diff --git a/ka-note/VERSION b/ka-note/VERSION
index 91eac0c..57cd83c 100644
--- a/ka-note/VERSION
+++ b/ka-note/VERSION
@@ -1 +1 @@
-1.2.4
\ No newline at end of file
+1.2.5
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/ka-note/deploy.ps1 b/ka-note/deploy.ps1
index 4cd6995..92b96a6 100644
--- a/ka-note/deploy.ps1
+++ b/ka-note/deploy.ps1
@@ -129,70 +129,80 @@ Write-Host "=== Restart App Service ===" -ForegroundColor Cyan
 az webapp restart --name $APP --resource-group $RG
 
 Write-Host "=== Post-Deploy DB Validation ===" -ForegroundColor Cyan
-Write-Host "  Waiting for server to boot (~20s)..." -ForegroundColor DarkGray
-$bootDeadline = (Get-Date).AddSeconds(45)
-$serverReady = $false
-while ((Get-Date) -lt $bootDeadline) {
-  Start-Sleep -Seconds 3
-  try {
-    $h = Invoke-RestMethod -Uri "$AppUrl/api/health" -Method GET -UseBasicParsing -TimeoutSec 5
-    if ($h.status -eq 'ok') { $serverReady = $true; break }
-  } catch { }
-}
-if (-not $serverReady) {
-  Write-Host "  WARNING: Server did not respond within 45s" -ForegroundColor Red
-}
 
 $validationOk = $false
-if ($serverReady -and $env:KA_NOTE_DEPLOY_API_KEY) {
-  $authHeader = @{ Authorization = "Bearer $env:KA_NOTE_DEPLOY_API_KEY" }
-  $maxRetries = 6
-  for ($attempt = 1; $attempt -le $maxRetries; $attempt++) {
-    try {
-      $stats = Invoke-RestMethod -Uri "$AppUrl/api/admin/stats" -Method GET `
-        -Headers $authHeader -UseBasicParsing -TimeoutSec 15
-      $contextCount = $stats.contextCount
-      $topicCount   = $stats.topicCount
-      Write-Host "  [$attempt/$maxRetries] Contexts: $contextCount, Topics: $topicCount" -ForegroundColor DarkGray
-      if ($contextCount -gt 0 -and $topicCount -gt 0) {
-        Write-Host "  DB validation passed." -ForegroundColor Green
-        $validationOk = $true
-        break
-      }
-      if ($attempt -lt $maxRetries) { Start-Sleep -Seconds 10 }
-    } catch {
-      Write-Host "  [$attempt/$maxRetries] Request error: $_" -ForegroundColor Yellow
-      if ($attempt -lt $maxRetries) { Start-Sleep -Seconds 10 }
-    }
-  }
-  if (-not $validationOk) {
-    Write-Host "  DB validation FAILED after $maxRetries attempts" -ForegroundColor Red
-  }
-} elseif (-not $env:KA_NOTE_DEPLOY_API_KEY) {
-  Write-Host "  KA_NOTE_DEPLOY_API_KEY not set, skipping DB validation" -ForegroundColor Yellow
-  $validationOk = $true
-}
+$keepValidating = $true
 
