diff --git a/.github/workflows/deploy-staging.yml b/.github/workflows/deploy-staging.yml
index 62658856..bc884a5d 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/deploy-staging.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/deploy-staging.yml
@@ -2,17 +2,19 @@ name: Deploy staging
 
 on:
   workflow_run:
-    workflows: ["Jyotish Skill CI"]
+    workflows: ["Staging Backend Quality Gate"]
     types: [completed]
   workflow_dispatch:
     inputs:
-      git_sha:
-        description: Exact 40-character commit SHA from a successful CI run
+      deploy_sha:
+        description: Exact 40-character commit SHA from a successful backend quality gate
         required: true
+        type: string
 
 permissions:
   contents: read
   actions: read
+  packages: read
 
 concurrency:
   group: staging
@@ -20,11 +22,7 @@ concurrency:
 
 jobs:
   deploy:
-    if: >-
-      github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch' ||
-      (github.event.workflow_run.conclusion == 'success' &&
-       github.event.workflow_run.event == 'push' &&
-       github.event.workflow_run.head_branch == 'staging')
+    if: github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch' || (github.event.workflow_run.conclusion == 'success' && github.event.workflow_run.event == 'push' && github.event.workflow_run.head_branch == 'staging')
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     timeout-minutes: 30
     environment:
@@ -42,12 +40,12 @@ jobs:
       - name: Validate tested revision
         id: revision
         env:
-          REQUESTED_SHA: ${{ github.event.workflow_run.head_sha || inputs.git_sha }}
+          REQUESTED_SHA: ${{ github.event.workflow_run.head_sha || inputs.deploy_sha }}
           GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
         run: |
           test "${#REQUESTED_SHA}" -eq 40
           case "$REQUESTED_SHA" in
-            *[!0-9a-fA-F]*) echo "git_sha must be a full hexadecimal commit SHA" >&2; exit 1 ;;
+            *[!0-9a-fA-F]*) echo "deploy_sha must be a full hexadecimal commit SHA" >&2; exit 1 ;;
           esac
           DEPLOY_GIT_SHA="$(printf '%s' "$REQUESTED_SHA" | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]')"
           if [ "$GITHUB_EVENT_NAME" = "workflow_dispatch" ]; then
@@ -55,9 +53,11 @@ jobs:
               --header "Authorization: Bearer $GH_TOKEN" \
               --header "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" \
               --header "X-GitHub-Api-Version: 2022-11-28" \
-              "$GITHUB_API_URL/repos/$GITHUB_REPOSITORY/actions/workflows/ci.yml/runs?head_sha=$DEPLOY_GIT_SHA&status=success&per_page=1")"
-            test "$(printf '%s' "$TESTED_RUNS" | jq -r '.total_count')" -ge 1 || {
-              echo "No successful Jyotish Skill CI run found for $DEPLOY_GIT_SHA" >&2
+              "$GITHUB_API_URL/repos/$GITHUB_REPOSITORY/actions/workflows/backend-quality-gate.yml/runs?head_sha=$DEPLOY_GIT_SHA&branch=staging&event=push&status=success&per_page=100")"
+            MATCHING_RUNS="$(printf '%s' "$TESTED_RUNS" | jq --arg sha "$DEPLOY_GIT_SHA" \
+              '[.workflow_runs[] | select(.head_sha == $sha and .head_branch == "staging" and .event == "push" and .conclusion == "success")] | length')"
+            test "$MATCHING_RUNS" -ge 1 || {
+              echo "No successful Staging Backend Quality Gate run found for exact SHA $DEPLOY_GIT_SHA" >&2
               exit 1
             }
           fi
@@ -93,29 +93,52 @@ jobs:
           printf '%s\n' "$STAGING_KNOWN_HOSTS" > ~/.ssh/known_hosts
           chmod 600 ~/.ssh/known_hosts
 
