diff --git a/BACKUP-README.md b/BACKUP-README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e18fcbe
--- /dev/null
+++ b/BACKUP-README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,73 @@
+# Gitea Backup Strategy
+
+This document outlines the backup strategy for your Gitea installation, focusing on ensuring your database is always backed up in at least one place.
+
+## Backup Methods
+
+This setup provides two complementary backup methods:
+
+### 1. PostgreSQL Database Dumps
+
+Database dumps are SQL files containing all your database data. These are the most reliable way to back up a PostgreSQL database.
+
+- **Script**: `backup-gitea-db.ps1`
+- **Output**: SQL dumps in the `backups` directory, compressed as ZIP files
+- **Retention**: Keeps the last 10 backups by default
+
+### 2. Docker Volume Backups
+
+This method backs up the entire PostgreSQL data volume, which includes all database files.
+
+- **Script**: `backup-volume.ps1`
+- **Output**: TAR archives in the `backups` directory, compressed as ZIP files
+- **Retention**: Keeps the last 5 volume backups by default
+
+## Automated Backups
+
+You can set up automated daily backups using the included script:
+
+```powershell
+.\schedule-backup.ps1
+```
+
+This creates a Windows Scheduled Task that runs the database backup script daily at 3 AM.
+
+## Restoring from Backups
+
+### Restoring from a Database Dump
+
+```powershell
+.\restore-gitea-db.ps1 -BackupFile "backups\gitea-db-backup-2025-03-01_10-30-00.sql.zip"
+```
+
+### Restoring from a Volume Backup
+
+```powershell
+.\restore-volume.ps1 -BackupFile "backups\postgres-volume-backup-2025-03-01_10-30-00.tar.zip"
+```
+
+## Best Practices
+
+1. **Regular Backups**: Run backups at least daily
+2. **Multiple Backup Methods**: Use both database dumps and volume backups
+3. **Off-site Storage**: Copy your backups to an external drive or cloud storage
+4. **Test Restores**: Periodically test restoring from your backups
+5. **Version Control**: Keep your Gitea configuration files in version control
+
+## Important Notes
+
+- **Never** run `docker-compose down -v` unless you have a recent backup
+- When upgrading Gitea, always create a backup first
+- The database volume (`postgres-data`) persists even when containers are stopped or removed, but can be lost if explicitly deleted
+
+## Manual Backup Commands
+
+If you need to create a backup manually:
+
+```powershell
+# Database dump
+.\backup-gitea-db.ps1
+
+# Volume backup
+.\backup-volume.ps1
+``` 
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 27e2a99..de6b63c 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ This is a Docker Compose configuration for running Gitea with PostgreSQL, config
 - SSH access for Git operations
 - Persistent data storage
 - Self-signed SSL certificates (can be replaced with Let's Encrypt)
+- Automated database backup system
 
 ## Configuration
 
@@ -96,6 +97,51 @@ Replace `your.domain.here` with your actual domain name.
 - For production use, consider using Let's Encrypt certificates
 - Self-signed certificates will show browser security warnings
 
+## Backup System
+
+This setup includes a comprehensive backup strategy to ensure your Gitea data is always protected. The backup system provides two complementary methods:
+
+### Database Backups
+
+PowerShell scripts are included to manage database backups:
+
+1. **Creating Backups**:
+   ```powershell
+   powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\backup-gitea-db.ps1
+   ```
+   This creates a SQL dump of your PostgreSQL database, compressed as a ZIP file in the `backups` directory.
+
+2. **Volume Backups**:
+   ```powershell
+   powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\backup-volume.ps1
+   ```
+   This backs up the entire PostgreSQL data volume as a TAR archive, compressed as a ZIP file.
+
+3. **Automated Backups**:
+   ```powershell
+   powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\schedule-backup.ps1
+   ```
+   This creates a Windows Scheduled Task that runs database backups daily at 3 AM.
+
+4. **Restoring from Backups**:
+   ```powershell
+   # Restore from database dump
+   powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\restore-gitea-db.ps1 -BackupFile "backups\your-backup-file.sql.zip"
+   
+   # Restore from volume backup
+   powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\restore-volume.ps1 -BackupFile "backups\your-volume-backup.tar.zip"
+   ```
+
+### Backup Best Practices
+
+- Keep multiple backups using both methods (database dumps and volume backups)
+- Store backups in multiple locations (local and off-site)
+- Test restoring from backups periodically
+- Create a backup before upgrading Gitea or making significant changes
+- **Never** run `docker-compose down -v` unless you have a recent backup
+
+For more detailed information about the backup system, see [BACKUP-README.md](BACKUP-README.md).
