diff --git a/deploy.sh b/deploy.sh
index 5cb5f37..8147261 100644
--- a/deploy.sh
+++ b/deploy.sh
@@ -7,8 +7,8 @@ set -e
 
 echo "🚀 Starting TestArena Deployment..."
 
-# 1. Install Dependencies
-echo "📦 Installing dependencies..."
+# 1. Install System Dependencies
+echo "📦 Installing system dependencies..."
 apt-get update
 apt-get install -y nginx python3-pip python3-venv
 
@@ -16,13 +16,18 @@ apt-get install -y nginx python3-pip python3-venv
 echo "🐍 Setting up Python environment..."
 python3 -m venv venv
 source venv/bin/activate
-pip install fastapi uvicorn sqlalchemy
+pip install --upgrade pip
+pip install fastapi uvicorn sqlalchemy pydantic
 
 # 3. Configure Nginx
 echo "🌐 Configuring Nginx..."
-cp nginx/testarena.conf /etc/nginx/sites-available/testarena
-ln -sf /etc/nginx/sites-available/testarena /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
-rm -f /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/default
+if [ -d "nginx" ] && [ -f "nginx/testarena.conf" ]; then
+    cp nginx/testarena.conf /etc/nginx/sites-available/testarena
+    ln -sf /etc/nginx/sites-available/testarena /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
+    rm -f /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/default
+else
+    echo "⚠️ Nginx configuration not found, skipping..."
+fi
 
 # 4. Create Data Directory
 echo "📁 Creating data directory..."
@@ -30,15 +35,25 @@ mkdir -p /home/asf/testarena
 chown -R asf:asf /home/asf/testarena
 chmod -R 755 /home/asf/testarena
 
-# 5. Restart Nginx
-echo "🔄 Restarting Nginx..."
-nginx -t
-systemctl restart nginx
+# 5. Set up Systemd Services
+echo "⚙️ Setting up Systemd services..."
+cp testarena-app.service /etc/systemd/system/
+cp testarena-worker.service /etc/systemd/system/
+systemctl daemon-reload
+systemctl enable testarena-app
+systemctl enable testarena-worker
+
+# 6. Restart Services
+echo "🔄 Restarting services..."
+nginx -t && systemctl restart nginx
+systemctl restart testarena-app
+systemctl restart testarena-worker
 
 echo "✅ Deployment complete!"
 echo "--------------------------------------------------"
 echo "Dashboard: http://asf-server.duckdns.org:8080/"
 echo "Results:   http://asf-server.duckdns.org:8080/results/"
 echo "--------------------------------------------------"
-echo "To start the app: source venv/bin/activate && uvicorn testarena_app.main:app --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8000"
-echo "To start the worker: source venv/bin/activate && python3 -m testarena_app.worker"
+echo "Services status:"
+systemctl status testarena-app --no-pager || true
+systemctl status testarena-worker --no-pager || true
diff --git a/testarena-app.service b/testarena-app.service
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6b64b1b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/testarena-app.service
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+[Unit]
+Description=TestArena FastAPI Application
+After=network.target
+
+[Service]
+User=asf
+Group=asf
+WorkingDirectory=/home/asf/testarena_backend
+Environment="PATH=/home/asf/testarena_backend/venv/bin"
+Environment="DATABASE_URL=sqlite:////home/asf/testarena/testarena.db"
+ExecStart=/home/asf/testarena_backend/venv/bin/uvicorn testarena_app.main:app --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8000
+Restart=always
+
+[Install]
+WantedBy=multi-user.target
diff --git a/testarena-worker.service b/testarena-worker.service
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5ee5e6f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/testarena-worker.service
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+[Unit]
+Description=TestArena Background Worker
+After=network.target testarena-app.service
+
+[Service]
+User=asf
+Group=asf
+WorkingDirectory=/home/asf/testarena_backend
+Environment="PATH=/home/asf/testarena_backend/venv/bin"
+Environment="DATABASE_URL=sqlite:////home/asf/testarena/testarena.db"
+ExecStart=/home/asf/testarena_backend/venv/bin/python3 -m testarena_app.worker
+Restart=always
+
+[Install]
+WantedBy=multi-user.target
diff --git a/testarena_app/database.py b/testarena_app/database.py
index 131e2ea..8f3cb55 100644
--- a/testarena_app/database.py
+++ b/testarena_app/database.py
@@ -1,9 +1,10 @@
-from sqlalchemy import create_all_engines, create_engine
+from sqlalchemy import create_engine
 from sqlalchemy.orm import sessionmaker
 import os
 
 # Using SQLite for simplicity as requested
-DATABASE_URL = "sqlite:///d:/ASF - course/ASF_01/ASF_tools/asf-pc-server/testarena_pc_backend/testarena_app/testarena.db"
+# Use environment variable for database path or default to a relative path
+DATABASE_URL = os.getenv("DATABASE_URL", "sqlite:///./testarena.db")
 
 engine = create_engine(DATABASE_URL, connect_args={"check_same_thread": False})
 SessionLocal = sessionmaker(autocommit=False, autoflush=False, bind=engine)