diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/deploy.yaml b/.gitea/workflows/deploy.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..43ab29f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/deploy.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+name: Deploy to Server
+
+on:
+  push:
+    branches:
+      - main
+
+jobs:
+  deploy:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - name: Install SSH Key
+        run: |
+          mkdir -p ~/.ssh
+          echo "${{ secrets.DEPLOY_KEY }}" > ~/.ssh/id_ed25519
+          chmod 600 ~/.ssh/id_ed25519
+          ssh-keyscan 192.168.30.114 >> ~/.ssh/known_hosts
+
+      - name: Deploy via SSH
+        run: |
+          ssh deployuser@192.168.30.114 << 'EOF'
+            set -euo pipefail
+            APP_DIR=/opt/Train-ID
+            SERVICE=train-id
+            if [ ! -d "$APP_DIR" ]; then
+              sudo mkdir -p "$APP_DIR"
+              sudo chown "$USER":"$USER" "$APP_DIR"
+              git clone https://git.hudsonriggs.systems/HRiggs/Train-ID.git "$APP_DIR"
+            fi
+            cd "$APP_DIR"
+            git pull origin main
+            # Install Node.js deps and build
+            npm ci || npm install
+            npm run build
+            # Ensure systemd service exists and restart
+            if systemctl list-unit-files | grep -q "${SERVICE}.service"; then
+              sudo systemctl restart "$SERVICE"
+            else
+              echo "Warning: ${SERVICE}.service not found; start your process manager manually."
+            fi
+          EOF
diff --git a/PDF Trainz Inv List.pdf b/PDF Trainz Inv List.pdf
deleted file mode 100644
index 62ad57b..0000000
Binary files a/PDF Trainz Inv List.pdf and /dev/null differ
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 3701c3b..c66ca49 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -1,2 +1,140 @@
 # Train-ID
 
+Simple Node/Express app to identify and inventory model trains from photos using OpenAI Vision, store results in MySQL, and export PDFs/XLSX.
+
+## Requirements
+- Node.js 20+ and npm
+- MySQL 8+
+- OpenAI API key
+
+## Environment variables
+Create a `.env` in the project root on the server:
+
+```
+PORT=3000
+# OpenAI
+OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-...
+# or alternative variable name also supported by code:
+# openapi_key=sk-...
+
+# MySQL connection
+db_ip=127.0.0.1
+db_port=3306
+db_user=trainid
+db_pass=changeme
+db_name=trainid
+```
+
+## Local development
+```
+npm install
+npm run build
+npm start
+# or for auto-reload on TypeScript build changes:
+npm run dev
+```
+Visit `http://localhost:3000`.
+
+## API overview
+- POST `/api/upload` with `multipart/form-data` field `image` → analyzes photo, inserts record
+- GET `/api/items` → list items (optional `?q=` to search model/SKU)
+- GET `/api/items/:id/pdf` → generate/download PDF for one item
+- GET `/api/export/xlsx` → download XLSX export of inventory with embedded thumbnails
+- DELETE `/api/items/:id` → delete one
+- DELETE `/api/items` → wipe all
+
+## Debian 13 (Trixie) LXC install
+These steps assume a fresh Debian 13 LXC and deployment directory `/opt/Train-ID` with a system user `deployuser` that has passwordless sudo for service management.
+
+1) Base packages and Node.js
+```
+sudo apt update
+sudo apt install -y curl ca-certificates gnupg build-essential pkg-config
+# Node 20 using Nodesource or Debian repo (choose one). Nodesource example:
+curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_20.x | sudo -E bash -
+sudo apt install -y nodejs
+node -v && npm -v
+```
+
+2) MySQL server (or connect to external MySQL)
+```
+sudo apt install -y mariadb-server mariadb-client
+sudo systemctl enable --now mariadb
+sudo mysql -e "CREATE DATABASE IF NOT EXISTS trainid CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_unicode_ci;"
+sudo mysql -e "CREATE USER IF NOT EXISTS 'trainid'@'%' IDENTIFIED BY 'changeme';"
+sudo mysql -e "GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON trainid.* TO 'trainid'@'%'; FLUSH PRIVILEGES;"
+```
+If using external MySQL, skip install and set `db_ip` etc. in `.env`.
+
+3) App checkout and build
+```
+sudo mkdir -p /opt/Train-ID
+sudo chown $USER:$USER /opt/Train-ID
+git clone https://git.hudsonriggs.systems/HRiggs/Train-ID.git /opt/Train-ID
+cd /opt/Train-ID
+cp .env.example .env || true  # if you keep a template in the future
+# create .env as per above
+npm ci || npm install
+npm run build
+```
+
+4) Systemd service
+Create `/etc/systemd/system/train-id.service`:
+```
+[Unit]
+Description=Train-ID API
+After=network.target
+
+[Service]
+Type=simple
+WorkingDirectory=/opt/Train-ID
+EnvironmentFile=/opt/Train-ID/.env
+ExecStart=/usr/bin/node /opt/Train-ID/dist/server.js
+Restart=always
+RestartSec=5
+User=www-data
+Group=www-data
+
+[Install]
+WantedBy=multi-user.target
+```
+Then enable and start:
+```
+sudo systemctl daemon-reload
+sudo systemctl enable --now train-id
+sudo systemctl status train-id --no-pager
+```
+
+5) Reverse proxy (optional, for port 80/443)
+Example Nginx site (`/etc/nginx/sites-available/train-id`):
+```
+server {
+  listen 80;
+  server_name _;
+  location / {
+    proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:3000;
+    proxy_set_header Host $host;
+    proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
+    proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
+    proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
+  }
+}
+```
+Enable and reload:
+```
+sudo apt install -y nginx
+sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/train-id /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/train-id
+sudo nginx -t && sudo systemctl reload nginx
+```
+
+## CI/CD deploy
+The repo includes `.gitea/workflows/deploy.yaml` which, on push to `main`, SSHes to `192.168.30.114`, pulls latest, installs dependencies, builds, and restarts the `train-id` service. Set `DEPLOY_KEY` in repository secrets to a private SSH key authorized for `deployuser@192.168.30.114`.
+
+If your service name or directory differ, update `SERVICE`/`APP_DIR` in the workflow accordingly.
+
+```
+
+echo "deployuser ALL=(root) NOPASSWD: /bin/systemctl restart train-id.service" | sudo tee /etc/sudoers.d/train-id >/dev/null
+sudo chmod 440 /etc/sudoers.d/train-id
+sudo visudo -cf /etc/sudoers.d/train-id
+```
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/image.png b/image.png
deleted file mode 100644
index 160d55a..0000000
Binary files a/image.png and /dev/null differ
diff --git a/src/db/client.ts b/src/db/client.ts
index a3ec540..2f56734 100644
--- a/src/db/client.ts
+++ b/src/db/client.ts
@@ -22,13 +22,20 @@ async function ensureSchema() {
       description text not null,
       item_condition varchar(50) not null,
       has_box boolean not null,
-      image_path text not null,
+      image_path text null,
+      image_data longblob null,
+      image_mime varchar(100) null,
       created_at timestamp default current_timestamp
     ) engine=InnoDB;
   `;
   await pool.query(sql);
   // backfill for older tables without sku
   await pool.query(`alter table items add column if not exists sku varchar(64) null` as any);
+  // backfill nullable image_path
+  await pool.query(`alter table items modify column image_path text null` as any);
+  // add image_data and image_mime if missing
+  await pool.query(`alter table items add column if not exists image_data longblob null` as any);
+  await pool.query(`alter table items add column if not exists image_mime varchar(100) null` as any);
 }
 
