- GitHub Issues: https://github.com/apache/polaris/issues
-- Slack: [Join Apache Polaris Community](https://join.slack.com/t/apache-polaris/shared_invite/zt-2y3l3r0fr-VtoW42ltir~nSzCYOrQgfw)
+If you need help or have questions, please refer to the [documentation]({{% relref "../../" %}}) or reach out to the community.

site/content/in-dev/unreleased/getting-started/binary-distribution.md

@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+---
+#
+# Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+# or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+# distributed with this work for additional information
+# regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+# to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+# "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+# with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#   http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+# software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+# "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+# KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+# specific language governing permissions and limitations
+# under the License.
+#
+Title: Binary Distribution
+type: docs
+weight: 100
+---
+Use this guide to quickly start running Polaris using the pre-built binary distribution.
+
+## Prerequisites
+
+- Java SE 21 or later installed on your machine
+
+## Running
+
+Download and extract the binary distribution:
+
+```bash
+curl -L https://downloads.apache.org/incubator/polaris/1.0.0-incubating/polaris-bin-1.0.0-incubating.tgz | tar xz
+cd polaris-distribution-1.0.0-incubating
+```
+
+Start the Polaris server:
+
+```bash
+bin/server
+```
+
+The server will start and listen on http://localhost:8181. Health and metrics endpoints are available under /q.
+
+You can verify the server is running by checking the health endpoint:
+
+```bash
+curl http://localhost:8181/q/health
+```