-      - name: Record previous staging state
+      - name: Record previous staging images
+        id: previous
         env:
           DEPLOY_GIT_SHA: ${{ steps.revision.outputs.sha }}
         run: |
           SSH_OPTIONS="-i $HOME/.ssh/jyotisha-staging -p $DEPLOY_PORT -o BatchMode=yes -o IdentitiesOnly=yes -o StrictHostKeyChecking=yes -o ServerAliveInterval=30 -o ServerAliveCountMax=20"
-          PREVIOUS_SHA="$(curl --fail --silent --show-error --max-time 10 "$STAGING_URL/api/health" 2>/dev/null | jq -r '.deployment.gitCommit // empty' || true)"
-          test -n "$PREVIOUS_SHA" || PREVIOUS_SHA="not-deployed"
-          PREVIOUS_IMAGES="$(ssh $SSH_OPTIONS "$DEPLOY_USER@$DEPLOY_HOST" \
-            "if [ -f '$DEPLOY_PATH/.env.staging' ] && [ -f '$DEPLOY_PATH/deploy/docker-compose.server.yml' ]; then cd '$DEPLOY_PATH' && APP_ENV_FILE='../.env.staging' CADDYFILE_PATH='./Caddyfile.staging' SITE_ADDRESS='https://staging.jyotisha.chat' docker compose --env-file .env.staging -f deploy/docker-compose.server.yml images --quiet; else echo not-deployed; fi")"
-          test -n "$PREVIOUS_IMAGES" || PREVIOUS_IMAGES="not-deployed"
+          PREVIOUS_HEALTH_SHA="$(curl --fail --silent --show-error --max-time 10 "$STAGING_URL/api/health" 2>/dev/null | jq -r '.deployment.gitCommit // empty' || true)"
+          PREVIOUS_API_IMAGE="$(ssh $SSH_OPTIONS "$DEPLOY_USER@$DEPLOY_HOST" \
+            "container_id=\$(docker ps -aq --filter 'label=com.docker.compose.project=jyotisha-staging' --filter 'label=com.docker.compose.service=api' | head -n 1); if [ -n \"\$container_id\" ]; then docker inspect --format '{{.Config.Image}}' \"\$container_id\"; fi")"
+          PREVIOUS_WEB_IMAGE="$(ssh $SSH_OPTIONS "$DEPLOY_USER@$DEPLOY_HOST" \
+            "container_id=\$(docker ps -aq --filter 'label=com.docker.compose.project=jyotisha-staging' --filter 'label=com.docker.compose.service=web' | head -n 1); if [ -n \"\$container_id\" ]; then docker inspect --format '{{.Config.Image}}' \"\$container_id\"; fi")"
+          PREVIOUS_SHA="$(ssh $SSH_OPTIONS "$DEPLOY_USER@$DEPLOY_HOST" \
+            "container_id=\$(docker ps -aq --filter 'label=com.docker.compose.project=jyotisha-staging' --filter 'label=com.docker.compose.service=web' | head -n 1); if [ -n \"\$container_id\" ]; then docker inspect --format '{{range .Config.Env}}{{println .}}{{end}}' \"\$container_id\" | sed -n 's/^GITHUB_SHA=//p' | head -n 1; fi")"
+          if [ -z "$PREVIOUS_SHA" ] && [[ "$PREVIOUS_HEALTH_SHA" =~ ^[0-9a-fA-F]{40}$ ]]; then
+            PREVIOUS_SHA="$PREVIOUS_HEALTH_SHA"
+          fi
+          if [ -z "$PREVIOUS_SHA" ] && [[ "$PREVIOUS_WEB_IMAGE" =~ ^ghcr\.io/jesse-ux/jyotisha-web:([0-9a-f]{40})$ ]]; then
+            PREVIOUS_SHA="${BASH_REMATCH[1]}"
+          fi
+          if [ -n "$PREVIOUS_SHA" ]; then
+            test "${#PREVIOUS_SHA}" -eq 40
+            case "$PREVIOUS_SHA" in
+              *[!0-9a-fA-F]*) echo "Previous staging SHA is unsafe" >&2; exit 1 ;;
+            esac
+            PREVIOUS_SHA="$(printf '%s' "$PREVIOUS_SHA" | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]')"
+          fi
+          for image in "$PREVIOUS_API_IMAGE" "$PREVIOUS_WEB_IMAGE"; do
+            case "$image" in
+              "") ;;
+              *[!A-Za-z0-9._/@:-]*) echo "Previous staging image reference is unsafe" >&2; exit 1 ;;
+            esac
+          done
+          {
+            echo "api_image=$PREVIOUS_API_IMAGE"
+            echo "web_image=$PREVIOUS_WEB_IMAGE"
+            echo "previous_sha=$PREVIOUS_SHA"
+          } >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
           {
             echo "### Staging deployment state"
-            echo "- Previous verified SHA: \`$PREVIOUS_SHA\`"
+            echo "- Previous verified SHA: \`${PREVIOUS_SHA:-not-deployed}\`"
             echo "- Target SHA: \`$DEPLOY_GIT_SHA\`"
-            echo "- Previous image IDs:"
-            echo '```text'
-            printf '%s\n' "$PREVIOUS_IMAGES"
-            echo '```'
+            echo "- Previous API image: \`${PREVIOUS_API_IMAGE:-not-deployed}\`"
+            echo "- Previous web image: \`${PREVIOUS_WEB_IMAGE:-not-deployed}\`"
           } >> "$GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY"
 
