diff --git a/.dockerignore b/.dockerignore
index ea9fd0d..e92261e 100644
--- a/.dockerignore
+++ b/.dockerignore
@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@ htmlcov/
 
 # Local Postgres data
 pgdata/
+pgdata.bak/
 
 # Captured files (don't include in image)
 *.cap
diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8e2c1ff
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+# Uncomment and set to use external storage for ADS-B history
+# PGDATA_PATH=/mnt/external/intercept/pgdata
diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index e7b6292..18ae397 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -54,3 +54,8 @@ intercept_agent_*.cfg
 # Temporary files
 /tmp/
 *.tmp
+
+# Env files
+.env
+.env.*
+!.env.example
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index 234eb3e..3636b4a 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -94,7 +94,8 @@ services:
       - POSTGRES_USER=intercept
       - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=intercept
     volumes:
-      - ./pgdata:/var/lib/postgresql/data
+      # Default local path (override with PGDATA_PATH for external storage)
+      - ${PGDATA_PATH:-./pgdata}:/var/lib/postgresql/data
     restart: unless-stopped
     healthcheck:
       test: ["CMD-SHELL", "pg_isready -U intercept -d intercept_adsb"]