diff --git a/assets/files/gitea/forge-alert.sh b/assets/files/gitea/forge-alert.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fcc407d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/assets/files/gitea/forge-alert.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -euo pipefail
+
+level="${1:-INFO}"     # e.g., INFO, WARN, ERROR
+event="${2:-general}"  # e.g., backup, restore-test
+message="${3:-}"
+
+# Telegram config via environment
+BOT_TOKEN="${TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN:-}"
+CHAT_ID="${TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID:-}"
+
+# Log to syslog
+logger -t soloforge "[$level][$event] $message"
+
+# Send to Telegram if configured
+if [[ -n "$BOT_TOKEN" && -n "$CHAT_ID" ]]; then
+    # Keep the message simple to avoid escaping headaches
+    safe_msg=$(echo "$message" | tr '"' "'" )
+
+    curl -sS -X POST \
+        "https://api.telegram.org/bot${BOT_TOKEN}/sendMessage" \
+        -d "chat_id=${CHAT_ID}" \
+        --data-urlencode "text=[SoloForge][$level][$event] $safe_msg" \
+        >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
+fi
diff --git a/assets/files/gitea/forge-b2-backup.sh b/assets/files/gitea/forge-b2-backup.sh
index 11d69b2..cec868b 100644
--- a/assets/files/gitea/forge-b2-backup.sh
+++ b/assets/files/gitea/forge-b2-backup.sh
@@ -23,8 +23,8 @@ mv "$GITEA_DIR/$dump_file" "$BACKUP_DIR/$dump_file"
 echo "[backup] Dump created at $BACKUP_DIR/$dump_file"
 
 # Optional: Upload to Backblaze B2 via rclone
-# Make sure you configured a remote named 'b2'
-rclone copy "$BACKUP_DIR/$dump_file" b2:soloforge-backups
+# Make sure you configured a remote named 'B2'
+rclone copy "$BACKUP_DIR/$dump_file" B2:soloforge-backups
 
 echo "[backup] Uploaded $dump_file to Backblaze B2"
 echo "[backup] All done."
diff --git a/assets/files/gitea/forge-restore-test.sh b/assets/files/gitea/forge-restore-test.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fbb5cd5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/assets/files/gitea/forge-restore-test.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -euo pipefail
+
+BACKUP_DIR="/gitea/backups"
+TMP_BASE="/tmp/soloforge-restore-test"
+CONTAINER_IMAGE="gitea/gitea:latest"  # for future deeper tests if desired
+
+mkdir -p "$TMP_BASE"
+
+latest="$(ls -1t "$BACKUP_DIR"/gitea-dump-*.zip 2>/dev/null | head -n1 || true)"
+
+if [[ -z "$latest" ]]; then
+    echo "[restore-test] No backup files found in $BACKUP_DIR"
+    forge-alert.sh "ERROR" "restore-test" "No backup files found in $BACKUP_DIR"
+
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+echo "[restore-test] Using latest backup: $latest"
+
+# Basic ZIP integrity test
+echo "[restore-test] Running unzip -t ..."
+if ! unzip -t "$latest" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    echo "[restore-test] unzip -t failed for $latest"
+    forge-alert.sh "ERROR" "restore-test" "Backup failed unzip test: $(basename "$latest")"
+
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+# Optional: extraction smoke test
+tmpdir="$(mktemp -d "$TMP_BASE/restore-test-XXXXXX")"
+echo "[restore-test] Extracting into $tmpdir ..."
+if ! unzip -qq "$latest" -d "$tmpdir"; then
+    echo "[restore-test] unzip extract failed for $latest"
+    forge-alert.sh "ERROR" "restore-test" "Backup failed extraction: $(basename "$latest")"
+    rm -rf "$tmpdir"
+
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+# Clean up
+rm -rf "$tmpdir"
+
+echo "[restore-test] Backup passed unzip + extraction checks."
+forge-alert.sh "INFO" "restore-test" "Backup $(basename "$latest") passed restore tests."
diff --git a/assets/files/gitea/forge b/assets/files/gitea/forge.sh
similarity index 89%
rename from assets/files/gitea/forge
rename to assets/files/gitea/forge.sh
index 94d3105..ee3f49b 100644
--- a/assets/files/gitea/forge
+++ b/assets/files/gitea/forge.sh
@@ -48,6 +48,7 @@ Usage:
   forge gitea-logs             Tail logs from Gitea container
   forge runner-logs            Tail logs from Actions runner container
   forge backup                 Run a Gitea dump and move it into BACKUP_DIR
+  forge restore-test           Run backup restore sanity checks (unzip + extract)
   forge restart-gitea          Restart Gitea stack
   forge restart-runner         Restart Actions runner stack
   forge runner-reset           Re-register runner with current labels (destroys .runner)
@@ -95,26 +96,26 @@ cmd_backup() {
   dest="$BACKUP_DIR/gitea-dump-$ts.zip"
 
