diff --git a/backend/deploy/Caddyfile b/backend/deploy/Caddyfile
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+# Caddy reverse proxy configuration for Xtablo production.
+#
+# Caddy automatically:
+#   - Provisions a TLS certificate via Let's Encrypt (ACME) when a domain name is provided.
+#   - Redirects HTTP (port 80) to HTTPS (port 443).
+#   - Renews the certificate before it expires.
+#
+# Required environment variable:
+#   DOMAIN — set this to your production domain in .env.prod (e.g. app.yourdomain.com).
+#   Caddy reads {$DOMAIN} from the environment at startup.
+#
+# Let's Encrypt staging note (RESEARCH Pitfall 4):
+#   Let's Encrypt enforces rate limits (5 duplicate certificates per week per domain).
+#   For initial setup and testing, add a global block to use the staging endpoint:
+#
+#     {
+#       acme_ca https://acme-staging-v02.api.letsencrypt.org/directory
+#     }
+#
+#   Remove the global block (or comment it out) before going live to switch to
+#   production certificates. The caddy_data volume must be cleared between staging
+#   and production to avoid certificate cache conflicts.
+
+{$DOMAIN} {
+    reverse_proxy web:8080
+}
diff --git a/backend/docker-compose.prod.yaml b/backend/docker-compose.prod.yaml
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+# Production compose stack for Hetzner VM deployment.
+#
+# Decision references (from CONTEXT.md / RESEARCH.md):
+#   D-01: Hetzner VM as the production host — single VPS, plain Docker Compose.
+#   D-02: No orchestration layer — plain docker compose up on the VM.
+#   D-03: Postgres runs inside the compose stack (not an external managed DB).
+#   D-04: Caddy handles TLS via Let's Encrypt (persistent caddy_data volume required).
+#   D-08: Same image built once; web and worker are launched via different `command:` values.
+#
+# Usage:
+#   export IMAGE=ghcr.io/yourusername/xtablo TAG=v0.1.0
+#   docker compose -f docker-compose.prod.yaml --env-file .env.prod up -d
+
+services:
+
+  # -------------------------------------------------------------------------
+  # Postgres (D-03) — internal only; no host port binding (RESEARCH Pitfall 5)
+  # -------------------------------------------------------------------------
+  postgres:
+    image: postgres:16-alpine
+    restart: unless-stopped
+    environment:
+      POSTGRES_DB: ${POSTGRES_DB:-xtablo}
+      POSTGRES_USER: ${POSTGRES_USER:-xtablo}
+      # No default — operator MUST set POSTGRES_PASSWORD in .env.prod
+      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: ${POSTGRES_PASSWORD}
+    volumes:
+      - postgres_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
+    healthcheck:
+      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "pg_isready -U ${POSTGRES_USER:-xtablo}"]
+      interval: 10s
+      timeout: 5s
+      retries: 10
+    # No `ports:` — Postgres is internal to the compose network only.
+    # Exposing port 5432 to the host would allow unauthenticated internet access
+    # on a VM with a public IP (RESEARCH Pitfall 5 / threat T-07-09).
+
+  # -------------------------------------------------------------------------
+  # Web server (D-08) — /app/web binary from the shared image
+  # -------------------------------------------------------------------------
+  web:
+    image: ${IMAGE:-ghcr.io/yourusername/xtablo}:${TAG:-latest}
+    command: /app/web
+    restart: unless-stopped
+    env_file: .env.prod
+    depends_on:
+      postgres:
+        condition: service_healthy
+    expose:
+      - "8080"
+    # No `ports:` — Caddy handles all external traffic and reverse-proxies to web:8080.
+
+  # -------------------------------------------------------------------------
+  # Background worker (D-08) — /app/worker binary from the same image
+  # -------------------------------------------------------------------------
+  worker:
+    image: ${IMAGE:-ghcr.io/yourusername/xtablo}:${TAG:-latest}
+    command: /app/worker
+    restart: unless-stopped
+    env_file: .env.prod
+    depends_on:
+      postgres:
+        condition: service_healthy
+
+  # -------------------------------------------------------------------------
+  # Caddy reverse proxy (D-04) — TLS termination via Let's Encrypt
+  # -------------------------------------------------------------------------
+  caddy:
+    image: caddy:2-alpine
+    restart: unless-stopped
+    ports:
+      - "80:80"
+      - "443:443"
+      - "443:443/udp"
+    volumes:
+      - ./deploy/Caddyfile:/etc/caddy/Caddyfile:ro
+      - caddy_data:/data
+      - caddy_config:/config
+    depends_on:
+      - web
+
+volumes:
+  # Postgres data — persist across container restarts and upgrades.
+  postgres_data:
+
+  # Caddy TLS data — stores Let's Encrypt certificates.
+  # Losing this volume forces certificate re-issuance and may hit LE rate limits.
+  caddy_data:
+
+  # Caddy runtime config — persists across Caddy restarts.
+  caddy_config: