diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index d81d80e..0da36a1 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -66,8 +66,22 @@ ControlPlaneLeadership, CertificateExpiresSoon and CertificateExpiresVerySoon.
 than its minimum, so an on-demand model that was asked for and fitted nowhere
 no longer reads as satisfied.
 
+### Backups
+
+`llmgw server backup` writes the store and `/etc/llmgw` — configuration,
+secrets, and the certificate authority's key — to one archive readable by root
+only, keeping the newest 14. `deploy/systemd/llmgw-backup.timer` runs it
+nightly. The control plane publishes the newest archive's time as
+`llmgw_backup_last_success_timestamp_seconds`, and BackupTooOld fires when it is
+more than 26 hours old or there has never been one. docs/install.md now says how
+to restore, including why running engines survive it: the engine-key secret
+comes back with the store.
+
 ### Fixes
 
+- Tests that slept a fixed time and then asserted now wait for their
+  condition. They are the likeliest cause of CI's intermittent failures on a
+  loaded runner.
 - `ctl` reported a change the API had queued (202 Accepted) as an error, as
   `ctl restart` did on its first real use.
 
diff --git a/deploy/monitoring/llmgw-rules.yml b/deploy/monitoring/llmgw-rules.yml
index 128f11e..fc022b5 100644
--- a/deploy/monitoring/llmgw-rules.yml
+++ b/deploy/monitoring/llmgw-rules.yml
@@ -123,6 +123,17 @@ groups:
           summary: "{{ $labels.cert }} ({{ $labels.subject }}) expires in {{ $value | humanizeDuration }}"
           description: See CertificateExpiresSoon; a week is not long.
 
+      - alert: BackupTooOld
+        expr: time() - llmgw_backup_last_success_timestamp_seconds > 26 * 3600
+        labels: { severity: warning }
+        annotations:
+          summary: "The newest llmgw backup is {{ $value | humanizeDuration }} old"
+          description: >-
+            llmgw-backup.timer runs nightly. Also fires when there has never
+            been a backup (the series is 0 then). `journalctl -u
+            llmgw-backup.service` on the control plane says why the last one
+            failed; docs/install.md, "Backing up", says how to set it up.
+
       - alert: PoolSaturated
         expr: llmgw_pool_saturation > 1
         for: 5m
diff --git a/deploy/systemd/llmgw-backup.service b/deploy/systemd/llmgw-backup.service
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..268fbe5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/deploy/systemd/llmgw-backup.service
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+[Unit]
+Description=llmgw backup: the store and /etc/llmgw, to /var/backups/llmgw
+After=llmgw-server.service postgresql.service
+
+[Service]
+Type=oneshot
+# Root, because the archive includes /etc/llmgw/secrets and the certificate
+# authority's key, which the llmgw user deliberately cannot read all of.
+ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/llmgw server backup --config /etc/llmgw/server.yaml --keep 14
+Nice=10
+IOSchedulingClass=idle
diff --git a/deploy/systemd/llmgw-backup.timer b/deploy/systemd/llmgw-backup.timer
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7db9a3a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/deploy/systemd/llmgw-backup.timer
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+[Unit]
+Description=Back up llmgw every night
+
+[Timer]
+OnCalendar=*-*-* 03:15:00
+# A machine that was off at 03:15 backs up when it next starts, rather than
+# waiting another day with a gap nobody notices until the alert.
+Persistent=true
+RandomizedDelaySec=10m
+
+[Install]
+WantedBy=timers.target
diff --git a/docs/install.md b/docs/install.md
index c6d7bc9..b282b0a 100644
--- a/docs/install.md
+++ b/docs/install.md
@@ -961,36 +961,74 @@ the choice is yours rather than silent.
 
