diff --git a/backend/app/routers/auth.py b/backend/app/routers/auth.py
index cf06038..3f26f55 100644
--- a/backend/app/routers/auth.py
+++ b/backend/app/routers/auth.py
@@ -13,8 +13,8 @@ from app.schemas.user import UserCreate, UserUpdate, UserResponse, Token
 from app.services.auth import get_password_hash, verify_password, create_access_token
 from app.dependencies import get_current_user
 
-# Avatar upload directory
-UPLOAD_DIR = Path("uploads/avatars")
+# Avatar upload directory (absolute path to ensure consistency)
+UPLOAD_DIR = Path("/app/uploads/avatars")
 UPLOAD_DIR.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
 
 ALLOWED_EXTENSIONS = {".jpg", ".jpeg", ".png", ".gif", ".webp"}
@@ -134,6 +134,9 @@ async def upload_avatar(
     filename = f"{current_user.id}_{uuid.uuid4().hex}{ext}"
     file_path = UPLOAD_DIR / filename
 
+    # Ensure directory exists (may be missing after volume recreate)
+    UPLOAD_DIR.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+
     with open(file_path, "wb") as f:
         f.write(content)