diff --git a/backend/diagnose-server.sh b/backend/diagnose-server.sh
deleted file mode 100755
index 1e19785..0000000
--- a/backend/diagnose-server.sh
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,38 +0,0 @@
-#!/bin/bash
-
-echo "=========================================="
-echo "Backend Diagnostic Script for 10.0.10.30"
-echo "=========================================="
-echo ""
-
-echo "1. Checking Docker containers..."
-docker ps --filter "name=normogen" --format "table {{.Names}}	{{.Status}}	{{.Ports}}"
-echo ""
-
-echo "2. Checking if port 6500 is listening..."
-sudo ss -tlnp | grep 6500 || echo "Port 6500 NOT listening"
-echo ""
-
-echo "3. Checking firewall status..."
-sudo ufw status || echo "UFW not installed"
-echo ""
-
-echo "4. Checking Docker network..."
-docker network ls | grep normogen
-echo ""
-
-echo "5. Backend container logs (last 20 lines)..."
-docker logs --tail 20 normogen-backend-dev 2>&1
-echo ""
-
-echo "6. Testing local connection..."
-curl -s --max-time 3 http://localhost:6500/health || echo "Local connection failed"
-echo ""
-
-echo "7. Testing container connection..."
-docker exec normogen-backend-dev curl -s --max-time 3 http://localhost:8000/health || echo "Container connection failed"
-echo ""
-
-echo "=========================================="
-echo "Diagnostic complete"
-echo "=========================================="
diff --git a/backend/docker-compose.dev.yml b/backend/docker-compose.dev.yml
index b21c00a..54c73e1 100644
--- a/backend/docker-compose.dev.yml
+++ b/backend/docker-compose.dev.yml
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ services:
       - '6500:8000'
     volumes:
       - ./src:/app/src
+      # Mount a volume to capture logs
       - startup-logs:/tmp
     environment:
       - RUST_LOG=debug
@@ -25,8 +26,8 @@ services:
         condition: service_healthy
     networks:
       - normogen-network
-    restart: unless-stopped
-
+    # DISABLE RESTART TEMPORARILY TO DEBUG
+    restart: "no"
   mongodb:
     image: mongo:6.0
     container_name: normogen-mongodb-dev
@@ -46,14 +47,11 @@ services:
       timeout: 5s
       retries: 5
       start_period: 60s
-    restart: unless-stopped
-
 volumes:
   mongodb_dev_data:
     driver: local
   startup-logs:
     driver: local
-
 networks:
   normogen-network:
     driver: bridge
diff --git a/backend/docker-compose.yml b/backend/docker-compose.yml
index ce883ce..7cbe40d 100644
--- a/backend/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/backend/docker-compose.yml
@@ -3,46 +3,51 @@ services:
     build:
       context: .
       dockerfile: docker/Dockerfile
-      args:
-        BUILDKIT_INLINE_CACHE: 0
-    pull_policy: build
     container_name: normogen-backend
     ports:
-      - '8000:8000'
+      - '6800:8000'
     environment:
       - RUST_LOG=info
       - SERVER_PORT=8000
-      - SERVER_HOST=0.0.0.0
       - MONGODB_URI=mongodb://mongodb:27017
-      - MONGODB_DATABASE=normogen
-      - JWT_SECRET=${JWT_SECRET:-please-change-this-in-production}
+      - DATABASE_NAME=normogen
+    env_file:
+      - .env
     depends_on:
       mongodb:
         condition: service_healthy
     networks:
       - normogen-network
     restart: unless-stopped
-    # Disable DNS search domain to fix hostname resolution
-    dns_search: []
+    deploy:
+      resources:
+        limits:
+          cpus: '1.0'
+          memory: 1000M
+    healthcheck:
+      test: ['CMD', 'wget', '--no-verbose', '--tries=1', '--spider', 'http://localhost:8000/health']
+      interval: 30s
+      timeout: 10s
+      retries: 3
+      start_period: 40s
   mongodb:
     image: mongo:6.0
     container_name: normogen-mongodb
+    ports:
+      - '27017:27017'
     environment:
       - MONGO_INITDB_DATABASE=normogen
     volumes:
       - mongodb_data:/data/db
     networks:
       - normogen-network
-    healthcheck:
-      test: |
-        echo 'db.runCommand("ping").ok' | mongosh localhost:27017/test --quiet
-      interval: 30s
-      timeout: 10s
-      retries: 5
-      start_period: 40s
     restart: unless-stopped
-    # Disable DNS search domain to fix hostname resolution
-    dns_search: []
+    healthcheck:
+      test: ['CMD', 'mongosh', '--eval', 'db.adminCommand.ping()']
+      interval: 10s
+      timeout: 5s
+      retries: 5
+      start_period: 10s
 volumes:
   mongodb_data:
     driver: local
diff --git a/backend/src/db/mongodb_impl.rs b/backend/src/db/mongodb_impl.rs
index efe044e..00a7826 100644
--- a/backend/src/db/mongodb_impl.rs
+++ b/backend/src/db/mongodb_impl.rs
@@ -21,71 +21,25 @@ impl MongoDb {
         eprintln!("[MongoDB] Starting connection to: {}", uri);
         
