diff --git a/backend/scripts/README.md b/backend/scripts/README.md
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+++ b/backend/scripts/README.md
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+# backend/scripts
+
+Operational scripts for LearnSpace backend.
+
+## Cron setup (production)
+
+```
+# Daily backup at 4am
+0 4 * * *  /path/to/repo/backend/scripts/backup.sh
+
+# Weekly verification at 6am Sunday (cron mails on non-zero exit)
+0 6 * * 0  /path/to/repo/backend/scripts/verify-backup.sh
+```
+
+## Scripts
+
+### backup.sh
+Creates a safe SQLite snapshot via `VACUUM INTO`. Keeps last 7 backups (configurable via `KEEP=14`).
+
+```sh
+./backup.sh                        # default: ../data/learnspace.db → ../../backups/
+./backup.sh /path/to/db /path/to/backups
+KEEP=14 ./backup.sh
+```
+
+### verify-backup.sh
+Restores the latest backup to `/tmp`, runs `PRAGMA integrity_check`, compares row counts vs production.
+
+Exit codes:
+- `0` — all checks passed
+- `2` — no backup files found
+- `3` — latest backup older than 48h (backup job may have stopped)
+- `4` — `integrity_check` failed (backup is corrupt)
+- `5` — user count diverged >5% from production
+
+```sh
+./verify-backup.sh
+BACKUP_DIR=/custom/backups PROD_DB=/custom/db.sqlite ./verify-backup.sh
+```
+
+### check-route-auth.js
+Scans `src/routes/*.js` for `:id`-bearing routes without an auth-guard middleware.
+Fails if new unprotected routes exceed the current baseline.
+
+```sh
+npm run lint:routes
+```
+
+### import-content.js  _(coming in Task 8)_
+Imports question collections from YAML manifests into the database.
+
+```sh
+npm run import:content -- ../content/phys/ct-2024.yaml
+```
+
+## Deploy order (first time / fresh server)
+
+```sh
+npm install
+npm run migrate
+npm run seed:permissions
+npm start
+```
diff --git a/backend/scripts/verify-backup.sh b/backend/scripts/verify-backup.sh
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+++ b/backend/scripts/verify-backup.sh
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+#!/bin/sh
+# verify-backup.sh — restore latest backup to /tmp, run integrity check,
+# compare row counts vs production DB.
+#
+# Cron (Sunday 6am):
+#   0 6 * * 0  /path/to/repo/backend/scripts/verify-backup.sh
+#
+# Exit codes:
+#   0 — OK
+#   1 — generic error (set -e)
+#   2 — no backup files found
+#   3 — latest backup is older than 48h
+#   4 — PRAGMA integrity_check failed
+#   5 — user count diverged > 5% from production
+#
+# Usage:
+#   ./verify-backup.sh
+#   BACKUP_DIR=/custom/path PROD_DB=/custom/db.sqlite ./verify-backup.sh
+
+set -e
+
+SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")" && pwd)"
+BACKUP_DIR="${BACKUP_DIR:-$SCRIPT_DIR/../../backups}"
+PROD_DB="${PROD_DB:-$SCRIPT_DIR/../data/learnspace.db}"
+
+# ── 1. Find latest backup ────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+LATEST=$(ls -1t "$BACKUP_DIR"/learnspace_*.db 2>/dev/null | head -1)
+if [ -z "$LATEST" ]; then
+  echo "[verify] FAIL: no backup files found in $BACKUP_DIR" >&2
+  exit 2
+fi
+
+echo "[verify] Latest backup: $(basename "$LATEST")"
+
+# ── 2. Age check: backup must be < 48h ──────────────────────────────────────
+# stat -c (Linux) vs stat -f (macOS)
+if stat --version > /dev/null 2>&1; then
+  MTIME=$(stat -c %Y "$LATEST")
+else
+  MTIME=$(stat -f %m "$LATEST")
+fi
+NOW=$(date +%s)
+AGE_SEC=$(( NOW - MTIME ))
+AGE_H=$(( AGE_SEC / 3600 ))
+
+if [ "$AGE_SEC" -gt 172800 ]; then
+  echo "[verify] FAIL: backup is ${AGE_H}h old (limit: 48h)" >&2
+  exit 3
+fi
+echo "[verify] Age: ${AGE_H}h — OK"
+
+# ── 3. Restore to temp file ──────────────────────────────────────────────────
+TEST_DB="/tmp/ls_verify_$$.db"
+cp "$LATEST" "$TEST_DB"
+trap 'rm -f "$TEST_DB"' EXIT
+
+# ── 4. Integrity check ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+INTEGRITY=$(sqlite3 "$TEST_DB" "PRAGMA integrity_check;" 2>&1)
+if [ "$INTEGRITY" != "ok" ]; then
+  echo "[verify] FAIL: integrity_check returned: $INTEGRITY" >&2
+  exit 4
+fi
+echo "[verify] Integrity: ok"
+
+# ── 5. Row count sanity vs production ───────────────────────────────────────
+if [ -f "$PROD_DB" ]; then
+  PROD_USERS=$(sqlite3 "$PROD_DB" "SELECT COUNT(*) FROM users;" 2>/dev/null || echo 0)
+  BACK_USERS=$(sqlite3 "$TEST_DB" "SELECT COUNT(*) FROM users;" 2>/dev/null || echo 0)
+
+  PROD_QUESTIONS=$(sqlite3 "$PROD_DB" "SELECT COUNT(*) FROM questions;" 2>/dev/null || echo 0)
+  BACK_QUESTIONS=$(sqlite3 "$TEST_DB" "SELECT COUNT(*) FROM questions;" 2>/dev/null || echo 0)
+
+  echo "[verify] Users:     backup=$BACK_USERS  prod=$PROD_USERS"
+  echo "[verify] Questions: backup=$BACK_QUESTIONS  prod=$PROD_QUESTIONS"
+
+  # Users must be >= 95% of prod (gap allowed: users may register after backup)
+  THRESHOLD=$(( PROD_USERS * 95 / 100 ))
+  if [ "$PROD_USERS" -gt 0 ] && [ "$BACK_USERS" -lt "$THRESHOLD" ]; then
+    echo "[verify] FAIL: backup users ($BACK_USERS) < 95% of prod ($PROD_USERS)" >&2
+    exit 5
+  fi
+
+  # Questions are essentially immutable — warn on any divergence
+  if [ "$BACK_QUESTIONS" -ne "$PROD_QUESTIONS" ]; then
+    echo "[verify] WARN: question count mismatch — backup=$BACK_QUESTIONS prod=$PROD_QUESTIONS"
+    echo "[verify]        (may be mid-import; not failing)"
+  fi
+else
+  echo "[verify] Prod DB not found at $PROD_DB — skipping row count check"
+fi
+
+echo "[verify] OK: $(basename "$LATEST") passed all checks"
+exit 0