diff --git a/docs/backup-setup.md b/docs/backup-setup.md
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+# Docker Volume Backup: monk → SAMURAI
+
+Nightly rsync of named Docker volumes to SAMURAI (Windows 11, Tailscale).
+
+## Architecture
+
+```
+monk (T14s)
+└── Docker named volumes
+    ├── kite-ai_open-webui
+    ├── osticket_osticket_db / osticket_uploads
+    ├── portainer_data
+    ├── prometheus_prometheus-data
+    └── uptime-kuma_uptime-kuma
+         │
+         │  tar.gz via alpine container
+         │  rsync over SSH (Tailscale)
+         ▼
+SAMURAI (Windows 11, 100.74.x.x)
+└── C:\KiteBackups\monk\<TIMESTAMP>\
+    ├── kite-ai_open-webui.tar.gz
+    ├── osticket_osticket_db.tar.gz
+    └── ...
+
+7-day retention (older dirs pruned automatically)
+```
+
+## Phase 2 (TODO)
+
+Deploy MinIO on SAMURAI and push archives as S3 objects using `mc put`.
+
+## One-time setup
+
+### 1. Enable OpenSSH Server on SAMURAI
+
+In PowerShell (admin):
+```powershell
+Add-WindowsCapability -Online -Name OpenSSH.Server~~~~0.0.1.0
+Start-Service sshd
+Set-Service -Name sshd -StartupType Automatic
+# Allow Tailscale traffic (adjust rule name if needed)
+New-NetFirewallRule -Name "sshd-tailscale" -DisplayName "OpenSSH via Tailscale" -Enabled True -Direction Inbound -Protocol TCP -Action Allow -LocalPort 22 -RemoteAddress 100.64.0.0/10
+```
+
+### 2. Install SSH key from monk
+
+```bash
+cd ~/kitestacks-homelab
+SAMURAI_USER=kenpat bash scripts/setup-samurai-ssh.sh
+```
+
+If your SAMURAI account is in the Administrators group, Windows ignores
+`~\.ssh\authorized_keys`. Run this in PowerShell admin instead:
+
+```powershell
+$key = Get-Content "$env:USERPROFILE\.ssh\authorized_keys" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
+if (-not $key) { $key = Get-Content "$env:ProgramData\ssh\authorized_keys" }
+Add-Content -Force "$env:ProgramData\ssh\administrators_authorized_keys" $key
+icacls "$env:ProgramData\ssh\administrators_authorized_keys" /inheritance:r /grant "SYSTEM:(F)" /grant "BUILTIN\Administrators:(F)"
+```
+
+### 3. Create backup directory on SAMURAI
+
+```powershell
+New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path "C:\KiteBackups\monk" -Force
+```
+
+### 4. Install systemd units on monk
+
+```bash
+sudo cp ~/kitestacks-homelab/scripts/monk-backup.service /etc/systemd/system/
+sudo cp ~/kitestacks-homelab/scripts/monk-backup.timer /etc/systemd/system/
+sudo systemctl daemon-reload
+sudo systemctl enable --now monk-backup.timer
+```
+
+Verify:
+```bash
+systemctl list-timers monk-backup.timer
+# Run immediately to test:
+sudo systemctl start monk-backup.service
+journalctl -u monk-backup.service -f
+```
+
+## Logs
+
+```bash
+tail -f /var/log/kitestacks/backup-volumes.log
+```
+
+## Restore a volume
+
+```bash
+# Copy archive back from SAMURAI
+scp -i ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_samurai kenpat@100.74.x.x:/cygdrive/c/KiteBackups/monk/<TIMESTAMP>/osticket_osticket_db.tar.gz /tmp/
+
+# Restore into a volume
+docker run --rm -v osticket_osticket_db:/target alpine sh -c \
+  "cd /target && tar xzf -" < /tmp/osticket_osticket_db.tar.gz
+```
diff --git a/scripts/backup-volumes.sh b/scripts/backup-volumes.sh
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+++ b/scripts/backup-volumes.sh
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+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# Nightly Docker volume backup: monk → SAMURAI (Tailscale)
+# Phase 1: rsync tar archives over SSH