         // Parse the URI first
-        let mut client_options = match ClientOptions::parse(uri).await {
-            Ok(opts) => {
-                eprintln!("[MongoDB] URI parsed successfully");
-                opts
-            }
-            Err(e) => {
-                eprintln!("[MongoDB] ERROR: Failed to parse URI: {}", e);
-                
-                let error_msg = e.to_string().to_lowercase();
-                if error_msg.contains("dns") || error_msg.contains("resolution") || error_msg.contains("lookup") {
-                    eprintln!("[MongoDB] DNS RESOLUTION ERROR DETECTED!");
-                    eprintln!("[MongoDB] Cannot resolve hostname in: {}", uri);
-                    eprintln!("[MongoDB] Error: {}", e);
-                }
-                eprintln!("[MongoDB] Will continue in degraded mode (database operations will fail)");
-                
-                // Create a minimal configuration that will allow the server to start
-                // but database operations will fail gracefully
-                let mut opts = ClientOptions::parse("mongodb://localhost:27017").await
-                    .map_err(|e| anyhow::anyhow!("Failed to create fallback client options: {}", e))?;
-                opts.server_selection_timeout = Some(Duration::from_secs(1));
-                opts.connect_timeout = Some(Duration::from_secs(1));
-                
-                let client = Client::with_options(opts)
-                    .map_err(|e| anyhow::anyhow!("Failed to create MongoDB client: {}", e))?;
-                
-                let database = client.database(db_name);
-                
-                return Ok(Self {
-                    users: database.collection("users"),
-                    shares: database.collection("shares"),
-                    database,
-                });
-            }
-        };
+        let mut client_options = ClientOptions::parse(uri).await
+            .map_err(|e| {
+                eprintln!("[MongoDB] Failed to parse URI: {}", e);
+                anyhow::anyhow!("Failed to parse MongoDB URI: {}", e)
+            })?;
         
-        // Set connection timeout with retry logic
-        client_options.server_selection_timeout = Some(Duration::from_secs(10));
-        client_options.connect_timeout = Some(Duration::from_secs(10));
+        eprintln!("[MongoDB] URI parsed successfully");
+        
+        // Set connection timeout
+        client_options.server_selection_timeout = Some(Duration::from_secs(5));
+        client_options.connect_timeout = Some(Duration::from_secs(5));
         
         eprintln!("[MongoDB] Connecting to server...");
         
-        let client = match Client::with_options(client_options) {
-            Ok(c) => {
-                eprintln!("[MongoDB] Client created successfully");
-                c
-            }
-            Err(e) => {
-                eprintln!("[MongoDB] ERROR: Failed to create client: {}", e);
-                eprintln!("[MongoDB] Will continue in degraded mode");
-                
-                // Create a fallback client
-                let fallback_opts = ClientOptions::parse("mongodb://localhost:27017").await
-                    .map_err(|e| anyhow::anyhow!("Failed to create fallback client options: {}", e))?;
-                let fallback_client = Client::with_options(fallback_opts)
-                    .map_err(|e| anyhow::anyhow!("Failed to create MongoDB client: {}", e))?;
-                let database = fallback_client.database(db_name);
-                
-                return Ok(Self {
-                    users: database.collection("users"),
-                    shares: database.collection("shares"),
-                    database,
-                });
-            }
-        };
+        let client = Client::with_options(client_options)
+            .map_err(|e| {
+                eprintln!("[MongoDB] Failed to create client: {}", e);
+                anyhow::anyhow!("Failed to create MongoDB client: {}", e)
+            })?;
         
         eprintln!("[MongoDB] Client created, selecting database...");
         
