diff --git a/cmd/server/backup.go b/cmd/server/backup.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..91915ed1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cmd/server/backup.go
@@ -0,0 +1,89 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"io"
+	"log"
+	"net/http"
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"strings"
+	"time"
+)
+
+// handleBackup streams a consistent SQLite snapshot of the analyzer DB.
+//
+// Requires API-key authentication (mounted via requireAPIKey in routes.go).
+//
+// Strategy: SQLite's `VACUUM INTO 'path'` produces an atomic, defragmented
+// copy of the current database into a new file. It runs at READ ISOLATION
+// against the source DB (works on our read-only connection) and never
+// blocks concurrent writers — the ingestor keeps writing to the WAL while
+// the snapshot is taken from a consistent read transaction.
+//
+// Response:
+//
+//	200 OK
+//	Content-Type: application/octet-stream
+//	Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="corescope-backup-<unix>.db"
+//	<body: complete SQLite database file>
+//
+// The temp file is removed after the response is fully written, regardless
+// of whether the client successfully consumed the stream.
+func (s *Server) handleBackup(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+	if s.db == nil || s.db.conn == nil {
+		writeError(w, http.StatusServiceUnavailable, "database unavailable")
+		return
+	}
+
+	ts := time.Now().UTC().Unix()
+	clientIP := r.Header.Get("X-Forwarded-For")
+	if clientIP == "" {
+		clientIP = r.RemoteAddr
+	}
+	log.Printf("[backup] generating backup for client %s", clientIP)
+
+	// Stage the snapshot in the OS temp dir so we never touch the live DB
+	// directory (avoids confusing operators / accidental WAL clobber).
+	tmpDir, err := os.MkdirTemp("", "corescope-backup-")
+	if err != nil {
+		writeError(w, http.StatusInternalServerError, "tempdir failed: "+err.Error())
+		return
+	}
+	defer func() {
+		if rmErr := os.RemoveAll(tmpDir); rmErr != nil {
+			log.Printf("[backup] cleanup error: %v", rmErr)
+		}
+	}()
+
+	snapshotPath := filepath.Join(tmpDir, fmt.Sprintf("corescope-backup-%d.db", ts))
+
+	// SQLite parses the path literal — escape any single quotes defensively.
+	// (mkdtemp output won't contain quotes, but be paranoid for future-proofing.)
+	escaped := strings.ReplaceAll(snapshotPath, "'", "''")
+	if _, err := s.db.conn.ExecContext(r.Context(), fmt.Sprintf("VACUUM INTO '%s'", escaped)); err != nil {
+		writeError(w, http.StatusInternalServerError, "snapshot failed: "+err.Error())
+		return
+	}
+
+	f, err := os.Open(snapshotPath)
+	if err != nil {
+		writeError(w, http.StatusInternalServerError, "open snapshot failed: "+err.Error())
+		return
+	}
+	defer f.Close()
+
+	stat, err := f.Stat()
+	if err == nil {
+		w.Header().Set("Content-Length", fmt.Sprintf("%d", stat.Size()))
+	}
+	w.Header().Set("Content-Type", "application/octet-stream")
+	w.Header().Set("Content-Disposition", fmt.Sprintf("attachment; filename=\"corescope-backup-%d.db\"", ts))
+	w.Header().Set("X-Content-Type-Options", "nosniff")
+	w.WriteHeader(http.StatusOK)
+
+	if _, err := io.Copy(w, f); err != nil {
+		// Headers already flushed; just log. Client will see truncated stream.
+		log.Printf("[backup] stream error: %v", err)
+	}
+}
diff --git a/cmd/server/backup_test.go b/cmd/server/backup_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..024ef3cb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cmd/server/backup_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,55 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"net/http"
+	"net/http/httptest"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+// sqliteMagic is the 16-byte file header identifying a valid SQLite 3 database.
