diff --git a/.devcontainer/Dockerfile.backend b/.devcontainer/Dockerfile.backend
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..eb502a8e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.devcontainer/Dockerfile.backend
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+FROM python:3.14-slim
+
+ARG USERNAME=vscode
+WORKDIR /workspace
+
+# Install system dependencies
+RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y \
+    postgresql-client \
+    iputils-ping \
+    nmap \
+    build-essential \
+    libpq-dev \
+    git \
+    curl \
+    && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
+
+RUN curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_18.x | bash - && \
+    apt-get install -y nodejs
+
+# Install Python dependencies
+COPY ../requirements.txt .
+RUN pip install --no-cache-dir -r requirements.txt
+
+# Expose port
+EXPOSE 8000
+
+# Default command (overridden by devcontainer.json)
+CMD ["sleep", "infinity"]
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/.devcontainer/devcontainer.json b/.devcontainer/devcontainer.json
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..c39c0b22
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.devcontainer/devcontainer.json
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+{
+  "name": "LabGraph-Dev-Env",
+  "dockerComposeFile": "../docker-compose.yml",
+  "service": "app",
+  "workspaceFolder": "/workspace",
+  "customizations": {
+    "vscode": {
+      "extensions": [
+        "ms-python.python",
+        "ms-python.vscode-pylance",
+        "batisteo.vscode-django",
+        "dsznajder.es7-react-js-snippets",
+        "bradlc.vscode-tailwindcss",
+        "esbenp.prettier-vscode",
+        "dbaeumer.vscode-eslint",
+        "tamasfe.even-better-toml",
+        "mhutchie.git-graph"
+      ],
+      "settings": {
+        "python.defaultInterpreterPath": "/usr/local/bin/python",
+        "editor.formatOnSave": true,
+        "editor.defaultFormatter": "esbenp.prettier-vscode"
+      }
+    }
+  },
+  "remoteUser": "vscode",
+  "postCreateCommand": "pip install --upgrade pip && npm install -g npm@latest"
+}
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diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..370ca5ba
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+# Django Settings
+DEBUG=True
+SECRET_KEY=O+6Pr9xDz5/BxDMVxGtivAMkOHbRaAHLA5kc7P05a/4=
+ALLOWED_HOSTS=localhost,127.0.0.1
+
+# Database
+DATABASE_URL=postgres://postgres:password@db:5432/labgraph
+
+# Redis & Celery
+REDIS_URL=redis://redis:6379/0
+
+# Discovery Credentials (Optional for Phase 1)
+PROXMOX_URL=
+PROXMOX_TOKEN_NAME=
+PROXMOX_TOKEN_VALUE=
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..534f29d7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
+services:
+  app:
+    build:
+      context: .
+      dockerfile: .devcontainer/Dockerfile.backend
+    volumes:
+      - .:/workspace:cached
+    environment:
+      - DATABASE_URL=postgres://postgres:password@db:5432/labgraph
+      - REDIS_URL=redis://redis:6379/0
+    networks:
+      - labgraph-net
+    depends_on:
+      - db
+      - redis
+    command: sleep infinity # Keeps the container alive for VS Code
+
+  db:
+    image: postgres:18-alpine
+    environment:
+      - POSTGRES_DB=labgraph
+      - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=password
+    volumes:
+      - labgraph_pg_data:/var/lib/postgresql
+    networks:
+      - labgraph-net
+
+  redis:
+    image: redis:7-alpine
+    networks:
+      - labgraph-net
+
+  worker:
+    build:
+      context: .
+      dockerfile: .devcontainer/Dockerfile.backend
+    volumes:
+      - .:/workspace:cached
+    environment:
+      - DATABASE_URL=postgres://postgres:password@db:5432/labgraph
+      - REDIS_URL=redis://redis:6379/0
+    depends_on:
+      - db
+      - redis
+    networks:
+      - labgraph-net
+    command: celery -A core worker --loglevel=info
+
+networks:
+  labgraph-net:
+    driver: bridge
+
+volumes:
+  labgraph_pg_data:
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/requirements.txt b/requirements.txt
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..f52813e5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/requirements.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+# Web Framework & API
+django>=5.0,<5.1
+djangorestframework
+django-cors-headers
+django-environ
+
+# Database & Task Queue
+psycopg[binary][cite: 1]
+celery[redis][cite: 1]
+django-celery-results[cite: 1]
+redis[cite: 1]
+
+# Data Validation & Logic
+pydantic[cite: 1]
+requests[cite: 1]
+python-nmap
+
+# Development & Security
+gunicorn
+whitenoise
+python-dotenv
\ No newline at end of file