-if (-not $validationOk) {
-  $latestBackup = Get-ChildItem -Path $BackupDir -Filter "*.db" |
-    Sort-Object LastWriteTime -Descending | Select-Object -First 1
-  Write-Host ""
-  Write-Host "  !! DB appears empty or unreachable after deploy !!" -ForegroundColor Red
-  Write-Host "  Pre-deploy backup: $($latestBackup.FullName)" -ForegroundColor Yellow
-  Write-Host ""
-  $answer = Read-Host "  Restore backup to prod? (yes/no)"
-  if ($answer -eq 'yes') {
-    Write-Host "  Uploading backup to prod..." -ForegroundColor Cyan
-    Invoke-WebRequest -Uri $KuduDbUrl `
-      -Method PUT `
-      -Headers @{ Authorization = "Bearer $KuduToken" } `
-      -InFile $latestBackup.FullName -UseBasicParsing | Out-Null
-    Write-Host "  Backup uploaded. Restarting app..." -ForegroundColor Cyan
-    az webapp restart --name $APP --resource-group $RG
-    Write-Host "  Restore complete. Verify manually: $AppUrl" -ForegroundColor Green
-  } else {
-    Write-Host "  Restore skipped. Manual intervention required!" -ForegroundColor Red
-    exit 1
+while ($keepValidating) {
+  $keepValidating = $false
+
+  Write-Host "  Waiting for server to boot (~20s)..." -ForegroundColor DarkGray
+  $bootDeadline = (Get-Date).AddSeconds(45)
+  $serverReady = $false
+  while ((Get-Date) -lt $bootDeadline) {
+    Start-Sleep -Seconds 3
+    try {
+      $h = Invoke-RestMethod -Uri "$AppUrl/api/health" -Method GET -UseBasicParsing -TimeoutSec 5
+      if ($h.status -eq 'ok') { $serverReady = $true; break }
+    } catch { }
+  }
+  if (-not $serverReady) {
+    Write-Host "  WARNING: Server did not respond within 45s" -ForegroundColor Red
+  }
+
+  if ($serverReady -and $env:KA_NOTE_DEPLOY_API_KEY) {
+    $authHeader = @{ Authorization = "Bearer $env:KA_NOTE_DEPLOY_API_KEY" }
+    $maxRetries = 6
+    for ($attempt = 1; $attempt -le $maxRetries; $attempt++) {
+      try {
+        $stats = Invoke-RestMethod -Uri "$AppUrl/api/admin/stats" -Method GET `
+          -Headers $authHeader -UseBasicParsing -TimeoutSec 15
+        $contextCount = $stats.contextCount
+        $topicCount   = $stats.topicCount
+        Write-Host "  [$attempt/$maxRetries] Contexts: $contextCount, Topics: $topicCount" -ForegroundColor DarkGray
+        if ($contextCount -gt 0 -and $topicCount -gt 0) {
+          Write-Host "  DB validation passed." -ForegroundColor Green
+          $validationOk = $true
+          break
+        }
+        if ($attempt -lt $maxRetries) { Start-Sleep -Seconds 10 }
+      } catch {
+        Write-Host "  [$attempt/$maxRetries] Request error: $_" -ForegroundColor Yellow
+        if ($attempt -lt $maxRetries) { Start-Sleep -Seconds 10 }
+      }
+    }
+    if (-not $validationOk) {
+      Write-Host "  DB validation FAILED after $maxRetries attempts" -ForegroundColor Red
+    }
+  } elseif (-not $env:KA_NOTE_DEPLOY_API_KEY) {
+    Write-Host "  KA_NOTE_DEPLOY_API_KEY not set, skipping DB validation" -ForegroundColor Yellow
+    $validationOk = $true
+  }
+
+  if (-not $validationOk) {
+    $latestBackup = Get-ChildItem -Path $BackupDir -Filter "*.db" |
+      Sort-Object LastWriteTime -Descending | Select-Object -First 1
+    Write-Host ""
+    Write-Host "  !! DB appears empty or unreachable after deploy !!" -ForegroundColor Red
+    Write-Host "  Pre-deploy backup: $($latestBackup.FullName)" -ForegroundColor Yellow
+    Write-Host ""
+    $answer = Read-Host "  Restore backup to prod? (yes/no/retry)"
+    if ($answer -eq 'retry') {
+      Write-Host "  Retrying validation..." -ForegroundColor Cyan
+      $keepValidating = $true
+    } elseif ($answer -eq 'yes') {
+      Write-Host "  Uploading backup to prod..." -ForegroundColor Cyan
+      Invoke-WebRequest -Uri $KuduDbUrl `
+        -Method PUT `
+        -Headers @{ Authorization = "Bearer $KuduToken" } `
+        -InFile $latestBackup.FullName -UseBasicParsing | Out-Null
+      Write-Host "  Backup uploaded. Restarting app..." -ForegroundColor Cyan
+      az webapp restart --name $APP --resource-group $RG
+      Write-Host "  Restore complete. Verify manually: $AppUrl" -ForegroundColor Green
+    } else {
+      Write-Host "  Restore skipped. Manual intervention required!" -ForegroundColor Red
+      exit 1
+    }
   }
 }