diff --git a/AGENTS.md b/AGENTS.md
index 04fab24..21834d9 100644
--- a/AGENTS.md
+++ b/AGENTS.md
@@ -688,12 +688,24 @@ Rules:
 - `scripts/restore-relay.mjs <archive.jsonl.gz> --dry-run` re-verifies every
   signature; `--to wss://relay` republishes. There is **no default target** —
   restoring is deliberate, and the mistake to avoid is publishing a snapshot back
-  to the live relay. No full restore drill has been run yet (needs a throwaway
-  relay target).
+  to the live relay. Use `scripts/drill-relay.mjs` as the throwaway target.
 - Offsite: `scripts/backup-relay.sh` runs the archive, then `restic backup` +
   `forget --prune` **if** `~/.config/skatespots/restic.env` exists (template:
-  `scripts/restic.env.example`). **Not configured yet — local copies only**, so
-  the archive currently survives relay loss but not disk loss.
+  `scripts/restic.env.example`). **Configured (2026-09-28):** the **CVM host over
+  SFTP**, repo `sftp:skatespots-cvm:/home/ubuntu/skatespots-backups/relay`, via an
+  `~/.ssh/config` alias `skatespots-cvm` (HostName/User/IdentityFile from
+  `~/.config/skatespots/cvm.env`) so no key/host lives in tracked files.
+  `~/.config/skatespots/restic.env` (600, outside the repo) holds the repo URL +
+  the generated `RESTIC_PASSWORD` — **that password is required to restore; keep a
+  copy in a password manager**. A second offsite (Cloudflare R2) can be added by
+  pointing the same file at an S3 repo.
+- **Restore drill (proven 2026-09-28):** `node scripts/drill-relay.mjs [port]`
+  starts a throwaway in-memory NIP-01 relay (`ws`, no persistence); then
+  `node scripts/restore-relay.mjs <archive> --to ws://localhost:<port>` and query
+  it back. Latest run: **114/114 events restored, 0 missing**. Re-run after any
+  archive-format change, or quarterly.
+- `restic check --read-data-subset=10%` was clean after the first offsite push
+  (do this monthly to catch bitrot, not just existence).
 - Weekly systemd user timer: `scripts/install-archive-timer.sh` copies
   `scripts/systemd/skatespots-archive.{service,timer}` into `~/.config/systemd/user`
   and enables them. Logs: `journalctl --user -u skatespots-archive`.
diff --git a/scripts/drill-relay.mjs b/scripts/drill-relay.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2d57c8b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/drill-relay.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,78 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env node
+// Throwaway in-memory NIP-01 relay for RESTORE DRILLS.
+//
+//   node scripts/drill-relay.mjs [port]      # default 7777
+//
+// Proves the backup loop end-to-end without touching production or any third
+// party: start this, `node scripts/restore-relay.mjs <archive> --to
+// ws://localhost:7777`, then query it back and assert every archived event
+// arrived. Deliberately minimal — no persistence, no auth, no relay policy.
+import { WebSocketServer } from 'ws';
+
+const PORT = Number(process.argv[2] || 7777);
+const events = new Map();
+
+function matches(event, filter) {
+  if (filter.ids && !filter.ids.includes(event.id)) return false;
+  if (filter.kinds && !filter.kinds.includes(event.kind)) return false;
+  if (filter.authors && !filter.authors.includes(event.pubkey)) return false;
+  if (filter.since && event.created_at < filter.since) return false;
+  if (filter.until && event.created_at > filter.until) return false;
+  for (const key of Object.keys(filter)) {
+    if (!key.startsWith('#')) continue;
+    const tag = key.slice(1);
+    const wanted = filter[key];
+    if (!Array.isArray(wanted)) continue;
+    if (!wanted.some((v) => event.tags.some(([n, x]) => n === tag && x === v))) return false;
+  }
+  return true;
+}
+
+const wss = new WebSocketServer({ port: PORT });
+
+wss.on('connection', (ws) => {
+  ws.on('message', (raw) => {
+    let msg;
+    try {
+      msg = JSON.parse(raw.toString());
+    } catch {
+      return;
+    }
+    const [type] = msg;
+
+    if (type === 'EVENT') {
+      const event = msg[1];
+      if (event?.id) {
+        events.set(event.id, event);
+        ws.send(JSON.stringify(['OK', event.id, true, '']));
+      } else {
+        ws.send(JSON.stringify(['OK', '', false, 'invalid']));
+      }
+      return;
+    }
+
+    if (type === 'REQ') {
+      const sub = msg[1];
+      const filters = msg.slice(2);
+      const out = new Map();
+      for (const filter of filters) {
+        const matched = [...events.values()]
+          .filter((e) => matches(e, filter))
+          .sort((a, b) => b.created_at - a.created_at);
+        const limited = typeof filter.limit === 'number' ? matched.slice(0, filter.limit) : matched;
+        for (const e of limited) out.set(e.id, e);
+      }
+      for (const e of out.values()) ws.send(JSON.stringify(['EVENT', sub, e]));
+      ws.send(JSON.stringify(['EOSE', sub]));
+    }
+  });
+});
+
+console.log(`[drill-relay] ws://localhost:${PORT} — in-memory, throwaway`);
+for (const sig of ['SIGINT', 'SIGTERM']) {
+  process.on(sig, () => {
+    console.log(`[drill-relay] stopping (${events.size} events held)`);
+    wss.close();
+    process.exit(0);
+  });
+}
diff --git a/scripts/restic.env.example b/scripts/restic.env.example
index f18b9fc..74eeb5f 100644
--- a/scripts/restic.env.example
+++ b/scripts/restic.env.example
@@ -5,7 +5,16 @@
 # Any restic backend works. Examples:
 #   Backblaze B2:  RESTIC_REPOSITORY=b2:my-bucket:skatespots/relay
 #   S3 / R2:       RESTIC_REPOSITORY=s3:https://<account>.r2.cloudflarestorage.com/<bucket>
-#   SFTP (host you already run): RESTIC_REPOSITORY=sftp:user@host:/srv/skatespots-backups
+#   SFTP directly: RESTIC_REPOSITORY=sftp:user@host:/srv/skatespots-backups
+#   SFTP via an ~/.ssh/config alias (keeps the key path out of this file):
+#     Host my-backup
+#       HostName <host>
+#       User <user>
+#       IdentityFile ~/.ssh/backup_key
+#     → RESTIC_REPOSITORY=sftp:my-backup:/path/to/repo
+#
+# Configured here: the CVM host over SFTP using the `skatespots-cvm` ssh alias
+# (see AGENTS.md → Relay archive).
 #
 # One-time init, from this machine:
 #   set -a; . ~/.config/skatespots/restic.env; set +a