diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 9abc35b3d..2010d453f 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -301,10 +301,15 @@ kind-clean: $(KIND) #EXHELP Delete the kind cluster.
 
 #SECTION Build
 
-ifeq ($(origin VERSION), undefined)
+# attempt to generate the VERSION attribute for certificates
+# fail if it is unset afterwards, since the side effects are indirect
+ifeq ($(strip $(VERSION)),)
 VERSION := $(shell git describe --tags --always --dirty)
 endif
 export VERSION
+ifeq ($(strip $(VERSION)),)
+	$(error undefined VERSION; resulting certs will be invalid)
+endif
 
 ifeq ($(origin CGO_ENABLED), undefined)
 CGO_ENABLED := 0
diff --git a/hack/demo/catalogd-demo-script.sh b/hack/demo/catalogd-demo-script.sh
index bbde25071..e7f226f24 100755
--- a/hack/demo/catalogd-demo-script.sh
+++ b/hack/demo/catalogd-demo-script.sh
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ kubectl wait --for=condition=Available -n olmv1-system deploy/catalogd-controlle
 echo "... checking clustercatalog is serving"
 kubectl wait --for=condition=Serving clustercatalog/operatorhubio --timeout=60s
 echo "... checking clustercatalog is finished unpacking"
-kubectl wait --for=condition=Progressing=False clustercatalog/operatorhubio --timeout=60s
+kubectl wait --for=condition=Progressing=True clustercatalog/operatorhubio --timeout=60s
 
 # port forward the catalogd-service service to interact with the HTTP server serving catalog contents
 (kubectl -n olmv1-system port-forward svc/catalogd-service 8081:443)&
diff --git a/hack/demo/catalogd-metas-demo-script.sh b/hack/demo/catalogd-metas-demo-script.sh
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..63fb84b83
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hack/demo/catalogd-metas-demo-script.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+#
+# Welcome to the catalogd metas API endpoint demo
+#
+trap 'trap - SIGTERM && kill -- -"$$"' SIGINT SIGTERM EXIT
+
+kind delete cluster
+kind create cluster
+kubectl cluster-info --context kind-kind
+sleep 10
+
+# use the install script from the latest github release
+curl -L -s https://github.com/operator-framework/operator-controller/releases/latest/download/install.sh | bash
+
+# inspect crds (clustercatalog)
+kubectl get crds -A
+kubectl get clustercatalog -A
+
+# ... checking catalogd controller is available
+kubectl wait --for=condition=Available -n olmv1-system deploy/catalogd-controller-manager --timeout=1m
+
+# patch the deployment to include the feature gate
+kubectl patch -n olmv1-system deploy/catalogd-controller-manager --type='json' -p='[{"op": "add", "path": "/spec/template/spec/containers/0/args/-", "value": "--feature-gates=APIV1MetasHandler=true"}]'
+
+# ... waiting for new deployment for catalogd controller to become available
+kubectl rollout status -n olmv1-system deploy/catalogd-controller-manager
+kubectl wait --for=condition=Available -n olmv1-system deploy/catalogd-controller-manager --timeout=1m
+# ... checking clustercatalog is serving
+kubectl wait --for=condition=Serving clustercatalog/operatorhubio --timeout=60s
+# ... checking clustercatalog is finished unpacking (progressing gone back to true)
+kubectl wait --for=condition=Progressing=True clustercatalog/operatorhubio --timeout=60s
+
+
+# port forward the catalogd-service service to interact with the HTTP server serving catalog contents
+(kubectl -n olmv1-system port-forward svc/catalogd-service 8081:443)&
+
+
+# check what 'packages' are available in this catalog
+curl -f --retry-all-errors --retry 10 -k 'https://localhost:8081/catalogs/operatorhubio/api/v1/metas?schema=olm.package' | jq -s '.[] | .name'
+# check what channels are included in the wavefront package
+curl -f -k 'https://localhost:8081/catalogs/operatorhubio/api/v1/metas?schema=olm.channel&package=wavefront' | jq -s '.[] |.name'
+# check what bundles are included in the wavefront package
+curl -f -k 'https://localhost:8081/catalogs/operatorhubio/api/v1/metas?schema=olm.bundle&package=wavefront' | jq -s '.[] |.name'
+