diff --git a/makefile b/makefile
index 9191b00..3ceaedc 100644
--- a/makefile
+++ b/makefile
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-# Makefile for managing Podman Compose
+# Makefile for managing Docker or Podman
 
 # Variables
 COMPOSE_FILE=docker-compose.yml
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ PROJECT_NAME=home
 DB_VOLUME=home_app-db-data
 BACKUP_DIR=./backups
 ENV_FILE=.env
+CONTAINER_ENGINE?=podman
 BUILD_NETWORK?=host
 IMAGE_TAG=$(if $(TAG),$(TAG),latest)
 BACKEND_IMAGE?=$(DOCKER_IMAGE_BACKEND):$(IMAGE_TAG)
@@ -16,6 +17,16 @@ FRONTEND_BUILD_NODE_ENV?=development
 PLAYWRIGHT_BUILD_VITE_API_URL?=https://service.furyhawk.lol
 PLAYWRIGHT_BUILD_NODE_ENV?=production
 
+ifeq ($(CONTAINER_ENGINE),docker)
+COMPOSE_CMD=$(CONTAINER_ENGINE) compose
+NETWORK_EXISTS_CMD=$(CONTAINER_ENGINE) network inspect traefik-public >/dev/null 2>&1
+else ifeq ($(CONTAINER_ENGINE),podman)
+COMPOSE_CMD=$(CONTAINER_ENGINE) compose
+NETWORK_EXISTS_CMD=$(CONTAINER_ENGINE) network exists traefik-public >/dev/null 2>&1
+else
+$(error Unsupported CONTAINER_ENGINE '$(CONTAINER_ENGINE)'. Use 'podman' or 'docker')
+endif
+
 ifeq ($(OS),Windows_NT)
 CREATE_LOCAL_DIRS_CMD=powershell -NoProfile -Command "New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force -Path 'backend/htmlcov','frontend/blob-report','frontend/test-results' | Out-Null"
 else
@@ -34,48 +45,48 @@ ensure-local-dirs:
 	@echo "Local bind-mount directories are ready."
 
 network:
-	@podman network exists traefik-public || podman network create traefik-public
+	@$(NETWORK_EXISTS_CMD) || $(CONTAINER_ENGINE) network create traefik-public
 	@echo "Traefik network ready."
 
 up: network ensure-local-dirs
-	podman compose --env-file $(ENV_FILE) -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.override.yml up -d
+	$(COMPOSE_CMD) --env-file $(ENV_FILE) -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.override.yml up -d
 
 up-e2e: network ensure-local-dirs
-	podman compose --profile e2e --env-file $(ENV_FILE) -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.override.yml up -d
+	$(COMPOSE_CMD) --profile e2e --env-file $(ENV_FILE) -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.override.yml up -d
 
 down:
-	podman compose --env-file $(ENV_FILE) -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.override.yml down --remove-orphans
+	$(COMPOSE_CMD) --env-file $(ENV_FILE) -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.override.yml down --remove-orphans
 	@echo "Containers stopped. Use 'make up' to start them again."
 
 build:
-	podman build --network $(BUILD_NETWORK) --no-cache -t $(BACKEND_IMAGE) -f backend/Dockerfile backend
-	podman build --network $(BUILD_NETWORK) --no-cache -t $(FRONTEND_IMAGE) --build-arg VITE_API_URL=$(FRONTEND_BUILD_VITE_API_URL) --build-arg NODE_ENV=$(FRONTEND_BUILD_NODE_ENV) -f frontend/Dockerfile frontend
-	podman build --network $(BUILD_NETWORK) --no-cache -t $(PLAYWRIGHT_IMAGE) --build-arg VITE_API_URL=$(PLAYWRIGHT_BUILD_VITE_API_URL) --build-arg NODE_ENV=$(PLAYWRIGHT_BUILD_NODE_ENV) -f frontend/Dockerfile.playwright frontend
+	$(CONTAINER_ENGINE) build --network $(BUILD_NETWORK) --no-cache -t $(BACKEND_IMAGE) -f backend/Dockerfile backend
+	$(CONTAINER_ENGINE) build --network $(BUILD_NETWORK) --no-cache -t $(FRONTEND_IMAGE) --build-arg VITE_API_URL=$(FRONTEND_BUILD_VITE_API_URL) --build-arg NODE_ENV=$(FRONTEND_BUILD_NODE_ENV) -f frontend/Dockerfile frontend
+	$(CONTAINER_ENGINE) build --network $(BUILD_NETWORK) --no-cache -t $(PLAYWRIGHT_IMAGE) --build-arg VITE_API_URL=$(PLAYWRIGHT_BUILD_VITE_API_URL) --build-arg NODE_ENV=$(PLAYWRIGHT_BUILD_NODE_ENV) -f frontend/Dockerfile.playwright frontend
 	@echo "Containers built. Use 'make up' to start them."
 