 ## Backing up
 
-Three things, in descending order of how badly you want them.
+`llmgw server backup` writes one archive holding everything a control plane
+cannot be rebuilt without:
 
-**The certificate authority.** `ca-key.pem`, `/etc/llmgw/pki` unless you kept it elsewhere (step 2).
-Losing it does not stop the cluster, and it means every node identity has to be
-reissued the next time you touch one. Nothing in llmgw can reconstruct it.
+- **the store** — users, API keys, the tenancy tree, limits and budgets, usage
+  history, models added at runtime, measured capacity, and the secret every
+  engine key is derived from (`pg_dump` in its custom format for PostgreSQL, a
+  consistent `VACUUM INTO` snapshot for SQLite; both are safe against a running
+  gateway);
+- **`/etc/llmgw`** — the configuration, the store's address, and the
+  certificate authority's key (`pki/`). Nothing in llmgw can reconstruct that
+  key; losing it means reissuing every node's identity.
 
-**The store.** Users, API keys, organisations, teams, projects, every limit and
-budget, all usage history, models added at runtime, and measured capacity.
+Archives go to `/var/backups/llmgw`, readable by root only because of the CA
+key, and the newest 14 are kept. Run it nightly with the timer:
 
 ```
-# SQLite
-sqlite3 /var/lib/llmgw/llmgw.db ".backup '/backup/llmgw-$(date +%F).db'"
-
-# PostgreSQL
-pg_dump --format=custom llmgw > /backup/llmgw-$(date +%F).dump
+sudo install -m 0644 deploy/systemd/llmgw-backup.service deploy/systemd/llmgw-backup.timer /etc/systemd/system/
+sudo systemctl daemon-reload
+sudo systemctl enable --now llmgw-backup.timer
+sudo systemctl start llmgw-backup.service     # one now, to see it work
+ls -l /var/backups/llmgw
 ```
 
-`.backup` and `pg_dump` are both safe against a running gateway. Copying the
-SQLite file with `cp` while it is being written is not.
+The control plane publishes when the newest archive was written as
+`llmgw_backup_last_success_timestamp_seconds`, and **BackupTooOld** fires when
+it is more than 26 hours old — including when there has never been one.
+
+**Copy the archives off the machine.** They sit on the disk they back up and do
+not survive losing it. Anything that copies files will do — rsync from the
+mirror, a NAS mount, an offsite bucket — as long as it keeps the archives
+readable by root only.
 
 **Keys are stored hashed and cannot be recovered from a backup or from
 anywhere else.** Restoring an old store restores which keys exist and who owns
 them, not their secrets. A key created after the backup is gone and has to be
-reissued — which is why the store is worth backing up on a schedule rather than
-before upgrades.
+reissued.
+
+### Restoring
+
+On a machine with llmgw installed (the same version or newer) and, for
+PostgreSQL, an empty database and role as `server init --postgres` would create
+them:
+
+```
+sudo systemctl stop llmgw-server
+mkdir /tmp/restore && sudo tar -xzf /var/backups/llmgw/llmgw-backup-<host>-<time>.tar.gz -C /tmp/restore
+cat /tmp/restore/MANIFEST                     # version and time it was taken
+
+# /etc/llmgw: configuration, secrets, certificates and the CA
+sudo cp -a /tmp/restore/etc/llmgw/. /etc/llmgw/
+
+# the store — PostgreSQL
+sudo -u postgres pg_restore --clean --if-exists --no-owner --role=llmgw -d llmgw /tmp/restore/store.pgdump
+# the store — SQLite
+sudo install -o llmgw -g llmgw -m 0600 /tmp/restore/store.sqlite /var/lib/llmgw/llmgw.db
+
+sudo systemctl start llmgw-server
+sudo rm -rf /tmp/restore
+```
+
+Running engines keep serving throughout: agents reconnect to the restored
+control plane and their replicas are adopted, and because the engine-key secret
+came back with the store, the router can still reach them.
 
 **The mirror's directory** is the one thing you can rebuild, by downloading it
-all again. Worth remembering that a pinned version may no longer be upstream to
-download: that is exactly what pinning it protected you from, and a backup is
-what makes the protection outlive the disk.
+all again. A pinned version may no longer be upstream to download: that is
+exactly what pinning it protected you from, and a copy of the directory is what
+makes the protection outlive the disk.
 
