diff --git a/infra/landing-backup/padelnomics-landing-backup.service b/infra/landing-backup/padelnomics-landing-backup.service
index abc77fa..207fc37 100644
--- a/infra/landing-backup/padelnomics-landing-backup.service
+++ b/infra/landing-backup/padelnomics-landing-backup.service
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ Wants=network-online.target
 
 [Service]
 Type=oneshot
+User=padelnomics_service
 EnvironmentFile=/opt/padelnomics/.env
 Environment=LANDING_DIR=/data/padelnomics/landing
 ExecStart=/usr/bin/rclone sync ${LANDING_DIR} :s3:${LITESTREAM_R2_BUCKET}/padelnomics/landing \
diff --git a/infra/setup_server.sh b/infra/setup_server.sh
index bfda48f..a4b031f 100644
--- a/infra/setup_server.sh
+++ b/infra/setup_server.sh
@@ -1,36 +1,58 @@
 #!/bin/bash
-# One-time server setup: create app directory and GitLab deploy key.
-# Run as root on a fresh server before deploying.
+# One-time server setup. Run as root on a fresh server.
+# Creates padelnomics_service user, installs system dependencies,
+# and registers systemd services that run as that user.
 #
 # Usage:
-#   bash infra/setup_server.sh
+#   sudo bash infra/setup_server.sh
 
 set -euo pipefail
 
 APP_DIR="/opt/padelnomics"
-KEY_PATH="$HOME/.ssh/padelnomics_deploy"
+SERVICE_USER="padelnomics_service"
+SERVICE_HOME="/home/${SERVICE_USER}"
+KEY_PATH="${SERVICE_HOME}/.ssh/padelnomics_deploy"
 
-# Create app directory
+# Ensure running as root
+if [ "$(id -u)" -ne 0 ]; then
+    echo "Error: must run as root (use sudo)" >&2
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+# Create service user if not present
+if ! id "$SERVICE_USER" &>/dev/null; then
+    useradd --system --create-home --shell /usr/sbin/nologin "$SERVICE_USER"
+    echo "Created user $SERVICE_USER"
+else
+    echo "User $SERVICE_USER already exists, skipping"
+fi
+
+# Add service user to docker group (needed for deploy.sh)
+usermod -aG docker "$SERVICE_USER"
+echo "Added $SERVICE_USER to docker group"
+
+# Create app directory owned by service user
 mkdir -p "$APP_DIR"
+chown "$SERVICE_USER:$SERVICE_USER" "$APP_DIR"
 echo "Created $APP_DIR"
 
-# Generate deploy key if not already present
+# Generate deploy key as service user if not present
 if [ ! -f "$KEY_PATH" ]; then
-    mkdir -p "$HOME/.ssh"
-    ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -f "$KEY_PATH" -N "" -C "padelnomics-server"
-    chmod 700 "$HOME/.ssh"
+    sudo -u "$SERVICE_USER" mkdir -p "${SERVICE_HOME}/.ssh"
+    sudo -u "$SERVICE_USER" ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -f "$KEY_PATH" -N "" -C "padelnomics-server"
+    chmod 700 "${SERVICE_HOME}/.ssh"
     chmod 600 "$KEY_PATH"
-    chmod 644 "$KEY_PATH.pub"
+    chmod 644 "${KEY_PATH}.pub"
 
     # Configure SSH to use this key for gitlab.com
-    if ! grep -q "# padelnomics" "$HOME/.ssh/config" 2>/dev/null; then
-        cat >> "$HOME/.ssh/config" <<EOF
+    if ! grep -q "# padelnomics" "${SERVICE_HOME}/.ssh/config" 2>/dev/null; then
+        sudo -u "$SERVICE_USER" tee -a "${SERVICE_HOME}/.ssh/config" > /dev/null <<EOF
 
