diff --git a/archive.sh b/archive.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2950992
--- /dev/null
+++ b/archive.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,99 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# ~/docker/ai-image-gen/archive.sh
+#
+# Run this once after `docker compose up -d` succeeds and you're happy
+# with the setup. It:
+#
+#   1. Records the exact image digest (SHA256) for each container
+#   2. Exports each image as a self-contained .tar file
+#   3. Writes a restore.sh you can run on any machine to reload everything
+#
+# The .tar files are large (~8-15 GB total). Store them somewhere safe
+# (external drive, NAS, etc). They never expire and need no internet to load.
+#
+# Usage:
+#   chmod +x archive.sh   (once)
+#   ./archive.sh
+
+set -euo pipefail
+cd "$(dirname "$0")"
+
+ARCHIVE_DIR="./archive"
+mkdir -p "$ARCHIVE_DIR"
+
+SERVICES=("forge" "invokeai")
+
+echo "==> Recording image digests and exporting images..."
+echo ""
+
+# Start restore script
+RESTORE="$ARCHIVE_DIR/restore.sh"
+cat > "$RESTORE" <<'HEADER'
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# Restore saved images to Docker on any machine.
+# Run from the directory containing this script.
+# Requires Docker to be installed (and NVIDIA Container Toolkit for GPU use).
+#
+# Usage:
+#   chmod +x restore.sh
+#   ./restore.sh
+set -euo pipefail
+cd "$(dirname "$0")"
+HEADER
+
+for SERVICE in "${SERVICES[@]}"; do
+    # Get the image name from the running container
+    IMAGE=$(docker inspect --format='{{.Config.Image}}' "$(docker compose ps -q "$SERVICE")")
+
+    # Get the resolved digest (immutable SHA256 — survives tag changes or deletions)
+    DIGEST=$(docker inspect --format='{{index .RepoDigests 0}}' "$IMAGE" 2>/dev/null || \
+             docker inspect --format='{{.Id}}' "$IMAGE")
+
+    TARFILE="$ARCHIVE_DIR/${SERVICE}.tar"
+
+    echo "  Service:  $SERVICE"
+    echo "  Image:    $IMAGE"
+    echo "  Digest:   $DIGEST"
+    echo "  Saving → $TARFILE"
+    docker save "$IMAGE" -o "$TARFILE"
+    echo "  Done."
+    echo ""
+
+    # Append load step to restore script
+    cat >> "$RESTORE" <<ENTRY
+
+echo "==> Loading $SERVICE image from ${SERVICE}.tar ..."
+docker load -i "${SERVICE}.tar"
+echo "    Loaded: $IMAGE"
+echo "    Digest: $DIGEST"
+ENTRY
+done
+
+# Finish restore script
+cat >> "$RESTORE" <<'FOOTER'
+
+echo ""
+echo "==> All images loaded. Copy your docker-compose.yml and data/ directory"
+echo "    to this machine, then run: docker compose up -d"
+FOOTER
+
+chmod +x "$RESTORE"
+
+# Write a digest record as a plain text reference
+DIGEST_FILE="$ARCHIVE_DIR/digests.txt"
+echo "# Image digests captured on $(date)" > "$DIGEST_FILE"
+for SERVICE in "${SERVICES[@]}"; do
+    IMAGE=$(docker inspect --format='{{.Config.Image}}' "$(docker compose ps -q "$SERVICE")")
+    DIGEST=$(docker inspect --format='{{index .RepoDigests 0}}' "$IMAGE" 2>/dev/null || \
+             docker inspect --format='{{.Id}}' "$IMAGE")
+    echo "$SERVICE: $DIGEST" >> "$DIGEST_FILE"
+done
+
+echo "==> Archive complete. Files written to $ARCHIVE_DIR/:"
+ls -lh "$ARCHIVE_DIR/"
+echo ""
+echo "    To restore on another machine:"
+echo "    1. Copy the archive/ folder and docker-compose.yml to the new machine"
+echo "    2. Copy data/ to the new machine (your models and outputs)"
+echo "    3. Run: ./archive/restore.sh"
+echo "    4. Run: docker compose up -d"