-      - name: Sync and rebuild staging
-        env:
-          DEPLOY_GIT_SHA: ${{ steps.revision.outputs.sha }}
+      - name: Sync tested staging sources
         run: |
           SSH_OPTIONS="-i $HOME/.ssh/jyotisha-staging -p $DEPLOY_PORT -o BatchMode=yes -o IdentitiesOnly=yes -o StrictHostKeyChecking=yes -o ServerAliveInterval=30 -o ServerAliveCountMax=20"
           RSYNC_SSH="ssh $SSH_OPTIONS"
@@ -127,8 +150,65 @@ jobs:
             --exclude='frontend/.next/' \
             -e "$RSYNC_SSH" \
             ./ "$DEPLOY_USER@$DEPLOY_HOST:$DEPLOY_PATH/"
+
+      - name: Validate staging configuration
+        env:
+          DEPLOY_GIT_SHA: ${{ steps.revision.outputs.sha }}
+        run: |
+          SSH_OPTIONS="-i $HOME/.ssh/jyotisha-staging -p $DEPLOY_PORT -o BatchMode=yes -o IdentitiesOnly=yes -o StrictHostKeyChecking=yes -o ServerAliveInterval=30 -o ServerAliveCountMax=20"
           ssh $SSH_OPTIONS "$DEPLOY_USER@$DEPLOY_HOST" \
-            "cd '$DEPLOY_PATH' && bash deploy/validate-staging-env.sh .env.staging && APP_ENV_FILE='../.env.staging' CADDYFILE_PATH='./Caddyfile.staging' SITE_ADDRESS='https://staging.jyotisha.chat' docker compose --env-file .env.staging -f deploy/docker-compose.server.yml config --quiet && APP_ENV_FILE='../.env.staging' CADDYFILE_PATH='./Caddyfile.staging' SITE_ADDRESS='https://staging.jyotisha.chat' GITHUB_SHA='$DEPLOY_GIT_SHA' docker compose --env-file .env.staging -f deploy/docker-compose.server.yml up -d --build --remove-orphans"
+            "cd '$DEPLOY_PATH' && bash deploy/validate-staging-env.sh .env.staging && bash deploy/validate-staging-database-env.sh .env.staging.database && APP_ENV_FILE='../.env.staging' DATABASE_ENV_FILE='../.env.staging.database' CADDYFILE_PATH='./Caddyfile.staging' SITE_ADDRESS='https://staging.jyotisha.chat' API_IMAGE='ghcr.io/jesse-ux/jyotisha-api:$DEPLOY_GIT_SHA' WEB_IMAGE='ghcr.io/jesse-ux/jyotisha-web:$DEPLOY_GIT_SHA' GITHUB_SHA='$DEPLOY_GIT_SHA' docker compose -p jyotisha-staging --env-file .env.staging -f deploy/docker-compose.server.yml -f deploy/docker-compose.postgres.yml config --quiet"
+
+      - name: Log in to GHCR
+        env:
+          GHCR_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
+        run: |
+          SSH_OPTIONS="-i $HOME/.ssh/jyotisha-staging -p $DEPLOY_PORT -o BatchMode=yes -o IdentitiesOnly=yes -o StrictHostKeyChecking=yes -o ServerAliveInterval=30 -o ServerAliveCountMax=20"
+          printf '%s' "$GHCR_TOKEN" | ssh $SSH_OPTIONS "$DEPLOY_USER@$DEPLOY_HOST" "docker login ghcr.io --username '$GITHUB_ACTOR' --password-stdin"
+
+      - name: Pull exact staging images
+        env:
+          DEPLOY_GIT_SHA: ${{ steps.revision.outputs.sha }}
+        run: |
+          SSH_OPTIONS="-i $HOME/.ssh/jyotisha-staging -p $DEPLOY_PORT -o BatchMode=yes -o IdentitiesOnly=yes -o StrictHostKeyChecking=yes -o ServerAliveInterval=30 -o ServerAliveCountMax=20"
+          ssh $SSH_OPTIONS "$DEPLOY_USER@$DEPLOY_HOST" \
+            "cd '$DEPLOY_PATH' && APP_ENV_FILE='../.env.staging' DATABASE_ENV_FILE='../.env.staging.database' CADDYFILE_PATH='./Caddyfile.staging' SITE_ADDRESS='https://staging.jyotisha.chat' API_IMAGE='ghcr.io/jesse-ux/jyotisha-api:$DEPLOY_GIT_SHA' WEB_IMAGE='ghcr.io/jesse-ux/jyotisha-web:$DEPLOY_GIT_SHA' GITHUB_SHA='$DEPLOY_GIT_SHA' docker compose -p jyotisha-staging --env-file .env.staging -f deploy/docker-compose.server.yml -f deploy/docker-compose.postgres.yml pull api web postgres"
+
+      - name: Start and wait for staging PostgreSQL
+        env:
+          DEPLOY_GIT_SHA: ${{ steps.revision.outputs.sha }}
+        run: |
+          SSH_OPTIONS="-i $HOME/.ssh/jyotisha-staging -p $DEPLOY_PORT -o BatchMode=yes -o IdentitiesOnly=yes -o StrictHostKeyChecking=yes -o ServerAliveInterval=30 -o ServerAliveCountMax=20"
+          ssh $SSH_OPTIONS "$DEPLOY_USER@$DEPLOY_HOST" \
+            "cd '$DEPLOY_PATH' && APP_ENV_FILE='../.env.staging' DATABASE_ENV_FILE='../.env.staging.database' CADDYFILE_PATH='./Caddyfile.staging' SITE_ADDRESS='https://staging.jyotisha.chat' API_IMAGE='ghcr.io/jesse-ux/jyotisha-api:$DEPLOY_GIT_SHA' WEB_IMAGE='ghcr.io/jesse-ux/jyotisha-web:$DEPLOY_GIT_SHA' GITHUB_SHA='$DEPLOY_GIT_SHA' docker compose -p jyotisha-staging --env-file .env.staging -f deploy/docker-compose.server.yml -f deploy/docker-compose.postgres.yml up -d --no-build --wait postgres"
+
+      - name: Check staging migrations
+        id: migration_check
+        env:
+          DEPLOY_GIT_SHA: ${{ steps.revision.outputs.sha }}
+        run: |
+          SSH_OPTIONS="-i $HOME/.ssh/jyotisha-staging -p $DEPLOY_PORT -o BatchMode=yes -o IdentitiesOnly=yes -o StrictHostKeyChecking=yes -o ServerAliveInterval=30 -o ServerAliveCountMax=20"
+          set +e
+          ssh $SSH_OPTIONS "$DEPLOY_USER@$DEPLOY_HOST" \
+            "cd '$DEPLOY_PATH' && APP_ENV_FILE='../.env.staging' DATABASE_ENV_FILE='../.env.staging.database' CADDYFILE_PATH='./Caddyfile.staging' SITE_ADDRESS='https://staging.jyotisha.chat' API_IMAGE='ghcr.io/jesse-ux/jyotisha-api:$DEPLOY_GIT_SHA' WEB_IMAGE='ghcr.io/jesse-ux/jyotisha-web:$DEPLOY_GIT_SHA' GITHUB_SHA='$DEPLOY_GIT_SHA' docker compose -p jyotisha-staging --env-file .env.staging -f deploy/docker-compose.server.yml -f deploy/docker-compose.postgres.yml --profile migration-check run --rm migration-checker"
+          CHECK_STATUS=$?
+          set -e
+          if [ "$CHECK_STATUS" -eq 3 ]; then
+            echo "Run the Migrate Staging Database workflow manually with exact SHA $DEPLOY_GIT_SHA; no API, web, or Caddy container was changed." >&2
+            exit 3
+          fi
+          if [ "$CHECK_STATUS" -ne 0 ]; then
+            echo "Staging migration check failed safely for exact SHA $DEPLOY_GIT_SHA" >&2
+            exit "$CHECK_STATUS"
+          fi
+
+      - name: Deploy exact staging images
+        env:
+          DEPLOY_GIT_SHA: ${{ steps.revision.outputs.sha }}
+        run: |
+          SSH_OPTIONS="-i $HOME/.ssh/jyotisha-staging -p $DEPLOY_PORT -o BatchMode=yes -o IdentitiesOnly=yes -o StrictHostKeyChecking=yes -o ServerAliveInterval=30 -o ServerAliveCountMax=20"
+          ssh $SSH_OPTIONS "$DEPLOY_USER@$DEPLOY_HOST" \
+            "cd '$DEPLOY_PATH' && APP_ENV_FILE='../.env.staging' DATABASE_ENV_FILE='../.env.staging.database' CADDYFILE_PATH='./Caddyfile.staging' SITE_ADDRESS='https://staging.jyotisha.chat' API_IMAGE='ghcr.io/jesse-ux/jyotisha-api:$DEPLOY_GIT_SHA' WEB_IMAGE='ghcr.io/jesse-ux/jyotisha-web:$DEPLOY_GIT_SHA' GITHUB_SHA='$DEPLOY_GIT_SHA' docker compose -p jyotisha-staging --env-file .env.staging -f deploy/docker-compose.server.yml -f deploy/docker-compose.postgres.yml up -d --no-build --remove-orphans"
 