 # padelnomics
 Host gitlab.com
     IdentityFile $KEY_PATH
 EOF
-        chmod 600 "$HOME/.ssh/config"
+        chmod 600 "${SERVICE_HOME}/.ssh/config"
     fi
 
     echo "Generated deploy key: $KEY_PATH"
@@ -38,32 +60,27 @@ else
     echo "Deploy key already exists, skipping"
 fi
 
-# NOTE: sops + age installation and keypair generation is handled by deploy.sh
-# (self-provisioning on first run). No need to install here.
-
-# Install rclone (landing zone backup to R2)
+# Install rclone system-wide (we are root, no sudo needed)
 if ! command -v rclone &>/dev/null; then
     echo "Installing rclone..."
-    curl -fsSL https://rclone.org/install.sh | sudo bash
-    echo "Installed rclone $(rclone version --check | head -1)"
+    curl -fsSL https://rclone.org/install.sh | bash
+    echo "Installed rclone $(rclone --version | head -1)"
 else
     echo "rclone already installed, skipping"
 fi
 
-# Create landing data directory
+# Create data directories owned by service user
 mkdir -p /data/padelnomics/landing
+chown -R "$SERVICE_USER:$SERVICE_USER" /data/padelnomics
 echo "Created /data/padelnomics/landing"
 
-# Install and enable landing backup timer
+# Install and enable systemd services
 cp "$APP_DIR/infra/landing-backup/padelnomics-landing-backup.service" /etc/systemd/system/
 cp "$APP_DIR/infra/landing-backup/padelnomics-landing-backup.timer" /etc/systemd/system/
+cp "$APP_DIR/infra/supervisor/padelnomics-supervisor.service" /etc/systemd/system/
 systemctl daemon-reload
 systemctl enable --now padelnomics-landing-backup.timer
 echo "Enabled landing backup timer (every 30 min)"
-
-# Install and enable supervisor service
-cp "$APP_DIR/infra/supervisor/padelnomics-supervisor.service" /etc/systemd/system/
-systemctl daemon-reload
 systemctl enable --now padelnomics-supervisor.service
 echo "Enabled supervisor service"
 
@@ -71,10 +88,10 @@ echo ""
 echo "=== Next steps ==="
 echo "1. Add this deploy key to GitLab (Settings → Repository → Deploy Keys, read-only):"
 echo ""
-cat "$KEY_PATH.pub"
+cat "${KEY_PATH}.pub"
 echo ""
-echo "2. Clone the repo:"
-echo "   git clone git@gitlab.com:YOUR_USER/padelnomics.git $APP_DIR"
+echo "2. Clone the repo as $SERVICE_USER:"
+echo "   sudo -u $SERVICE_USER git clone git@gitlab.com:deemanone/padelnomics.git $APP_DIR"
 echo ""
-echo "3. Deploy (first run installs sops+age and generates server keypair):"
-echo "   cd $APP_DIR && bash deploy.sh"
+echo "3. Deploy (first run generates server age keypair — follow the printed instructions):"
+echo "   sudo -u $SERVICE_USER bash $APP_DIR/deploy.sh"
diff --git a/infra/supervisor/padelnomics-supervisor.service b/infra/supervisor/padelnomics-supervisor.service
index 169fff5..6616191 100644
--- a/infra/supervisor/padelnomics-supervisor.service
+++ b/infra/supervisor/padelnomics-supervisor.service
@@ -5,13 +5,13 @@ Wants=network-online.target
 
 [Service]
 Type=simple
-User=root
+User=padelnomics_service
 WorkingDirectory=/opt/padelnomics
 ExecStart=/bin/sh -c 'exec uv run python src/padelnomics/supervisor.py'
 Restart=always
 RestartSec=10
 EnvironmentFile=/opt/padelnomics/.env
-Environment=PATH=/root/.local/bin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin
+Environment=PATH=/home/padelnomics_service/.local/bin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin
 Environment=LANDING_DIR=/data/padelnomics/landing
 Environment=DUCKDB_PATH=/data/padelnomics/lakehouse.duckdb
 Environment=SERVING_DUCKDB_PATH=/data/padelnomics/analytics.duckdb