 ## Reclaiming disk
 
diff --git a/docs/reference.md b/docs/reference.md
index d3ac0c1..670905e 100644
--- a/docs/reference.md
+++ b/docs/reference.md
@@ -169,6 +169,7 @@ rather than repeated.
 | `monitoring` | `Monitoring` | [Server](#server) |
 | `mirror` | `Mirror` | [Server](#server) |
 | `engines` | `map[string]string` | [Server](#server) |
+| `backup_dir` | `string` | [Server](#server) |
 | `router` | `Router` | [Server](#server) |
 | `control` | `Control` | [Server](#server) |
 | `models` | `[]catalog.Model` | [Server](#server) |
@@ -1265,6 +1266,14 @@ never trusted to already have what somebody once put there.
 Unset keeps DefaultEngines. A version replaces the default; an empty
 one leaves that engine to be installed by hand.
 
+### `backup_dir`
+
+`string`
+
+BackupDir is where `llmgw server backup` writes, and where the newest
+archive's age is read for llmgw_backup_last_success_timestamp_seconds.
+Empty means /var/backups/llmgw.
+
 ### `router`
 
 `Router`
diff --git a/internal/cli/backup.go b/internal/cli/backup.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..906ee30
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/cli/backup.go
@@ -0,0 +1,289 @@
+package cli
+
+import (
+	"archive/tar"
+	"compress/gzip"
+	"context"
+	"errors"
+	"fmt"
+	"io"
+	"io/fs"
+	"net/url"
+	"os"
+	"os/exec"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"slices"
+	"strings"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
+
+	"gitea.mynodes.xyz/ilker/llmgw/internal/config"
+	"gitea.mynodes.xyz/ilker/llmgw/internal/store"
+	"gitea.mynodes.xyz/ilker/llmgw/internal/version"
+)
+
+// DefaultBackupDir is where backups are written and where the control plane
+// looks for the newest one.
+const DefaultBackupDir = "/var/backups/llmgw"
+
+func newBackupCmd() *cobra.Command {
+	var (
+		configPath string
+		etcDir     string
+		dir        string
+		keep       int
+	)
+	c := &cobra.Command{
+		Use:   "backup",
+		Short: "Write the store and /etc/llmgw to one archive, and keep the last few",
+		Long: "Everything a control plane cannot be rebuilt without: the store — keys,\n" +
+			"people, quotas, usage, the models added at runtime, the secret engine\n" +
+			"keys derive from — and /etc/llmgw, which holds the configuration, the\n" +
+			"store's address and the certificate authority's key.\n\n" +
+			"The archive holds that key, so it is written readable by root only. It\n" +
+			"is on the same disk as what it backs up: copy it elsewhere, or it does\n" +
+			"not survive the loss of this machine.\n\n" +
+			"Run daily by llmgw-backup.timer (`llmgw server backup`). The control plane publishes the time of\n" +
+			"the newest archive as llmgw_backup_last_success_timestamp_seconds, and\n" +
+			"BackupTooOld fires when it is more than a day old.",
+		RunE: func(cmd *cobra.Command, _ []string) error {
+			cfg, err := config.Load(configPath)
+			if err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
+			path, err := writeBackup(cmd.Context(), cfg.Auth.Store, etcDir, dir)
+			if err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
+			removed, err := pruneBackups(dir, keep)
+			if err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
+			fmt.Fprintf(cmd.OutOrStdout(), "wrote %s", path)
+			if removed > 0 {
+				fmt.Fprintf(cmd.OutOrStdout(), "; removed %d older", removed)
+			}
+			fmt.Fprintln(cmd.OutOrStdout())
+			return nil
+		},
+	}
+	c.Flags().StringVar(&configPath, "config", "/etc/llmgw/server.yaml", "the control plane's configuration")
+	c.Flags().StringVar(&etcDir, "etc", "/etc/llmgw", "configuration directory to include")
+	c.Flags().StringVar(&dir, "dir", DefaultBackupDir, "where archives are written")
+	c.Flags().IntVar(&keep, "keep", 14, "how many archives to keep")
+	return c
+}
+
+const backupPrefix = "llmgw-backup-"
+
+// writeBackup writes one archive and returns its path. Written beside its
