diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index ae59c9f..68667fa 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -33,7 +33,9 @@ RUN CGO_ENABLED=0 go build -trimpath -ldflags="-s -w" -o /chat-cli ./cmd/chat-cl
 # alpine:3.21, 2026-02-26
 FROM alpine@sha256:c3f8e73fdb79deaebaa2037150150191b9dcbfba68b4a46d70103204c53f4709
 RUN apk add --no-cache ca-certificates \
-    && addgroup -S chat && adduser -S chat -G chat
+    && addgroup -S chat && adduser -S chat -G chat \
+    && mkdir -p /var/lib/neoirc \
+    && chown chat:chat /var/lib/neoirc
 COPY --from=builder /chatd /usr/local/bin/chatd
 
 USER chat
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 4a5ca28..a25d89e 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ debug: build
 	DEBUG=1 GOTRACEBACK=all ./bin/$(BINARY)
 
 clean:
-	rm -rf bin/ chatd data.db
+	rm -rf bin/ chatd
 
 docker:
 	docker build -t chat .
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 04d019f..8315bb2 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -1645,7 +1645,7 @@ directory is also loaded automatically via
 | Variable           | Type    | Default                              | Description |
 |--------------------|---------|--------------------------------------|-------------|
 | `PORT`             | int     | `8080`                               | HTTP listen port |
-| `DBURL`            | string  | `file:./data.db?_journal_mode=WAL`   | SQLite connection string. For file-based: `file:./path.db?_journal_mode=WAL`. For in-memory (testing): `file::memory:?cache=shared`. |
+| `DBURL`            | string  | `file:///var/lib/neoirc/state.db?_journal_mode=WAL` | SQLite connection string. For file-based: `file:///path/to/db.db?_journal_mode=WAL`. For in-memory (testing): `file::memory:?cache=shared`. |
 | `DEBUG`            | bool    | `false`                              | Enable debug logging (verbose request/response logging) |
 | `MAX_HISTORY`      | int     | `10000`                              | Maximum messages retained per channel before rotation (planned) |
 | `SESSION_IDLE_TIMEOUT` | string | `24h`                            | Session idle timeout as a Go duration string (e.g. `24h`, `30m`). Sessions with no activity for this long are expired and the nick is released. |
@@ -1667,7 +1667,7 @@ PORT=8080
 SERVER_NAME=My Chat Server
 MOTD=Welcome! Be excellent to each other.
 DEBUG=false
-DBURL=file:./data.db?_journal_mode=WAL
+DBURL=file:///var/lib/neoirc/state.db?_journal_mode=WAL
 SESSION_IDLE_TIMEOUT=24h
 ```
 
@@ -1685,8 +1685,7 @@ docker build -t chat .
 
 # Run
 docker run -p 8080:8080 \
-  -v chat-data:/data \
-  -e DBURL="file:/data/chat.db?_journal_mode=WAL" \
+  -v chat-data:/var/lib/neoirc \
   -e SERVER_NAME="My Server" \
   -e MOTD="Welcome!" \
   chat
@@ -1722,7 +1721,7 @@ make build
 
 # Run
 ./bin/chatd
-# Listens on :8080, creates ./data.db
+# Listens on :8080, writes to /var/lib/neoirc/state.db
 ```
 
 ### Reverse Proxy (Production)
@@ -1763,8 +1762,8 @@ seconds to accommodate long-poll connections.
   string). This allows concurrent reads during writes.
 - **Single writer**: SQLite allows only one writer at a time. For high-traffic
   servers, Postgres support is planned.
-- **Backup**: The database is a single file. Back it up with `sqlite3 data.db ".backup backup.db"` or just copy the file (safe with WAL mode).
-- **Location**: By default, `data.db` is created in the working directory.
+- **Backup**: The database is a single file. Back it up with `sqlite3 /var/lib/neoirc/state.db ".backup backup.db"` or just copy the file (safe with WAL mode).
+- **Location**: By default, `state.db` is created in `/var/lib/neoirc/`.
   Use the `DBURL` env var to place it elsewhere.
 
 ---
diff --git a/cmd/chatd/main.go b/cmd/chatd/main.go
index 8fa7e08..779594a 100644
--- a/cmd/chatd/main.go
+++ b/cmd/chatd/main.go
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ import (
 
 var (
 	// Appname is the application name, set at build time.
-	Appname = "chat" //nolint:gochecknoglobals
+	Appname = "neoirc" //nolint:gochecknoglobals
 
 	// Version is the application version, set at build time.
 	Version string //nolint:gochecknoglobals
diff --git a/internal/config/config.go b/internal/config/config.go
index bdf5835..f2b4308 100644
--- a/internal/config/config.go
+++ b/internal/config/config.go
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ func New(
 	viper.SetDefault("DEBUG", "false")
 	viper.SetDefault("MAINTENANCE_MODE", "false")
 	viper.SetDefault("PORT", "8080")
-	viper.SetDefault("DBURL", "file:./data.db?_journal_mode=WAL")
+	viper.SetDefault("DBURL", "file:///var/lib/neoirc/state.db?_journal_mode=WAL")
 	viper.SetDefault("SENTRY_DSN", "")
 	viper.SetDefault("METRICS_USERNAME", "")
 	viper.SetDefault("METRICS_PASSWORD", "")
diff --git a/internal/db/db.go b/internal/db/db.go
index 20ed77a..41aeee5 100644
--- a/internal/db/db.go
+++ b/internal/db/db.go
@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ func (database *Database) GetDB() *sql.DB {
 func (database *Database) connect(ctx context.Context) error {
 	dbURL := database.params.Config.DBURL
 	if dbURL == "" {
-		dbURL = "file:./data.db?_journal_mode=WAL&_busy_timeout=5000"
+		dbURL = "file:///var/lib/neoirc/state.db?_journal_mode=WAL&_busy_timeout=5000"
 	}
 
 	database.log.Info(