       - name: Verify staging
         env:
@@ -137,8 +217,25 @@ jobs:
           curl --fail --silent --show-error --retry 12 --retry-delay 5 "$STAGING_URL/login" >/dev/null
           test "$(curl --silent --output /dev/null --write-out '%{http_code}' "$STAGING_URL/api/account")" = "401"
           test "$(curl --fail --silent --show-error "$STAGING_URL/api/health" | jq -r '.deployment.gitCommit')" = "$DEPLOY_GIT_SHA"
-          ssh -i ~/.ssh/jyotisha-staging -p "$DEPLOY_PORT" \
-            -o BatchMode=yes -o IdentitiesOnly=yes -o StrictHostKeyChecking=yes \
-            "$DEPLOY_USER@$DEPLOY_HOST" \
-            "cd '$DEPLOY_PATH' && APP_ENV_FILE='../.env.staging' CADDYFILE_PATH='./Caddyfile.staging' SITE_ADDRESS='https://staging.jyotisha.chat' docker compose --env-file .env.staging -f deploy/docker-compose.server.yml exec -T web node -e 'fetch(\"http://api:5200/api/health\").then(async r => { const body = await r.json(); if (!r.ok || body.status !== \"ok\" || body.swisseph_available !== true) process.exit(1); console.log(JSON.stringify(body)); })'"
+          SSH_OPTIONS="-i $HOME/.ssh/jyotisha-staging -p $DEPLOY_PORT -o BatchMode=yes -o IdentitiesOnly=yes -o StrictHostKeyChecking=yes"
+          ssh $SSH_OPTIONS "$DEPLOY_USER@$DEPLOY_HOST" \
+            "cd '$DEPLOY_PATH' && APP_ENV_FILE='../.env.staging' DATABASE_ENV_FILE='../.env.staging.database' CADDYFILE_PATH='./Caddyfile.staging' SITE_ADDRESS='https://staging.jyotisha.chat' API_IMAGE='ghcr.io/jesse-ux/jyotisha-api:$DEPLOY_GIT_SHA' WEB_IMAGE='ghcr.io/jesse-ux/jyotisha-web:$DEPLOY_GIT_SHA' GITHUB_SHA='$DEPLOY_GIT_SHA' docker compose -p jyotisha-staging --env-file .env.staging -f deploy/docker-compose.server.yml -f deploy/docker-compose.postgres.yml exec -T web node -e 'fetch(\"http://api:5200/api/health\").then(async r => { const body = await r.json(); if (!r.ok || body.status !== \"ok\" || body.swisseph_available !== true) process.exit(1); console.log(JSON.stringify(body)); })'"
           echo "- Verified deployed SHA: \`$DEPLOY_GIT_SHA\`" >> "$GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY"
+
+      - name: Roll back staging images
+        if: failure() && steps.migration_check.outcome == 'success' && steps.previous.outputs.api_image != '' && steps.previous.outputs.web_image != '' && steps.previous.outputs.previous_sha != ''
+        env:
+          PREVIOUS_API_IMAGE: ${{ steps.previous.outputs.api_image }}
+          PREVIOUS_WEB_IMAGE: ${{ steps.previous.outputs.web_image }}
+          PREVIOUS_SHA: ${{ steps.previous.outputs.previous_sha }}
+        run: |
+          SSH_OPTIONS="-i $HOME/.ssh/jyotisha-staging -p $DEPLOY_PORT -o BatchMode=yes -o IdentitiesOnly=yes -o StrictHostKeyChecking=yes -o ServerAliveInterval=30 -o ServerAliveCountMax=20"
+          ssh $SSH_OPTIONS "$DEPLOY_USER@$DEPLOY_HOST" \
+            "cd '$DEPLOY_PATH' && APP_ENV_FILE='../.env.staging' DATABASE_ENV_FILE='../.env.staging.database' CADDYFILE_PATH='./Caddyfile.staging' SITE_ADDRESS='https://staging.jyotisha.chat' API_IMAGE='$PREVIOUS_API_IMAGE' WEB_IMAGE='$PREVIOUS_WEB_IMAGE' GITHUB_SHA='$PREVIOUS_SHA' docker compose -p jyotisha-staging --env-file .env.staging -f deploy/docker-compose.server.yml -f deploy/docker-compose.postgres.yml up -d --no-build --remove-orphans api web caddy"
+
+      - name: Log out of GHCR
+        if: always()
+        continue-on-error: true
+        run: |
+          SSH_OPTIONS="-i $HOME/.ssh/jyotisha-staging -p $DEPLOY_PORT -o BatchMode=yes -o IdentitiesOnly=yes -o StrictHostKeyChecking=yes"
+          ssh $SSH_OPTIONS "$DEPLOY_USER@$DEPLOY_HOST" "docker logout ghcr.io >/dev/null 2>&1 || true"
diff --git a/deploy/docker-compose.server.yml b/deploy/docker-compose.server.yml
index 42998526..9e660a16 100644
--- a/deploy/docker-compose.server.yml
+++ b/deploy/docker-compose.server.yml
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 services:
   api:
+    image: ${API_IMAGE:-jyotisha-api:local}
     build:
       context: ..
       dockerfile: deploy/railway-api.Dockerfile
@@ -18,6 +19,7 @@ services:
       retries: 5
 