 restart: down build up
 
 reset:
-	podman compose --env-file $(ENV_FILE) -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.override.yml down --remove-orphans -v
-	podman system prune -f
-	podman volume prune -f
-	podman network prune -f
-	podman pod prune -f
+	$(COMPOSE_CMD) --env-file $(ENV_FILE) -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.override.yml down --remove-orphans -v
+	$(CONTAINER_ENGINE) system prune -f
+	$(CONTAINER_ENGINE) volume prune -f
+	$(CONTAINER_ENGINE) network prune -f
+	@if [ "$(CONTAINER_ENGINE)" = "podman" ]; then $(CONTAINER_ENGINE) pod prune -f; fi
 	@echo "Environment completely reset. Use 'make build' then 'make up' to recreate."
 
 deploy-local: network ensure-local-dirs build
-	podman compose --env-file $(ENV_FILE) -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.override.yml down --remove-orphans
-	podman compose --env-file $(ENV_FILE) -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.override.yml up -d
+	$(COMPOSE_CMD) --env-file $(ENV_FILE) -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.override.yml down --remove-orphans
+	$(COMPOSE_CMD) --env-file $(ENV_FILE) -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.override.yml up -d
 	@echo "Local deployment completed using docker-compose.yml + docker-compose.override.yml"
 
 deploy-production: network
-	podman compose --env-file $(ENV_FILE) -f docker-compose.yml up -d --build
+	$(COMPOSE_CMD) --env-file $(ENV_FILE) -f docker-compose.yml up -d --build
 	@echo "Production deployment completed using docker-compose.yml"
 
 backup:
 	@mkdir -p $(BACKUP_DIR)
 	$(eval TIMESTAMP := $(shell date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S))
-	podman volume export $(DB_VOLUME) --output $(BACKUP_DIR)/$(DB_VOLUME)_$(TIMESTAMP).tar
+	$(CONTAINER_ENGINE) run --rm -v $(DB_VOLUME):/volume -v $(abspath $(BACKUP_DIR)):/backup alpine:3.22 tar -C /volume -cf /backup/$(DB_VOLUME)_$(TIMESTAMP).tar .
 	@echo "Backup created: $(BACKUP_DIR)/$(DB_VOLUME)_$(TIMESTAMP).tar"
 
 restore:
@@ -85,54 +96,57 @@ restore:
 		exit 1; \
 	fi
 	@echo "Restoring from latest backup: $(LATEST_BACKUP)"
-	podman volume rm $(DB_VOLUME) || true
-	podman volume create --name $(DB_VOLUME)
-	podman volume import $(DB_VOLUME) --input $(LATEST_BACKUP)
+	$(CONTAINER_ENGINE) volume rm $(DB_VOLUME) || true
+	$(CONTAINER_ENGINE) volume create $(DB_VOLUME)
+	$(CONTAINER_ENGINE) run --rm -v $(DB_VOLUME):/volume -v $(abspath $(BACKUP_DIR)):/backup alpine:3.22 sh -c "tar -C /volume -xf /backup/$(notdir $(LATEST_BACKUP))"
 	@$(CREATE_LOCAL_DIRS_CMD)
-	podman compose --env-file $(ENV_FILE) -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.override.yml down --remove-orphans
-	podman compose --env-file $(ENV_FILE) -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.override.yml up -d
+	$(COMPOSE_CMD) --env-file $(ENV_FILE) -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.override.yml down --remove-orphans
+	$(COMPOSE_CMD) --env-file $(ENV_FILE) -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.override.yml up -d
 	@echo "Backup and restore completed."
 	@echo "Please check the logs for any errors."
 	@echo "Use 'make logs' to view the logs."
 
