diff --git a/docs/deployment/README.md b/docs/deployment/README.md
index 5cfc521d..a65acb0d 100644
--- a/docs/deployment/README.md
+++ b/docs/deployment/README.md
@@ -2,12 +2,99 @@
 
 This section covers deploying Mission Control in self-hosted environments.
 
-## Topics
+> **Goal**
+> A simple, reproducible deploy that preserves the Postgres volume and supports safe upgrades.
 
-- Docker Compose (single host)
-- Environment variables and secrets
-- Database persistence and migrations
-- Reverse proxy / TLS
+## Deployment mode: single host (Docker Compose)
 
-> **Note**
-> This page is currently a stub; expand it as deployment patterns stabilize.
+### Prerequisites
+
+- Docker + Docker Compose v2 (`docker compose`)
+- A host where the **browser** can reach the backend URL you configure (see `NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL` below)
+
+### 1) Configure environment
+
+From repo root:
+
+```bash
+cp .env.example .env
+```
+
+Edit `.env`:
+
+- `AUTH_MODE=local` (default)
+- **Set** `LOCAL_AUTH_TOKEN` to a non-placeholder value (≥ 50 chars)
+- Ensure `NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL` is reachable from the browser (not a Docker-internal hostname)
+
+Key variables (from `.env.example` / `compose.yml`):
+
+- Frontend: `FRONTEND_PORT` (default `3000`)
+- Backend: `BACKEND_PORT` (default `8000`)
+- Postgres: `POSTGRES_DB`, `POSTGRES_USER`, `POSTGRES_PASSWORD`, `POSTGRES_PORT`
+- Backend:
+  - `DB_AUTO_MIGRATE` (default `true` in compose)
+  - `CORS_ORIGINS` (default `http://localhost:3000`)
+
+### 2) Start the stack
+
+```bash
+docker compose -f compose.yml --env-file .env up -d --build
+```
+
+Open:
+
+- Frontend: `http://localhost:${FRONTEND_PORT:-3000}`
+- Backend health: `http://localhost:${BACKEND_PORT:-8000}/healthz`
+
+### 3) Verify
+
+```bash
+curl -f "http://localhost:${BACKEND_PORT:-8000}/healthz"
+```
+
+If the frontend loads but API calls fail, double-check:
+
+- `NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL` is set and reachable from the **browser**
+- backend CORS includes the frontend origin (`CORS_ORIGINS`)
+
+## Database persistence
+
+The Compose stack uses a named volume:
+
+- `postgres_data` → `/var/lib/postgresql/data`
+
+This means:
+
+- `docker compose ... down` preserves data
+- `docker compose ... down -v` is **destructive** (deletes the DB volume)
+
+## Migrations / upgrades
+
+### Default behavior in Compose
+
+In `compose.yml`, the backend container defaults:
+
+- `DB_AUTO_MIGRATE=true`
+
+So on startup the backend will attempt to run Alembic migrations automatically.
+
+> **Warning**
+> For zero/near-zero downtime, migrations must be **backward compatible** with the currently running app if you do rolling deploys.
+
+### Safer operator pattern (manual migrations)
+
+If you want more control, set `DB_AUTO_MIGRATE=false` and run migrations explicitly during deploy:
+
+```bash
+cd backend
+uv run alembic upgrade head
+```
+
+## Reverse proxy / TLS
+
+Typical setup (outline):
+
+- Put the frontend behind HTTPS (reverse proxy)
+- Ensure the frontend can reach the backend over the configured `NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL`
+
+This section is intentionally minimal until we standardize a recommended proxy (Caddy/Nginx/Traefik).
diff --git a/docs/operations/README.md b/docs/operations/README.md
index dce94e5b..9dbfcfa9 100644
--- a/docs/operations/README.md
+++ b/docs/operations/README.md
@@ -2,9 +2,81 @@
 
 Runbooks and operational notes for running Mission Control.
 
-## Topics
+## Health checks
 
-- Monitoring/metrics
-- Backups
-- Log locations and common errors
-- Upgrade/rollback
+Backend exposes:
+
+- `/healthz` — liveness
+- `/readyz` — readiness
+
+Example:
+
+```bash
+curl -f http://localhost:8000/healthz
+curl -f http://localhost:8000/readyz
+```
+
+## Logs
+
+### Docker Compose
+
+```bash
+# tail everything
+docker compose -f compose.yml --env-file .env logs -f --tail=200
+
+# tail just backend
+docker compose -f compose.yml --env-file .env logs -f --tail=200 backend
+```
+
+The backend supports slow-request logging via `REQUEST_LOG_SLOW_MS`.
+
+## Backups
+
+The DB runs in Postgres (Compose `db` service) and persists to the `postgres_data` named volume.
+
+### Minimal backup (logical)
+
+Example with `pg_dump` (run on the host):
+
+```bash
+# uses values from .env
+export POSTGRES_DB=mission_control
+export POSTGRES_USER=postgres
+export POSTGRES_PASSWORD=postgres
+export POSTGRES_PORT=5432
+
+PGPASSWORD="$POSTGRES_PASSWORD" pg_dump \
+  -h 127.0.0.1 -p "$POSTGRES_PORT" -U "$POSTGRES_USER" \
+  -d "$POSTGRES_DB" \
+  --format=custom > mission_control.backup
+```
+
+> **Note**
+> For real production, prefer automated backups + retention + periodic restore drills.
+
+## Upgrades / rollbacks
+
+### Upgrade (Compose)
+
+```bash
+docker compose -f compose.yml --env-file .env up -d --build
+```
+
+### Rollback
+
+Rollback typically means deploying a previous image/commit.
+
+> **Warning**
+> If you applied non-backward-compatible DB migrations, rolling back the app may require restoring the database.
+
+## Common issues
+
+### Frontend loads but API calls fail
+
+- Confirm `NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL` is set and reachable from the browser.
+- Confirm backend CORS includes the frontend origin (`CORS_ORIGINS`).
+
+### Auth mismatch
+
+- Backend: `AUTH_MODE` (`local` or `clerk`)
+- Frontend: `NEXT_PUBLIC_AUTH_MODE` should match