diff --git a/deploy.sh b/deploy.sh
index ba00aa2..cb637b3 100755
--- a/deploy.sh
+++ b/deploy.sh
@@ -6,7 +6,6 @@
 set -e
 
 WEBROOT="/var/www/forensic-pathways"
-BACKUP_DIR="/var/backups/forensic-pathways"
 LOG_DIR="$WEBROOT/logs"
 DATA_DIR="$WEBROOT/data"
 UPLOADS_DIR="$WEBROOT/public/uploads"
@@ -18,6 +17,7 @@ ORIGINAL_HOME=$(eval echo "~$ORIGINAL_USER")
 echo "🚀 ForensicPathways Deployment Starting..."
 echo "📅 $(date '+%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S')"
 echo "👤 Original user: $ORIGINAL_USER"
+echo "📁 Working directory: $(pwd)"
 echo ""
 
 # Check if running as root
@@ -26,255 +26,161 @@ if [ "$EUID" -ne 0 ]; then
     exit 1
 fi
 
-# Function to build application with nvm support
-build_with_nvm() {
-    echo "📦 Building application as user $ORIGINAL_USER..."
-    
-    if sudo -u "$ORIGINAL_USER" bash -c "
-        cd '$PWD'
-        
-        # Load nvm if available
-        export NVM_DIR='$ORIGINAL_HOME/.nvm'
-        [ -s '\$NVM_DIR/nvm.sh' ] && source '\$NVM_DIR/nvm.sh'
-        
-        # Load user shell profile
-        [ -s '$ORIGINAL_HOME/.bashrc' ] && source '$ORIGINAL_HOME/.bashrc'
-        [ -s '$ORIGINAL_HOME/.profile' ] && source '$ORIGINAL_HOME/.profile'
-        
-        # Verify npm is available
-        if ! command -v npm &> /dev/null; then
-            echo 'npm not found in user environment'
-            exit 1
-        fi
-        
-        # Show versions for debugging
-        echo \"npm version: \$(npm --version)\"
-        echo \"node version: \$(node --version)\"
-        
-        # Run the build
-        npm run build
-    "; then
-        echo "✅ Build completed successfully"
-        return 0
-    else
-        echo "❌ Build failed"
-        return 1
-    fi
-}
-
-# Check for existing dist or build if needed
-if [ ! -d "dist" ]; then
-    echo "📦 No dist/ directory found, building..."
-    if ! build_with_nvm; then
-        echo ""
-        echo "💡 Alternative: Build manually first:"
-        echo "   npm run build"
-        echo "   sudo ./deploy.sh"
-        exit 1
-    fi
-else
-    echo "📦 Found existing dist/ directory"
-    read -p "🤔 Rebuild application? (y/N): " -n 1 -r
-    echo
-    if [[ $REPLY =~ ^[Yy]$ ]]; then
-        if ! build_with_nvm; then
-            echo ""
-            echo "💡 Using existing dist/ due to build failure"
-        fi
-    else
-        echo "📦 Using existing build"
-    fi
-fi
-
-# Verify dist exists before proceeding
-if [ ! -d "dist" ]; then
-    echo "❌ Error: No dist/ directory available for deployment"
+# Verify we're in the right directory
+if [ ! -f "package.json" ] || [ ! -f "astro.config.mjs" ]; then
+    echo "❌ Error: Must run from ForensicPathways project root"
+    echo "🔍 Current directory: $(pwd)"
+    echo "🔍 Files found: $(ls -la)"
     exit 1
 fi
 
-# Create backup if existing deployment exists
-if [ -d "$WEBROOT" ]; then
-    BACKUP_TIMESTAMP=$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S)
-    BACKUP_PATH="$BACKUP_DIR/$BACKUP_TIMESTAMP"
-    
-    echo "💾 Creating backup at $BACKUP_PATH..."
-    mkdir -p "$BACKUP_DIR"
-    cp -r "$WEBROOT" "$BACKUP_PATH"
-    echo "✅ Backup created successfully"
-    
-    # Preserve existing .env if it exists
-    if [ -f "$WEBROOT/.env" ]; then
-        cp "$WEBROOT/.env" "/tmp/forensic-pathways.env.backup"
-        echo "💾 Preserved existing .env configuration"
-    fi
-    
-    # Clean old backups (keep last 5)
-    if [ -d "$BACKUP_DIR" ]; then
-        cd "$BACKUP_DIR"
-        ls -1t | tail -n +6 | xargs -r rm -rf
-        echo "🧹 Cleaned old backups (keeping last 5)"
-    fi
+# Build application
+echo "📦 Building application..."
+if [ ! -d "node_modules" ]; then
+    echo "📦 Installing dependencies..."
+    sudo -u "$ORIGINAL_USER" npm install
 fi
 
