V6.1 continue beating on the backup

.env.production.example

@@ -31,7 +31,14 @@ SQLITE_CHECK_SAME_THREAD=false
 # --- filesystem paths ---
 UPLOAD_DIR=/app/uploads
 PROMPT_DIR=/app/prompts
-DATABASE_BACKUP_DIR=/app/data/backups
+DATABASE_BACKUP_DIR=/backup
+# --- backup workflow helpers (not Runtime Settings model fields) ---
+BACKUP_DIR=/backup
+# APP_DATA_BACKUP_DIR=/backup/data
+# UPLOADS_BACKUP_DIR=/backup/uploads
+BACKUP_RETENTION_DAYS=14
+# Optional mounted Synology destination path for replicated dumps
+# SYNOLOGY_BACKUP_DIR=/mnt/synology/transcription-backups
 
 # --- worker reliability ---
 WORKER_MAX_RETRIES=0
@@ -53,9 +60,6 @@ POSTGRES_PASSWORD=replace-with-strong-password
 # Required for token-based tunnel startup.
 CLOUDFLARE_TUNNEL_TOKEN=replace-with-cloudflare-tunnel-token
 
-# --- backup workflow helpers ---
+# --- deployment wiring helpers ---
-# Used by deploy/backup/create_postgres_backup.sh
+# Runtime Settings writes target this file path inside the app container.
-BACKUP_DIR=./data/backups
+RUNTIME_SETTINGS_ENV_FILE=/app/.env.production
-BACKUP_RETENTION_DAYS=14
-# Optional mounted Synology destination path for replicated dumps
-# SYNOLOGY_BACKUP_DIR=/mnt/synology/transcription-backups

deploy/backup/create_postgres_backup.sh

@@ -16,6 +16,8 @@ logs_file="logs-${timestamp}.tar.gz"
 manifest_file="backup-${timestamp}.manifest"
 
 mkdir -p "${BACKUP_DIR}"
+mkdir -p "${APP_DATA_BACKUP_DIR}"
+app_data_backup_abs="$(cd "${APP_DATA_BACKUP_DIR}" && pwd -P)"
 
 # If SYNOLOGY_BACKUP_DIR wasn't exported in the shell, read it from ENV_FILE.
 if [ -z "${SYNOLOGY_BACKUP_DIR}" ] && [ -f "${ENV_FILE}" ]; then
@@ -68,10 +70,17 @@ find "${BACKUP_DIR}" -type f \( \
   -name 'backup-*.manifest' \
 \) -mtime +"${RETENTION_DAYS}" -delete
 
-# Always keep a rolling incremental mirror of uploaded files in BACKUP_DIR.
+# Always keep a rolling mirror of app data in BACKUP_DIR, unless that target
-mkdir -p "${APP_DATA_BACKUP_DIR}"
+# is nested under /app/data (which would recursively copy into itself).
 if [ -d /app/data ]; then
-  cp -a /app/data/. "${APP_DATA_BACKUP_DIR}/"
+  case "${app_data_backup_abs}" in
+    /app/data|/app/data/*)
+      echo "Skipping app data mirror because APP_DATA_BACKUP_DIR is nested under /app/data: ${APP_DATA_BACKUP_DIR}"
+      ;;
+    *)
+      cp -a /app/data/. "${APP_DATA_BACKUP_DIR}/"
+      ;;
+  esac
 fi
 
 mkdir -p "${UPLOADS_BACKUP_DIR}/documents" "${UPLOADS_BACKUP_DIR}/photos"

docs/ui/pages/settings.md

@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ Settings manages installation-local registries, safe runtime .env settings, and
 - Runtime Settings includes an explicit "Other settings not shown here" markdown table listing:
   - secrets (`OPENROUTER_API_KEY`, `DATABASE__PASSWORD`)
   - high-risk database connection settings (`DATABASE__DRIVER`, `DATABASE__PATH`, `DATABASE__HOST`, `DATABASE__PORT`, `DATABASE__DATABASE`, `DATABASE__USER`)
-  and directs edits for those keys to `.env`.
+    and deployment/helper keys (`POSTGRES_*`, `CLOUDFLARE_TUNNEL_TOKEN`, `BACKUP_DIR`, `APP_DATA_BACKUP_DIR`, `UPLOADS_BACKUP_DIR`, `BACKUP_RETENTION_DAYS`, `SYNOLOGY_BACKUP_DIR`, `RUNTIME_SETTINGS_ENV_FILE`, `ENV_FILE`, `COMPOSE_FILE`), and directs edits for those keys to the resolved runtime env file path.
 - Document Types, Person Roles, and Tags support Add/Edit/Delete with existing guardrails.
 - Prompts exposes only `transcribe_document.md` for editing and restore-from-backup.
 - Home Page Text edits the same Markdown content rendered on `/homepage`.

