Added all new changes from main github repo.

server.ts

@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import dotenv from 'dotenv';
 import authRoutes from './src/server/routes/authRoutes';
 import roundsRoutes from './src/server/routes/roundsRoutes';
 import communityRoutes from './src/server/routes/communityRoutes';
+import { db } from './src/server/db';
 
 dotenv.config();
 
@@ -26,6 +27,8 @@ app.use('/api/rounds', roundsRoutes);
 app.use('/api/community', communityRoutes);
 
 async function startServer() {
+  // Initialize persistence backend (MariaDB Galera cluster if configured, or local store)
+  await db.init();
   if (!isProduction) {
     // Development mode: Vite middleware
     const { createServer: createViteServer } = await import('vite');