+
 ## Stopping the Services
 
 To stop the services, run:
@@ -103,6 +149,8 @@ To stop the services, run:
 docker-compose down
 ```
 
+**Important**: Do not use the `-v` flag (`docker-compose down -v`) unless you intend to delete all data, as this will remove the Docker volumes containing your database.
+
 ## Data Persistence
 
 All data is stored in Docker volumes and local directories:
@@ -112,6 +160,7 @@ All data is stored in Docker volumes and local directories:
 - Docker volumes (managed by Docker):
   - `gitea-data` - Gitea repositories and application data
   - `postgres-data` - PostgreSQL database files
+- `./backups/` - Database and volume backups
 
 ## Troubleshooting
 
@@ -126,4 +175,9 @@ All data is stored in Docker volumes and local directories:
 
 3. **Local Network Access**:
    - If bee8333.ddns.net doesn't resolve locally, use localhost:3000 instead
-   - Add an entry to your hosts file if needed 
\ No newline at end of file
+   - Add an entry to your hosts file if needed 
+
+4. **Database Backup Issues**:
+   - Ensure Docker is running when attempting backups
+   - Check that the container names match those in the backup scripts
+   - For PowerShell execution issues, use the `-ExecutionPolicy Bypass` flag 
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/backup-gitea-db.ps1 b/backup-gitea-db.ps1
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ecdf86d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backup-gitea-db.ps1
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+# Gitea Database Backup Script
+$timestamp = Get-Date -Format "yyyy-MM-dd_HH-mm-ss"
+$backupDir = ".\backups"
+$backupFile = "$backupDir\gitea-db-backup-$timestamp.sql"
+
+# Ensure backup directory exists
+if (-not (Test-Path $backupDir)) {
+    New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $backupDir
+}
+
+# Create database dump
+Write-Host "Creating database backup to $backupFile..."
+docker exec gitea-db pg_dump -U gitea -d gitea > $backupFile
+
+# Check if backup was successful
+if ($LASTEXITCODE -eq 0 -and (Test-Path $backupFile) -and (Get-Item $backupFile).Length -gt 0) {
+    Write-Host "Backup completed successfully!"
+    
+    # Optional: Compress the backup file
+    Compress-Archive -Path $backupFile -DestinationPath "$backupFile.zip" -Force
+    Remove-Item $backupFile
+    Write-Host "Backup compressed to $backupFile.zip"
+} else {
+    Write-Host "Backup failed!" -ForegroundColor Red
+}
+
+# Optional: Clean up old backups (keep last 10)
+$oldBackups = Get-ChildItem -Path $backupDir -Filter "gitea-db-backup-*.zip" | Sort-Object LastWriteTime -Descending | Select-Object -Skip 10
+foreach ($backup in $oldBackups) {
+    Remove-Item $backup.FullName
+    Write-Host "Removed old backup: $($backup.Name)"
+} 
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/backup-volume.ps1 b/backup-volume.ps1
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..29f545d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backup-volume.ps1
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+# Script to backup the entire Postgres Docker volume
+$timestamp = Get-Date -Format "yyyy-MM-dd_HH-mm-ss"
+$backupDir = ".\backups"
+$volumeName = "gitea-docker_postgres-data"
+$backupFile = "$backupDir\postgres-volume-backup-$timestamp.tar"
+
+# Ensure backup directory exists
+if (-not (Test-Path $backupDir)) {
+    New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $backupDir
+}
+
+# Check if volume exists
+$volumeExists = docker volume ls --format "{{.Name}}" | Select-String -Pattern "^$volumeName$"
+if (-not $volumeExists) {
+    Write-Host "Volume $volumeName not found!" -ForegroundColor Red
+    exit 1
+}
+
+# Create a temporary container to access the volume
+Write-Host "Creating backup of Docker volume $volumeName..."
+docker run --rm -v ${volumeName}:/volume -v ${PWD}/${backupDir}:/backup alpine tar -cf /backup/$(Split-Path $backupFile -Leaf) -C /volume ./
+
+# Check if backup was successful
+if ($LASTEXITCODE -eq 0 -and (Test-Path $backupFile) -and (Get-Item $backupFile).Length -gt 0) {
+    Write-Host "Volume backup completed successfully to $backupFile!" -ForegroundColor Green
+    
+    # Optional: Compress the backup file
+    Write-Host "Compressing backup file..."
