diff --git a/CloudronManifest.json b/CloudronManifest.json
index ea8598d..cc4b5c1 100644
--- a/CloudronManifest.json
+++ b/CloudronManifest.json
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
   "title": "Community Rule",
   "author": "MEDLab",
   "description": "Community governance and rule-building app",
-  "version": "0.1.7",
+  "version": "0.1.8",
   "httpPort": 3000,
   "healthCheckPath": "/api/health",
   "memoryLimit": 805306368,
diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index f0537f9..02db462 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -48,6 +48,9 @@ COPY --from=builder --chown=node:node /app/public ./public
 COPY --from=builder --chown=node:node /app/.next/standalone ./
 COPY --from=builder --chown=node:node /app/.next/static ./.next/static
 COPY --from=builder --chown=node:node /app/prisma ./prisma
+# Facet/template seed JSON — NOT under /app/data (localstorage mount overlays that).
+COPY --from=builder --chown=node:node /app/data ./seed-data
+ENV SEED_DATA_DIR=/app/seed-data
 
 # Prisma CLI (devDependency) is not in the Next.js standalone trace. Install
 # globally in the runner so start.sh can run `prisma migrate deploy`.
diff --git a/docs/guides/ops-backend-deploy.md b/docs/guides/ops-backend-deploy.md
index 200ee53..585c518 100644
--- a/docs/guides/ops-backend-deploy.md
+++ b/docs/guides/ops-backend-deploy.md
@@ -390,6 +390,16 @@ production env vars, and verify the vertical slice before apex cutover
    custom-from allowed — §3).
 5. **Confirm the app is running** in the Cloudron dashboard (Logs tab). Look
    for a clean `prisma migrate deploy` and Next.js listening on port 3000.
+6. **Seed facet data (one-time per environment)** — templates + `MethodFacet`
+   rows for create-flow "Recommended" tags are **not** applied at boot. After
+   first install (or when recommendations return all-zero scores), run:
+   ```bash
+   cloudron exec --app staging.communityrule.info -- \
+     node prisma/seed.bundle.cjs
+   ```
+   JSON lives at `/app/seed-data/` (`SEED_DATA_DIR`); do not use `/app/data`
+   (Cloudron localstorage overwrites it). Re-run after deploy is safe
+   (idempotent upserts / per-section swaps).
 
 **Smoke checklist (acceptance):**
 
@@ -419,6 +429,8 @@ steps below are still required.
 | Magic link not sent | Mail addon or `SMTP_FROM` | Cloudron mail logs; `CLOUDRON_MAIL_SMTP_*` vars |
 | Upload `server_misconfigured` | `UPLOAD_ROOT` unset | Set to `/app/data/uploads` (§3) |
 | Container crash on start | Migration failure | App logs around `prisma migrate deploy` |
+| No "Recommended" on method cards | `MethodFacet` not seeded | §10 step 6; API should return `matches.score > 0` for some methods when `facet.*` set |
+| `seed.bundle.cjs` ENOENT on `/app/data/...` | Old image without `/app/seed-data` | Deploy ≥ 0.1.8; JSON is at `SEED_DATA_DIR=/app/seed-data` |
 
 **Done when:** all smoke checklist items pass. Then proceed to soft-launch
 (§5 phase 2) and, when ready, [CR-99](https://linear.app/community-rule/issue/CR-99/backend-cloudron-production-install-apex-cutover)
diff --git a/prisma/seed/methodFacets.ts b/prisma/seed/methodFacets.ts
index 2b7c3ca..5bb6d75 100644
--- a/prisma/seed/methodFacets.ts
+++ b/prisma/seed/methodFacets.ts
@@ -10,17 +10,14 @@ import {
   resolveFacetMatch,
   sectionFacetsSchema,
 } from "../../lib/server/validation/methodFacetsSchemas";
-
-// Bundled seed runs from repo root (`process.cwd()`); __dirname breaks under esbuild.
-const REPO_ROOT = process.cwd();
-const DATA_DIR = path.join(REPO_ROOT, "data", "create", "customRule");
+import { methodFacetsJsonDir } from "./seedDataPaths";
 