   web:
+    image: ${WEB_IMAGE:-jyotisha-web:local}
     build:
       context: ..
       dockerfile: deploy/railway-web.Dockerfile
diff --git a/frontend/tests/health-deployment.test.ts b/frontend/tests/health-deployment.test.ts
index f4f15bf4..7f99772e 100644
--- a/frontend/tests/health-deployment.test.ts
+++ b/frontend/tests/health-deployment.test.ts
@@ -68,6 +68,52 @@ test("server compose accepts staging paths while preserving production defaults"
   );
 });
 
+test("server compose defaults to local images without removing either build", () => {
+  const composeFile = fileURLToPath(
+    new URL("../../deploy/docker-compose.server.yml", import.meta.url),
+  );
+  const compose = readFileSync(composeFile, "utf8");
+
+  assert.match(compose, /^\s+image: \$\{API_IMAGE:-jyotisha-api:local\}$/m);
+  assert.match(compose, /^\s+image: \$\{WEB_IMAGE:-jyotisha-web:local\}$/m);
+
+  const root = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "jyotisha-server-compose-"));
+  const appEnvFile = join(root, ".env.production");
+  writeFileSync(appEnvFile, "RUNTIME_FIXTURE=1\n");
+  chmodSync(appEnvFile, 0o600);
+
+  const env = {
+    ...process.env,
+    APP_ENV_FILE: appEnvFile,
+    CADDYFILE_PATH: fileURLToPath(
+      new URL("../../deploy/Caddyfile", import.meta.url),
+    ),
+    GITHUB_SHA: "0000000000000000000000000000000000000000",
+    NEXT_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_URL: "https://placeholder.supabase.co",
+    NEXT_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_ANON_KEY: "placeholder",
+  };
+  delete env.API_IMAGE;
+  delete env.WEB_IMAGE;
+
+  try {
+    const result = spawnSync(
+      "docker",
+      ["compose", "-f", composeFile, "config", "--format", "json"],
+      { encoding: "utf8", env },
+    );
+    assert.equal(result.status, 0, result.stderr);
+    const rendered = JSON.parse(result.stdout) as {
+      services: Record<string, { build?: unknown; image?: string }>;
+    };
+    assert.equal(rendered.services.api.image, "jyotisha-api:local");
+    assert.equal(rendered.services.web.image, "jyotisha-web:local");
+    assert.ok(rendered.services.api.build, "api build definition was removed");
+    assert.ok(rendered.services.web.build, "web build definition was removed");
+  } finally {
+    rmSync(root, { recursive: true, force: true });
+  }
+});
+
 test("staging Caddy configuration serves only the configured staging address", () => {
   const caddy = readFileSync(
     new URL("../../deploy/Caddyfile.staging", import.meta.url),
@@ -80,8 +126,8 @@ test("staging Caddy configuration serves only the configured staging address", (
 });
 
 test("staging deploy consumes only the isolated staging environment and tested revision", () => {
-  const ci = readFileSync(
-    new URL("../../.github/workflows/ci.yml", import.meta.url),
+  const qualityGate = readFileSync(
+    new URL("../../.github/workflows/backend-quality-gate.yml", import.meta.url),
     "utf8",
   );
   const workflow = readFileSync(
@@ -89,18 +135,22 @@ test("staging deploy consumes only the isolated staging environment and tested r
     "utf8",
   );
 
