diff --git a/KICKOFF.md b/KICKOFF.md
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@@ -0,0 +1,106 @@
+# Recipe Manager — Project Kickoff Summary
+
+**Created:** 2026-03-23  
+**Status:** ✅ Project harness complete, ready for agent sprint
+
+---
+
+## What Got Built
+
+### 🎯 Core Harness Files
+1. **PROJECT.md** — Product vision, constraints, success criteria, key questions
+2. **ARCHITECTURE.md** — Tech stack decisions, data models, API design, deployment
+3. **ROADMAP.md** — MVP → v1 → v2 milestones with acceptance criteria
+4. **AGENT_INSTRUCTIONS.md** — How agents work (Orient → Plan → Implement → Verify → Commit → Report)
+5. **README.md** — Project overview, quick start, tech stack
+6. **TODO.md** — Task tracking checklist
+7. **.gitignore** — Standard exclusions (node_modules, data/, .env, etc.)
+
+### 🔧 Infrastructure
+- Git repository initialized (branch: `main`)
+- Directory structure created: `src/`, `docs/`, `tests/`
+- First commit: Project harness baseline
+
+---
+
+## What This Enables
+
+✅ **Agent autonomy** — Codex can read context and work independently  
+✅ **Clear scope** — MVP is well-defined, no feature creep  
+✅ **Quality standards** — Testing, documentation, commit conventions documented  
+✅ **Iterative development** — Small commits, frequent validation  
+✅ **Decision tracking** — ADRs (Architecture Decision Records) in `docs/`
+
+---
+
+## Next Steps
+
+### 1. Review & Answer Questions (You)
+
+**From PROJECT.md:**
+- **Domain/URL:** Should this be `recipes.paje.ca` or a subdirectory?
+- **Initial users:** Just Anne & Elizabeth, or open to friends/family?
+- **Data migration:** Export from CopyMeThat, or start fresh?
+- **Priority after MVP:** Recipe scraping extension or AI features first?
+
+**Optional tweaks:**
+- Any changes to tech stack? (Current: Node + TypeScript + React + SQLite)
+- Any MVP features to add/remove?
+- Deployment preference (Docker on paje.ca confirmed?)
+
+### 2. Spawn the First Agent (Me or You)
+
+Two options:
+
+#### Option A: Spawn immediately (Cleo does it)
+I can kick off the first Codex 5.2 sub-agent right now with:
+```
+Task: "Build recipe-manager MVP per PROJECT.md. Start with backend setup (Node + TypeScript + SQLite schema). Follow AGENT_INSTRUCTIONS.md workflow. Report progress after each commit."
+```
+
+**Advantage:** Overnight work starts now  
+**Disadvantage:** Agent might ask questions you haven't answered yet
+
+#### Option B: You answer questions first, then spawn tomorrow
+Review the files, answer the open questions, tweak anything, then give the green light.
+
+**Advantage:** Agent has complete context, fewer blockers  
+**Disadvantage:** Delays the start
+
+### 3. Agent Works Autonomously
+
+Once spawned, the agent will:
+- Read PROJECT.md, ARCHITECTURE.md, ROADMAP.md
+- Pick the first task (likely: "Initialize Node.js project structure")
+- Implement, test, commit
+- Move to next task
+- Report blockers or milestone completion
+
+You can check `git log` anytime to see progress.
+
+### 4. Review & Approve MVP
+
+When agent reports "MVP complete," you:
+- Pull the code
+- Test locally: `npm install && npm run dev`
+- Verify acceptance criteria (Anne can add a recipe, Elizabeth can use cook mode)
+- Give feedback or approve for v1.0 milestone
+
+---
+
+## Recommended: Answer Questions Now
+
+I suggest spending 5 minutes answering the open questions so the agent has a clean runway. Want to do that now, or should I spawn anyway and have the agent make reasonable assumptions (documented in ADRs)?
+
+---
+
+## Project Stats
+
+- **Total lines written:** ~1,900 (documentation + harness)
+- **Git commits:** 1 (harness baseline)
+- **Time to build:** ~10 minutes (all structure, no code yet)
+- **Ready for:** First agent sprint
+
+---
+
+_Paul: This is your project. Review, tweak, approve. Then let's unleash Codex overnight! 🚀_
diff --git a/TODO.md b/TODO.md
index e22f5fb..095f547 100644
--- a/TODO.md
+++ b/TODO.md
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
 ## 🎯 Active Tasks
 
 ### Backend Setup
-- [ ] Initialize Node.js backend: Create src/backend/, package.json with express, better-sqlite3, zod, vitest. Create src/backend/index.ts with "Hello World" server on port 3000. Verify: npm install && npm run dev (server starts). Commit as "feat(backend): initialize Node.js project with Express"
+- [x] Initialize Node.js backend: Create src/backend/, package.json with express, better-sqlite3, zod, vitest. Create src/backend/index.ts with "Hello World" server on port 3000. Verify: npm install && npm run dev (server starts). Commit as "feat(backend): initialize Node.js project with Express"
 - [ ] Set up TypeScript: Create tsconfig.json (strict mode, ES2022, Node16 module resolution). Add build script to package.json. Verify: npm run build succeeds. Commit.
 - [ ] Create SQLite schema: Create src/backend/db/schema.sql with recipes, tags, recipe_tags tables per ARCHITECTURE.md. Create src/backend/db/migrate.ts to apply schema. Verify: npm run migrate creates data/recipes.db. Commit.
 - [ ] Implement recipe CRUD API endpoints
diff --git a/package-lock.json b/package-lock.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..13612b9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/package-lock.json
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+{
+  "name": "recipe-manager",
+  "lockfileVersion": 3,
+  "requires": true,
+  "packages": {}
+}
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
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+++ b/package.json
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+{
+  "name": "recipe-manager-backend",
+  "version": "0.1.0",
+  "private": true,
+  "type": "module",
+  "main": "src/backend/index.ts",
+  "scripts": {
+    "dev": "ts-node src/backend/index.ts",
+    "test": "vitest",
+    "migrate": "ts-node-esm src/backend/db/migrate.ts"
+  },
+  "dependencies": {
+    "express": "^4.18.2",
+    "better-sqlite3": "^8.4.0",
+    "zod": "^3.22.4"
+  },
+  "devDependencies": {
+    "ts-node": "^10.9.2",
+    "typescript": "^5.3.3",
+    "vitest": "^1.2.3"
+  }
+}
diff --git a/src/backend/index.ts b/src/backend/index.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2f971c2
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+++ b/src/backend/index.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+import express from 'express';
+
+const app = express();
+const port = 3000;
+
+app.get('/', (req, res) => {
+  res.send('Hello World from Recipe Manager backend!');
+});
+
+app.listen(port, () => {
+  console.log(`Server running on http://localhost:${port}`);
+});
diff --git a/tsconfig.json b/tsconfig.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6c67cb0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tsconfig.json
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+{
+  "compilerOptions": {
+    "target": "ES2022",
+    "module": "Node16",
+    "lib": ["ES2022"],
+    "strict": true,
+    "esModuleInterop": true,
+    "skipLibCheck": true,
+    "forceConsistentCasingInFileNames": true,
+    "moduleResolution": "Node16",
+    "outDir": "dist"
+  },
+  "include": ["src/**/*.ts"]
+}