diff --git a/app/server/modules/agents/agent-protocol.ts b/app/server/modules/agents/agent-protocol.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..ab2e5f40
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/server/modules/agents/agent-protocol.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,98 @@
+import { z } from "zod";
+import { safeJsonParse } from "~/server/utils/json";
+
+const backupCommandSchema = z
+	.object({
+		type: z.literal("backup"),
+		payload: z.object({ scheduleId: z.string() }),
+	})
+	.strict();
+
+const agentReadySchema = z
+	.object({
+		type: z.literal("agent.ready"),
+		payload: z.object({ agentId: z.string() }),
+	})
+	.strict();
+
+const backupStartedSchema = z
+	.object({
+		type: z.literal("backup.started"),
+		payload: z.object({ scheduleId: z.string() }),
+	})
+	.strict();
+
+const controllerMessageSchema = z.discriminatedUnion("type", [backupCommandSchema]);
+const agentMessageSchema = z.discriminatedUnion("type", [agentReadySchema, backupStartedSchema]);
+
+export type BackupCommandPayload = z.infer<typeof backupCommandSchema>["payload"];
+export type ControllerMessage = z.infer<typeof controllerMessageSchema>;
+export type AgentMessage = z.infer<typeof agentMessageSchema>;
+
+type Brand<TValue, TBrand extends string> = TValue & {
+	readonly __brand: TBrand;
+};
+
+type MessageSender = {
+	send(message: string): unknown;
+};
+
+export type ControllerWireMessage = Brand<string, "ControllerWireMessage">;
+export type AgentWireMessage = Brand<string, "AgentWireMessage">;
+
+type PayloadForMessage<TMessage extends { type: string; payload: unknown }, TType extends TMessage["type"]> = Extract<
+	TMessage,
+	{ type: TType }
+>["payload"];
+
+const parseJsonMessage = (data: string) => safeJsonParse<unknown>(data);
+
+export const parseControllerMessage = (data: ControllerWireMessage) => {
+	const parsed = parseJsonMessage(data);
+	if (parsed === null) {
+		return null;
+	}
+
+	return controllerMessageSchema.safeParse(parsed);
+};
+
+export const parseAgentMessage = (data: string) => {
+	const parsed = parseJsonMessage(data);
+	if (parsed === null) {
+		return null;
+	}
+
+	return agentMessageSchema.safeParse(parsed);
+};
+
+export const createControllerMessage = <TType extends ControllerMessage["type"]>(
+	type: TType,
+	payload: PayloadForMessage<ControllerMessage, TType>,
+) =>
+	JSON.stringify(
+		controllerMessageSchema.parse({
+			type,
+			payload,
+		}),
+	) as ControllerWireMessage;
+
+export const createAgentMessage = <TType extends AgentMessage["type"]>(
+	type: TType,
+	payload: PayloadForMessage<AgentMessage, TType>,
+) =>
+	JSON.stringify(
+		agentMessageSchema.parse({
+			type,
+			payload,
+		}),
+	) as AgentWireMessage;
+
+export const sendControllerMessage = (target: MessageSender, message: ControllerWireMessage) => {
+	target.send(message);
+};
+
+export const sendAgentMessage = (target: MessageSender, message: AgentWireMessage) => {
+	target.send(message);
+};
+
+export type ControllerData = MessageEvent<ControllerWireMessage>;
diff --git a/app/server/modules/agents/agents-manager.ts b/app/server/modules/agents/agents-manager.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..29b21b3e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/server/modules/agents/agents-manager.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,158 @@
+import { spawn } from "node:child_process";
+import path from "node:path";
+import {
+	createControllerMessage,
+	parseAgentMessage,
+	sendControllerMessage,
+	type BackupCommandPayload,
+} from "./agent-protocol";