-  assert.match(ci, /push:\s*\n\s*branches: \[staging\]/);
-  assert.match(workflow, /workflows: \["Jyotish Skill CI"\]/);
+  assert.match(qualityGate, /push:\s*\n\s*branches: \[staging\]/);
+  assert.match(workflow, /workflows: \["Staging Backend Quality Gate"\]/);
   assert.match(
     workflow,
     /github\.event\.workflow_run\.head_branch == 'staging'/,
   );
   assert.match(workflow, /actions: read/);
+  assert.match(workflow, /packages: read/);
   assert.match(workflow, /environment:\s*\n\s*name: staging/);
-  assert.match(workflow, /git_sha:/);
+  assert.match(workflow, /deploy_sha:/);
   assert.doesNotMatch(workflow, /default: staging/);
   assert.match(workflow, /test "\$\{#REQUESTED_SHA\}" -eq 40/);
-  assert.match(workflow, /actions\/workflows\/ci\.yml\/runs\?head_sha=/);
+  assert.match(
+    workflow,
+    /actions\/workflows\/backend-quality-gate\.yml\/runs\?head_sha=/,
+  );
   assert.match(workflow, /STAGING_SSH_PRIVATE_KEY/);
   assert.match(workflow, /vars\.STAGING_HOST/);
   assert.match(workflow, /vars\.STAGING_KNOWN_HOSTS/);
@@ -108,29 +158,23 @@ test("staging deploy consumes only the isolated staging environment and tested r
   assert.match(workflow, /test "\$DEPLOY_USER" = "deploy"/);
   assert.match(workflow, /test "\$DEPLOY_PATH" = "\/opt\/jyotisha-staging"/);
   assert.match(workflow, /--exclude='\.env\*'/);
-  assert.match(workflow, /docker compose --env-file \.env\.staging/);
+  assert.match(
+    workflow,
+    /docker compose -p jyotisha-staging --env-file \.env\.staging/,
+  );
   assert.match(
     workflow,
     /bash deploy\/validate-staging-env\.sh \.env\.staging/,
   );
   assert.match(
     workflow,
-    /docker compose --env-file \.env\.staging -f deploy\/docker-compose\.server\.yml config --quiet/,
+    /bash deploy\/validate-staging-database-env\.sh \.env\.staging\.database/,
   );
+  assert.match(workflow, /-f deploy\/docker-compose\.server\.yml/);
+  assert.match(workflow, /-f deploy\/docker-compose\.postgres\.yml/);
   assert.match(workflow, /deployment\.gitCommit/);
   assert.doesNotMatch(workflow, /PRODUCTION_SSH_PRIVATE_KEY/);
   assert.doesNotMatch(workflow, /103\.117\.123\.53/);
-
-  const composeLines = workflow
-    .split("\n")
-    .filter((line) => line.includes("docker compose"));
-  assert.equal(workflow.match(/docker compose/g)?.length, 4);
-  assert.equal(composeLines.length, 3);
-  for (const line of composeLines) {
-    assert.match(line, /APP_ENV_FILE='\.\.\/\.env\.staging'/);
-    assert.match(line, /CADDYFILE_PATH='\.\/Caddyfile\.staging'/);
-    assert.match(line, /SITE_ADDRESS='https:\/\/staging\.jyotisha\.chat'/);
-  }
 });
 
 test("staging rsync preserves every destination env variant during delete", () => {
diff --git a/frontend/tests/staging-backend-workflows.test.ts b/frontend/tests/staging-backend-workflows.test.ts
index 024e4a9d..b39c28ae 100644
--- a/frontend/tests/staging-backend-workflows.test.ts
+++ b/frontend/tests/staging-backend-workflows.test.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,15 @@
 import assert from "node:assert/strict";
-import { readFileSync } from "node:fs";
+import {
+  chmodSync,
+  mkdirSync,
+  mkdtempSync,
+  readFileSync,
+  rmSync,
+  writeFileSync,
+} from "node:fs";
+import { tmpdir } from "node:os";
+import { join } from "node:path";
+import { spawnSync } from "node:child_process";
 import test from "node:test";
 
 type YamlNode = {
@@ -20,10 +30,14 @@ type WorkflowStep = {
   name: string;
 };
 
-const workflowUrl = new URL(
+const backendWorkflowUrl = new URL(
   "../../.github/workflows/backend-quality-gate.yml",
   import.meta.url,
 );
+const deploymentWorkflowUrl = new URL(
+  "../../.github/workflows/deploy-staging.yml",
+  import.meta.url,
+);
 
 function indentation(line: string): number {
   return line.match(/^ */)?.[0].length ?? 0;
@@ -60,8 +74,8 @@ function mappingNodes(
   return nodes;
 }
 
-function parseWorkflow(): WorkflowDocument {
-  const lines = readFileSync(workflowUrl, "utf8").split("\n");
+function parseWorkflow(url = backendWorkflowUrl): WorkflowDocument {
+  const lines = readFileSync(url, "utf8").split("\n");
   return { lines, root: mappingNodes(lines, 0) };
 }
 
@@ -104,10 +118,7 @@ function blockScalar(document: WorkflowDocument, node: YamlNode): string {
     .join("\n");
 }
 
-function job(
-  document: WorkflowDocument,
-  name: "validate" | "publish",
-): YamlNode {
+function job(document: WorkflowDocument, name: string): YamlNode {
   return child(document, requiredNode(document.root, "jobs"), name);
 }
 
