diff --git a/update.sh b/update.sh
index 027008b..dc8321f 100755
--- a/update.sh
+++ b/update.sh
@@ -3,22 +3,28 @@
 # NextWks — Production Update Script
 # Pulls latest code, rebuilds, restarts NextWks only.
 # Users & auth are managed by Authelia (untouched).
+#
 # Run: cd /opt/nextwks && sudo bash update.sh
+#      cd /opt/nextwks && sudo bash update.sh --wipe-db
 # ============================================================
 set -euo pipefail
 
-GREEN='\033[0;32m'; BLUE='\033[0;34m'; YELLOW='\033[1;33m'; NC='\033[0m'
+GREEN='\033[0;32m'; BLUE='\033[0;34m'; YELLOW='\033[1;33m'; RED='\033[0;31m'; NC='\033[0m'
 info()  { echo -e "${BLUE}$1${NC}"; }
 ok()    { echo -e "${GREEN}$1${NC}"; }
 warn()  { echo -e "${YELLOW}$1${NC}"; }
+error() { echo -e "${RED}$1${NC}"; }
 
 REPO_URL="https://git.lohmar.co.uk/lexton-it/NextWks.git"
 REPO_DIR="/tmp/nextwks-update"
 INSTALL_DIR="/opt/nextwks"
 BIN_DIR="${INSTALL_DIR}/bin"
 DATA_DIR="${INSTALL_DIR}/data"
+WIPE_DB=false
+[ "${1:-}" = "--wipe-db" ] && WIPE_DB=true
 
 info "Updating NextWks..."
+[ "$WIPE_DB" = true ] && warn "Database wipe requested — users will be restored from Authelia"
 
 # Clone fresh copy
 rm -rf "$REPO_DIR" 2>/dev/null
@@ -35,10 +41,14 @@ go build -ldflags="-s -w \
     -X git.lohmar.co.uk/lexton-it/NextWks/core/version.CommitSHA=$(git rev-parse --short HEAD)" \
     -o /tmp/nextwks-core .
 
-# Stop, wipe data, replace, restart
+# Stop, optionally wipe, replace, restart
 systemctl stop nextwks
-warn "Wiping NextWks database (users restored from Authelia on boot)"
-find "$DATA_DIR" -name "*.db*" -delete 2>/dev/null || true
+
+if [ "$WIPE_DB" = true ]; then
+    find "$DATA_DIR" -name "*.db*" -delete 2>/dev/null || true
+    ok "Database wiped"
+fi
+
 cp /tmp/nextwks-core "$BIN_DIR/core"
 chmod 755 "$BIN_DIR/core"
 chown nextwks:nextwks "$BIN_DIR/core"
@@ -49,9 +59,9 @@ sleep 2
 # Verify
 if curl -s --max-time 3 http://localhost:8080/api/health | grep -q ok; then
     ok "NextWks updated to v${VERSION} (${COMMIT_SHA})"
-    info "Users bootstrapped from Authelia"
+    [ "$WIPE_DB" = true ] && info "Users bootstrapped from Authelia"
 else
-    echo "Health check failed — check: sudo journalctl -u nextwks -n 20"
+    error "Health check failed — check: sudo journalctl -u nextwks -n 20"
 fi
 
 # Cleanup