diff --git a/RUNBOOK.md b/RUNBOOK.md
index a838358..d7bd826 100644
--- a/RUNBOOK.md
+++ b/RUNBOOK.md
@@ -115,7 +115,14 @@ BORG_PASSCOMMAND="cat /root/.borg-passphrase" borg break-lock /home/srv/files/ba
 All `restore.sh` commands accept `--dry-run` to preview exactly what would
 happen without touching anything, and `--archive NAME` to target a
 specific archive instead of the latest (see archive names via
-`--list-archives`).
+`--list-archives`). Root DB credentials come from `MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD` in
+the environment if set, otherwise from `/root/.mariadb-root.pw` — set
+whichever is more convenient for how you're invoking it. Restore logs go
+to `/var/log/borg/restore-*.log` (the `RESTORE_LOGDIR` environment
+variable overrides the directory, mainly useful for testing). `full` and
+`db` share `borg-backup.sh`'s lockfile, so a restore refuses to start
+while the nightly backup is mid-run (and vice versa) rather than racing
+it.
 
 ### 5.1 Full disaster recovery (new or wiped server)
 
@@ -131,13 +138,16 @@ scratch.
 #    /root/.mariadb-root.pw.
 # 3. Preview:
 ./restore.sh full --dry-run
-# 4. Run for real (refuses if /home/srv/files/content is non-empty):
+# 4. Run for real. --force is only required if /home/srv/files/content
+#    already has data in it (e.g. a stale mount); omit it on a genuinely
+#    empty/fresh server:
 ./restore.sh full --force
 ```
 
-This extracts the full content tree from the archive, restores every
-database dump (users/grants first), and starts the `mariadb` container,
-waiting for it to report healthy.
+This extracts the full content tree from the archive, starts the
+`mariadb` container and waits for it to report healthy, then restores
+every database dump (users/grants first) — the container must be running
+before any of the dump restores, which is why it starts first.
 
 **Verify afterward:**
 - `docker ps` shows `mariadb` running and healthy.
@@ -178,11 +188,18 @@ absolute path it was archived with).
 Quarterly, run a real `full` restore into a scratch directory (not
 `/home/srv/files/content`) to confirm backups are actually usable:
 
+`borg extract` always extracts into the current directory (there's no
+`--destination` flag — this is why `restore.sh` itself `cd`s into the
+destination before extracting), and the archive name must come from
+`borg list --short` (plain `borg list` prints a formatted line, not a bare
+name), so:
+
 ```bash
-mkdir -p /tmp/restore-drill
-BORG_PASSCOMMAND="cat /root/.borg-passphrase" \
-  borg extract --lock-wait 600 /home/srv/files/backups/borg-2025::$(./restore.sh --list-archives | tail -1) \
-  --destination /tmp/restore-drill  # (or adapt restore.sh's TARGET for a one-off dry run into scratch)
+mkdir -p /tmp/restore-drill && cd /tmp/restore-drill
+export BORG_REPO=/home/srv/files/backups/borg-2025
+export BORG_PASSCOMMAND="cat /root/.borg-passphrase"
+LATEST=$(borg list --short | tail -1)
+borg extract --lock-wait 600 "::$LATEST"
 ```
 
 Confirm the dump files under `mariadb/dump/` are present, non-empty, and
diff --git a/restore.sh b/restore.sh
index 89bcc17..b634fa9 100755
--- a/restore.sh
+++ b/restore.sh
@@ -27,6 +27,11 @@ BORG_PASSPHRASE_FILE="${BORG_PASSPHRASE_FILE:-/root/.borg-passphrase}"
 ROOT_PASSWORD_FILE="${ROOT_PASSWORD_FILE:-/root/.mariadb-root.pw}"
 DUMP_SUBDIR="mariadb/dump"
 
+# Same lockfile borg-backup.sh takes (via flock -n 9) before touching $TARGET
+# or the repo, so a restore and the nightly backup cron job can never run
+# concurrently against each other.