@@ -174,6 +185,19 @@ function stepField(
   );
 }
 
+function stepRun(document: WorkflowDocument, step: WorkflowStep): string {
+  const run = stepField(document, step, "run");
+  return run.value === "|" ? blockScalar(document, run) : run.value;
+}
+
+function logicalShellLines(script: string): string[] {
+  return script
+    .replace(/\\\n\s*/g, " ")
+    .split("\n")
+    .map((line) => line.trim())
+    .filter(Boolean);
+}
+
 test("backend quality gate has structured staging triggers and concurrency", () => {
   const document = parseWorkflow();
 
@@ -414,3 +438,213 @@ test("deployment test script covers health and backend workflow contracts", () =
     "tsx --test tests/health-deployment.test.ts tests/staging-backend-workflows.test.ts",
   );
 });
+
+test("staging deploy structurally follows the backend gate and validates an exact manual SHA", () => {
+  const document = parseWorkflow(deploymentWorkflowUrl);
+
+  assert.equal(requiredNode(document.root, "name").value, "Deploy staging");
+  const triggers = requiredNode(document.root, "on");
+  const workflowRun = child(document, triggers, "workflow_run");
+  assert.equal(
+    child(document, workflowRun, "workflows").value,
+    '["Staging Backend Quality Gate"]',
+  );
+  assert.equal(child(document, workflowRun, "types").value, "[completed]");
+  const dispatch = child(document, triggers, "workflow_dispatch");
+  const deploySha = child(document, child(document, dispatch, "inputs"), "deploy_sha");
+  assert.equal(child(document, deploySha, "required").value, "true");
+  assert.equal(child(document, deploySha, "type").value, "string");
+
+  assert.deepEqual(
+    children(document, requiredNode(document.root, "permissions")).map(
+      ({ key, value }) => [key, value],
+    ),
+    [
+      ["contents", "read"],
+      ["actions", "read"],
+      ["packages", "read"],
+    ],
+  );
+  const deploy = job(document, "deploy");
+  assert.match(child(document, deploy, "if").value, /conclusion == 'success'/);
+  const revision = requiredStep(document, deploy, "Validate tested revision");
+  assert.equal(
+    child(document, stepField(document, revision, "env"), "REQUESTED_SHA").value,
+    "${{ github.event.workflow_run.head_sha || inputs.deploy_sha }}",
+  );
+  const validation = stepRun(document, revision);
+  assert.match(validation, /test "\$\{#REQUESTED_SHA\}" -eq 40/);
+  assert.match(
+    validation,
+    /actions\/workflows\/backend-quality-gate\.yml\/runs\?head_sha=\$DEPLOY_GIT_SHA/,
+  );
+  assert.match(validation, /head_branch == "staging"/);
+  assert.match(validation, /conclusion == "success"/);
+});
+
+test("staging deploy pins every Compose call and gates app changes on the read-only checker", () => {
+  const document = parseWorkflow(deploymentWorkflowUrl);
+  const deploy = job(document, "deploy");
+  const deploySteps = steps(document, deploy);
+  const names = deploySteps.map(({ name }) => name);
+  const index = (name: string) => {
+    const found = names.indexOf(name);
+    assert.notEqual(found, -1, `missing deployment step: ${name}`);
+    return found;
+  };
+
+  assert.ok(index("Pull exact staging images") < index("Start and wait for staging PostgreSQL"));
+  assert.ok(index("Start and wait for staging PostgreSQL") < index("Check staging migrations"));
+  assert.ok(index("Check staging migrations") < index("Deploy exact staging images"));
+  assert.ok(index("Deploy exact staging images") < index("Verify staging"));
+  assert.ok(index("Verify staging") < index("Roll back staging images"));
+  assert.ok(index("Roll back staging images") < index("Log out of GHCR"));
+
+  const scripts = deploySteps
+    .map((step) => {
+      const fields = mappingNodes(
+        document.lines,
+        step.node.indent + 2,
+        step.node.start + 1,
+        step.node.end,
+      );
+      const run = fields.find(({ key }) => key === "run");
+      return run ? (run.value === "|" ? blockScalar(document, run) : run.value) : "";
+    })
+    .filter(Boolean);
+  const composeCommands = scripts
+    .flatMap(logicalShellLines)
+    .filter((line) => line.includes("docker compose"));
+  assert.equal(composeCommands.length, 7);
+  for (const command of composeCommands) {
+    assert.match(command, /ssh /);
+    assert.match(command, /APP_ENV_FILE='\.\.\/\.env\.staging'/);
+    assert.match(command, /DATABASE_ENV_FILE='\.\.\/\.env\.staging\.database'/);
+    assert.match(command, /CADDYFILE_PATH='\.\/Caddyfile\.staging'/);
+    assert.match(command, /SITE_ADDRESS='https:\/\/staging\.jyotisha\.chat'/);
+    assert.match(command, /API_IMAGE=/);
+    assert.match(command, /WEB_IMAGE=/);
+    assert.match(command, /--env-file \.env\.staging/);
+    assert.match(command, /-f deploy\/docker-compose\.server\.yml/);
+    assert.match(command, /-f deploy\/docker-compose\.postgres\.yml/);
+  }
+
+  const login = stepRun(document, requiredStep(document, deploy, "Log in to GHCR"));
+  assert.match(login, /printf '%s' "\$GHCR_TOKEN" \| ssh /);
