diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/deploy.yml b/.gitea/workflows/deploy.yml
index 7b2680d..458f78c 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/deploy.yml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/deploy.yml
@@ -42,23 +42,23 @@ jobs:
 
             docker compose exec -T postgres pg_dumpall -U translate | gzip > "$BACKUP_FILE"
             BACKUP_SIZE=$(du -h "$BACKUP_FILE" | cut -f1)
-            echo "  ✅ Backup saved: ${BACKUP_FILE} (${BACKUP_SIZE})"
+            echo "  Backup saved: ${BACKUP_FILE} (${BACKUP_SIZE})"
 
             # Keep only last 10 backups
             ls -t "${BACKUP_DIR}"/translate_db_*.sql.gz | tail -n +11 | xargs -r rm --
-            echo "  📦 Retained last 10 backups"
+            echo "  Retained last 10 backups"
 
             # ──────────────────────────────────────────────
-            # 3. BUILD IMAGES
+            # 3. BUILD IMAGES (--no-cache for fresh deps)
             # ──────────────────────────────────────────────
             echo "=== [3/8] Building images ==="
-            docker compose build backend frontend
+            docker compose build --no-cache backend frontend
 
             # ──────────────────────────────────────────────
-            # 4. START SERVICES
+            # 4. START INFRASTRUCTURE ONLY (postgres + redis)
             # ──────────────────────────────────────────────
-            echo "=== [4/8] Starting services ==="
-            docker compose up -d --remove-orphans
+            echo "=== [4/8] Starting postgres and redis ==="
+            docker compose up -d postgres redis
 
             # ──────────────────────────────────────────────
             # 5. WAIT FOR POSTGRES
@@ -66,11 +66,11 @@ jobs:
             echo "=== [5/8] Waiting for postgres ==="
             for i in $(seq 1 30); do
               if docker compose exec -T postgres pg_isready -U translate >/dev/null 2>&1; then
-                echo "  ✅ Postgres ready after $((i * 2))s"
+                echo "  Postgres ready after $((i * 2))s"
                 break
               fi
               if [ "$i" -eq 30 ]; then
-                echo "  ❌ Postgres not ready after 60s"
+                echo "  FATAL: Postgres not ready after 60s"
                 docker compose logs postgres --tail=30
                 exit 1
               fi
@@ -78,38 +78,40 @@ jobs:
             done
 
             # ──────────────────────────────────────────────
-            # 6. RUN MIGRATIONS (one-shot container)
+            # 6. RUN MIGRATIONS (BEFORE starting backend)
+            #    entrypoint passes through args via exec "$@"
             # ──────────────────────────────────────────────
             echo "=== [6/8] Running database migrations ==="
             if ! docker compose run --rm backend alembic upgrade head; then
-              echo "  ❌ Migration FAILED!"
-              echo "  ⚠️  Restoring database from backup..."
+              echo "  FATAL: Migration FAILED!"
+              echo "  Restoring database from backup..."
               gunzip -c "$BACKUP_FILE" | docker compose exec -T postgres psql -U translate -d translate_db >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
-              echo "  🔄 Database restored. Restarting services..."
-              docker compose restart backend
-              echo "  ❌ Deploy aborted. Database restored from backup."
+              echo "  Database restored."
+              echo "  Deploy ABORTED."
               exit 1
             fi
-            echo "  ✅ Migrations applied"
-
-            # Restart backend to pick up new schema
-            docker compose restart backend
+            echo "  Migrations applied successfully"
 
             # ──────────────────────────────────────────────
-            # 7. HEALTH CHECK
+            # 7. START ALL SERVICES (backend + frontend)
+            #    backend entrypoint will see alembic is already at head → no-op
             # ──────────────────────────────────────────────
-            echo "=== [7/8] Waiting for backend healthy ==="
+            echo "=== [7/8] Starting all services ==="
+            docker compose up -d --remove-orphans
+
+            # Wait for backend healthy
+            echo "  Waiting for backend healthy..."
             for i in $(seq 1 20); do
               if curl -sf http://localhost:8001/health >/dev/null 2>&1; then
-                echo "  ✅ Backend healthy after $((i * 5))s"
+                echo "  Backend healthy after $((i * 5))s"
                 break
               fi
               if [ "$i" -eq 20 ]; then
-                echo "  ❌ Backend not healthy after 100s"
-                echo "  ⚠️  Rolling back database..."
+                echo "  FATAL: Backend not healthy after 100s"
+                echo "  Rolling back database..."
                 gunzip -c "$BACKUP_FILE" | docker compose exec -T postgres psql -U translate -d translate_db >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
                 docker compose restart backend
-                echo "  ❌ Deploy failed. Database restored."
+                echo "  Deploy FAILED. Database restored."
                 docker compose logs backend --tail=50
                 exit 1
               fi
diff --git a/docker/backend/entrypoint.sh b/docker/backend/entrypoint.sh
index 982245a..e82bae9 100644
--- a/docker/backend/entrypoint.sh
+++ b/docker/backend/entrypoint.sh
@@ -1,6 +1,12 @@
 #!/bin/bash
 set -e
 
+# If a command is passed (e.g. `docker compose run --rm backend alembic upgrade head`),
+# run it directly instead of the full startup sequence.
+if [ $# -gt 0 ]; then
+    exec "$@"
+fi
+
 echo "🚀 Starting Document Translation API..."
 
 # Wait for database to be ready (if DATABASE_URL is set)
@@ -42,7 +48,7 @@ except:
 
     # Run database migrations
     echo "📦 Running database migrations..."
-    alembic upgrade head || echo "⚠️  Migration skipped (may already be up to date)"
+    alembic upgrade head
 fi
 
 # Wait for Redis if configured