+LOCKFILE="${LOCKFILE:-/var/lock/borg-backup.lock}"
+
 LOGDIR="${RESTORE_LOGDIR:-/var/log/borg}"
 mkdir -p "$LOGDIR" 2>/dev/null || LOGDIR="/tmp"
 LOGFILE="$LOGDIR/restore-$(date +%Y-%m-%d-%H%M%S).log"
@@ -52,7 +57,23 @@ run_cmd() {
     "$@"
 }
 
+acquire_lock() {
+    exec 9>"$LOCKFILE"
+    if ! flock -n 9; then
+        die "another backup or restore is already running (lock held on $LOCKFILE)"
+    fi
+}
+
+preflight() {
+    [[ -r "$BORG_PASSPHRASE_FILE" ]] || die "passphrase file not readable: $BORG_PASSPHRASE_FILE (chmod 600 it or check the path)"
+    borg info --lock-wait 60 >/dev/null 2>&1 || die "cannot reach borg repo $REPO (check the passphrase file, permissions, and that the repo exists)"
+}
+
 resolve_archive() {
+    # Deliberately does NOT filter by hostname (unlike borg-backup.sh's
+    # ARCHIVE_GLOB="$(hostname -s)-*" used for prune/list): disaster recovery
+    # may need to run from a different host than the one that made the
+    # backup, so any archive in the repo is a valid restore candidate.
     if [[ -n "$ARCHIVE_OVERRIDE" ]]; then
         RESOLVED_ARCHIVE="$ARCHIVE_OVERRIDE"
         return 0
@@ -81,6 +102,7 @@ cmd_file() {
         log "[DRY-RUN] would extract ${ARCHIVE_TARGET_PATH}/${rel_path} from ${REPO}::${RESOLVED_ARCHIVE} into $dest"
         return 0
     fi
+    preflight
     local final
     final="$(extract_path "$rel_path" "$dest" "$RESOLVED_ARCHIVE" | tail -n1)"
     log "Restored file available at: $final"
@@ -132,6 +154,7 @@ cmd_db() {
         return 0
     fi
     confirm_or_abort "$dbname"
+    preflight
     dest="/tmp/restore-db-$$"
     dumpfile="$(extract_path "${DUMP_SUBDIR}/${dbname}.sql" "$dest" "$RESOLVED_ARCHIVE" | tail -n1)"
     detect_client
@@ -171,7 +194,7 @@ start_db() {
 }
 
 cmd_full() {
-    local staging dumpdir f dbname
+    local dumpdir f dbname
     resolve_archive
     step "Full restore from archive $RESOLVED_ARCHIVE into $TARGET"
 
@@ -181,30 +204,39 @@ cmd_full() {
 
     if [[ "$DRY_RUN" == true ]]; then
         log "[DRY-RUN] would extract full ${ARCHIVE_TARGET_PATH} tree from ${REPO}::${RESOLVED_ARCHIVE} into $TARGET"
-        log "[DRY-RUN] would restore every *.sql dump under ${DUMP_SUBDIR}/ using root credentials"
         log "[DRY-RUN] would start $DB_CONTAINER and wait for it to become healthy"
+        log "[DRY-RUN] would restore every *.sql dump under ${DUMP_SUBDIR}/ using root credentials"
         return 0
     fi
 
-    staging="/tmp/restore-full-$$"
-    mkdir -p "$staging"
-    ( cd "$staging" && run_cmd borg extract --lock-wait 600 "${REPO}::${RESOLVED_ARCHIVE}" "${ARCHIVE_TARGET_PATH}" )
+    preflight
 
-    mkdir -p "$(dirname "$TARGET")"
-    rm -rf "${TARGET:?}"/* 2>/dev/null || true
+    # rm -rf "$TARGET"/* leaves dotfiles behind (stale .nobackup markers, app
+    # state) mixed in with the restored tree; find -delete removes everything.
+    if [[ -d "$TARGET" ]] && [[ -n "$(ls -A "$TARGET" 2>/dev/null)" ]]; then
+        find "${TARGET:?}" -mindepth 1 -delete
+    fi
     mkdir -p "$TARGET"
-    run_cmd cp -a "${staging}/${ARCHIVE_TARGET_PATH}/." "$TARGET/"
-    rm -rf "$staging"
 
-    detect_client
-    get_root_creds
+    # Borg records the absolute path it was given at create time, so
+    # extracting from / with the leading-slash-stripped path recreates the
+    # tree directly at $TARGET - no staging copy, no doubled disk usage.
