diff --git a/cmd/k8s-operator/deploy/crds/tailscale.com_recorders.yaml b/cmd/k8s-operator/deploy/crds/tailscale.com_recorders.yaml
index 3d80c55e1..7c1e43edd 100644
--- a/cmd/k8s-operator/deploy/crds/tailscale.com_recorders.yaml
+++ b/cmd/k8s-operator/deploy/crds/tailscale.com_recorders.yaml
@@ -72,6 +72,7 @@ spec:
                   description: Replicas specifies how many instances of tsrecorder to run. Defaults to 1.
                   type: integer
                   format: int32
+                  default: 1
                   minimum: 0
                 statefulSet:
                   description: |-
diff --git a/cmd/k8s-operator/deploy/manifests/operator.yaml b/cmd/k8s-operator/deploy/manifests/operator.yaml
index c53f50492..dc1c47a3c 100644
--- a/cmd/k8s-operator/deploy/manifests/operator.yaml
+++ b/cmd/k8s-operator/deploy/manifests/operator.yaml
@@ -3339,6 +3339,7 @@ spec:
                                     Required if S3 storage is not set up, to ensure that recordings are accessible.
                                 type: boolean
                             replicas:
+                                default: 1
                                 description: Replicas specifies how many instances of tsrecorder to run. Defaults to 1.
                                 format: int32
                                 minimum: 0
diff --git a/k8s-operator/api.md b/k8s-operator/api.md
index 3a4e692d9..3f715143d 100644
--- a/k8s-operator/api.md
+++ b/k8s-operator/api.md
@@ -900,7 +900,7 @@ _Appears in:_
 | `tags` _[Tags](#tags)_ | Tags that the Tailscale device will be tagged with. Defaults to [tag:k8s].<br />If you specify custom tags here, make sure you also make the operator<br />an owner of these tags.<br />See  https://tailscale.com/kb/1236/kubernetes-operator/#setting-up-the-kubernetes-operator.<br />Tags cannot be changed once a Recorder node has been created.<br />Tag values must be in form ^tag:[a-zA-Z][a-zA-Z0-9-]*$. |  | Pattern: `^tag:[a-zA-Z][a-zA-Z0-9-]*$` <br />Type: string <br /> |
 | `enableUI` _boolean_ | Set to true to enable the Recorder UI. The UI lists and plays recorded sessions.<br />The UI will be served at <MagicDNS name of the recorder>:443. Defaults to false.<br />Corresponds to --ui tsrecorder flag https://tailscale.com/kb/1246/tailscale-ssh-session-recording#deploy-a-recorder-node.<br />Required if S3 storage is not set up, to ensure that recordings are accessible. |  |  |
 | `storage` _[Storage](#storage)_ | Configure where to store session recordings. By default, recordings will<br />be stored in a local ephemeral volume, and will not be persisted past the<br />lifetime of a specific pod. |  |  |
-| `replicas` _integer_ | Replicas specifies how many instances of tsrecorder to run. Defaults to 1. |  | Minimum: 0 <br /> |
+| `replicas` _integer_ | Replicas specifies how many instances of tsrecorder to run. Defaults to 1. | 1 | Minimum: 0 <br /> |
 
 
 #### RecorderStatefulSet
diff --git a/k8s-operator/apis/v1alpha1/types_recorder.go b/k8s-operator/apis/v1alpha1/types_recorder.go
index 67cffbf09..0de52c2ba 100644
--- a/k8s-operator/apis/v1alpha1/types_recorder.go
+++ b/k8s-operator/apis/v1alpha1/types_recorder.go
@@ -80,6 +80,7 @@ type RecorderSpec struct {
 	// Replicas specifies how many instances of tsrecorder to run. Defaults to 1.
 	// +optional
 	// +kubebuilder:validation:Minimum=0
+	// +kubebuilder:default=1
 	Replicas *int32 `json:"replicas,omitzero"`
 }