+# Phase 2 (TODO): push to MinIO S3 on SAMURAI when deployed
+#
+# First-time setup:
+#   1. Run scripts/setup-samurai-ssh.sh to install the SSH key on SAMURAI
+#   2. Set SAMURAI_USER to your Windows username (default: kenpat)
+#   3. On SAMURAI, create the backup dir (default: C:\KiteBackups\monk)
+#      and make sure rsync is available (install from git-for-windows or cwRsync)
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+# ── config ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+SAMURAI_IP="100.74.0.109"
+SAMURAI_USER="${SAMURAI_USER:-kenpat}"
+SAMURAI_KEY="${HOME}/.ssh/id_ed25519_samurai"
+# Windows path as rsync sees it via SSH: /mnt/c/KiteBackups/monk or a Cygwin-style path
+SAMURAI_DEST="${SAMURAI_USER}@${SAMURAI_IP}:/cygdrive/c/KiteBackups/monk"
+BACKUP_TMP="/tmp/monk-volume-backups"
+LOG_DIR="/var/log/kitestacks"
+LOG_FILE="${LOG_DIR}/backup-volumes.log"
+RETAIN_DAYS=7
+
+# Named volumes to back up (skip anonymous hash-named ones)
+VOLUMES=(
+  kite-ai_open-webui
+  osticket_osticket_db
+  osticket_osticket_uploads
+  portainer_data
+  prometheus_prometheus-data
+  uptime-kuma_uptime-kuma
+)
+
+# ── logging ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+mkdir -p "${LOG_DIR}"
+exec > >(tee -a "${LOG_FILE}") 2>&1
+log() { echo "[$(date '+%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S')] $*"; }
+
+# ── preflight ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+if ! tailscale status 2>/dev/null | grep -q "${SAMURAI_IP}"; then
+  log "ERROR: SAMURAI (${SAMURAI_IP}) not visible on Tailscale — aborting"
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+if ! ssh -i "${SAMURAI_KEY}" -o ConnectTimeout=10 -o BatchMode=yes \
+     "${SAMURAI_USER}@${SAMURAI_IP}" true 2>/dev/null; then
+  log "ERROR: SSH to SAMURAI failed — check key setup (run scripts/setup-samurai-ssh.sh)"
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+# ── backup ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+TIMESTAMP=$(date '+%Y%m%d-%H%M%S')
+WORK_DIR="${BACKUP_TMP}/${TIMESTAMP}"
+mkdir -p "${WORK_DIR}"
+log "Starting backup run ${TIMESTAMP}"
+
+SUCCESS=0
+FAIL=0
+
+for vol in "${VOLUMES[@]}"; do
+  # Verify volume exists
+  if ! docker volume inspect "${vol}" &>/dev/null; then
+    log "SKIP: volume '${vol}' not found"
+    continue
+  fi
+
+  ARCHIVE="${WORK_DIR}/${vol}.tar.gz"
+  log "Archiving ${vol} ..."
+
+  # Stream volume contents via ephemeral alpine container into a local archive
+  if docker run --rm \
+       -v "${vol}:/source:ro" \
+       alpine \
+       tar czf - -C /source . > "${ARCHIVE}"; then
+    SIZE=$(du -sh "${ARCHIVE}" | cut -f1)
+    log "  OK: ${vol} → ${ARCHIVE} (${SIZE})"
+    (( SUCCESS++ )) || true
+  else
+    log "  FAIL: could not archive ${vol}"
+    rm -f "${ARCHIVE}"
+    (( FAIL++ )) || true
+  fi
+done
+
+# ── rsync to SAMURAI ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+log "Syncing archives to SAMURAI ..."
+if rsync -az --progress \
+     -e "ssh -i ${SAMURAI_KEY} -o StrictHostKeyChecking=accept-new" \
+     "${WORK_DIR}/" \
+     "${SAMURAI_DEST}/${TIMESTAMP}/"; then
+  log "rsync complete → ${SAMURAI_DEST}/${TIMESTAMP}/"
+else
+  log "ERROR: rsync to SAMURAI failed"
+  FAIL=$(( FAIL + 1 ))
+fi
+
+# ── cleanup local tmp ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+rm -rf "${WORK_DIR}"
+
+# ── prune old backups on SAMURAI ──────────────────────────────────────────────
+log "Pruning backups older than ${RETAIN_DAYS} days on SAMURAI ..."