+// final name and renamed, so a backup interrupted halfway is never the newest
+// one the control plane reports.
+func writeBackup(ctx context.Context, storeAddr, etcDir, dir string) (string, error) {
+	// Listable by anyone, so the control plane — not root — can see when the
+	// newest archive was written. The archives themselves are root's alone.
+	if err := os.MkdirAll(dir, 0o755); err != nil {
+		return "", err
+	}
+	host, _ := os.Hostname()
+	name := backupPrefix + host + "-" + time.Now().UTC().Format("20060102T150405Z") + ".tar.gz"
+	final := filepath.Join(dir, name)
+	part := final + ".part"
+
+	f, err := os.OpenFile(part, os.O_CREATE|os.O_WRONLY|os.O_TRUNC, 0o600)
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", err
+	}
+	ok := false
+	defer func() {
+		if !ok {
+			_ = os.Remove(part)
+		}
+	}()
+	gz := gzip.NewWriter(f)
+	tw := tar.NewWriter(gz)
+
+	manifest := fmt.Sprintf("llmgw %s\nhost %s\ntime %s\n", version.Version, host,
+		time.Now().UTC().Format(time.RFC3339))
+	if err := addBytes(tw, "MANIFEST", []byte(manifest)); err != nil {
+		return "", err
+	}
+	if storeAddr != "" {
+		if err := addStore(ctx, tw, storeAddr, dir); err != nil {
+			return "", fmt.Errorf("the store: %w", err)
+		}
+	}
+	if err := addTree(tw, etcDir, "etc/llmgw"); err != nil {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("%s: %w", etcDir, err)
+	}
+	if err := errors.Join(tw.Close(), gz.Close(), f.Sync(), f.Close()); err != nil {
+		return "", err
+	}
+	if err := os.Rename(part, final); err != nil {
+		return "", err
+	}
+	ok = true
+	return final, nil
+}
+
+// addStore dumps the store into the archive.
+func addStore(ctx context.Context, tw *tar.Writer, addr, scratch string) error {
+	addr, err := store.ResolveAddress(addr)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	tmp, err := os.CreateTemp(scratch, ".store-*")
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	tmpPath := tmp.Name()
+	_ = tmp.Close()
+	defer os.Remove(tmpPath)
+
+	name := "store.sqlite"
+	if store.IsPostgres(addr) {
+		name = "store.pgdump"
+		if err := pgDump(ctx, addr, tmpPath); err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+	} else {
+		// VACUUM INTO refuses a file that exists.
+		_ = os.Remove(tmpPath)
+		db, err := store.Open(ctx, addr)
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+		err = db.SnapshotTo(ctx, tmpPath)
+		_ = db.Close()
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+	}
+	return addFile(tw, tmpPath, name)
+}
+
+// pgDump runs pg_dump in its custom format, which pg_restore can restore
+// selectively. The connection is given through the environment, not the
+// command line: a DSN carries the password, and every user on the machine
+// can read another process's arguments.
+func pgDump(ctx context.Context, dsn, out string) error {
+	u, err := url.Parse(dsn)
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("the store address is not a URL")
+	}
+	env := os.Environ()
+	set := func(k, v string) {
+		if v != "" {
+			env = append(env, k+"="+v)
+		}
+	}
+	set("PGHOST", u.Hostname())
+	set("PGPORT", u.Port())
+	set("PGUSER", u.User.Username())
+	if pw, ok := u.User.Password(); ok {
+		set("PGPASSWORD", pw)
+	}
+	set("PGDATABASE", strings.TrimPrefix(u.Path, "/"))
+	set("PGSSLMODE", u.Query().Get("sslmode"))
+	cmd := exec.CommandContext(ctx, "pg_dump", "--format=custom", "--no-owner", "--file="+out) //nolint:gosec // fixed binary, our own file
+	cmd.Env = env
+	if b, err := cmd.CombinedOutput(); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("pg_dump: %v: %s", err, strings.TrimSpace(string(b)))
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
+func addTree(tw *tar.Writer, root, as string) error {
+	return filepath.WalkDir(root, func(p string, d fs.DirEntry, err error) error {
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+		rel, _ := filepath.Rel(root, p)