+// See https://www.sqlite.org/fileformat.html#magic_header_string
+const sqliteMagic = "SQLite format 3\x00"
+
+func TestBackupRequiresAPIKey(t *testing.T) {
+	_, router := setupTestServerWithAPIKey(t, "test-secret-key-strong-enough")
+
+	req := httptest.NewRequest("GET", "/api/backup", nil)
+	w := httptest.NewRecorder()
+	router.ServeHTTP(w, req)
+	if w.Code != http.StatusUnauthorized {
+		t.Fatalf("expected 401 without API key, got %d (body: %s)", w.Code, w.Body.String())
+	}
+}
+
+func TestBackupReturnsValidSQLiteSnapshot(t *testing.T) {
+	const apiKey = "test-secret-key-strong-enough"
+	_, router := setupTestServerWithAPIKey(t, apiKey)
+
+	req := httptest.NewRequest("GET", "/api/backup", nil)
+	req.Header.Set("X-API-Key", apiKey)
+	w := httptest.NewRecorder()
+	router.ServeHTTP(w, req)
+
+	if w.Code != http.StatusOK {
+		t.Fatalf("expected 200, got %d (body: %s)", w.Code, w.Body.String())
+	}
+
+	ct := w.Header().Get("Content-Type")
+	if ct != "application/octet-stream" {
+		t.Errorf("expected Content-Type application/octet-stream, got %q", ct)
+	}
+
+	cd := w.Header().Get("Content-Disposition")
+	if !strings.HasPrefix(cd, "attachment;") || !strings.Contains(cd, "filename=\"corescope-backup-") || !strings.HasSuffix(cd, ".db\"") {
+		t.Errorf("expected Content-Disposition attachment with corescope-backup-<ts>.db filename, got %q", cd)
+	}
+
+	body := w.Body.Bytes()
+	if len(body) < len(sqliteMagic) {
+		t.Fatalf("backup body too short (%d bytes) — expected SQLite file", len(body))
+	}
+	if got := string(body[:len(sqliteMagic)]); got != sqliteMagic {
+		t.Fatalf("expected SQLite magic header %q, got %q", sqliteMagic, got)
+	}
+}
diff --git a/cmd/server/openapi.go b/cmd/server/openapi.go
index 8149ce1c..650d50c2 100644
--- a/cmd/server/openapi.go
+++ b/cmd/server/openapi.go
@@ -45,6 +45,7 @@ func routeDescriptions() map[string]routeMeta {
 		"POST /api/perf/reset": {Summary: "Reset performance stats", Tag: "admin", Auth: true},
 		"POST /api/admin/prune": {Summary: "Prune old data", Description: "Deletes packets and nodes older than the configured retention period.", Tag: "admin", Auth: true},
 		"GET /api/debug/affinity": {Summary: "Debug neighbor affinity scores", Tag: "admin", Auth: true},
+		"GET /api/backup": {Summary: "Download SQLite backup", Description: "Streams a consistent SQLite snapshot of the analyzer DB (VACUUM INTO). Response is application/octet-stream with attachment filename corescope-backup-<unix>.db.", Tag: "admin", Auth: true},
 
 		// Packets
 		"GET /api/packets": {Summary: "List packets", Description: "Returns decoded packets with filtering, sorting, and pagination.", Tag: "packets",
diff --git a/cmd/server/routes.go b/cmd/server/routes.go
index 292905ed..457da763 100644
--- a/cmd/server/routes.go
+++ b/cmd/server/routes.go
@@ -132,6 +132,7 @@ func (s *Server) RegisterRoutes(r *mux.Router) {
 	r.Handle("/api/admin/prune", s.requireAPIKey(http.HandlerFunc(s.handleAdminPrune))).Methods("POST")
 	r.Handle("/api/debug/affinity", s.requireAPIKey(http.HandlerFunc(s.handleDebugAffinity))).Methods("GET")
 	r.Handle("/api/dropped-packets", s.requireAPIKey(http.HandlerFunc(s.handleDroppedPackets))).Methods("GET")
+	r.Handle("/api/backup", s.requireAPIKey(http.HandlerFunc(s.handleBackup))).Methods("GET")
 
 	// Packet endpoints
 	r.HandleFunc("/api/packets/observations", s.handleBatchObservations).Methods("POST")