-# Create webroot and subdirectories
-echo "📁 Setting up directory structure..."
+# Build with proper user context
+sudo -u "$ORIGINAL_USER" bash -c "
+    # Load user environment
+    [ -s '$ORIGINAL_HOME/.bashrc' ] && source '$ORIGINAL_HOME/.bashrc'
+    [ -s '$ORIGINAL_HOME/.profile' ] && source '$ORIGINAL_HOME/.profile'
+    
+    # Load nvm if available
+    export NVM_DIR='$ORIGINAL_HOME/.nvm'
+    [ -s '\$NVM_DIR/nvm.sh' ] && source '\$NVM_DIR/nvm.sh'
+    
+    # Build
+    npm run build
+"
+
+# Verify build succeeded
+if [ ! -d "dist" ] || [ ! "$(ls -A dist 2>/dev/null)" ]; then
+    echo "❌ Error: Build failed or dist/ is empty"
+    echo "🔍 Dist contents: $(ls -la dist/ 2>/dev/null || echo 'dist/ not found')"
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+echo "✅ Build completed successfully"
+
+# Create target directories
+echo "📁 Setting up target directories..."
 mkdir -p "$WEBROOT"
 mkdir -p "$LOG_DIR"
 mkdir -p "$DATA_DIR"
 mkdir -p "$UPLOADS_DIR"
 mkdir -p "$WEBROOT/src/data"
-mkdir -p "$WEBROOT/public"
-mkdir -p "$WEBROOT/server"
-mkdir -p "$DATA_DIR/embeddings"
-mkdir -p "$LOG_DIR/access"
-mkdir -p "$LOG_DIR/error"
-mkdir -p "$LOG_DIR/ai"
-echo "✅ Directory structure created"
 
-# Copy built application
+# Copy application files
 echo "📋 Copying application files..."
-if [ -d "dist" ] && [ "$(ls -A dist)" ]; then
-    # Use rsync for better copying, or fallback to cp
-    if command -v rsync &> /dev/null; then
-        rsync -av --delete dist/ "$WEBROOT/"
-        echo "✅ Application files copied via rsync ($(du -sh dist | cut -f1))"
-    else
-        # More reliable copy method
-        cp -r dist/. "$WEBROOT/"
-        echo "✅ Application files copied via cp ($(du -sh dist | cut -f1))"
-    fi
-    
-    # Verify copy was successful
-    if [ ! -f "$WEBROOT/index.html" ] && [ ! -d "$WEBROOT/server" ]; then
-        echo "❌ Error: Application files not properly copied"
-        echo "🔍 Dist contents: $(ls -la dist/)"
-        echo "🔍 Webroot contents: $(ls -la $WEBROOT/)"
-        exit 1
-    fi
-else
-    echo "❌ Error: dist/ directory is empty or doesn't exist"
-    echo "🔍 Current directory: $(pwd)"
-    echo "🔍 Contents: $(ls -la)"
-    exit 1
-fi
+cp -r dist/. "$WEBROOT/"
+echo "✅ Application files copied ($(du -sh dist | cut -f1))"
 
 # Copy essential data files
-echo "🗂️  Setting up data files..."
+echo "🗂️ Setting up data files..."
 if [ -f "src/data/tools.yaml" ]; then
     cp src/data/tools.yaml "$WEBROOT/src/data/"
-    echo "✅ tools.yaml copied ($(wc -l < src/data/tools.yaml) lines)"
+    TOOL_COUNT=$(grep -c "^  - name:" "src/data/tools.yaml" || echo "unknown")
+    echo "✅ tools.yaml copied ($TOOL_COUNT tools)"
 else
     echo "❌ Error: src/data/tools.yaml not found"
     exit 1
 fi
 
-# Copy any existing knowledgebase content
+# Copy knowledgebase content if it exists
 if [ -d "src/content/knowledgebase" ]; then
     mkdir -p "$WEBROOT/src/content"
     cp -r src/content/knowledgebase "$WEBROOT/src/content/"
-    KB_COUNT=$(find src/content/knowledgebase -name "*.md" | wc -l)
+    KB_COUNT=$(find src/content/knowledgebase -name "*.md" 2>/dev/null | wc -l)
     echo "✅ Knowledgebase content copied ($KB_COUNT articles)"
 fi
 
-# Handle environment configuration
-if [ -f "/tmp/forensic-pathways.env.backup" ]; then
-    echo "🔧 Restoring existing .env configuration..."
-    cp "/tmp/forensic-pathways.env.backup" "$WEBROOT/.env"
-    rm "/tmp/forensic-pathways.env.backup"
-    echo "✅ Existing configuration restored"
+# Setup environment configuration
+echo "🔧 Setting up environment configuration..."
+if [ -f "$WEBROOT/.env" ]; then
+    echo "📝 Existing .env found, keeping current configuration"
 else
-    echo "🔧 Setting up new environment configuration..."
+    echo "📝 Creating new .env from template..."
     cp .env.example "$WEBROOT/.env"
     echo "⚠️  IMPORTANT: Edit $WEBROOT/.env with your configuration"
 fi
 
-# Create additional required files
-echo "📝 Creating additional files..."
-
-# Create placeholder log files
+# Create log files
+echo "📝 Creating log files..."
 touch "$LOG_DIR/access.log"
 touch "$LOG_DIR/error.log"
 touch "$LOG_DIR/ai-pipeline.log"
 