+    ( cd / && run_cmd borg extract --lock-wait 600 "${REPO}::${RESOLVED_ARCHIVE}" "${ARCHIVE_TARGET_PATH}" )
 
     dumpdir="${TARGET}/${DUMP_SUBDIR}"
     [[ -d "$dumpdir" ]] || die "no dump directory found after extract: $dumpdir"
 
+    # The container must be running before any docker exec against it - on a
+    # freshly rebuilt server it's created but stopped, so start it first.
+    step "Starting $DB_CONTAINER"
+    start_db || die "CRITICAL: $DB_CONTAINER did not come up after extract"
+
+    detect_client
+    get_root_creds
+
     if [[ -f "${dumpdir}/00-users-and-grants.sql" ]]; then
         step "Restoring users and grants"
-        docker exec -i -e MYSQL_PWD="$DB_PASS" "$DB_CONTAINER" \
+        run_cmd docker exec -i -e MYSQL_PWD="$DB_PASS" "$DB_CONTAINER" \
             "$CLIENT_BIN" -u root < "${dumpdir}/00-users-and-grants.sql"
     fi
 
@@ -215,9 +247,6 @@ cmd_full() {
         restore_single_db "$f" "$dbname"
     done
 
-    step "Starting $DB_CONTAINER"
-    start_db || die "CRITICAL: $DB_CONTAINER did not come up after restore"
-
     log "Full restore complete from archive $RESOLVED_ARCHIVE"
 }
 
@@ -270,6 +299,7 @@ main() {
         full)
             shift
             parse_common_flags "$@"
+            acquire_lock
             cmd_full
             ;;
         db)
@@ -278,6 +308,7 @@ main() {
             [[ -n "$dbname" ]] || die "db: missing <db_name>"
             shift
             parse_common_flags "$@"
+            acquire_lock
             cmd_db "$dbname"
             ;;
         file)
@@ -286,6 +317,7 @@ main() {
             [[ -n "$relpath" ]] || die "file: missing <path>"
             shift
             parse_common_flags "$@"
+            acquire_lock
             cmd_file "$relpath"
             ;;
         *)
diff --git a/tests/lib/setup_mocks.sh b/tests/lib/setup_mocks.sh
index 0951703..a6f570b 100644
--- a/tests/lib/setup_mocks.sh
+++ b/tests/lib/setup_mocks.sh
@@ -75,5 +75,36 @@ exit 0
 EOF
     cp "$dir/mysql" "$dir/mariadb"
 
-    chmod +x "$dir/borg" "$dir/docker" "$dir/mysql" "$dir/mariadb"
+    # flock(1) is Linux-only (util-linux) and absent on macOS dev machines;
+    # restore.sh only ever uses the "flock -n FD" form (never the
+    # command-wrapping form), so a no-op success is a faithful stand-in for
+    # exclusion testing purposes - no test here exercises actual contention.
+    cat > "$dir/flock" <<EOF
+#!/bin/bash
+echo "flock \$*" >> "$mocklog"
+exit 0
+EOF
+
+    chmod +x "$dir/borg" "$dir/docker" "$dir/mysql" "$dir/mariadb" "$dir/flock"
+}
+
+# restore.sh hardens PATH with system dirs (/usr/local/bin etc.) placed
+# ahead of $PATH, so `PATH="$mockdir:$PATH" ...` alone does NOT guarantee the
+# mock is what actually runs: a real borg/docker/mysql/mariadb installed in
+# one of those system dirs would shadow it. BASH_ENV is sourced by bash
+# before running a script and shell functions win over PATH lookup for
+# simple commands regardless of PATH ordering, so this is what actually
+# guarantees isolation on any machine, not just ones that happen to lack
+# those binaries in the hardened prefix.
+mock_bash_env() {
+    local dir="$1"
+    local bashenv="$dir/bash_env.sh"
+    cat > "$bashenv" <<EOF
+borg() { "$dir/borg" "\$@"; }
+docker() { "$dir/docker" "\$@"; }
+mysql() { "$dir/mysql" "\$@"; }
+mariadb() { "$dir/mariadb" "\$@"; }
+flock() { "$dir/flock" "\$@"; }
+EOF
+    echo "$bashenv"
 }
diff --git a/tests/test_restore.sh b/tests/test_restore.sh
index 509238b..6bc3abe 100755
--- a/tests/test_restore.sh
+++ b/tests/test_restore.sh
@@ -49,22 +49,34 @@ test_unknown_command_exits_one() {
 
 source "$HERE/lib/setup_mocks.sh"
 
+# Every test below isolates two things beyond PATH: BASH_ENV forces borg/
+# docker/mysql/mariadb to the mock regardless of what's really installed on
+# this machine's PATH (restore.sh's own hardened PATH would otherwise shadow
+# the mock with any real binary in a system dir), and LOCKFILE/
+# BORG_PASSPHRASE_FILE point at throwaway files so acquire_lock()/preflight()
+# never touch real system paths like /var/lock or /root.
