diff --git a/.gitea/scripts/deploy-nexus.sh b/.gitea/scripts/deploy-nexus.sh
index 6df18da..9bfb1d3 100755
--- a/.gitea/scripts/deploy-nexus.sh
+++ b/.gitea/scripts/deploy-nexus.sh
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ DEPLOY_PATH="${DEPLOY_PATH:-/home/projekte_bao/nexus}"
 ENV_TMPFILE_TEMPLATE="${ENV_TMPFILE:-/tmp/nexus-deploy-env}"
 ENV_TMPFILE=""
 BASE_URL="${BASE_URL:-https://nexus.noveria.net}"
+BOOTSTRAP_OWNER_EMAIL="${BOOTSTRAP_OWNER_EMAIL_DEPLOY:-vmbao62@hotmail.de}"
 
 cleanup() {
   if [ -n "$ENV_TMPFILE" ] && [ -f "$ENV_TMPFILE" ]; then
@@ -59,7 +60,7 @@ POSTGRES_PASSWORD=${ENV_POSTGRES_PASSWORD}
 JWT_KEY=${ENV_JWT_KEY}
 JWT_ISSUER=nexus
 JWT_AUDIENCE=nexus-web
-BOOTSTRAP_OWNER_EMAIL=vmbao62@hotmail.de
+BOOTSTRAP_OWNER_EMAIL=${BOOTSTRAP_OWNER_EMAIL}
 OPENCLAW_BASE_URL=http://openclaw-gateway-bao:18789
 OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN=${ENV_OPENCLAW_TOKEN:-}
 OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_PASSWORD=
@@ -117,7 +118,14 @@ docker run --rm \
     cat > /tmp/nexus-deploy-env
     trap '\''rm -f /tmp/nexus-deploy-env'\'' EXIT INT TERM
     docker compose --env-file /tmp/nexus-deploy-env build
-    docker compose --env-file /tmp/nexus-deploy-env up -d --force-recreate --remove-orphans --wait
+
+    # ── Postgres: only recreate if image or config changed ──
+    # docker compose up -d (without --force-recreate) is smart enough
+    # to only recreate containers whose config or image has changed.
+    # We DROP --force-recreate so postgres persists across deploys
+    # unless its image tag or compose config actually changed.
+    docker compose --env-file /tmp/nexus-deploy-env up -d --remove-orphans --wait
+
     docker compose --env-file /tmp/nexus-deploy-env ps
   ' < "$ENV_TMPFILE"
 
@@ -190,9 +198,45 @@ check "/health" "200" "Health"
 check "/api/v1/operations/snapshot" "401" "Operations auth"
 check_post "/api/v1/chat" "401" "Chat auth"
 
+# ── Auth Smoke: SeedAudit owner_created exists in DB ──
+echo ""
+echo "Auth Smoke: SeedAudit owner_created"
+seed_key="$(docker exec nexus-postgres-1 psql -U nexus -d nexus -t -A -c "SELECT key FROM \"SeedAudit\" WHERE key = 'owner_created'" 2>/dev/null || echo "")"
+seed_key="$(echo "$seed_key" | tr -d '[:space:]')"
+if [ "$seed_key" = "owner_created" ]; then
+  echo "  SeedAudit owner_created: ✅ exists"
+  pass=$((pass + 1))
+else
+  echo "  SeedAudit owner_created: ❌ NOT FOUND (DB may not be seeded)" >&2
+  echo "  Raw output: '$seed_key'" >&2
+  fail=$((fail + 1))
+fi
+
+# ── Auth Smoke: Owner login flow returns 401 for unknown password ──
+# This proves the user exists, auth pipeline is functional, and the DB is reachable.
+# We POST with a WRONG password intentionally — a 401 means "user found, password wrong",
+# which is the correct auth flow behavior. A 5xx or connection error means the stack is broken.
+echo "Auth Smoke: Owner login flow"
+login_body="$(curl -sS --max-time 10 \
+  -X POST \
+  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
+  -d "{\"email\":\"${BOOTSTRAP_OWNER_EMAIL}\",\"password\":\"smoke-test-wrong-password-$(date +%s)\"}" \
+  "$BASE_URL/api/v1/auth/login" 2>/dev/null || echo "CONNECTION_ERROR")"
+
+if echo "$login_body" | grep -q '"error":"invalid_credentials"'; then
+  echo "  Owner login flow: ✅ HTTP 401 with valid JSON (auth pipeline working)"
+  pass=$((pass + 1))
+else
+  echo "  Owner login flow: ❌ unexpected response" >&2
+  echo "  Response: $(echo "$login_body" | head -c 200)" >&2
+  fail=$((fail + 1))
+fi
+
 if [ "$fail" -ne 0 ]; then
+  echo ""
   echo "Smoke test failed: $fail failed, $pass passed" >&2
   exit 1
 fi
 
+echo ""
 echo "Nexus v$VERSION deployed and verified"