+		name := filepath.ToSlash(filepath.Join(as, rel))
+		info, err := d.Info()
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+		switch {
+		case d.IsDir():
+			return tw.WriteHeader(&tar.Header{Name: name + "/", Mode: int64(info.Mode().Perm()),
+				Typeflag: tar.TypeDir, ModTime: info.ModTime()})
+		case info.Mode().IsRegular():
+			return addFile(tw, p, name)
+		}
+		return nil // sockets, links: not configuration
+	})
+}
+
+func addFile(tw *tar.Writer, path, name string) error {
+	f, err := os.Open(path) //nolint:gosec // files we chose to back up
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	defer f.Close()
+	info, err := f.Stat()
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	if err := tw.WriteHeader(&tar.Header{Name: name, Mode: int64(info.Mode().Perm()),
+		Size: info.Size(), ModTime: info.ModTime(), Typeflag: tar.TypeReg}); err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	_, err = io.Copy(tw, f)
+	return err
+}
+
+func addBytes(tw *tar.Writer, name string, b []byte) error {
+	if err := tw.WriteHeader(&tar.Header{Name: name, Mode: 0o600, Size: int64(len(b)),
+		ModTime: time.Now(), Typeflag: tar.TypeReg}); err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	_, err := tw.Write(b)
+	return err
+}
+
+// pruneBackups keeps the newest keep archives. Only files this command
+// wrote are considered, so nothing else in the directory is ever removed.
+func pruneBackups(dir string, keep int) (int, error) {
+	entries, err := os.ReadDir(dir)
+	if err != nil {
+		return 0, err
+	}
+	var names []string
+	for _, e := range entries {
+		if n := e.Name(); strings.HasPrefix(n, backupPrefix) && strings.HasSuffix(n, ".tar.gz") {
+			names = append(names, n)
+		}
+	}
+	// The name carries a UTC timestamp, so name order is age order.
+	slices.Sort(names)
+	removed := 0
+	for len(names) > max(keep, 1) {
+		if err := os.Remove(filepath.Join(dir, names[0])); err != nil {
+			return removed, err
+		}
+		names = names[1:]
+		removed++
+	}
+	return removed, nil
+}
+
+// NewestBackup is the modification time of the newest complete archive in
+// dir, or zero when there is none.
+func NewestBackup(dir string) time.Time {
+	entries, err := os.ReadDir(dir)
+	if err != nil {
+		return time.Time{}
+	}
+	var newest time.Time
+	for _, e := range entries {
+		if n := e.Name(); !strings.HasPrefix(n, backupPrefix) || !strings.HasSuffix(n, ".tar.gz") {
+			continue
+		}
+		if info, err := e.Info(); err == nil && info.ModTime().After(newest) {
+			newest = info.ModTime()
+		}
+	}
+	return newest
+}
diff --git a/internal/cli/backup_test.go b/internal/cli/backup_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0e92b6a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/cli/backup_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,106 @@
+package cli
+
+import (
+	"archive/tar"
+	"compress/gzip"
+	"io"
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"gitea.mynodes.xyz/ilker/llmgw/internal/store"
+)
+
+func TestABackupHoldsTheStoreAndTheConfiguration(t *testing.T) {
+	tmp := t.TempDir()
+	dbPath := filepath.Join(tmp, "store.db")
+	db, err := store.Open(t.Context(), dbPath)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	secret, err := db.ClusterSecret(t.Context(), "engine-key")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	_ = db.Close()
+
+	etc := filepath.Join(tmp, "etc")
+	_ = os.MkdirAll(filepath.Join(etc, "pki"), 0o700)
+	_ = os.WriteFile(filepath.Join(etc, "server.yaml"), []byte("listen: :8080\n"), 0o644)
+	_ = os.WriteFile(filepath.Join(etc, "pki", "ca-key.pem"), []byte("KEY"), 0o600)
+
+	out := filepath.Join(tmp, "backups")
+	path, err := writeBackup(t.Context(), dbPath, etc, out)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	info, _ := os.Stat(path)
+	if info.Mode().Perm() != 0o600 {
+		t.Errorf("the archive holds the CA's key and is %v", info.Mode().Perm())