+
 test_list_archives() {
     local mockdir out
     mockdir="$(mktemp -d)"
     setup_mock_bin "$mockdir"
-    out="$(PATH="$mockdir:$PATH" bash "$RESTORE" --list-archives)"
+    out="$(PATH="$mockdir:$PATH" BASH_ENV="$(mock_bash_env "$mockdir")" bash "$RESTORE" --list-archives)"
     assert_contains "$out" "host-2026-01-01T00-00-00" "list-archives shows first archive"
     assert_contains "$out" "host-2026-06-01T00-00-00" "list-archives shows latest archive"
     rm -rf "$mockdir"
 }
 
 test_file_restore_extracts_to_dest() {
-    local mockdir dest out final
+    local mockdir dest out final passfile lockfile
     mockdir="$(mktemp -d)"
     dest="$(mktemp -d)"
     setup_mock_bin "$mockdir"
-    out="$(PATH="$mockdir:$PATH" bash "$RESTORE" file photos/img.jpg --dest "$dest")"
+    passfile="$mockdir/passphrase"
+    lockfile="$mockdir/lock"
+    echo "s3cr3t" > "$passfile"
+    out="$(PATH="$mockdir:$PATH" BASH_ENV="$(mock_bash_env "$mockdir")" \
+        BORG_PASSPHRASE_FILE="$passfile" LOCKFILE="$lockfile" \
+        bash "$RESTORE" file photos/img.jpg --dest "$dest")"
     final="$dest/home/srv/files/content/photos/img.jpg"
     assert_contains "$out" "Restored file available at: $final" "file mode reports final path"
     if [[ -f "$final" ]]; then
@@ -81,7 +93,8 @@ test_file_restore_dry_run_makes_no_borg_call() {
     mockdir="$(mktemp -d)"
     dest="$(mktemp -d)"
     setup_mock_bin "$mockdir"
-    PATH="$mockdir:$PATH" bash "$RESTORE" file photos/img.jpg --dest "$dest" --dry-run >/dev/null
+    PATH="$mockdir:$PATH" BASH_ENV="$(mock_bash_env "$mockdir")" LOCKFILE="$mockdir/lock" \
+        bash "$RESTORE" file photos/img.jpg --dest "$dest" --dry-run >/dev/null
     if [[ -s "$mockdir/mock.log" ]] && grep -q "^borg extract" "$mockdir/mock.log"; then
         echo "FAIL: dry-run invoked borg extract"
         FAILURES=$((FAILURES + 1))
@@ -92,20 +105,16 @@ test_file_restore_dry_run_makes_no_borg_call() {
 }
 
 test_db_restore_with_yes_runs_full_sequence() {
-    local mockdir out bashenv
+    local mockdir out passfile
     mockdir="$(mktemp -d)"
     setup_mock_bin "$mockdir"
     echo "rootpass" > "$mockdir/rootpw"
-    # This host may have a real `docker` CLI in one of the system dirs that
-    # restore.sh's hardened PATH prepends (e.g. /usr/local/bin), which would
-    # shadow the mock and make a real (unreachable) docker daemon get called
-    # instead. A BASH_ENV-sourced function takes precedence over PATH lookup
-    # regardless of PATH ordering, so force `docker` to the mock that way.
