diff --git a/platform/app.py b/platform/app.py
index c1cc5c5..2590420 100644
--- a/platform/app.py
+++ b/platform/app.py
@@ -193,6 +193,14 @@ def restore_page():
         vm_backups=get_vm_backups(),
         restore_prefill=prefill,
         main_server=MAIN_SERVER_IP,
+        running_on_main_server=RUNNING_ON_MAIN_SERVER,
+        # Only meaningful when running as the standby: "restore on this
+        # server" is nonsensical there (no local cluster/kubectl at all),
+        # so pre-fill the remote-target fields with the tunnel back to the
+        # real main server instead of leaving the user to find these values.
+        tunnel_remote_ip=MAIN_SERVER_SSH_HOST,
+        tunnel_remote_port=MAIN_SERVER_SSH_PORT,
+        tunnel_ssh_key=MAIN_SERVER_KEY,
         active_page='restore',
         page_title='Restore',
         page_subtitle='backup → target'
@@ -836,6 +844,12 @@ def restore_start():
         return jsonify({'error': f'restore-k8s-apps.sh not found at {restore_script_local}'}), 500
 
     if target == 'local':
+        if not RUNNING_ON_MAIN_SERVER:
+            return jsonify({
+                'error': 'This is the standby — there is no local cluster here to restore '
+                         'into. Use "External Machine" to restore onto the real main server '
+                         'over the tunnel instead.'
+            }), 400
         hostname    = os.uname().nodename
         os.makedirs('/root/tmp', exist_ok=True)
         session_dir = f"/root/tmp/restore-session-{uuid.uuid4().hex[:8]}"
diff --git a/platform/static/js/platform.js b/platform/static/js/platform.js
index 4b5b391..63a6db0 100644
--- a/platform/static/js/platform.js
+++ b/platform/static/js/platform.js
@@ -170,7 +170,10 @@ async function refreshSystemMetrics() {
     if (el('g-disk')) el('g-disk').style.width = Math.min(parseFloat(d.disk_pct) || 0, 100) + '%';
     setText('uptime-chip', d.uptime);
     if (el('settings-uptime')) el('settings-uptime').value = d.uptime;
-    if (d.hostname && el('this-server-desc')) el('this-server-desc').textContent = d.hostname;
+    const localTargetRadio = document.querySelector('input[name="restore_target"][value="local"]');
+    if (d.hostname && el('this-server-desc') && !(localTargetRadio && localTargetRadio.disabled)) {
+      el('this-server-desc').textContent = d.hostname;
+    }
   } catch (_) {}
 }
 
diff --git a/platform/templates/pages/restore.html b/platform/templates/pages/restore.html
index 2504e74..d7ce07a 100644
--- a/platform/templates/pages/restore.html
+++ b/platform/templates/pages/restore.html
@@ -63,26 +63,37 @@
 
     <div class="form-section">
       <div class="form-section-title">STEP 2 — SELECT RESTORE TARGET</div>
+      {% if not running_on_main_server %}
+      <div style="margin-bottom:12px;padding:10px 14px;background:rgba(245,158,11,0.08);
+        border:1px solid rgba(245,158,11,0.25);border-radius:8px;font-size:12px;color:var(--yellow);">
+        <i class="fas fa-triangle-exclamation"></i>
+        Running as the standby — there's no local cluster here to restore into.
+        "External Machine" is pre-filled to reach the real main server over the standby's
+        SSH tunnel; only change these if you actually mean a different target.
+      </div>
+      {% endif %}
       <div class="radio-group">
-        <label class="radio-card">
-          <input type="radio" name="restore_target" value="local" checked onchange="toggleRemoteFields()">
-          <div class="radio-body"><span class="radio-icon">🎯</span><div><div class="radio-label">Restore on This Server</div><div class="radio-desc" id="this-server-desc">Loading hostname…</div></div></div>
+        <label class="radio-card{% if not running_on_main_server %} disabled{% endif %}">
+          <input type="radio" name="restore_target" value="local"
+            {% if running_on_main_server %}checked{% else %}disabled{% endif %}
+            onchange="toggleRemoteFields()">
+          <div class="radio-body"><span class="radio-icon">🎯</span><div><div class="radio-label">Restore on This Server</div><div class="radio-desc" id="this-server-desc">{% if running_on_main_server %}Loading hostname…{% else %}Not available on the standby{% endif %}</div></div></div>
         </label>
         <label class="radio-card">
-          <input type="radio" name="restore_target" value="remote" onchange="toggleRemoteFields()">
+          <input type="radio" name="restore_target" value="remote" {% if not running_on_main_server %}checked{% endif %} onchange="toggleRemoteFields()">
           <div class="radio-body"><span class="radio-icon">📡</span><div><div class="radio-label">External Machine</div><div class="radio-desc">via SSH — any IP</div></div></div>
         </label>
       </div>
 