   echo "Running Gitea dump inside container: $GITEA_CONTAINER_NAME"
-  # Gitea dump will write gitea-dump-*.zip under /data which is mounted to $GITEA_DIR/gitea
-  docker exec -u 1000 "$GITEA_CONTAINER_NAME" gitea dump -c /data/gitea/conf/app.ini --file /data/gitea-dump-$ts.zip
+  if ! docker exec -u 1000 "$GITEA_CONTAINER_NAME" sh -lc \
+      "gitea dump -c /data/gitea/conf/app.ini --file /data/gitea-dump-$ts.zip"; then
+    echo "Error: gitea dump failed" >&2
+    forge-alert.sh "ERROR" "backup" "gitea dump failed"
 
-  echo "Locating latest dump..."
-  local dump
-  dump=$(ls -1t "$GITEA_DIR"/gitea/gitea-dump-*.zip 2>/dev/null | head -n1 || true)
-
-  if [[ -z "$dump" ]]; then
-    echo "Error: no gitea-dump-*.zip found under $GITEA_DIR/gitea" >&2
     exit 1
   fi
 
-  local base
-  base=$(basename "$dump")
-  local dest="$BACKUP_DIR/$base"
+  if [[ ! -f "$dump" ]]; then
+    echo "Error: expected dump file not found: $dump" >&2
+    forge-alert.sh "ERROR" "backup" "dump file missing: $dump"
+
+    exit 1
+  fi
 
   echo "Moving $dump -> $dest"
   mv "$dump" "$dest"
 
   echo "Backup complete: $dest"
+  forge-alert.sh "INFO" "backup" "Backup complete: $(basename "$dest")"
 }
 
 cmd_restart_gitea() {
@@ -205,6 +206,9 @@ case "$cmd" in
   backup)
     cmd_backup
     ;;
+  restore-test)
+    /usr/local/bin/forge-restore-test.sh
+    ;;
   restart-gitea)
     cmd_restart_gitea
     ;;
diff --git a/content/soloforge-docs.md b/content/soloforge-docs.md
index dfe59a1..6bce60f 100644
--- a/content/soloforge-docs.md
+++ b/content/soloforge-docs.md
@@ -215,9 +215,11 @@ If the runner needs re-registration, follow section 4.3.
 
 ---
 
-## 10. `forge` CLI Tool
+## 10. CLI Toolkit
 
-A custom CLI tool [`forge`](/assets/files/gitea/forge) exists to help manage common tasks:
+### [`forge`](/assets/files/gitea/forge.sh) Tool
+
+A custom CLI tool to help manage common tasks:
 
 | Command                     | Description                                                |
 | --------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------- |
@@ -226,11 +228,24 @@ A custom CLI tool [`forge`](/assets/files/gitea/forge) exists to help manage com
 | `forge gitea-logs`          | Tail logs from Gitea container                             |
 | `forge runner-logs`         | Tail logs from Actions runner container                    |
 | `forge backup`              | Run a Gitea dump and move it into BACKUP_DIR               |
+| `forge restore-test`        | Run backup restore sanity checks (unzip + extract)         |
 | `forge restart-gitea`       | Restart Gitea stack                                        |
 | `forge restart-runner`      | Restart Actions runner stack                               |
 | `forge runner-reset`        | Re-register runner with current labels (destroys .runner)  |
 | `forge diag`                | Quick diagnostic summary                                   |
 
+### [`forge-alert`](/assets/files/gitea/forge-alert.sh) Tool
+
+A companion script that serves as a basic reusable alert sender, capable of logging to syslog and sending notifications via Telegram.  Telegram bot token and chat ID must be set in environment variables by editing `/etc/environment` in a root/`sudo` shell.
+
+### [`forge-b2-backup`](/assets/files/gitea/forge-b2-backup.sh) Tool
+
+A backup script that uploads Gitea dumps to Backblaze B2 cloud storage.  Utilizes `rclone`, so make sure to configure an appropriate remote (`B2` by default)before use.  Alerts via `forge-alert.sh` for backup status.
+
+### [`forge-restore-test`](/assets/files/gitea/forge-restore-test.sh) Tool
+
+A restore test script that performs basic integrity checks on the latest Gitea dump file, including unzip testing and extraction smoke test.  Alerts via `forge-alert.sh` if any issues are detected.
+
 ---
 
 ## TL;DR Cheat Sheet