diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 132423a..7b60514 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -29,3 +29,10 @@ kez-sigchains.db
 
 # Cross-test artifacts
 /tmp/
+
+# Personal deploy scripts (have specific host/path baked in — kept local only)
+kez-chat/deploy/deploy.sh
+kez-chat/deploy/deploy.local.sh
+kez-chat/deploy/*.local.sh
+kez-chat/deploy/.env
+kez-chat/deploy/.env.local
diff --git a/kez-chat/deploy/deploy.sh b/kez-chat/deploy/deploy.sh
deleted file mode 100755
index e1ada24..0000000
--- a/kez-chat/deploy/deploy.sh
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,115 +0,0 @@
-#!/usr/bin/env bash
-# Deploy kez-chat to a remote Linux host via rsync + ssh.
-#
-# Usage:
-#   ./deploy.sh [-h host] [-p path] [-s server-domain]
-#
-# Defaults match what we agreed in the design doc:
-#   host         = tudisco@10.5.2.5
-#   path         = /home/tudisco/kez-chat
-#   server-domain= kez.lat   (the KEZ_CHAT_SERVER env var the chat-server uses)
-#
-# What it does:
-#   1. Rsync the three directories the build needs (rust/, kez-chat/,
-#      rust-sig-server/) to <path> on the target.
-#   2. SSH in and run `docker compose up -d --build` from
-#      <path>/kez-chat/deploy/.
-#   3. Hit /v1/healthz to confirm the chat-server came up.
-#
-# This script does NOT install Docker or configure the firewall. Run
-# install-docker.sh once on a fresh host first if needed.
-
-set -euo pipefail
-
-HOST="${HOST:-tudisco@10.5.2.5}"
-REMOTE_PATH="${REMOTE_PATH:-/home/tudisco/kez-chat}"
-KEZ_CHAT_SERVER="${KEZ_CHAT_SERVER:-kez.lat}"
-
-while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do
-  case "$1" in
-    -h|--host) HOST="$2"; shift 2;;
-    -p|--path) REMOTE_PATH="$2"; shift 2;;
-    -s|--server) KEZ_CHAT_SERVER="$2"; shift 2;;
-    *) echo "Unknown flag: $1" >&2; exit 1;;
-  esac
-done
-
-REPO_ROOT="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")/../.." && pwd)"
-cd "$REPO_ROOT"
-
-echo "==> Repo root:       $REPO_ROOT"
-echo "==> Target:          $HOST"
-echo "==> Remote path:     $REMOTE_PATH"
-echo "==> Server domain:   $KEZ_CHAT_SERVER"
-echo
-
-# 1. Make sure the remote dir exists.
-echo "==> Ensuring remote directory exists"
-ssh "$HOST" "mkdir -p '$REMOTE_PATH'"
-
-# 2. Rsync the three subdirs the build needs.
-echo "==> Syncing rust/, kez-chat/, rust-sig-server/"
-rsync -avz --delete \
-  --exclude target/ \
-  --exclude node_modules/ \
-  --exclude '*.db' --exclude '*.db-*' \
-  --exclude .DS_Store \
-  rust/ kez-chat/ rust-sig-server/ \
-  "$HOST:$REMOTE_PATH/" \
-  --files-from=<(
-    find rust kez-chat rust-sig-server -type f \
-      -not -path '*/target/*' \
-      -not -path '*/node_modules/*' \
-      -not -name '*.db' -not -name '*.db-*' \
-      -not -name '.DS_Store'
-  ) 2>/dev/null || {
-    # Fallback: simpler rsync without --files-from if find pipe is awkward
-    rsync -avz --delete \
-      --exclude target/ \
-      --exclude node_modules/ \
-      --exclude '*.db' --exclude '*.db-*' \
-      --exclude .DS_Store \
-      "$REPO_ROOT/rust/" "$HOST:$REMOTE_PATH/rust/"
-    rsync -avz --delete \
-      --exclude target/ \
-      --exclude node_modules/ \
-      --exclude '*.db' --exclude '*.db-*' \
-      --exclude .DS_Store \
-      "$REPO_ROOT/kez-chat/" "$HOST:$REMOTE_PATH/kez-chat/"
-    rsync -avz --delete \
-      --exclude target/ \
-      --exclude node_modules/ \
-      --exclude '*.db' --exclude '*.db-*' \
-      --exclude .DS_Store \
-      "$REPO_ROOT/rust-sig-server/" "$HOST:$REMOTE_PATH/rust-sig-server/"
-  }
-
-# 3. Build and start the stack.
-echo "==> Building + starting docker compose stack on remote"
-ssh "$HOST" bash <<EOF
-set -euo pipefail
-cd '$REMOTE_PATH/kez-chat/deploy'
-export KEZ_CHAT_SERVER='$KEZ_CHAT_SERVER'
-docker compose up -d --build
-echo
-echo "==> Containers:"
-docker compose ps
-EOF
-
-# 4. Healthcheck via the chat-server's own port.
-echo "==> Waiting for chat-server to come up…"
-for i in {1..15}; do
-  if ssh "$HOST" 'curl -fsS http://127.0.0.1:6969/v1/healthz' > /dev/null 2>&1; then
-    echo
-    echo "==> chat-server healthcheck:"
-    ssh "$HOST" 'curl -s http://127.0.0.1:6969/v1/healthz'
-    echo
-    echo "✓ Deployed."
-    exit 0
-  fi
-  sleep 2
-done
-
-echo "✗ chat-server did not become healthy within 30s" >&2
-ssh "$HOST" "cd '$REMOTE_PATH/kez-chat/deploy' && docker compose logs --tail=50 chat-server" >&2
-exit 1