-      <div id="remote-fields" style="display:none; margin-top:16px; max-width:560px;">
+      <div id="remote-fields" style="display:{% if running_on_main_server %}none{% else %}block{% endif %}; margin-top:16px; max-width:560px;">
         <div class="form-row">
           <div class="form-group">
             <label class="form-label">TARGET IP</label>
-            <input type="text" id="remote-ip" class="form-input" placeholder="192.168.x.x or IP">
+            <input type="text" id="remote-ip" class="form-input" placeholder="192.168.x.x or IP" value="{{ tunnel_remote_ip if not running_on_main_server else '' }}">
           </div>
           <div class="form-group" style="max-width:100px;">
             <label class="form-label">SSH PORT</label>
-            <input type="text" id="remote-port" class="form-input" value="22">
+            <input type="text" id="remote-port" class="form-input" value="{{ tunnel_remote_port if not running_on_main_server else '22' }}">
           </div>
           <div class="form-group" style="max-width:120px;">
             <label class="form-label">SSH USER</label>
diff --git a/scripts/sync-standby-platform.sh b/scripts/sync-standby-platform.sh
index c196609..94637b8 100755
--- a/scripts/sync-standby-platform.sh
+++ b/scripts/sync-standby-platform.sh
@@ -35,6 +35,15 @@ VM_DEPLOY_DIR="/root/management-platform"
 
 LOCAL_SRC="/root/CloudOps/platform/"
 LIVE_CONFIG="/root/management-platform/config.py"
+
+# restore_start()/api_backup_run() in app.py reference this as a fixed
+# absolute path (/root/CloudOps/backup/restore-k8s-apps.sh) — it's a
+# sibling of platform/, never baked into the image, reached via the same
+# rw hostPath mount as everything else. Restoring FROM the standby (target
+# = remote, pointed at the main server over the tunnel) needs a local copy
+# here to scp across, so mirror it too, not just platform/.
+LOCAL_BACKUP_SRC="/root/CloudOps/backup/"
+VM_BACKUP_DIR="/root/CloudOps/backup"
 LOG="/root/CloudOps/scripts/sync-standby-platform.log"
 
 SSH_OPTS="-i $VM_KEY -p $VM_PORT -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no -o ConnectTimeout=15"
@@ -63,6 +72,16 @@ if [ $RSYNC_RC -ne 0 ]; then
     exit 1
 fi
 
+ssh $SSH_OPTS "$VM_USER@$VM_HOST" "mkdir -p $VM_BACKUP_DIR"
+BACKUP_CHANGES=$(rsync -a --delete -e "ssh $SSH_OPTS" \
+    --itemize-changes \
+    "$LOCAL_BACKUP_SRC" "$VM_USER@$VM_HOST:$VM_BACKUP_DIR/" 2>>"$LOG")
+if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
+    log "❌ rsync of backup/ failed"
+    exit 1
+fi
+CHANGES="${CHANGES}${BACKUP_CHANGES}"
+
 CONFIG_CHANGED=""
 if ! scp $SCP_OPTS "$LIVE_CONFIG" "$VM_USER@$VM_HOST:$VM_DEPLOY_DIR/config.py.new" &>>"$LOG"; then
     log "❌ Could not copy live config.py to VM"