+import { logger } from "~/server/utils/logger";
+
+type AgentConnectionData = {
+	id: string;
+	agentId?: string;
+};
+
+type AgentSocket = Bun.ServerWebSocket<AgentConnectionData>;
+type AgentServer = ReturnType<typeof Bun.serve<AgentConnectionData>>;
+const AGENT_SERVER_KEY = Symbol.for("zerobyte.agent-manager.server");
+const AGENT_SOCKETS_KEY = Symbol.for("zerobyte.agent-manager.sockets");
+
+const globalState = globalThis as typeof globalThis & {
+	[AGENT_SERVER_KEY]?: AgentServer;
+	[AGENT_SOCKETS_KEY]?: Map<string, AgentSocket>;
+};
+
+const getServer = () => globalState[AGENT_SERVER_KEY] ?? null;
+const getAgentSockets = () => {
+	globalState[AGENT_SOCKETS_KEY] ??= new Map<string, AgentSocket>();
+	return globalState[AGENT_SOCKETS_KEY];
+};
+const clearAgentSockets = () => {
+	getAgentSockets().clear();
+};
+
+const setServer = (server: AgentServer | null) => {
+	if (server) {
+		globalState[AGENT_SERVER_KEY] = server;
+		return;
+	}
+
+	delete globalState[AGENT_SERVER_KEY];
+};
+
+export const spawnLocalAgent = () => {
+	const wsUrl = `ws://localhost:3001`;
+
+	const agentEntryPoint = path.join(process.cwd(), "app", "server", "modules", "agents", "local-agent.ts");
+
+	const localAgent = spawn("bun", ["run", agentEntryPoint], {
+		env: {
+			...process.env,
+			ZEROBYTE_CONTROLLER_URL: wsUrl,
+		},
+		stdio: ["ignore", "pipe", "pipe"],
+	});
+
+	localAgent.stdout?.on("data", (data: Buffer) => {
+		const line = data.toString().trim();
+		if (line) logger.info(`[agent] ${line}`);
+	});
+
+	localAgent.stderr?.on("data", (data: Buffer) => {
+		const line = data.toString().trim();
+		if (line) logger.error(`[agent] ${line}`);
+	});
+
+	localAgent.on("exit", (code, signal) => {
+		logger.info(`Agent process exited with code ${code} and signal ${signal}`);
+	});
+};
+
+export const agentManager = {
+	start: () => {
+		const existingServer = getServer();
+		if (existingServer) {
+			existingServer.stop(true);
+			setServer(null);
+			clearAgentSockets();
+		}
+
+		logger.info("Starting Agent Manager...");
+		const server = Bun.serve<AgentConnectionData>({
+			port: 3001,
+			fetch(req, srv) {
+				const upgraded = srv.upgrade(req, { data: { id: Bun.randomUUIDv7() } });
+				if (upgraded) return undefined;
+				return new Response("Agent WebSocket endpoint", { status: 200 });
+			},
+			websocket: {
+				open: (ws) => logger.info(`WebSocket opened with id: ${ws.data.id}`),
+				message: (ws, data) => {
+					if (typeof data !== "string") {
+						logger.warn(`Ignoring non-text message from agent connection ${ws.data.id}`);
+						return;
+					}
+
+					const parsed = parseAgentMessage(data);
+
+					if (parsed === null) {
+						logger.warn(`Invalid JSON from agent connection ${ws.data.id}`);
+						return;
+					}
+
+					if (!parsed.success) {
+						logger.warn(`Invalid agent message on connection ${ws.data.id}: ${parsed.error.message}`);
+						return;
+					}
+
+					switch (parsed.data.type) {
+						case "agent.ready": {
+							ws.data.agentId = parsed.data.payload.agentId;
+							getAgentSockets().set(parsed.data.payload.agentId, ws);
+							logger.info(`Backup agent ${parsed.data.payload.agentId} is ready on connection ${ws.data.id}`);
+							break;
+						}
+						case "backup.started": {
+							logger.info(
+								`Backup started on agent ${ws.data.agentId ?? ws.data.id} for schedule ${parsed.data.payload.scheduleId}`,
+							);
+							break;
+						}
+					}
+				},
+				close: (ws) => {
+					if (ws.data.agentId && getAgentSockets().get(ws.data.agentId) === ws) {
