diff --git a/docker-compose.server.yml b/docker-compose.server.yml
index 2392c4f..81a8df2 100644
--- a/docker-compose.server.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.server.yml
@@ -16,7 +16,13 @@
 #     dispatch bus (alias legacyhub-api) — teamhub_net is a regular bridge, so
 #     it also provides the egress needed for first-run HuggingFace downloads;
 #   - identity enforcement is env-driven: AUTH_REQUIRE_IDENTITY (set true on
-#     the server; machine paths keep X-API-Key auth).
+#     the server; machine paths keep X-API-Key auth);
+#   - applies alembic migrations before uvicorn starts. The base compose api
+#     command is a bare `uvicorn` (no migrate step, unlike ToolsHUB/SalesHUB),
+#     so a fresh server DB stayed empty and every DB-backed request 500'd on
+#     `relation does not exist` while /health (liveness) still returned 200.
+#     The worker (restart: always) tolerates the brief startup race until the
+#     schema exists.
 #
 # The shared network must exist first: docker network create teamhub_net
 
@@ -52,6 +58,7 @@ services:
     restart: always
 
   api:
+    command: ["sh", "-c", "alembic upgrade head && exec uvicorn app.main:app --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8000"]
     ports: !override
       - "${LEGACYHUB_API_BIND:-127.0.0.1}:${API_HOST_PORT:-8050}:8000"
     networks: !override