+	}
+
+	files := map[string][]byte{}
+	f, _ := os.Open(path)
+	defer f.Close()
+	gz, err := gzip.NewReader(f)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	tr := tar.NewReader(gz)
+	for {
+		h, err := tr.Next()
+		if err == io.EOF {
+			break
+		}
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		b, _ := io.ReadAll(tr)
+		files[h.Name] = b
+	}
+	for _, want := range []string{"MANIFEST", "store.sqlite", "etc/llmgw/server.yaml", "etc/llmgw/pki/ca-key.pem"} {
+		if _, ok := files[want]; !ok {
+			t.Errorf("%s is not in the archive", want)
+		}
+	}
+
+	// And the store in it is a working store, with what was in it.
+	restored := filepath.Join(tmp, "restored.db")
+	_ = os.WriteFile(restored, files["store.sqlite"], 0o600)
+	rdb, err := store.Open(t.Context(), restored)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("the backed-up store does not open: %v", err)
+	}
+	defer rdb.Close()
+	if got, _ := rdb.ClusterSecret(t.Context(), "engine-key"); got != secret {
+		t.Error("the restored store lost the engine key secret; every engine would be locked out")
+	}
+}
+
+func TestOldBackupsArePrunedAndTheNewestIsFound(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	for i, stamp := range []string{"20260101T000000Z", "20260102T000000Z", "20260103T000000Z"} {
+		p := filepath.Join(dir, backupPrefix+"h-"+stamp+".tar.gz")
+		_ = os.WriteFile(p, []byte("x"), 0o600)
+		mt := time.Date(2026, 1, 1+i, 0, 0, 0, 0, time.UTC)
+		_ = os.Chtimes(p, mt, mt)
+	}
+	_ = os.WriteFile(filepath.Join(dir, "someone-elses-file"), []byte("x"), 0o600)
+	_ = os.WriteFile(filepath.Join(dir, backupPrefix+"h-20260104T000000Z.tar.gz.part"), []byte("x"), 0o600)
+
+	removed, err := pruneBackups(dir, 2)
+	if err != nil || removed != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("removed %d, %v", removed, err)
+	}
+	if _, err := os.Stat(filepath.Join(dir, "someone-elses-file")); err != nil {
+		t.Error("a file the backup did not write was removed")
+	}
+	newest := NewestBackup(dir)
+	if !newest.Equal(time.Date(2026, 1, 3, 0, 0, 0, 0, time.UTC)) {
+		t.Errorf("newest %v; an interrupted .part must not count", newest)
+	}
+	if !NewestBackup(filepath.Join(dir, "none")).IsZero() {
+		t.Error("a missing directory reported a backup")
+	}
+}
diff --git a/internal/cli/server.go b/internal/cli/server.go
index 2c6884d..cfe7d9a 100644
--- a/internal/cli/server.go
+++ b/internal/cli/server.go
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"gitea.mynodes.xyz/ilker/llmgw/internal/gguf"
 	"gitea.mynodes.xyz/ilker/llmgw/internal/sourcecheck"
+	"github.com/prometheus/client_golang/prometheus"
 	"log/slog"
 	"net"
 	"net/http"
@@ -132,6 +133,23 @@ func newServerCmd() *cobra.Command {
 				// On the same /metrics as the traffic figures: correlating
 				// "the cluster was full" with "requests were queueing" should
 				// not need two systems.
+				// When the newest backup was written, so its absence alerts
+				// rather than being found on the day it is needed.
+				backupDir := cfg.BackupDir
+				if backupDir == "" {
+					backupDir = DefaultBackupDir
+				}
+				if err := rt.RegisterMetrics(prometheus.NewGaugeFunc(prometheus.GaugeOpts{
+					Name: "llmgw_backup_last_success_timestamp_seconds",
+					Help: "When the newest backup archive was written, as a Unix time; 0 when there is none.",
+				}, func() float64 {
+					if t := NewestBackup(backupDir); !t.IsZero() {
+						return float64(t.Unix())
+					}
+					return 0
+				})); err != nil {
+					return err
+				}
 				if err := rt.RegisterMetrics(tlsconf.ExpiryCollector(map[string]string{
 					"agent-server": cfg.AgentTLS.Cert, "agent-ca": cfg.AgentTLS.CA,
 				})); err != nil {
@@ -367,6 +385,7 @@ func newServerCmd() *cobra.Command {
 	f.StringArrayVar(&endpoints, "endpoint", nil, "static endpoint: id=URL=model[,model] (repeatable)")
 