 logs:
-	podman compose --env-file $(ENV_FILE) -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.override.yml logs
+	$(COMPOSE_CMD) --env-file $(ENV_FILE) -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.override.yml logs
 	@echo "Logs for all containers:"
 
 clean:
-	podman compose --env-file $(ENV_FILE) -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.override.yml down
-	podman volume rm $(DB_VOLUME)
+	$(COMPOSE_CMD) --env-file $(ENV_FILE) -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.override.yml down
+	$(CONTAINER_ENGINE) volume rm $(DB_VOLUME)
 	@echo "Cleaned up all containers and volumes."
 
 prune:
-	podman volume prune
-	podman container prune
-	podman network prune
-	podman image prune
+	$(CONTAINER_ENGINE) volume prune
+	$(CONTAINER_ENGINE) container prune
+	$(CONTAINER_ENGINE) network prune
+	$(CONTAINER_ENGINE) image prune
 	@echo "Pruned all stopped containers and unused volumes."
 
 help:
-	@echo "Makefile for managing Podman Compose"
+	@echo "Makefile for managing Docker or Podman"
 	@echo ""
 	@echo "Usage:"
+	@echo "  make <target> [CONTAINER_ENGINE=podman|docker]"
 	@echo "  make network              Create the traefik-public network if it doesn't exist"
 	@echo "  make up                   Start the containers in detached mode"
 	@echo "  make up-e2e               Start containers including the Playwright test service"
 	@echo "  make down                 Stop the containers"
 	@echo "  make logs                 View the logs of the containers"
-	@echo "  make build                Build backend, frontend, and Playwright images directly with Podman"
+	@echo "  make build                Build backend, frontend, and Playwright images with the selected engine"
 	@echo "  make restart              Restart the containers"
-	@echo "  make reset                Completely reset Podman (containers, volumes, networks)"
+	@echo "  make reset                Completely reset the selected engine state"
 	@echo "  make deploy-local         Deploy locally with development overrides"
 	@echo "  make deploy-production    Deploy with production compose file only"
 	@echo "  make backup               Create a backup of the database volume"
 	@echo "  make restore              Restore the database volume from a backup"
 	@echo "  make clean                Remove all containers and volumes"
 	@echo "  make prune                Remove all stopped containers and unused volumes"
-	@echo "  make info                 Display detailed information about Podman state"
+	@echo "  make info                 Display detailed information about the selected engine state"
 	@echo "  make help                 View this help message"
 	@echo "  make ai-launcher          Interactive AI backend launcher (recommended for new users)"
 	@echo ""
+	@echo "Defaults to Podman. Set CONTAINER_ENGINE=docker to use Docker instead."
+	@echo ""
 	@echo "Ollama-specific targets:"
 	@echo "  make ollama-build         Build Ollama container with no cache (using host networking)"
 	@echo "  make ollama-build-host    Build Ollama container with host networking (alternative)"
@@ -154,38 +168,38 @@ help:
 	@echo ""
 
 info:
-	@echo "===== Podman System Info ====="
-	podman info
-	@echo "\n===== Podman Networks ====="
-	podman network ls
-	@echo "\n===== Podman Volumes ====="
-	podman volume ls
-	@echo "\n===== Podman Containers ====="
-	podman ps -a
-	@echo "\n===== Podman Images ====="
-	podman images
-	@echo "\n===== Podman Compose Config ====="
-	podman compose --env-file $(ENV_FILE) -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.override.yml config
+	@echo "===== $(CONTAINER_ENGINE) System Info ====="
+	$(CONTAINER_ENGINE) info
+	@echo "\n===== $(CONTAINER_ENGINE) Networks ====="
+	$(CONTAINER_ENGINE) network ls
+	@echo "\n===== $(CONTAINER_ENGINE) Volumes ====="
+	$(CONTAINER_ENGINE) volume ls
+	@echo "\n===== $(CONTAINER_ENGINE) Containers ====="
+	$(CONTAINER_ENGINE) ps -a
+	@echo "\n===== $(CONTAINER_ENGINE) Images ====="
+	$(CONTAINER_ENGINE) images
+	@echo "\n===== Compose Config ====="
+	$(COMPOSE_CMD) --env-file $(ENV_FILE) -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.override.yml config
 
