diff --git a/backend/Dockerfile b/backend/Dockerfile
index 8a25a60..25b03cd 100644
--- a/backend/Dockerfile
+++ b/backend/Dockerfile
@@ -31,10 +31,10 @@ COPY requirements.txt ./
 RUN pip install --no-cache-dir -r requirements.txt
 
 # Copy the entrypoint script first
-COPY --chown=archivist:archivist ./entrypoint.sh /app/entrypoint.sh
+COPY ./entrypoint.sh /entrypoint.sh
 
 # Ensure it's executable inside the container too
-RUN chmod +x /app/entrypoint.sh
+RUN chmod +x /entrypoint.sh
 
 # Copy the rest of the backend source code
 COPY --chown=archivist:archivist . .
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ COPY --chown=archivist:archivist . .
 USER archivist
 
 # Set the entrypoint script
-ENTRYPOINT ["/app/entrypoint.sh"]
+ENTRYPOINT ["/entrypoint.sh"]
 
 # Set the default command that the entrypoint will execute if none is provided by compose
 # This is useful if you run the image directly without compose sometimes
diff --git a/backend/entrypoint.sh b/backend/entrypoint.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e3867ff
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/entrypoint.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+
+# Exit immediately if a command exits with a non-zero status.
+set -e
+
+# Optional: Wait for the database to be ready
+# This simple loop tries to connect using Django's checks until it succeeds.
+# Requires DATABASE_URL environment variable to be set correctly.
+echo "Waiting for database..."
+# You might need to install netcat (nc) in your Dockerfile for this:
+# RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y netcat-openbsd && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
+# Or use a more robust python script check if nc is not available/preferred.
+
+# Simple check using Django shell (assumes DATABASE_URL is configured)
+# Loop until the db connection is successful
+until python manage.py shell -c "import sys; from django.db import connections; sys.exit(0) if connections['default'].cursor() else sys.exit(1)"; do
+    echo "Database is unavailable - sleeping"
+    sleep 1
+done
+echo "Database is up - continuing..."
+
+# Apply database migrations
+echo "Applying database migrations..."
+python manage.py migrate --noinput
+
+# --- Create Superuser using the management command ---
+echo "Attempting to create superuser if needed..."
+python manage.py createadmin
+
+# Start the main process (passed as arguments to the script)
+# "$@" executes the command passed in the docker-compose 'command' or the Dockerfile 'CMD'.
+echo "Starting server..."
+exec "$@"