diff --git a/src/app/api/cron/backfill/route.ts b/src/app/api/cron/backfill/route.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..4a3a2b32
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/api/cron/backfill/route.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,304 @@
+import { NextResponse } from "next/server";
+import { decodeEventLog, type Log } from "viem";
+import { publicClient } from "../../../../../lib/viem";
+import { createServerClient } from "../../../../../lib/supabase";
+import {
+  storyFactoryAbi,
+  plotChainedEvent,
+  storylineCreatedEvent,
+  donationEvent,
+} from "../../../../../lib/contracts/abi";
+import { STORY_FACTORY } from "../../../../../lib/contracts/constants";
+import { hashContent } from "../../../../../lib/content";
+import { detectWriterType } from "../../../../../lib/contracts/erc8004";
+import type { Database } from "../../../../../lib/supabase";
+
+const IPFS_GATEWAY = "https://ipfs.filebase.io/ipfs/";
+const IPFS_TIMEOUT_MS = 10_000;
+
+/**
+ * How many blocks to scan per cron run (~5 min on Base = ~150 blocks at 2s/block).
+ * Slightly over-scan to handle timing variance.
+ */
+const SCAN_BLOCKS = BigInt(200);
+
+/** Cron authorization — set CRON_SECRET env var to protect this endpoint */
+function verifyCron(req: Request): boolean {
+  const secret = process.env.CRON_SECRET;
+  if (!secret) return true; // no secret configured = open (dev mode)
+  const authHeader = req.headers.get("authorization");
+  return authHeader === `Bearer ${secret}`;
+}
+
+async function fetchIPFSContent(cid: string): Promise<string | null> {
+  try {
+    const res = await fetch(`${IPFS_GATEWAY}${cid}`, {
+      signal: AbortSignal.timeout(IPFS_TIMEOUT_MS),
+    });
+    if (!res.ok) return null;
+    return await res.text();
+  } catch {
+    return null;
+  }
+}
+
+async function getBlockTimestamp(blockNumber: bigint): Promise<string> {
+  const block = await publicClient.getBlock({ blockNumber });
+  return new Date(Number(block.timestamp) * 1000).toISOString();
+}
+
+type PlotInsert = Database["public"]["Tables"]["plots"]["Insert"];
+type StorylineInsert = Database["public"]["Tables"]["storylines"]["Insert"];
+type DonationInsert = Database["public"]["Tables"]["donations"]["Insert"];
+
+export async function GET(req: Request) {
+  if (!verifyCron(req)) {
+    return NextResponse.json({ error: "Unauthorized" }, { status: 401 });
+  }
+
+  const supabase = createServerClient();
+  if (!supabase) {
+    return NextResponse.json(
+      { error: "Supabase not configured" },
+      { status: 500 }
+    );
+  }
+
+  // Skip if StoryFactory not yet deployed
+  if (STORY_FACTORY === "0x0000000000000000000000000000000000000000") {
+    return NextResponse.json({
+      skipped: true,
+      reason: "StoryFactory not deployed yet",
+    });
+  }
+
+  const currentBlock = await publicClient.getBlockNumber();
+
+  // Read last processed block from persistent cursor
+  // eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/no-explicit-any
+  const { data: cursor } = await (supabase.from("backfill_cursor") as any)
+    .select("last_block")
+    .eq("id", 1)
+    .single();
+  const lastBlock = cursor?.last_block ? BigInt(cursor.last_block) : BigInt(0);
+
+  // Start from block after last processed; cap toBlock to limit scan per run
+  const fromBlock = lastBlock > BigInt(0) ? lastBlock + BigInt(1) : BigInt(0);
+
+  if (fromBlock > currentBlock) {
+    return NextResponse.json({ skipped: true, reason: "Already up to date" });
+  }
+
+  // Cap scan range per run to avoid timeouts on large backlogs
+  const toBlock = (fromBlock + SCAN_BLOCKS) < currentBlock
+    ? fromBlock + SCAN_BLOCKS
+    : currentBlock;
+
+  // Fetch all StoryFactory logs in the scan range
+  const logs = await publicClient.getLogs({
+    address: STORY_FACTORY,
+    fromBlock,
+    toBlock,
+  });
+
+  let storylinesInserted = 0;
+  let plotsInserted = 0;
+  let donationsInserted = 0;
+  let errors = 0;
+
+  // Cache block timestamps to avoid redundant RPC calls
+  const blockTimestampCache = new Map<bigint, string>();
+  async function getCachedBlockTimestamp(blockNumber: bigint): Promise<string> {
+    const cached = blockTimestampCache.get(blockNumber);
+    if (cached) return cached;
+    const ts = await getBlockTimestamp(blockNumber);
+    blockTimestampCache.set(blockNumber, ts);
+    return ts;
+  }
+
+  for (const log of logs) {
+    try {
+      const decoded = decodeEventLog({
+        abi: storyFactoryAbi,
+        data: log.data,
+        topics: log.topics,
+      });
+
+      const txHash = log.transactionHash!.toLowerCase();
+      const logIndex = log.logIndex!;
+
+      if (decoded.eventName === "StorylineCreated") {
+        await processStorylineCreated(
+          decoded,
+          log,
+          txHash,
+          logIndex,
+          supabase,
+          getCachedBlockTimestamp
+        );
+        storylinesInserted++;
+      } else if (decoded.eventName === "PlotChained") {
+        await processPlotChained(
+          decoded,
+          log,
+          txHash,
+          logIndex,
+          supabase,
+          getCachedBlockTimestamp
+        );
+        plotsInserted++;
+      } else if (decoded.eventName === "Donation") {
+        await processDonation(