-    bashenv="$mockdir/bash_env.sh"
-    cat > "$bashenv" <<EOF
-docker() { "$mockdir/docker" "\$@"; }
-EOF
-    out="$(PATH="$mockdir:$PATH" ROOT_PASSWORD_FILE="$mockdir/rootpw" BASH_ENV="$bashenv" bash "$RESTORE" db shopdb --yes </dev/null)"
+    passfile="$mockdir/passphrase"
+    echo "s3cr3t" > "$passfile"
+    out="$(PATH="$mockdir:$PATH" BASH_ENV="$(mock_bash_env "$mockdir")" \
+        ROOT_PASSWORD_FILE="$mockdir/rootpw" BORG_PASSPHRASE_FILE="$passfile" \
+        LOCKFILE="$mockdir/lock" \
+        bash "$RESTORE" db shopdb --yes </dev/null)"
     assert_contains "$out" "Database 'shopdb' restored from" "db mode reports success"
     if grep -q "CREATE DATABASE IF NOT EXISTS" "$mockdir/mock.log"; then
         echo "PASS: db mode issued CREATE DATABASE"
@@ -120,7 +129,8 @@ test_db_restore_dry_run_skips_confirmation_and_calls() {
     local mockdir out
     mockdir="$(mktemp -d)"
     setup_mock_bin "$mockdir"
-    out="$(PATH="$mockdir:$PATH" bash "$RESTORE" db shopdb --dry-run </dev/null)"
+    out="$(PATH="$mockdir:$PATH" BASH_ENV="$(mock_bash_env "$mockdir")" LOCKFILE="$mockdir/lock" \
+        bash "$RESTORE" db shopdb --dry-run </dev/null)"
     assert_contains "$out" "DRY-RUN" "db dry-run prints DRY-RUN plan"
     # cmd_db calls resolve_archive() (a borg list call) before checking DRY_RUN,
     # same as cmd_file does, so mock.log legitimately gets a "borg list" entry.
@@ -139,7 +149,8 @@ test_db_restore_aborts_on_wrong_confirmation() {
     mockdir="$(mktemp -d)"
     setup_mock_bin "$mockdir"
     set +e
-    echo "wrongname" | PATH="$mockdir:$PATH" bash "$RESTORE" db shopdb >/dev/null 2>&1
+    echo "wrongname" | PATH="$mockdir:$PATH" BASH_ENV="$(mock_bash_env "$mockdir")" LOCKFILE="$mockdir/lock" \
+        bash "$RESTORE" db shopdb >/dev/null 2>&1
     rc=$?
     set -e
     assert_eq "1" "$rc" "db mode aborts on mismatched confirmation"
@@ -147,19 +158,20 @@ test_db_restore_aborts_on_wrong_confirmation() {
 }
 
 test_full_restore_refuses_nonempty_target_without_force() {
-    local mockdir target rc
+    local mockdir target out rc
     mockdir="$(mktemp -d)"
     target="$(mktemp -d)"
     touch "$target/existing-file"
     setup_mock_bin "$mockdir"
     set +e
-    PATH="$mockdir:$PATH" TARGET_OVERRIDE=1 bash -c '
+    out="$(PATH="$mockdir:$PATH" BASH_ENV="$(mock_bash_env "$mockdir")" LOCKFILE="$mockdir/lock" bash -c '
         sed "s#^TARGET=\"/home/srv/files/content\"#TARGET=\"'"$target"'\"#; s@^ARCHIVE_TARGET_PATH=.*@ARCHIVE_TARGET_PATH=\"\${TARGET#/}\"@" "'"$RESTORE"'" > "'"$mockdir"'/restore_patched.sh"
         bash "'"$mockdir"'/restore_patched.sh" full
-    ' >/dev/null 2>&1
+    ' 2>&1)"
     rc=$?
     set -e
     assert_eq "1" "$rc" "full mode refuses non-empty target without --force"
+    assert_contains "$out" "is not empty - pass --force" "refusal message names the reason"
     rm -rf "$mockdir" "$target"
 }
 
@@ -168,7 +180,7 @@ test_full_restore_dry_run_makes_no_calls() {
     mockdir="$(mktemp -d)"
     target="$(mktemp -d)"
     setup_mock_bin "$mockdir"
-    out="$(PATH="$mockdir:$PATH" bash -c '
+    out="$(PATH="$mockdir:$PATH" BASH_ENV="$(mock_bash_env "$mockdir")" LOCKFILE="$mockdir/lock" bash -c '
         sed "s#^TARGET=\"/home/srv/files/content\"#TARGET=\"'"$target"'\"#; s@^ARCHIVE_TARGET_PATH=.*@ARCHIVE_TARGET_PATH=\"\${TARGET#/}\"@" "'"$RESTORE"'" > "'"$mockdir"'/restore_patched.sh"
         bash "'"$mockdir"'/restore_patched.sh" full --dry-run
     ')"