diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index cf8aa04..88e91a0 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -9,3 +9,8 @@ backend/bin/
 backend/obj/
 backend.tests/bin/
 backend.tests/obj/
+
+# SQLite dev database (created on first run)
+backend/*.db
+backend/*.db-shm
+backend/*.db-wal
diff --git a/backend/Data/AppDbContext.cs b/backend/Data/AppDbContext.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..28bf989
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/Data/AppDbContext.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+using Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore;
+
+namespace backend.Data;
+
+public class AppDbContext(DbContextOptions<AppDbContext> options) : DbContext(options)
+{
+}
diff --git a/backend/Migrations/20260611181007_Initial.Designer.cs b/backend/Migrations/20260611181007_Initial.Designer.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..32c0531
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/Migrations/20260611181007_Initial.Designer.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+// <auto-generated />
+using Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore;
+using Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.Infrastructure;
+using Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.Migrations;
+using Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.Storage.ValueConversion;
+using backend.Data;
+
+#nullable disable
+
+namespace backend.Migrations
+{
+    [DbContext(typeof(AppDbContext))]
+    [Migration("20260611181007_Initial")]
+    partial class Initial
+    {
+        /// <inheritdoc />
+        protected override void BuildTargetModel(ModelBuilder modelBuilder)
+        {
+#pragma warning disable 612, 618
+            modelBuilder.HasAnnotation("ProductVersion", "9.0.17");
+#pragma warning restore 612, 618
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/backend/Migrations/20260611181007_Initial.cs b/backend/Migrations/20260611181007_Initial.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2552aec
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/Migrations/20260611181007_Initial.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+using Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.Migrations;
+
+#nullable disable
+
+namespace backend.Migrations
+{
+    /// <inheritdoc />
+    public partial class Initial : Migration
+    {
+        /// <inheritdoc />
+        protected override void Up(MigrationBuilder migrationBuilder)
+        {
+
+        }
+
+        /// <inheritdoc />
+        protected override void Down(MigrationBuilder migrationBuilder)
+        {
+
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/backend/Migrations/AppDbContextModelSnapshot.cs b/backend/Migrations/AppDbContextModelSnapshot.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a8c6804
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/Migrations/AppDbContextModelSnapshot.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+// <auto-generated />
+using Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore;
+using Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.Infrastructure;
+using Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.Storage.ValueConversion;
+using backend.Data;
+
+#nullable disable
+
+namespace backend.Migrations
+{
+    [DbContext(typeof(AppDbContext))]
+    partial class AppDbContextModelSnapshot : ModelSnapshot
+    {
+        protected override void BuildModel(ModelBuilder modelBuilder)
+        {
+#pragma warning disable 612, 618
+            modelBuilder.HasAnnotation("ProductVersion", "9.0.17");
+#pragma warning restore 612, 618
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/backend/Program.cs b/backend/Program.cs
index 5f8299f..0aa4404 100644
--- a/backend/Program.cs
+++ b/backend/Program.cs
@@ -1,8 +1,21 @@
-var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args);
-var app = builder.Build();
-
-app.MapGet("/", () => "Hello World!");
-
-app.Run();
-
-public partial class Program { }
+using backend.Data;
+using Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore;
+
+var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args);
+
+builder.Services.AddDbContext<AppDbContext>(opt =>
+    opt.UseSqlite(builder.Configuration.GetConnectionString("Default")));
+
+var app = builder.Build();
+
+using (var scope = app.Services.CreateScope())
+{
+    var db = scope.ServiceProvider.GetRequiredService<AppDbContext>();
+    db.Database.Migrate();
+}
+
+app.MapGet("/health", () => Results.Ok(new { ok = true }));
+
+app.Run();
+
+public partial class Program { }
diff --git a/backend/appsettings.json b/backend/appsettings.json
index 4d56694..6496deb 100644
--- a/backend/appsettings.json
+++ b/backend/appsettings.json
@@ -1,9 +1,12 @@
-{
-  "Logging": {
-    "LogLevel": {
-      "Default": "Information",
-      "Microsoft.AspNetCore": "Warning"
-    }
-  },
-  "AllowedHosts": "*"
-}
+{
+  "ConnectionStrings": {
+    "Default": "Data Source=./assistant.db"
+  },
+  "Logging": {
+    "LogLevel": {
+      "Default": "Information",
+      "Microsoft.AspNetCore": "Warning"
+    }
+  },
+  "AllowedHosts": "*"
+}
diff --git a/backend/backend.csproj b/backend/backend.csproj
index 08f689c..c6ceda2 100644
--- a/backend/backend.csproj
+++ b/backend/backend.csproj
@@ -6,4 +6,12 @@
     <ImplicitUsings>enable</ImplicitUsings>
   </PropertyGroup>
 
+  <ItemGroup>
+    <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.Design" Version="9.*">
+      <IncludeAssets>runtime; build; native; contentfiles; analyzers; buildtransitive</IncludeAssets>
+      <PrivateAssets>all</PrivateAssets>
+    </PackageReference>
+    <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.Sqlite" Version="9.*" />
+  </ItemGroup>
+
 </Project>