 /**
  * Reads + Zod-validates `data/create/customRule/<section>.json`.
  * Throws on schema failures so the seed aborts before any DB write.
  */
 async function loadSectionFacets(section: SectionId) {
-  const file = path.join(DATA_DIR, `${section}.json`);
+  const file = path.join(methodFacetsJsonDir(), `${section}.json`);
   const raw = await readFile(file, "utf8");
   const parsed = JSON.parse(raw) as unknown;
   const result = sectionFacetsSchema.safeParse(parsed);
@@ -33,7 +30,7 @@ async function loadSectionFacets(section: SectionId) {
 }
 
 async function loadFacetGroups() {
-  const file = path.join(DATA_DIR, "_facetGroups.json");
+  const file = path.join(methodFacetsJsonDir(), "_facetGroups.json");
   const raw = await readFile(file, "utf8");
   const parsed = JSON.parse(raw) as unknown;
   const result = facetGroupsFileSchema.safeParse(parsed);
diff --git a/prisma/seed/seedDataPaths.ts b/prisma/seed/seedDataPaths.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6b57f9d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/prisma/seed/seedDataPaths.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+import path from "node:path";
+
+/**
+ * Root for committed seed JSON (`data/` in dev; `/app/seed-data` on Cloudron).
+ *
+ * Cloudron's localstorage addon mounts `/app/data` at runtime, so facet JSON
+ * must not live there. The Dockerfile copies `data/` → `/app/seed-data` and
+ * sets `SEED_DATA_DIR=/app/seed-data`.
+ */
+export function seedDataRoot(): string {
+  const override = process.env.SEED_DATA_DIR?.trim();
+  if (override) return override;
+  return path.join(process.cwd(), "data");
+}
+
+export function methodFacetsJsonDir(): string {
+  return path.join(seedDataRoot(), "create", "customRule");
+}
+
+export function templateFacetJsonPath(): string {
+  return path.join(seedDataRoot(), "templates", "templateFacet.json");
+}
diff --git a/prisma/seed/templateFacets.ts b/prisma/seed/templateFacets.ts
index 29a69c9..b60a56e 100644
--- a/prisma/seed/templateFacets.ts
+++ b/prisma/seed/templateFacets.ts
@@ -1,16 +1,8 @@
 import { readFile } from "node:fs/promises";
-import path from "node:path";
 import type { PrismaClient } from "@prisma/client";
 import { FACET_GROUP_IDS } from "../../lib/server/validation/methodFacetsSchemas";
 import { templateFacetFileSchema } from "../../lib/server/validation/templateFacetSchema";
-
-const REPO_ROOT = process.cwd();
-const TEMPLATE_FACET_FILE = path.join(
-  REPO_ROOT,
-  "data",
-  "templates",
-  "templateFacet.json",
-);
+import { templateFacetJsonPath } from "./seedDataPaths";
 
 type TemplateFacetRow = {
   templateSlug: string;
@@ -20,12 +12,13 @@ type TemplateFacetRow = {
 };
 
 async function loadTemplateFacets() {
-  const raw = await readFile(TEMPLATE_FACET_FILE, "utf8");
+  const templateFacetFile = templateFacetJsonPath();
+  const raw = await readFile(templateFacetFile, "utf8");
   const parsed = JSON.parse(raw) as unknown;
   const result = templateFacetFileSchema.safeParse(parsed);
   if (!result.success) {
     throw new Error(
-      `Invalid template facet file ${TEMPLATE_FACET_FILE}: ${JSON.stringify(
+      `Invalid template facet file ${templateFacetFile}: ${JSON.stringify(
         result.error.flatten(),
         null,
         2,