+ssh -i "${SAMURAI_KEY}" -o BatchMode=yes \
+    "${SAMURAI_USER}@${SAMURAI_IP}" \
+    "find /cygdrive/c/KiteBackups/monk -maxdepth 1 -type d -mtime +${RETAIN_DAYS} -exec rm -rf {} + 2>/dev/null; true" \
+  && log "Prune complete" || log "Prune failed (non-fatal)"
+
+# ── summary ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+log "Backup run ${TIMESTAMP} complete: ${SUCCESS} OK, ${FAIL} failed"
+[[ ${FAIL} -eq 0 ]]
diff --git a/scripts/monk-backup.service b/scripts/monk-backup.service
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+++ b/scripts/monk-backup.service
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+[Unit]
+Description=KiteStacks Docker volume backup to SAMURAI
+After=network-online.target tailscaled.service docker.service
+Requires=docker.service
+
+[Service]
+Type=oneshot
+User=kenpatmonk
+ExecStart=/home/kenpatmonk/kitestacks-homelab/scripts/backup-volumes.sh
+StandardOutput=journal
+StandardError=journal
+# Give 1 hour max (large volumes)
+TimeoutStartSec=3600
diff --git a/scripts/monk-backup.timer b/scripts/monk-backup.timer
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index 0000000..fcc6000
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/monk-backup.timer
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+[Unit]
+Description=Nightly KiteStacks Docker volume backup at 02:00
+
+[Timer]
+OnCalendar=*-*-* 02:00:00
+Persistent=true
+RandomizedDelaySec=300
+
+[Install]
+WantedBy=timers.target
diff --git a/scripts/setup-samurai-ssh.sh b/scripts/setup-samurai-ssh.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..e64fcc6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/setup-samurai-ssh.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# One-time setup: generate SSH key for SAMURAI and install it on Windows
+# Run this once from monk, then approve the connection on SAMURAI if prompted.
+#
+# Prerequisites on SAMURAI (Windows 11):
+#   - OpenSSH Server enabled: Settings → Apps → Optional Features → OpenSSH Server
+#   - Service running: sc start sshd  (or via Services panel)
+#   - Firewall: allow port 22 from Tailscale interface (100.x.x.x range)
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+SAMURAI_IP="100.74.0.109"
+SAMURAI_USER="${SAMURAI_USER:-kenpat}"
+KEY_PATH="${HOME}/.ssh/id_ed25519_samurai"
+
+if [[ -f "${KEY_PATH}" ]]; then
+  echo "Key already exists at ${KEY_PATH} — skipping generation"
+else
+  ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "monk→samurai-backup" -f "${KEY_PATH}" -N ""
+  echo "Generated: ${KEY_PATH}"
+fi
+
+echo ""
+echo "Installing public key on SAMURAI (${SAMURAI_USER}@${SAMURAI_IP}) ..."
+echo "You will be prompted for your Windows password once."
+echo ""
+
+# ssh-copy-id works if OpenSSH Server is running on Windows
+ssh-copy-id -i "${KEY_PATH}.pub" \
+  -p 22 \
+  "${SAMURAI_USER}@${SAMURAI_IP}"
+
+echo ""
+echo "Testing passwordless login ..."
+if ssh -i "${KEY_PATH}" -o BatchMode=yes "${SAMURAI_USER}@${SAMURAI_IP}" echo "SSH OK from monk"; then
+  echo ""
+  echo "Setup complete. backup-volumes.sh will use ${KEY_PATH}"
+else
+  echo ""
+  echo "ERROR: passwordless login failed. On Windows, ensure:"
+  echo "  1. OpenSSH Server is running (sc query sshd)"
+  echo "  2. C:\\ProgramData\\ssh\\administrators_authorized_keys contains the key"
+  echo "     (for admin accounts, Windows ignores ~/.ssh/authorized_keys)"
+  echo ""
+  echo "  Run in PowerShell as admin:"
+  echo '  Add-Content -Force "$env:ProgramData\ssh\administrators_authorized_keys" (Get-Content "$env:USERPROFILE\.ssh\authorized_keys")'
+fi