+    Compress-Archive -Path $backupFile -DestinationPath "$backupFile.zip" -Force
+    Remove-Item $backupFile
+    Write-Host "Backup compressed to $backupFile.zip" -ForegroundColor Green
+} else {
+    Write-Host "Volume backup failed!" -ForegroundColor Red
+}
+
+# Optional: Clean up old volume backups (keep last 5)
+$oldBackups = Get-ChildItem -Path $backupDir -Filter "postgres-volume-backup-*.zip" | Sort-Object LastWriteTime -Descending | Select-Object -Skip 5
+foreach ($backup in $oldBackups) {
+    Remove-Item $backup.FullName
+    Write-Host "Removed old volume backup: $($backup.Name)"
+} 
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/restore-gitea-db.ps1 b/restore-gitea-db.ps1
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4dd49ae
--- /dev/null
+++ b/restore-gitea-db.ps1
@@ -0,0 +1,67 @@
+# Gitea Database Restore Script
+param (
+    [Parameter(Mandatory=$true)]
+    [string]$BackupFile
+)
+
+# Check if backup file exists
+if (-not (Test-Path $BackupFile)) {
+    Write-Host "Backup file not found: $BackupFile" -ForegroundColor Red
+    exit 1
+}
+
+# Extract the backup if it's a zip file
+$tempFile = $null
+if ($BackupFile.EndsWith(".zip")) {
+    $tempDir = [System.IO.Path]::GetTempPath()
+    $tempFile = Join-Path $tempDir "gitea-db-restore-temp.sql"
+    
+    Write-Host "Extracting backup file..."
+    Expand-Archive -Path $BackupFile -DestinationPath $tempDir -Force
+    $extractedFile = Get-ChildItem -Path $tempDir -Filter "*.sql" | Select-Object -First 1
+    
+    if ($extractedFile) {
+        Copy-Item $extractedFile.FullName -Destination $tempFile
+        $BackupFile = $tempFile
+    } else {
+        Write-Host "Failed to extract SQL file from backup" -ForegroundColor Red
+        exit 1
+    }
+}
+
+# Confirm before proceeding
+Write-Host "WARNING: This will overwrite the current database with the backup." -ForegroundColor Yellow
+Write-Host "Make sure your Gitea service is stopped before proceeding." -ForegroundColor Yellow
+$confirmation = Read-Host "Do you want to continue? (y/n)"
+
+if ($confirmation -ne "y") {
+    Write-Host "Restore cancelled."
+    if ($tempFile -and (Test-Path $tempFile)) {
+        Remove-Item $tempFile
+    }
+    exit 0
+}
+
+# Stop Gitea services
+Write-Host "Stopping Gitea services..."
+docker-compose stop
+
+# Restore the database
+Write-Host "Restoring database from backup..."
+Get-Content $BackupFile | docker exec -i gitea-db psql -U gitea -d gitea
+
+# Check restore status
+if ($LASTEXITCODE -eq 0) {
+    Write-Host "Database restore completed successfully!" -ForegroundColor Green
+} else {
+    Write-Host "Database restore failed!" -ForegroundColor Red
+}
+
+# Clean up temp file if created
+if ($tempFile -and (Test-Path $tempFile)) {
+    Remove-Item $tempFile
+}
+
+# Restart Gitea services
+Write-Host "Starting Gitea services..."
+docker-compose start 
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/restore-volume.ps1 b/restore-volume.ps1
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..913b003
--- /dev/null
+++ b/restore-volume.ps1
@@ -0,0 +1,88 @@
+# Script to restore the Postgres Docker volume from a backup
+param (
+    [Parameter(Mandatory=$true)]
+    [string]$BackupFile
+)
+
+$volumeName = "gitea-docker_postgres-data"
+$tempDir = Join-Path $env:TEMP "postgres-volume-restore"
+
+# Check if backup file exists
+if (-not (Test-Path $BackupFile)) {
+    Write-Host "Backup file not found: $BackupFile" -ForegroundColor Red
+    exit 1
+}
+
+# Extract the backup if it's a zip file
+$tarFile = $BackupFile
+if ($BackupFile.EndsWith(".zip")) {
+    # Create temp directory if it doesn't exist
+    if (-not (Test-Path $tempDir)) {
+        New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $tempDir -Force | Out-Null
+    } else {
+        # Clean temp directory
+        Remove-Item -Path "$tempDir\*" -Force -Recurse -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
+    }
+    
+    Write-Host "Extracting backup file..."