 	cmd.AddCommand(newServerInitCmd())
+	cmd.AddCommand(newBackupCmd())
 	return cmd
 }
 
diff --git a/internal/config/config.go b/internal/config/config.go
index e0f5a17..8b1ff1e 100644
--- a/internal/config/config.go
+++ b/internal/config/config.go
@@ -81,6 +81,11 @@ type Server struct {
 	// one leaves that engine to be installed by hand.
 	Engines map[string]string `koanf:"engines"`
 
+	// BackupDir is where `llmgw server backup` writes, and where the newest
+	// archive's age is read for llmgw_backup_last_success_timestamp_seconds.
+	// Empty means /var/backups/llmgw.
+	BackupDir string `koanf:"backup_dir"`
+
 	Router  Router          `koanf:"router"`
 	Control Control         `koanf:"control"`
 	Models  []catalog.Model `koanf:"models"`
diff --git a/internal/store/open.go b/internal/store/open.go
index 2637014..606019f 100644
--- a/internal/store/open.go
+++ b/internal/store/open.go
@@ -59,3 +59,9 @@ func resolveAddress(address string) (string, error) {
 	}
 	return out, nil
 }
+
+// ResolveAddress expands an @file store address, as Open does.
+func ResolveAddress(address string) (string, error) { return resolveAddress(address) }
+
+// IsPostgres reports whether a resolved address names a PostgreSQL server.
+func IsPostgres(address string) bool { return isPostgres(address) }
diff --git a/internal/store/sqlite.go b/internal/store/sqlite.go
index bb00cdf..a9ed2ec 100644
--- a/internal/store/sqlite.go
+++ b/internal/store/sqlite.go
@@ -817,3 +817,14 @@ func (s *DB) UsageByModel(ctx context.Context, since time.Time) ([]ModelUsage, e
 	}
 	return out, rows.Err()
 }
+
+// SnapshotTo writes a consistent copy of a SQLite store to path, while it is
+// in use. VACUUM INTO takes a read transaction, so the copy is of one moment
+// even with writes going on, which copying the file is not.
+func (s *DB) SnapshotTo(ctx context.Context, path string) error {
+	if s.dialect != SQLiteDialect {
+		return fmt.Errorf("a snapshot is for SQLite; back up PostgreSQL with pg_dump")
+	}
+	_, err := s.raw.ExecContext(ctx, `VACUUM INTO ?`, path)
+	return err
+}