 let schemaEnsured: Promise<void> | null = null;
@@ -41,9 +48,20 @@ export const db = {
   async insertItem(item: Omit<TrainItem, 'id'>) {
     await getReady();
     const [result] = await pool.execute(
-      `insert into items (manufacturer, model, sku, quantity, description, item_condition, has_box, image_path)
-       values (?,?,?,?,?,?,?,?)`,
-      [item.manufacturer, item.model, item.sku || null, item.quantity, item.description, item.condition, item.hasBox, item.imagePath]
+      `insert into items (manufacturer, model, sku, quantity, description, item_condition, has_box, image_path, image_data, image_mime)
+       values (?,?,?,?,?,?,?,?,?,?)`,
+      [
+        item.manufacturer,
+        item.model,
+        item.sku || null,
+        item.quantity,
+        item.description,
+        item.condition,
+        item.hasBox,
+        item.imagePath || null,
+        (item as any).imageData || null,
+        (item as any).imageMime || null
+      ]
     );
     const insertId = (result as any).insertId as number;
     const [rows] = await pool.query(
@@ -79,6 +97,27 @@ export const db = {
     if (row) { row.condition = row.cond; delete row.cond; }
     return row;
   },
+  async getItemWithImage(id: number) {
+    await getReady();
+    const [rows] = await pool.query(
+      `select id, manufacturer, model, sku, quantity, description, item_condition as cond, has_box as hasBox, image_path as imagePath, image_data as imageData, image_mime as imageMime, created_at as createdAt
+       from items where id = ?`,
+      [id]
+    );
+    const row = (rows as any[])[0] || null;
+    if (row) { row.condition = row.cond; delete row.cond; }
+    return row;
+  },
+  async listItemsWithImage() {
+    await getReady();
+    const [rows] = await pool.query(
+      `select id, manufacturer, model, sku, quantity, description, item_condition as cond, has_box as hasBox, image_path as imagePath, image_data as imageData, image_mime as imageMime, created_at as createdAt
+       from items order by id asc`
+    );
+    const arr = rows as any[];
+    for (const r of arr) { r.condition = r.cond; delete r.cond; }
+    return arr;
+  },
   async deleteItem(id: number) {
     await getReady();
     const [res] = await pool.query('delete from items where id = ?', [id]);
diff --git a/src/routes/api.ts b/src/routes/api.ts
index 2472172..0e19dd1 100644
--- a/src/routes/api.ts
+++ b/src/routes/api.ts
@@ -21,6 +21,10 @@ router.post('/upload', async (req, res) => {
 
     const analysis = await analyzeImageToMetadata(savePath);
 
