diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
index 274ac73..b278536 100644
--- a/.env.example
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -83,6 +83,30 @@ CRAWLER_MAX_IMAGE_BYTES=33554432
 # the image actually contains the binary.
 CRAWLER_CHROMIUM_BINARY=
 
+# ----- Crawler TOR proxy + recircuit -----
+# The compose stack ships a `tor` service (dockurr/tor) and defaults
+# CRAWLER_PROXY to it, so by default all crawler traffic exits via the
+# TOR network. To opt out, set CRAWLER_PROXY= (empty) AND
+# CRAWLER_TOR_CONTROL_URL= (empty) below — the tor service can stay
+# running, it just won't be used.
+#
+# CRAWLER_PROXY: SOCKS5(h) URL. Use `socks5h://` (not `socks5://`) so
+# DNS resolution also goes through TOR, avoiding leaks via the host's
+# resolver. Leave unset to talk to the upstream directly.
+CRAWLER_PROXY=socks5h://tor:9050
+# Control-port URL for SIGNAL NEWNYM ("get a fresh circuit"). Triggered
+# automatically on bad pages (broken-page body, missing #logo) and on
+# the Unauthenticated session probe outcome. Leave unset to disable the
+# recircuit feature (the SOCKS proxy still works).
+CRAWLER_TOR_CONTROL_URL=tcp://tor:9051
+# Auth — cookie file (preferred) or password (HashedControlPassword).
+# Cookie wins when both are set. The bundled torrc enables cookie auth
+# and shares /var/lib/tor between containers via a named volume.
+CRAWLER_TOR_CONTROL_COOKIE_PATH=/var/lib/tor/control_auth_cookie
+# CRAWLER_TOR_CONTROL_PASSWORD=
+# Max NEWNYM-and-retry cycles per recircuit-eligible failure. Default 3.
+CRAWLER_TOR_RECIRCUIT_MAX_ATTEMPTS=3
+
 # ----- Frontend -----
 # The frontend container runs SvelteKit's Node adapter on :3000 and
 # proxies /api/* to BACKEND_URL via src/hooks.server.ts. In compose the
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index a02a992..d3b7625 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -19,11 +19,27 @@ services:
       timeout: 5s
       retries: 10
 
+  tor:
+    # SOCKS5 proxy for the crawler, plus a control port so the backend
+    # can signal NEWNYM on bad pages. See tor/torrc for the daemon
+    # config; both ports are only `expose`d (compose-internal), never
+    # bound on the host.
+    image: dockurr/tor:latest
+    volumes:
+      - ./tor/torrc:/etc/tor/torrc:ro
+      - tor-data:/var/lib/tor
+    expose:
+      - "9050"
+      - "9051"
+    restart: unless-stopped
+
   backend:
     build: ./backend
     depends_on:
       postgres:
         condition: service_healthy
+      tor:
+        condition: service_started
     environment:
       DATABASE_URL: postgres://${POSTGRES_USER:-mangalord}:${POSTGRES_PASSWORD:?POSTGRES_PASSWORD must be set in .env}@postgres:5432/${POSTGRES_DB:-mangalord}
       BIND_ADDRESS: 0.0.0.0:8080
@@ -44,8 +60,19 @@ services:
       # arm64 deployments. Pair with `--build-arg INSTALL_CHROMIUM=true`
       # so the image actually contains the binary.
       CRAWLER_CHROMIUM_BINARY: ${CRAWLER_CHROMIUM_BINARY:-}
+      # TOR proxy + NEWNYM recircuit (see .env.example for details).
+      # Defaults assume the bundled `tor` service above; override to
+      # empty strings to disable.
+      CRAWLER_PROXY: ${CRAWLER_PROXY-socks5h://tor:9050}
+      CRAWLER_TOR_CONTROL_URL: ${CRAWLER_TOR_CONTROL_URL-tcp://tor:9051}
+      CRAWLER_TOR_CONTROL_COOKIE_PATH: ${CRAWLER_TOR_CONTROL_COOKIE_PATH-/var/lib/tor/control_auth_cookie}
+      CRAWLER_TOR_CONTROL_PASSWORD: ${CRAWLER_TOR_CONTROL_PASSWORD:-}
+      CRAWLER_TOR_RECIRCUIT_MAX_ATTEMPTS: ${CRAWLER_TOR_RECIRCUIT_MAX_ATTEMPTS:-3}
     volumes:
       - storage-data:/var/lib/mangalord/storage
+      # Read the TOR control-auth cookie from the shared named volume.
+      # Read-only on the backend side; the tor service is the writer.
+      - tor-data:/var/lib/tor:ro
     # No host port mapping in the default setup — the frontend proxies
     # /api/* through its hooks.server.ts. Expose :8080 only if you want
     # to hit the API directly from the host (e.g., bot scripts during
@@ -67,3 +94,4 @@ services:
 volumes:
   postgres-data:
   storage-data:
+  tor-data:
diff --git a/tor/torrc b/tor/torrc
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ffd47b9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tor/torrc
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+# torrc for the Mangalord crawler.
+#
+# Mounted into the dockurr/tor container at /etc/tor/torrc. The
+# crawler talks to this daemon over the internal compose network only:
+# `expose:` on the tor service surfaces 9050/9051 to sibling
+# containers, never to the host.
+
+# SOCKS5 proxy that reqwest and Chromium use. IsolateDestAddr +
+# IsolateDestPort means each new (destination IP, port) draws a fresh
+# circuit — so a SIGNAL NEWNYM picks up promptly on the next
+# navigation instead of having to wait for an existing dirty circuit
+# to age out.
+SOCKSPort 0.0.0.0:9050 IsolateDestAddr IsolateDestPort
+
+# Control port for SIGNAL NEWNYM. Cookie auth means no secret to manage
+# in .env — the cookie file is created by the daemon at startup and
+# shared with the backend container via the named `tor-data` volume.
+# CookieAuthFileGroupReadable lets the backend's gid read it without
+# having to run as root.
+ControlPort 0.0.0.0:9051
+CookieAuthentication 1
+CookieAuthFile /var/lib/tor/control_auth_cookie
+CookieAuthFileGroupReadable 1
+
+# Keep circuits short-lived so NEWNYM actually changes our visible
+# exit soon. Default is 600s (10 min); 60s is short enough that retries
+# after a brief site rate-limit window almost always see a new IP.
+MaxCircuitDirtiness 60
+
+# Data + logs.
+DataDirectory /var/lib/tor
+Log notice stdout