-echo "✅ Additional files and directories created"
-
-# Set proper permissions
+# Set permissions
 echo "🔐 Setting permissions..."
 chown -R www-data:www-data "$WEBROOT"
 chmod -R 755 "$WEBROOT"
 chmod 600 "$WEBROOT/.env"
-
-# Specific permissions for data directories
 chmod 755 "$DATA_DIR"
 chmod 755 "$UPLOADS_DIR"
 chmod 755 "$LOG_DIR"
 chmod 644 "$LOG_DIR"/*.log
 
-# Make server entry point executable
+# Make server executable if it exists
 if [ -f "$WEBROOT/server/entry.mjs" ]; then
     chmod 755 "$WEBROOT/server/entry.mjs"
     echo "✅ Server entry point permissions set"
 fi
 
-echo "✅ Permissions configured successfully"
-
-# Display deployment summary
-echo ""
-echo "═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════"
-echo "✅ ForensicPathways Deployment Complete!"
-echo "═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════"
-echo ""
-echo "📊 Deployment Summary:"
-echo "   🎯 Target: $WEBROOT"
-echo "   💾 Backup: $BACKUP_DIR"
-echo "   📁 Logs: $LOG_DIR"
-echo "   📤 Uploads: $UPLOADS_DIR"
-echo "   🗃️  Data: $DATA_DIR"
-echo "   📏 Size: $(du -sh $WEBROOT | cut -f1)"
-echo ""
-echo "📋 Required Next Steps:"
-echo "   1. 🔧 Edit $WEBROOT/.env with your configuration"
-echo "      - Set PUBLIC_BASE_URL to your domain"
-echo "      - Configure AI_ANALYZER_* settings"
-echo "      - Set AUTH_SECRET to a secure value"
-echo ""
-echo "   2. 🔄 Restart services:"
-echo "      sudo systemctl restart forensic-pathways"
-echo "      sudo systemctl reload nginx"
-echo ""
-echo "   3. 🔍 Check status:"
-echo "      sudo systemctl status forensic-pathways"
-echo "      sudo tail -f $LOG_DIR/error.log"
-echo ""
-echo "🌐 Once configured, access at: http://your-domain.com"
-echo ""
+echo "✅ Permissions configured"
 
 # Final validation
+echo ""
 echo "🔍 Post-deployment validation..."
+VALIDATION_ERRORS=0
+
 if [ -f "$WEBROOT/.env" ]; then
     echo "✅ Environment configuration exists"
 else
     echo "❌ Environment configuration missing"
+    ((VALIDATION_ERRORS++))
 fi
 
 if [ -f "$WEBROOT/src/data/tools.yaml" ]; then
-    TOOL_COUNT=$(grep -c "^  - name:" "$WEBROOT/src/data/tools.yaml" || echo "unknown")
-    echo "✅ Tools database exists ($TOOL_COUNT tools)"
+    echo "✅ Tools database exists"
 else
     echo "❌ Tools database missing"
+    ((VALIDATION_ERRORS++))
 fi
 
-if [ -d "$WEBROOT/server" ]; then
-    echo "✅ Server directory exists"
+if [ -f "$WEBROOT/index.html" ] || [ -d "$WEBROOT/server" ]; then
+    echo "✅ Application files deployed"
 else
-    echo "❌ Server directory missing"
-fi
-
-if [ -f "$WEBROOT/server/entry.mjs" ]; then
-    echo "✅ Server entry point exists"
-else
-    echo "⚠️  Warning: Server entry point not found"
+    echo "❌ Application files missing"
+    ((VALIDATION_ERRORS++))
 fi
 
 echo ""
-echo "🎉 Deployment script completed at $(date '+%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S')"
\ No newline at end of file
+if [ $VALIDATION_ERRORS -eq 0 ]; then
+    echo "═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════"
+    echo "✅ Deployment Successful!"
+    echo "═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════"
+    echo ""
+    echo "📋 Next Steps:"
+    echo "   1. 🔧 Configure $WEBROOT/.env:"
+    echo "      - Set PUBLIC_BASE_URL to your domain"
+    echo "      - Configure AI services (AI_ANALYZER_ENDPOINT, etc.)"
+    echo "      - Set AUTH_SECRET to a secure random value"
+    echo ""
+    echo "   2. 🔄 Restart services:"
+    echo "      sudo systemctl restart forensic-pathways"
+    echo "      sudo systemctl reload nginx"
+    echo ""
+    echo "   3. 🔍 Monitor:"
+    echo "      sudo systemctl status forensic-pathways"
+    echo "      sudo tail -f $LOG_DIR/error.log"
+    echo ""
+    echo "🌐 Application deployed to: $WEBROOT"
+else
+    echo "❌ Deployment completed with $VALIDATION_ERRORS errors"
+    echo "📋 Please check the issues above before proceeding"
+fi
+
+echo ""
+echo "🎉 Deploy script completed at $(date '+%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S')"
\ No newline at end of file