diff --git a/deploy/docker-entrypoint.sh b/deploy/docker-entrypoint.sh
index d1a8671..8584af1 100644
--- a/deploy/docker-entrypoint.sh
+++ b/deploy/docker-entrypoint.sh
@@ -62,12 +62,22 @@ log "Wrote nginx config -> $NGINX_CONF_OUT"
 # final sanity test against active config tree
 nginx -t || die "nginx config test failed after install"
 
-# -------- Laravel cache clears (best-effort) --------
+# -------- Laravel setup --------
 if [ -f "$APP_DIR/artisan" ]; then
+  log "Setting up Laravel application"
+  
+  # Ensure cache directories exist with proper permissions
+  mkdir -p "$APP_DIR/storage/framework/cache/data" "$APP_DIR/bootstrap/cache"
+  chmod -R 775 "$APP_DIR/storage" "$APP_DIR/bootstrap/cache" 2>/dev/null || true
+  
+  # Run database migrations
+  log "Running database migrations"
+  ( cd "$APP_DIR" && php artisan migrate --force 2>&1 || log "migrations failed (continuing)" ) | head -10
+  
+  # Clear caches (use file driver to avoid DB dependency during startup)
   log "Clearing Laravel caches"
-  # Use file cache driver during startup to avoid DB dependency
-  ( cd "$APP_DIR" && CACHE_STORE=file php artisan config:clear || log "config:clear failed (continuing)" )
-  ( cd "$APP_DIR" && CACHE_STORE=file php artisan cache:clear  || log "cache:clear failed (continuing)" )
+  ( cd "$APP_DIR" && CACHE_STORE=file php artisan config:clear 2>&1 || log "config:clear failed (continuing)" ) | head -5
+  ( cd "$APP_DIR" && CACHE_STORE=file php artisan cache:clear 2>&1  || log "cache:clear failed (continuing)" ) | head -5
 else
   log "No Laravel app at $APP_DIR; skipping artisan"
 fi