+    const imageBuffer = await fs.readFile(savePath);
+    const imageMime: string = file.mimetype || 'application/octet-stream';
+
+    // Insert with image bytes and mime; do not persist path
     const saved = await db.insertItem({
       manufacturer: analysis.manufacturer,
       model: analysis.model,
@@ -29,8 +33,13 @@ router.post('/upload', async (req, res) => {
       description: analysis.description,
       condition: analysis.condition,
       hasBox: analysis.hasBox,
-      imagePath: savePath,
-    });
+      imagePath: null as any,
+      imageData: imageBuffer as any,
+      imageMime: imageMime as any
+    } as any);
+
+    // Remove uploaded file after DB storage
+    try { await fs.unlink(savePath); } catch {}
 
     res.json({ item: saved });
   } catch (err: any) {
@@ -53,7 +62,7 @@ router.get('/items', async (req, res) => {
 router.get('/items/:id/pdf', async (req, res) => {
   try {
     const id = Number(req.params.id);
-    const item = await db.getItem(id);
+    const item = await db.getItemWithImage(id);
     if (!item) return res.status(404).json({ error: 'Not found' });
     const pdfPath = await generatePdfForItem(item);
     res.setHeader('Content-Type', 'application/pdf');
@@ -79,11 +88,41 @@ router.get('/export/xlsx', async (_req, res) => {
       { header: 'Condition', key: 'condition', width: 14 },
       { header: 'Description', key: 'description', width: 50 },
       { header: 'Has Box', key: 'hasBox', width: 10 },
-      { header: 'Image Path', key: 'imagePath', width: 50 },
+      { header: 'Image', key: 'image', width: 25 },
       { header: 'Created', key: 'createdAt', width: 24 }
     ];
-    const items = await db.listItems();
-    for (const it of items) ws.addRow(it);
+    const items = await db.listItemsWithImage();
+    let rowIndex = 2; // 1-based, row 1 is header
+    for (const it of items) {
+      // Add row without imagePath, we have an Image column placeholder
+      const row = ws.addRow({
+        id: it.id,
+        manufacturer: it.manufacturer,
+        model: it.model,
+        sku: it.sku,
+        quantity: it.quantity,
+        condition: it.condition,
+        description: it.description,
+        hasBox: it.hasBox ? 'Yes' : 'No',
+        image: '',
+        createdAt: it.createdAt
+      });
+      // Adjust row height for image display
+      row.height = 90;
+      // Embed image if available
+      const buf = (it as any).imageData as unknown as Uint8Array | null;
+      const mime: string | null = (it as any).imageMime || null;
+      if (buf && mime && (mime.includes('png') || mime.includes('jpeg') || mime.includes('jpg'))) {
+        const imgId = wb.addImage({ buffer: Buffer.from(buf as any) as any, extension: mime.includes('png') ? 'png' : 'jpeg' });
+        // Place image in the Image column (index 9, zero-based col 8) anchored to this row
+        const colIndexZeroBased = 8; // 0-based; column I (Image) since A=0
+        ws.addImage(imgId, {
+          tl: { col: colIndexZeroBased, row: rowIndex - 1 },
+          ext: { width: 120, height: 80 }
+        });
+      }
+      rowIndex++;
+    }
     res.setHeader('Content-Type', 'application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet');
     res.setHeader('Content-Disposition', 'attachment; filename="train_inventory.xlsx"');
     await wb.xlsx.write(res);
diff --git a/src/services/openaiVision.ts b/src/services/openaiVision.ts
index 8225cbc..abda7a2 100644
--- a/src/services/openaiVision.ts
+++ b/src/services/openaiVision.ts
@@ -11,7 +11,10 @@ export type TrainItem = {
   description: string; // 1 sentence
   condition: string; // e.g., New, Excellent, Good, Fair, Poor
   hasBox: boolean;
-  imagePath: string;
+  // Prefer in-DB storage; path retained for legacy/backfill
+  imagePath?: string;
+  imageData?: Buffer;
+  imageMime?: string;
   id?: number;
 };
 
diff --git a/src/services/pdf.ts b/src/services/pdf.ts
index 2e534fd..508d059 100644
--- a/src/services/pdf.ts
+++ b/src/services/pdf.ts
@@ -39,7 +39,12 @@ export async function generatePdfForItem(item: TrainItem & { id: number }): Prom
   try {
     doc.moveDown();
     doc.text('Photo:', { continued: false });
-    doc.image(item.imagePath, { width: 300 });
+    const imageBuffer: Buffer | undefined = (item as any).imageData;
+    if (imageBuffer && imageBuffer.length > 0) {
+      doc.image(imageBuffer, { width: 300 });
+    } else if (item.imagePath) {
+      doc.image(item.imagePath, { width: 300 });
+    }
   } catch {}
 
   doc.end();