src/transcription/ui/pages/settings_page.py

@@ -711,7 +711,7 @@ def register_page(*, settings: Settings) -> None:  # noqa: PLR0915
 
                     with ui.column().classes("w-full max-w-3xl mx-auto gap-2 mt-3"):
                         ui.label("Other settings not shown here").classes("text-sm font-semibold")
-                        ui.label("Edit these directly in .env:").classes("text-xs ui-text-muted")
+                        ui.label(f"Edit these directly in {snapshot.env_file_path}:").classes("text-xs ui-text-muted")
                         table_rows = [
                             f"| {category.title} | {', '.join(f'`{key}`' for key in category.env_keys)} |"
                             for category in HIDDEN_SETTINGS_CATEGORIES

src/transcription/ui/runtime_settings_store.py

@@ -84,6 +84,29 @@ HIDDEN_SETTINGS_CATEGORIES: tuple[HiddenSettingsCategory, ...] = (
             "DATABASE__USER",
         ),
     ),
+    HiddenSettingsCategory(
+        title="Deployment and backup/tunnel helpers (not Runtime Settings model fields)",
+        reason=(
+            "These keys are consumed by docker-compose, backup scripts, or deployment adapters and are "
+            "intentionally edited outside the Runtime Settings UI."
+        ),
+        env_keys=(
+            "POSTGRES_DB",
+            "POSTGRES_USER",
+            "POSTGRES_PASSWORD",
+            "POSTGRES_HOST",
+            "POSTGRES_PORT",
+            "CLOUDFLARE_TUNNEL_TOKEN",
+            "RUNTIME_SETTINGS_ENV_FILE",
+            "BACKUP_DIR",
+            "APP_DATA_BACKUP_DIR",
+            "UPLOADS_BACKUP_DIR",
+            "BACKUP_RETENTION_DAYS",
+            "SYNOLOGY_BACKUP_DIR",
+            "ENV_FILE",
+            "COMPOSE_FILE",
+        ),
+    ),
 )
 
 RUNTIME_SETTINGS_CATALOG: tuple[RuntimeSettingDescriptor, ...] = (
@@ -358,7 +381,15 @@ def save_runtime_settings(
         env_map[descriptor.env_key] = encoded
 
     _validate_candidate_env(env_map=env_map, env_file_path=resolved_env_path)
-    _write_env_lines_atomic(path=resolved_env_path, lines=mutable_lines)
+    try:
+        _write_env_lines_atomic(path=resolved_env_path, lines=mutable_lines)
+    except OSError as exc:
+        raise AppError(
+            "Runtime settings file is not writable.",
+            category=ErrorCategory.INFRA_PERSISTENT,
+            suggestion="Verify file path and write permissions, then retry.",
+            detail=f"Failed writing runtime env file {resolved_env_path}: {type(exc).__name__}: {exc}",
+        ) from exc
     refreshed = Settings(_env_file=resolved_env_path, _cli_parse_args=False)
     return read_runtime_settings_snapshot(settings=refreshed, env_file_path=resolved_env_path)
 
@@ -438,7 +469,15 @@ def _validate_candidate_env(*, env_map: dict[str, str], env_file_path: Path) ->
 def _read_env_lines(path: Path) -> list[str]:
     if not path.exists():
         return []
-    return path.read_text(encoding="utf-8").splitlines()
+    try:
+        return path.read_text(encoding="utf-8").splitlines()
+    except OSError as exc:
+        raise AppError(
+            "Runtime settings file is unreadable.",
+            category=ErrorCategory.INFRA_PERSISTENT,
+            suggestion="Verify file path and read permissions, then retry.",
+            detail=f"Failed reading runtime env file {path}: {type(exc).__name__}: {exc}",
+        ) from exc
 