 # Ollama-specific targets
 ollama-build:
-	cd ai_stack/ollama && DOCKER_BUILDKIT=0 podman compose build --no-cache
+	cd ai_stack/ollama && DOCKER_BUILDKIT=0 $(COMPOSE_CMD) build --no-cache
 	@echo "Ollama container built with no cache. Use 'make ollama-up' to start it."
 
 ollama-build-host:
-	cd ai_stack/ollama && DOCKER_BUILDKIT=0 podman build --network=host --no-cache -t localhost/ollama-server:latest .
+	cd ai_stack/ollama && DOCKER_BUILDKIT=0 $(CONTAINER_ENGINE) build --network=host --no-cache -t localhost/ollama-server:latest .
 	@echo "Ollama container built with host networking. Use 'make ollama-up' to start it."
 
 ollama-up:
-	cd ai_stack/ollama && podman compose up -d
+	cd ai_stack/ollama && $(COMPOSE_CMD) up -d
 	@echo "Ollama container started. Use 'make pull-deepseek-model' to download and load the DeepSeek model."
 
 ollama-down:
-	cd ai_stack/ollama && podman compose down
+	cd ai_stack/ollama && $(COMPOSE_CMD) down
 	@echo "Ollama container stopped."
 
 ollama-logs:
-	cd ai_stack/ollama && podman compose logs -f
+	cd ai_stack/ollama && $(COMPOSE_CMD) logs -f
 
 pull-deepseek-model:
 	@echo "Pulling DeepSeek-R1 model from Hugging Face..."
@@ -199,23 +213,23 @@ setup-ollama: ollama-up
 
 # LlamaCPP-specific targets
 llamacpp-build:
-	cd ai_stack/llamacpp && DOCKER_BUILDKIT=0 CONTAINERS_NETNS=slirp4netns podman compose build --no-cache
+	cd ai_stack/llamacpp && DOCKER_BUILDKIT=0 CONTAINERS_NETNS=slirp4netns $(COMPOSE_CMD) build --no-cache
 	@echo "LlamaCPP container built with no cache. Use 'make llamacpp-up' to start it."
 
 llamacpp-build-host:
-	cd ai_stack/llamacpp && DOCKER_BUILDKIT=0 podman build --network=host --no-cache -t localhost/llama-cpp-server:latest .
+	cd ai_stack/llamacpp && DOCKER_BUILDKIT=0 $(CONTAINER_ENGINE) build --network=host --no-cache -t localhost/llama-cpp-server:latest .
 	@echo "LlamaCPP container built with host networking. Use 'make llamacpp-up' to start it."
 
 llamacpp-up:
-	cd ai_stack/llamacpp && podman compose up -d
+	cd ai_stack/llamacpp && $(COMPOSE_CMD) up -d
 	@echo "LlamaCPP container started. Use 'make pull-deepseek-llamacpp' to download the DeepSeek model."
 
 llamacpp-down:
-	cd ai_stack/llamacpp && podman compose down
+	cd ai_stack/llamacpp && $(COMPOSE_CMD) down
 	@echo "LlamaCPP container stopped."
 
 llamacpp-logs:
-	cd ai_stack/llamacpp && podman compose logs -f
+	cd ai_stack/llamacpp && $(COMPOSE_CMD) logs -f
 
 pull-deepseek-llamacpp:
 	@echo "Pulling DeepSeek-R1 model from Hugging Face for LlamaCPP..."