@@ -102,18 +56,9 @@ impl MongoDb {
     
     pub async fn health_check(&self) -> Result<String> {
         eprintln!("[MongoDB] Health check: pinging database...");
-        match self.database.run_command(doc! { "ping": 1 }, None).await {
-            Ok(_) => {
-                eprintln!("[MongoDB] Health check: OK");
-                Ok("OK".to_string())
-            }
-            Err(e) => {
-                eprintln!("[MongoDB] Health check: FAILED - {}", e);
-                // Return OK anyway to allow the server to continue running
-                // The actual database operations will fail when needed
-                Ok("DEGRADED".to_string())
-            }
-        }
+        self.database.run_command(doc! { "ping": 1 }, None).await?;
+        eprintln!("[MongoDB] Health check: OK");
+        Ok("OK".to_string())
     }
     
     // ===== User Methods =====
diff --git a/backend/src/main.rs b/backend/src/main.rs
index 6eda459..12ed1f7 100644
--- a/backend/src/main.rs
+++ b/backend/src/main.rs
@@ -1,128 +1,28 @@
-mod config;
-mod db;
-mod models;
-mod auth;
-mod handlers;
-mod middleware;
+use std::fs::OpenOptions;
+use std::io::Write;
 
-use axum::{
-    routing::{get, post, put, delete},
-    Router,
-    middleware as axum_middleware,
-};
-use tower::ServiceBuilder;
-use tower_http::{
-    cors::CorsLayer,
-    trace::TraceLayer,
-};
-use config::Config;
-
-#[tokio::main]
-async fn main() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
-    eprintln!("NORMOGEN BACKEND STARTING...");
-    eprintln!("Loading environment variables...");
+fn main() {
+    let msg = format!("BINARY STARTED: {}\n", chrono::Utc::now().to_rfc3339());
     
-    match dotenv::dotenv() {
-        Ok(path) => eprintln!("Loaded .env from: {:?}", path),
-        Err(e) => eprintln!("No .env file found (this is OK in Docker): {}", e),
+    // Try to write to file
+    if let Ok(mut file) = OpenOptions::new()
+        .create(true)
+        .write(true)
+        .truncate(true)
+        .open("/tmp/test-startup.log")
+    {
+        let _ = file.write_all(msg.as_bytes());
+        let _ = file.flush();
     }
     
-    eprintln!("Initializing logging...");
-    tracing_subscriber::fmt()
-        .with_env_filter(
-            tracing_subscriber::EnvFilter::try_from_default_env()
-                .unwrap_or_else(|_| "normogen_backend=debug,tower_http=debug,axum=debug".into())
-        )
-        .init();
+    // Try to print to stdout
+    println!("BINARY STARTED");
+    let _ = std::io::stdout().flush();
     
-    eprintln!("Loading configuration...");
-    let config = match Config::from_env() {
-        Ok(cfg) => {
-            tracing::info!("Configuration loaded successfully");
-            eprintln!("Config loaded: DB={}, Port={}", cfg.database.database, cfg.server.port);
-            cfg
-        }
-        Err(e) => {
-            eprintln!("FATAL: Failed to load configuration: {}", e);
-            return Err(e);
-        }
-    };
+    // Try to print to stderr
+    eprintln!("BINARY STARTED (stderr)");
+    let _ = std::io::stderr().flush();
     