+          decoded,
+          log,
+          txHash,
+          logIndex,
+          supabase,
+          getCachedBlockTimestamp
+        );
+        donationsInserted++;
+      }
+    } catch {
+      errors++;
+    }
+  }
+
+  // Persist cursor — advance to highest block actually scanned
+  // eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/no-explicit-any
+  await (supabase.from("backfill_cursor") as any)
+    .update({ last_block: Number(toBlock), updated_at: new Date().toISOString() })
+    .eq("id", 1);
+
+  return NextResponse.json({
+    scanned: { fromBlock: Number(fromBlock), toBlock: Number(toBlock) },
+    processed: {
+      storylines: storylinesInserted,
+      plots: plotsInserted,
+      donations: donationsInserted,
+    },
+    errors,
+  });
+}
+
+// eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/no-explicit-any
+type DecodedEvent = any;
+// eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/no-explicit-any
+type SupabaseClient = any;
+
+async function processStorylineCreated(
+  decoded: DecodedEvent,
+  log: Log,
+  txHash: string,
+  logIndex: number,
+  supabase: SupabaseClient,
+  getTimestamp: (blockNumber: bigint) => Promise<string>
+) {
+  const {
+    storylineId,
+    writer,
+    tokenAddress,
+    title,
+    hasDeadline,
+    openingCID,
+    openingHash,
+  } = decoded.args;
+
+  const timestampISO = await getTimestamp(log.blockNumber!);
+  const writerType = await detectWriterType(writer);
+
+  const storylineRow: StorylineInsert = {
+    storyline_id: Number(storylineId),
+    writer_address: writer.toLowerCase(),
+    token_address: tokenAddress.toLowerCase(),
+    title,
+    plot_count: 1,
+    has_deadline: hasDeadline,
+    writer_type: writerType,
+    last_plot_time: timestampISO,
+    block_timestamp: timestampISO,
+    tx_hash: txHash,
+    log_index: logIndex,
+  };
+
+  await supabase
+    .from("storylines")
+    .upsert(storylineRow, { onConflict: "tx_hash,log_index" });
+
+  // Insert genesis plot
+  const content = await fetchIPFSContent(openingCID);
+  if (content !== null && hashContent(content) === openingHash) {
+    const plotRow: PlotInsert = {
+      storyline_id: Number(storylineId),
+      plot_index: 0,
+      writer_address: writer.toLowerCase(),
+      content,
+      content_cid: openingCID,
+      content_hash: openingHash as string,
+      block_timestamp: timestampISO,
+      tx_hash: txHash,
+      log_index: logIndex,
+    };
+    await supabase
+      .from("plots")
+      .upsert(plotRow, { onConflict: "tx_hash,log_index" });
+  }
+}
+
+async function processPlotChained(
+  decoded: DecodedEvent,
+  log: Log,
+  txHash: string,
+  logIndex: number,
+  supabase: SupabaseClient,
+  getTimestamp: (blockNumber: bigint) => Promise<string>
+) {
+  const { storylineId, plotIndex, writer, contentCID, contentHash } =
+    decoded.args;
+
+  const content = await fetchIPFSContent(contentCID);
+  if (content === null) return; // skip if content unavailable
+  if (hashContent(content) !== contentHash) return; // skip if hash mismatch
+
+  const timestampISO = await getTimestamp(log.blockNumber!);
+
+  const row: PlotInsert = {
+    storyline_id: Number(storylineId),
+    plot_index: Number(plotIndex),
+    writer_address: writer.toLowerCase(),
+    content,
+    content_cid: contentCID,
+    content_hash: contentHash as string,
+    block_timestamp: timestampISO,
+    tx_hash: txHash,
+    log_index: logIndex,
+  };
+
+  await supabase
+    .from("plots")
+    .upsert(row, { onConflict: "tx_hash,log_index" });
+}
+
+async function processDonation(
+  decoded: DecodedEvent,
+  log: Log,
+  txHash: string,
+  logIndex: number,
+  supabase: SupabaseClient,
+  getTimestamp: (blockNumber: bigint) => Promise<string>
+) {
+  const { storylineId, donor, amount } = decoded.args;
+  const timestampISO = await getTimestamp(log.blockNumber!);
+
+  const row: DonationInsert = {
+    storyline_id: Number(storylineId),
+    donor_address: donor.toLowerCase(),
+    amount: amount.toString(),
+    block_timestamp: timestampISO,
+    tx_hash: txHash,
+    log_index: logIndex,
+  };
+
+  await supabase
+    .from("donations")
+    .upsert(row, { onConflict: "tx_hash,log_index" });
+}
diff --git a/supabase/migrations/00003_backfill_cursor.sql b/supabase/migrations/00003_backfill_cursor.sql
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..7bdb192a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/supabase/migrations/00003_backfill_cursor.sql
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+-- Persistent cursor for cron backfill — tracks last processed block.
+create table if not exists backfill_cursor (
+  id integer primary key default 1 check (id = 1), -- singleton row
+  last_block bigint not null default 0,
+  updated_at timestamptz not null default now()
+);
+
+-- Seed the singleton row
+insert into backfill_cursor (id, last_block) values (1, 0)
+  on conflict (id) do nothing;
diff --git a/vercel.json b/vercel.json
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..c9963fd9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/vercel.json
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+{
+  "crons": [
+    {
+      "path": "/api/cron/backfill",
+      "schedule": "*/5 * * * *"
+    }
+  ]
+}