+						getAgentSockets().delete(ws.data.agentId);
+					}
+
+					logger.info(`WebSocket closed for agent ${ws.data.agentId ?? ws.data.id}`);
+				},
+			},
+		});
+		setServer(server);
+
+		logger.info(`Agent Manager listening on port ${server.port}`);
+	},
+	sendBackup: (agentId: string, payload: BackupCommandPayload) => {
+		const agentSocket = getAgentSockets().get(agentId);
+
+		if (!agentSocket) {
+			logger.warn(`Cannot send backup command. Agent ${agentId} is not connected.`);
+			return false;
+		}
+
+		sendControllerMessage(agentSocket, createControllerMessage("backup", payload));
+		logger.info(`Sent backup command to agent ${agentId} for schedule ${payload.scheduleId}`);
+		return true;
+	},
+	stop: () => {
+		const server = getServer();
+		if (!server) return;
+
+		logger.info("Stopping Agent Manager...");
+		server.stop(true);
+		setServer(null);
+		clearAgentSockets();
+	},
+};
diff --git a/app/server/modules/agents/local-agent.ts b/app/server/modules/agents/local-agent.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..2e33f5f6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/server/modules/agents/local-agent.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,61 @@
+import { logger } from "~/server/utils/logger";
+import { createAgentMessage, parseControllerMessage, sendAgentMessage } from "./agent-protocol";
+
+const controllerUrl = process.env.ZEROBYTE_CONTROLLER_URL;
+
+class Agent {
+	private ws: WebSocket | null = null;
+
+	constructor(public id: string) {
+		this.connect();
+	}
+
+	private connect() {
+		if (!controllerUrl) {
+			throw new Error("Env variable ZEROBYTE_CONTROLLER_URL is not set");
+		}
+
+		this.ws = new WebSocket(controllerUrl);
+		this.ws.onopen = () => {
+			logger.info(`Agent ${this.id} connected to controller`);
+
+			if (this.ws) {
+				sendAgentMessage(this.ws, createAgentMessage("agent.ready", { agentId: this.id }));
+			}
+		};
+
+		this.ws.onmessage = (event) => {
+			const parsed = parseControllerMessage(event.data);
+
+			if (parsed === null) {
+				console.error(`Agent ${this.id} received invalid JSON`);
+				return;
+			}
+
+			if (!parsed.success) {
+				console.error(`Agent ${this.id} received an invalid message: ${parsed.error.message}`);
+				return;
+			}
+
+			switch (parsed.data.type) {
+				case "backup":
+					logger.info(`Agent ${this.id} starting backup for schedule ${parsed.data.payload.scheduleId}`);
+					if (this.ws) {
+						sendAgentMessage(
+							this.ws,
+							createAgentMessage("backup.started", { scheduleId: parsed.data.payload.scheduleId }),
+						);
+					}
+					break;
+			}
+		};
+		this.ws.onclose = () => {
+			logger.info(`Agent ${this.id} disconnected from controller`);
+		};
+		this.ws.onerror = (error) => {
+			logger.error(`Agent ${this.id} encountered an error:`, error);
+		};
+	}
+}
+
+new Agent(Bun.randomUUIDv7());
diff --git a/app/server/modules/lifecycle/bootstrap.ts b/app/server/modules/lifecycle/bootstrap.ts
index bb8f44ea..9d1e4ab9 100644
--- a/app/server/modules/lifecycle/bootstrap.ts
+++ b/app/server/modules/lifecycle/bootstrap.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import { runDbMigrations } from "../../db/db";
+import { agentManager, spawnLocalAgent } from "../agents/agents-manager";
 import { runMigrations } from "./migrations";
 import { startup } from "./startup";
 
@@ -8,6 +9,8 @@ const runBootstrap = async () => {
 	await runDbMigrations();
 	await runMigrations();
 	await startup();
+	agentManager.start();
+	spawnLocalAgent();
 };
 
 export const bootstrapApplication = async () => {