-    tracing::info!("Connecting to MongoDB at {}", config.database.uri);
-    eprintln!("Connecting to MongoDB...");
-    let db = match db::MongoDb::new(&config.database.uri, &config.database.database).await {
-        Ok(db) => {
-            tracing::info!("Connected to MongoDB database: {}", config.database.database);
-            eprintln!("MongoDB connection successful");
-            db
-        }
-        Err(e) => {
-            eprintln!("FATAL: Failed to connect to MongoDB: {}", e);
-            return Err(e);
-        }
-    };
-    
-    tracing::info!("MongoDB health check: {}", db.health_check().await?);
-    
-    let jwt_service = auth::JwtService::new(config.jwt.clone());
-    
-    let app_state = config::AppState {
-        db,
-        jwt_service,
-        config: config.clone(),
-    };
-    
-    eprintln!("Building router...");
-    
-    let public_routes = Router::new()
-        .route("/health", get(handlers::health_check))
-        .route("/ready", get(handlers::ready_check))
-        .route("/api/auth/register", post(handlers::register))
-        .route("/api/auth/login", post(handlers::login))
-        .route("/api/auth/recover-password", post(handlers::recover_password))
-        .layer(
-            ServiceBuilder::new()
-                .layer(TraceLayer::new_for_http())
-                .layer(CorsLayer::new())
-        );
-    
-    let protected_routes = Router::new()
-        // Profile management
-        .route("/api/users/me", get(handlers::get_profile))
-        .route("/api/users/me", put(handlers::update_profile))
-        .route("/api/users/me", delete(handlers::delete_account))
-        // Account settings
-        .route("/api/users/me/settings", get(handlers::get_settings))
-        .route("/api/users/me/settings", put(handlers::update_settings))
-        .route("/api/users/me/change-password", post(handlers::change_password))
-        // Share management (Phase 2.5)
-        .route("/api/shares", post(handlers::create_share))
-        .route("/api/shares", get(handlers::list_shares))
-        .route("/api/shares/:id", get(handlers::get_share))
-        .route("/api/shares/:id", put(handlers::update_share))
-        .route("/api/shares/:id", delete(handlers::delete_share))
-        // Permissions (Phase 2.5)
-        .route("/api/permissions/check", post(handlers::check_permission))
-        .layer(
-            ServiceBuilder::new()
-                .layer(TraceLayer::new_for_http())
-                .layer(CorsLayer::new())
-        )
-        .route_layer(axum_middleware::from_fn_with_state(
-            app_state.clone(),
-            crate::middleware::auth::jwt_auth_middleware
-        ));
-    
-    let app = public_routes.merge(protected_routes).with_state(app_state);
-    
-    eprintln!("Binding to {}:{}...", config.server.host, config.server.port);
-    let listener = tokio::net::TcpListener::bind(&format!("{}:{}", config.server.host, config.server.port))
-        .await?;
-    
-    tracing::info!("Server listening on {}:{}", config.server.host, config.server.port);
-    eprintln!("Server is running on http://{}:{}", config.server.host, config.server.port);
-    
-    axum::serve(listener, app).await?;
-    
-    Ok(())
+    // Sleep to keep container alive
+    std::thread::sleep(std::time::Duration::from_secs(60));
 }
diff --git a/backend/src/main.rs.restore b/backend/src/main.rs.restore
deleted file mode 100644
index dc5d375..0000000
--- a/backend/src/main.rs.restore
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,2 +0,0 @@
-fatal: path 'backend/src/main.rs' exists, but not 'src/main.rs'
-hint: Did you mean 'a316699:backend/src/main.rs' aka 'a316699:./src/main.rs'?
diff --git a/backend/start-dev.sh b/backend/start-dev.sh
deleted file mode 100755
index 9d231f8..0000000
--- a/backend/start-dev.sh
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,57 +0,0 @@
-#!/bin/bash
-set -e
-
-echo "🚀 Starting Normogen Backend Development Environment..."
-cd "$(dirname "$0")"
-
-# Build and start containers
-echo "📦 Building and starting containers..."
-docker-compose -f docker-compose.dev.yml up --build -d
-
-# Wait for MongoDB to be healthy
-echo "⏳ Waiting for MongoDB to be healthy..."
-timeout=60
-while [ $timeout -gt 0 ]; do
-    if docker inspect normogen-mongodb-dev --format='{{.State.Health.Status}}' | grep -q "healthy"; then
-        echo "✅ MongoDB is healthy!"
-        break
-    fi
-    sleep 2
-    timeout=$((timeout - 2))
-done
-
-if [ $timeout -eq 0 ]; then
-    echo "❌ MongoDB health check timeout"
-    exit 1
-fi
-
-# Wait for backend to be ready
-echo "⏳ Waiting for backend to start..."
-timeout=30
-while [ $timeout -gt 0 ]; do
-    if curl -s http://localhost:6500/health > /dev/null 2>&1; then
-        echo "✅ Backend is ready!"
-        break
-    fi
-    sleep 2
-    timeout=$((timeout - 2))
-done
-
-if [ $timeout -eq 0 ]; then
-    echo "⚠️  Backend may still be starting..."
-fi
-
-echo ""
-echo "🎉 Development environment is ready!"
-echo ""
-echo "📊 Services:"
-docker-compose -f docker-compose.dev.yml ps
-echo ""
-echo "🔗 Backend: http://localhost:6500"
-echo "🔗 MongoDB: mongodb://localhost:27017"
-echo ""
-echo "📝 To view logs:"
-echo "   docker-compose -f docker-compose.dev.yml logs -f"
-echo ""
-echo "🛑 To stop:"
-echo "   ./stop-dev.sh"
diff --git a/backend/stop-dev.sh b/backend/stop-dev.sh
deleted file mode 100755
index bf65c0d..0000000
--- a/backend/stop-dev.sh
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,9 +0,0 @@
-#!/bin/bash
-set -e
-
-echo "🛑 Stopping Normogen Backend Development Environment..."
-cd "$(dirname "$0")"
-
-docker-compose -f docker-compose.dev.yml down
-
-echo "✅ Development environment stopped!"