+    Expand-Archive -Path $BackupFile -DestinationPath $tempDir -Force
+    $extractedFile = Get-ChildItem -Path $tempDir -Filter "*.tar" | Select-Object -First 1
+    
+    if ($extractedFile) {
+        $tarFile = $extractedFile.FullName
+    } else {
+        Write-Host "Failed to extract TAR file from backup" -ForegroundColor Red
+        exit 1
+    }
+}
+
+# Confirm before proceeding
+Write-Host "WARNING: This will overwrite the current database volume with the backup." -ForegroundColor Yellow
+Write-Host "Make sure your Gitea services are stopped before proceeding." -ForegroundColor Yellow
+$confirmation = Read-Host "Do you want to continue? (y/n)"
+
+if ($confirmation -ne "y") {
+    Write-Host "Restore cancelled."
+    exit 0
+}
+
+# Stop Gitea services
+Write-Host "Stopping Gitea services..."
+docker-compose down
+
+# Check if volume exists and remove it
+$volumeExists = docker volume ls --format "{{.Name}}" | Select-String -Pattern "^$volumeName$"
+if ($volumeExists) {
+    Write-Host "Removing existing volume $volumeName..."
+    docker volume rm $volumeName
+    if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0) {
+        Write-Host "Failed to remove existing volume. It might be in use by another container." -ForegroundColor Red
+        exit 1
+    }
+}
+
+# Create a new volume
+Write-Host "Creating new volume $volumeName..."
+docker volume create $volumeName
+
+# Restore from backup
+Write-Host "Restoring volume from backup..."
+docker run --rm -v ${volumeName}:/volume -v ${tarFile}:/backup.tar alpine sh -c "cd /volume && tar -xf /backup.tar"
+
+if ($LASTEXITCODE -eq 0) {
+    Write-Host "Volume restore completed successfully!" -ForegroundColor Green
+} else {
+    Write-Host "Volume restore failed!" -ForegroundColor Red
+    exit 1
+}
+
+# Clean up temp directory if created
+if ($BackupFile.EndsWith(".zip") -and (Test-Path $tempDir)) {
+    Remove-Item -Path $tempDir -Force -Recurse -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
+}
+
+# Start Gitea services
+Write-Host "Starting Gitea services..."
+docker-compose up -d
+
+Write-Host "Restore process completed. Check if your Gitea instance is working properly." -ForegroundColor Green 
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/schedule-backup.ps1 b/schedule-backup.ps1
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ff22ba0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/schedule-backup.ps1
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+# Script to create a scheduled task for Gitea database backups
+$scriptPath = Join-Path (Get-Location) "backup-gitea-db.ps1"
+$taskName = "GiteaDatabaseBackup"
+$taskDescription = "Regular backup of Gitea PostgreSQL database"
+
+# Check if the backup script exists
+if (-not (Test-Path $scriptPath)) {
+    Write-Host "Backup script not found at: $scriptPath" -ForegroundColor Red
+    exit 1
+}
+
+# Create a scheduled task to run daily at 3 AM
+$action = New-ScheduledTaskAction -Execute "PowerShell.exe" -Argument "-NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File `"$scriptPath`""
+$trigger = New-ScheduledTaskTrigger -Daily -At 3AM
+$settings = New-ScheduledTaskSettingsSet -StartWhenAvailable -DontStopOnIdleEnd -AllowStartIfOnBatteries -DontStopIfGoingOnBatteries
+
+# Register the scheduled task
+$taskExists = Get-ScheduledTask -TaskName $taskName -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
+
+if ($taskExists) {
+    Write-Host "Task '$taskName' already exists. Updating..." -ForegroundColor Yellow
+    Set-ScheduledTask -TaskName $taskName -Action $action -Trigger $trigger -Settings $settings -Description $taskDescription
+} else {
+    Write-Host "Creating new scheduled task '$taskName'..." -ForegroundColor Green
+    Register-ScheduledTask -TaskName $taskName -Action $action -Trigger $trigger -Settings $settings -Description $taskDescription -User "$env:USERDOMAIN\$env:USERNAME"
+}
+
+Write-Host "Scheduled task setup complete. The database will be backed up daily at 3 AM." -ForegroundColor Green
+Write-Host "Backup files will be stored in the 'backups' folder in your Gitea Docker directory." -ForegroundColor Green 
\ No newline at end of file