diff --git a/abra.sh b/abra.sh
index 1c66304..def0c38 100644
--- a/abra.sh
+++ b/abra.sh
@@ -1 +1,2 @@
 export DB_ENTRYPOINT_VERSION=v1
+export PG_BACKUP_VERSION=v1
diff --git a/compose.yml b/compose.yml
index 142fd71..b2e7473 100644
--- a/compose.yml
+++ b/compose.yml
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ services:
       interval: 30s
       timeout: 10s
       retries: 6
-      start_period: 5m
+      start_period: 20m
 
   db:
     image: postgres:16
@@ -63,6 +63,9 @@ services:
       - source: db_entrypoint
         target: /docker-entrypoint.sh
         mode: 0555
+      - source: pg_backup
+        target: /pg_backup.sh
+        mode: 0555
     entrypoint: /docker-entrypoint.sh
     environment:
       - POSTGRES_HOST_AUTH_METHOD=trust
@@ -72,9 +75,9 @@ services:
     deploy:
       labels:
         backupbot.backup: "true"
-        backupbot.backup.pre-hook: "bash -c 'PGPASSWORD=$$(cat $${POSTGRES_PASSWORD_FILE}) pg_dump -U $${POSTGRES_USER} $${POSTGRES_DB} > /tmp/backup.sql'"
-        backupbot.backup.post-hook: "rm -rf /tmp/backup.sql"
-        backupbot.backup.path: "/tmp/backup.sql"
+        backupbot.backup.pre-hook: "/pg_backup.sh backup"
+        backupbot.backup.volumes.postgresql_data.path: "backup.sql"
+        backupbot.restore.post-hook: "/pg_backup.sh restore"
 
   redis:
     image: redis:7.4-alpine
@@ -132,3 +135,6 @@ configs:
     name: ${STACK_NAME}_db_entrypoint_${DB_ENTRYPOINT_VERSION}
     file: entrypoint.postgres.sh.tmpl
     template_driver: golang
+  pg_backup:
+    name: ${STACK_NAME}_pg_backup_${PG_BACKUP_VERSION}
+    file: pg_backup.sh
diff --git a/pg_backup.sh b/pg_backup.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..5a2e6d8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pg_backup.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+# Postgres backup/restore hook for the discourse `db` service. Invoked by backupbot-two via:
+#   backupbot.backup.pre-hook                     = "/pg_backup.sh backup"
+#   backupbot.backup.volumes.postgresql_data.path = "backup.sql"
+#   backupbot.restore.post-hook                   = "/pg_backup.sh restore"
+# Backup dumps the DB to backup.sql (gzip) inside the postgresql_data volume; backupbot archives it.
+# Restore reimports it. Discourse (the rails app + sidekiq) keeps many TCP connections open to the DB
+# and reconnects within milliseconds, so a one-shot pg_terminate_backend is NOT enough: restore must
+# first block all non-local connections at the pg_hba level (so the app cannot reconnect and interfere
+# mid-reimport), then FORCE-drop, recreate, and deterministically reimport the dump, then restore
+# pg_hba. (Mirrors the proven matrix-synapse restore hook.) The previous recipe shipped a pg_dump
+# backup but NO restore hook — a file-level restore did not reload into the running postgres, so a
+# restored backup silently kept the live (un-restored) state. cc-ci caught this: a seeded ci_marker row
+# was gone after restore. Same pattern as the immich / mattermost-lts / ghost recipe-PRs.
+
+set -e
+
+BACKUP_FILE='/var/lib/postgresql/data/backup.sql'
+export PGPASSWORD=$(cat "${POSTGRES_PASSWORD_FILE:-/run/secrets/db_password}")
+DB_USER="${POSTGRES_USER:-discourse}"
+DB_NAME="${POSTGRES_DB:-discourse}"
+
+function backup {
+  pg_dump -U "$DB_USER" "$DB_NAME" | gzip > "$BACKUP_FILE"
+}
+
+function restore {
+  cd /var/lib/postgresql/data/
+
+  # Block all non-local connections so the running discourse app + sidekiq cannot reconnect and
+  # interfere with the drop/recreate/reimport (a one-shot pg_terminate_backend is not enough — the
+  # app reconnects within ms over TCP). Restored on exit.
+  restore_hba() {
+    cat pg_hba.conf.bak > pg_hba.conf
+    rm -f pg_hba.conf.bak
+    su postgres -c 'pg_ctl reload'
+  }
+  cp pg_hba.conf pg_hba.conf.bak
+  echo 'local all all trust' > pg_hba.conf
+  su postgres -c 'pg_ctl reload'
+  trap restore_hba EXIT INT TERM
+
+  # Terminate lingering local sessions, then FORCE-drop + recreate + deterministic reimport.
+  psql -U "$DB_USER" -d postgres -c \
+    "SELECT pg_terminate_backend(pid) FROM pg_stat_activity WHERE datname='${DB_NAME}' AND pid<>pg_backend_pid();"
+  psql -U "$DB_USER" -d postgres -c "DROP DATABASE ${DB_NAME} WITH (FORCE);"
+  createdb -U "$DB_USER" "$DB_NAME"
+  gunzip -c "$BACKUP_FILE" | psql -U "$DB_USER" -d "$DB_NAME" -1 -v ON_ERROR_STOP=1 -f -
+}
+
+$@