diff --git a/deploy/cloud-init.yml b/deploy/cloud-init.yml
index 90566651..9a689e98 100644
--- a/deploy/cloud-init.yml
+++ b/deploy/cloud-init.yml
@@ -6,30 +6,20 @@
 #
 # Paste this into your VPS provider's "User Data" field when creating a server.
 # Tested on: Ubuntu 22.04+, Debian 12+
-# Works with any cloud-init compatible provider (DigitalOcean, Hetzner, Linode,
-# Vultr, AWS EC2, Hostinger, etc.)
 #
 # What this does:
 #   1. Installs Docker + Docker Compose plugin
 #   2. Opens firewall ports (SSH, HTTP, HTTPS)
-#   3. Creates a 2GB swapfile (helps small VPS builds avoid OOM)
-#   4. Clones the repo to /opt/archon
-#   5. Prepares .env and Caddyfile from examples
-#   6. Creates a dedicated 'archon' user (docker group only, no sudo)
-#   7. Builds the Docker image (~5 min) as the archon user
+#   3. Clones the repo to /opt/archon
+#   4. Prepares .env and Caddyfile from examples
+#   5. Builds the Docker image (~5 min)
 #
-# Note: On VPS with <2GB RAM, the docker build step can OOM without swap.
-# Note: The 'archon' user has docker access but NOT sudo. For administrative
-#       tasks (updates, reboots), use the default cloud user or root.
-#
-# After the server boots (~5-8 min), SSH in as the archon user:
-#   ssh archon@your-server-ip
+# After the server boots (~5-8 min), SSH in and:
 #   1. Edit /opt/archon/.env — set your AI credentials, DOMAIN, DATABASE_URL
 #   2. cd /opt/archon && docker compose --profile with-db --profile cloud up -d
 #   3. Open https://your-domain.com
 #
 # IMPORTANT: Before starting, point your domain's DNS A record to this server's IP.
-#           SSH keys from the default cloud user are copied to 'archon'.
 #
 
 package_update: true
@@ -40,66 +30,29 @@ packages:
   - git
   - ufw
 
-users:
-  - default
-  - name: archon
-    gecos: Archon Service User
-    shell: /bin/bash
-    lock_passwd: true
-
 runcmd:
-  # --- Swap (helps small VPS avoid OOM during docker build) ---
-  - |
-    if [ ! -f /swapfile ]; then
-      fallocate -l 2G /swapfile || dd if=/dev/zero of=/swapfile bs=1M count=2048
-      chmod 600 /swapfile
-      mkswap /swapfile
-      swapon /swapfile
-      echo '/swapfile none swap sw 0 0' >> /etc/fstab
-    fi
-
   # --- Docker ---
   - curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com | sh
-  - usermod -aG docker archon
+  - systemctl enable docker
+  - systemctl start docker
 
-  # --- Copy SSH keys from default user to archon (so login works immediately) ---
-  - |
-    DEFAULT_USER=$(getent passwd 1000 | cut -d: -f1)
-    if [ -n "$DEFAULT_USER" ] && [ -f /home/$DEFAULT_USER/.ssh/authorized_keys ]; then
-      mkdir -p /home/archon/.ssh
-      cp /home/$DEFAULT_USER/.ssh/authorized_keys /home/archon/.ssh/authorized_keys
-      chmod 700 /home/archon/.ssh
-      chmod 600 /home/archon/.ssh/authorized_keys
-      chown -R archon:archon /home/archon/.ssh
-    elif [ -f /root/.ssh/authorized_keys ]; then
-      mkdir -p /home/archon/.ssh
-      cp /root/.ssh/authorized_keys /home/archon/.ssh/authorized_keys
-      chmod 700 /home/archon/.ssh
-      chmod 600 /home/archon/.ssh/authorized_keys
-      chown -R archon:archon /home/archon/.ssh
-    fi
-
-  # --- Firewall (443/udp needed for HTTP/3 QUIC via Caddy) ---
+  # --- Firewall ---
   - ufw allow 22/tcp
   - ufw allow 80/tcp
-  - ufw allow 443/tcp
-  - ufw allow 443/udp
+  - ufw allow 443
   - ufw --force enable
 
-  # --- Clone and configure (fail fast — single shell so set -e applies) ---
-  - |
-    set -e
-    git clone https://github.com/coleam00/Archon.git /opt/archon
-    cp /opt/archon/.env.example /opt/archon/.env
-    cp /opt/archon/Caddyfile.example /opt/archon/Caddyfile
-    chown -R archon:archon /opt/archon
+  # --- Clone and configure ---
+  - git clone https://github.com/coleam00/Archon.git /opt/archon
+  - cp /opt/archon/.env.example /opt/archon/.env
+  - cp /opt/archon/Caddyfile.example /opt/archon/Caddyfile
 
-  # --- Pre-pull external images (as archon, via docker group) ---
-  - sudo -u archon docker pull postgres:17-alpine
-  - sudo -u archon docker pull caddy:2-alpine
+  # --- Pre-pull external images ---
+  - docker pull postgres:17-alpine
+  - docker pull caddy:2-alpine
 
-  # --- Build the app image as archon ---
-  - sudo -u archon -H bash -c 'cd /opt/archon && docker compose build'
+  # --- Build the app image ---
+  - cd /opt/archon && docker compose build
 
   # --- Signal completion ---
   - |
@@ -108,13 +61,6 @@ runcmd:
     Archon server setup complete!
     ============================================
 
-    Log in as the 'archon' user (not root):
-      ssh archon@<server-ip>
-
-    Note: the 'archon' user has docker access but no sudo. For system
-    maintenance (apt upgrade, reboots), log in as the default cloud user
-    or root.
-
     Next steps:
 
       1. Edit credentials and domain:
@@ -139,7 +85,7 @@ runcmd:
 
     Logs:     docker compose logs -f
     Health:   curl https://your-domain.com/api/health
-    Docs:     https://archon.diy/deployment/docker/
+    Docs:     https://github.com/coleam00/Archon/blob/main/docs/docker.md
     ============================================
     DONE
   - echo "[archon] Setup complete. Edit /opt/archon/.env and run docker compose up."