+  assert.match(login, /docker login ghcr\.io .*--password-stdin/);
+  assert.doesNotMatch(login, /--password(?:\s|=)/);
+
+  assert.match(
+    stepRun(document, requiredStep(document, deploy, "Pull exact staging images")),
+    /pull api web postgres/,
+  );
+  assert.match(
+    stepRun(
+      document,
+      requiredStep(document, deploy, "Start and wait for staging PostgreSQL"),
+    ),
+    /up -d --no-build --wait postgres/,
+  );
+
+  const check = requiredStep(document, deploy, "Check staging migrations");
+  assert.equal(stepField(document, check, "id").value, "migration_check");
+  const checkScript = stepRun(document, check);
+  assert.match(checkScript, /--profile migration-check run --rm migration-checker/);
+  assert.match(checkScript, /"\$CHECK_STATUS" -eq 3/);
+  assert.match(checkScript, /Migrate Staging Database/);
+  assert.match(checkScript, /\$DEPLOY_GIT_SHA/);
+  assert.match(checkScript, /exit 3/);
+  assert.match(
+    readFileSync(
+      new URL("../../deploy/docker-compose.postgres.yml", import.meta.url),
+      "utf8",
+    ),
+    /command: \["npm", "run", "db:migrate:check"\]/,
+  );
+
+  const workflow = readFileSync(deploymentWorkflowUrl, "utf8");
+  assert.doesNotMatch(workflow, /npm\s+run\s+db:migrate(?!:check)/);
+  assert.doesNotMatch(workflow, /run\s+--rm\s+migrator/);
+  assert.doesNotMatch(workflow, /--profile\s+migration(?:\s|["'])/);
+  assert.doesNotMatch(workflow, /(?:up -d[^\n]*--build|docker compose build)/);
+
+  const applicationDeploy = stepRun(
+    document,
+    requiredStep(document, deploy, "Deploy exact staging images"),
+  );
+  assert.match(applicationDeploy, /up -d --no-build --remove-orphans/);
+  const previous = requiredStep(document, deploy, "Record previous staging images");
+  assert.equal(stepField(document, previous, "id").value, "previous");
+  assert.match(stepRun(document, previous), /docker inspect --format '\{\{\.Config\.Image\}\}'/);
+  assert.match(stepRun(document, previous), /api_image=\$PREVIOUS_API_IMAGE/);
+  assert.match(stepRun(document, previous), /web_image=\$PREVIOUS_WEB_IMAGE/);
+  assert.match(stepRun(document, previous), /previous_sha=\$PREVIOUS_SHA/);
+
+  const rollback = requiredStep(document, deploy, "Roll back staging images");
+  assert.match(stepField(document, rollback, "if").value, /steps\.migration_check\.outcome == 'success'/);
+  const rollbackEnv = stepField(document, rollback, "env");
+  assert.equal(
+    child(document, rollbackEnv, "PREVIOUS_API_IMAGE").value,
+    "${{ steps.previous.outputs.api_image }}",
+  );
+  assert.equal(
+    child(document, rollbackEnv, "PREVIOUS_WEB_IMAGE").value,
+    "${{ steps.previous.outputs.web_image }}",
+  );
+  assert.equal(
+    child(document, rollbackEnv, "PREVIOUS_SHA").value,
+    "${{ steps.previous.outputs.previous_sha }}",
+  );
+  assert.match(stepRun(document, rollback), /API_IMAGE='\$PREVIOUS_API_IMAGE'/);
+  assert.match(stepRun(document, rollback), /WEB_IMAGE='\$PREVIOUS_WEB_IMAGE'/);
+  assert.match(stepRun(document, rollback), /GITHUB_SHA='\$PREVIOUS_SHA'/);
+  assert.match(stepRun(document, rollback), /up -d --no-build/);
+
+  const logout = requiredStep(document, deploy, "Log out of GHCR");
+  assert.equal(stepField(document, logout, "if").value, "always()");
+  assert.equal(stepField(document, logout, "continue-on-error").value, "true");
+  assert.match(stepRun(document, logout), /docker logout ghcr\.io/);
+});
+
+test("pending migration status exits 3 with the manual workflow and exact SHA", () => {
+  const document = parseWorkflow(deploymentWorkflowUrl);
+  const check = requiredStep(
+    document,
+    job(document, "deploy"),
+    "Check staging migrations",
+  );
+  const script = stepRun(document, check);
+  const root = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "jyotisha-migration-check-"));
+  const fakeBin = join(root, "bin");
+  const fakeSsh = join(fakeBin, "ssh");
+  const exactSha = "0123456789abcdef0123456789abcdef01234567";
+  mkdirSync(fakeBin);
+  writeFileSync(fakeSsh, '#!/usr/bin/env bash\nexit "${FAKE_SSH_STATUS:?}"\n');
+  chmodSync(fakeSsh, 0o700);
+
+  const run = (status: number) =>
+    spawnSync("bash", ["-c", script], {
+      encoding: "utf8",
+      env: {
+        ...process.env,
+        DEPLOY_GIT_SHA: exactSha,
+        DEPLOY_HOST: "staging.example.invalid",
+        DEPLOY_PORT: "22",
+        DEPLOY_USER: "deploy",
+        DEPLOY_PATH: "/opt/jyotisha-staging",
+        FAKE_SSH_STATUS: String(status),
+        HOME: root,
+        PATH: `${fakeBin}:${process.env.PATH}`,
+      },
+    });
+
+  try {
+    const pending = run(3);
+    assert.equal(pending.status, 3, pending.stderr);
+    assert.match(`${pending.stdout}\n${pending.stderr}`, /Migrate Staging Database/);
+    assert.match(`${pending.stdout}\n${pending.stderr}`, new RegExp(exactSha));
+    assert.equal(run(0).status, 0);
+  } finally {
+    rmSync(root, { recursive: true, force: true });
+  }
+});