 
 def _parse_env_map(lines: list[str]) -> dict[str, str]:
@@ -485,21 +524,29 @@ def _upsert_env_key(lines: list[str], key: str, value: str) -> None:
 
 
 def _write_env_lines_atomic(*, path: Path, lines: list[str]) -> None:
-    path.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+    try:
-    content = "\n".join(lines).rstrip("\n")
+        path.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
-    if content:
+        content = "\n".join(lines).rstrip("\n")
-        content += "\n"
+        if content:
-    with tempfile.NamedTemporaryFile(
+            content += "\n"
-        mode="w",
+        with tempfile.NamedTemporaryFile(
-        delete=False,
+            mode="w",
-        dir=path.parent,
+            delete=False,
-        encoding="utf-8",
+            dir=path.parent,
-        newline="\n",
+            encoding="utf-8",
-        suffix=".env.tmp",
+            newline="\n",
-    ) as handle:
+            suffix=".env.tmp",
-        temp_path = Path(handle.name)
+        ) as handle:
-        handle.write(content)
+            temp_path = Path(handle.name)
-    temp_path.replace(path)
+            handle.write(content)
+        temp_path.replace(path)
+    except OSError as exc:
+        raise AppError(
+            "Runtime settings file is not writable.",
+            category=ErrorCategory.INFRA_PERSISTENT,
+            suggestion="Verify file path and write permissions, then retry.",
+            detail=f"Failed writing runtime env file {path}: {type(exc).__name__}: {exc}",
+        ) from exc
 
 
 def _escape_json_string(value: str) -> str:

tests/ui/test_runtime_settings_store.py

@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import pytest
 
 from transcription.config import Settings
 from transcription.errors import AppError
+from transcription.ui import runtime_settings_store
 from transcription.ui.runtime_settings_store import HIDDEN_SETTINGS_CATEGORIES
 from transcription.ui.runtime_settings_store import RUNTIME_SETTINGS_CATALOG
 from transcription.ui.runtime_settings_store import SETTINGS_UI_EXCLUDED_FIELDS
@@ -35,6 +36,12 @@ def test_hidden_settings_categories_list_secret_and_high_risk_env_keys():
     assert "DATABASE__PASSWORD" in hidden_keys
     assert "DATABASE__DRIVER" in hidden_keys
     assert "DATABASE__HOST" in hidden_keys
+    assert "POSTGRES_DB" in hidden_keys
+    assert "POSTGRES_USER" in hidden_keys
+    assert "POSTGRES_PASSWORD" in hidden_keys
+    assert "CLOUDFLARE_TUNNEL_TOKEN" in hidden_keys
+    assert "BACKUP_DIR" in hidden_keys
+    assert "SYNOLOGY_BACKUP_DIR" in hidden_keys
 
 
 def test_runtime_settings_snapshot_includes_catalog_fields(tmp_path: Path):
@@ -98,3 +105,31 @@ def test_runtime_settings_uses_override_env_file(tmp_path: Path, monkeypatch):
 
     assert snapshot.env_file_path == target
     assert "PORT=9001" in target.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+
+
+def test_save_runtime_settings_surfaces_unreadable_target(tmp_path: Path, monkeypatch):
+    settings = _settings_for_runtime_editing(tmp_path)
+    env_path = tmp_path / ".env"
+
+    def _raise_read_error(_self, encoding="utf-8"):
+        _ = encoding
+        raise OSError("denied")
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(Path, "read_text", _raise_read_error)
+    with pytest.raises(AppError) as exc:
+        save_runtime_settings(settings=settings, updates={"port": "9001"}, env_file_path=env_path)
+    assert exc.value.message == "Runtime settings file is unreadable."
+
+
+def test_save_runtime_settings_surfaces_unwritable_target(tmp_path: Path, monkeypatch):
+    settings = _settings_for_runtime_editing(tmp_path)
+    env_path = tmp_path / ".env"
+
+    def _raise_write_error(*args, **kwargs):
+        _ = args, kwargs
+        raise OSError("denied")
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(runtime_settings_store, "_write_env_lines_atomic", _raise_write_error)
+    with pytest.raises(AppError) as exc:
+        save_runtime_settings(settings=settings, updates={"port": "9001"}, env_file_path=env_path)
+    assert exc.value.message == "Runtime settings file is not writable."