diff --git a/setup.sh b/setup.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..f1a69a5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/setup.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,70 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# setup.sh — install system dependencies (Go + Node.js) and project deps.
+# Run once on a fresh server: bash setup.sh
+set -euo pipefail
+
+GO_VERSION="1.22.5"
+NODE_MAJOR="20"
+
+# ── helpers ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+info()  { echo "[setup] $*"; }
+error() { echo "[setup] ERROR: $*" >&2; exit 1; }
+
+# ── Go ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+if command -v go &>/dev/null; then
+    info "Go already installed: $(go version)"
+else
+    info "Installing Go ${GO_VERSION}..."
+    ARCH=$(uname -m)
+    case "$ARCH" in
+        x86_64)  GOARCH="amd64" ;;
+        aarch64) GOARCH="arm64" ;;
+        *)        error "Unsupported arch: $ARCH" ;;
+    esac
+    TARBALL="go${GO_VERSION}.linux-${GOARCH}.tar.gz"
+    curl -fsSL "https://go.dev/dl/${TARBALL}" -o "/tmp/${TARBALL}"
+    rm -rf /usr/local/go
+    tar -C /usr/local -xzf "/tmp/${TARBALL}"
+    rm "/tmp/${TARBALL}"
+
+    # Persist PATH for future shells
+    PROFILE=/etc/profile.d/go.sh
+    echo 'export PATH=$PATH:/usr/local/go/bin:$HOME/go/bin' > "$PROFILE"
+    info "Go installed. PATH updated in $PROFILE"
+fi
+
+# Make Go available in this script's session
+export PATH=$PATH:/usr/local/go/bin:$HOME/go/bin
+
+go version || error "Go install failed"
+
+# ── Node.js ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+if command -v node &>/dev/null; then
+    info "Node.js already installed: $(node --version)"
+else
+    info "Installing Node.js ${NODE_MAJOR}.x via NodeSource..."
+    if command -v apt-get &>/dev/null; then
+        apt-get update -qq
+        apt-get install -y -qq curl ca-certificates gnupg
+        curl -fsSL "https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_${NODE_MAJOR}.x" | bash -
+        apt-get install -y -qq nodejs
+    elif command -v dnf &>/dev/null; then
+        dnf install -y "nodejs:${NODE_MAJOR}"
+    else
+        error "Unsupported package manager — install Node.js ${NODE_MAJOR}+ manually then re-run."
+    fi
+fi
+
+node --version || error "Node.js install failed"
+npm --version
+
+# ── Project dependencies ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+info "Running make install..."
+make install
+
+info "Done. Next steps:"
+info "  1. cp .env.example .env  (fill in your secrets)"
+info "  2. make docker-up && make migrate-up"
+info "  3. make build"
+info "  4. make run-backend   (terminal 1)"
+info "  5. make run-frontend  (terminal 2)"