Ledger

diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
index 9543fa2..0b1a019 100644
--- a/.env.example
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -10,7 +10,6 @@ POSTGRES_PASSWORD=ledger
 DATABASE_URL=postgresql://ledger:ledger@postgres:5432/ledger
 
 REDIS_URL=redis://redis:6379
-LEDGER_ENABLE_DEMO_SEED=false
 
 JWT_SECRET=change-me
 SESSION_COOKIE_NAME=ledger_session
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 4476c78..06a78a1 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ This repository currently ships a real MVP foundation:
 
 ## Fresh install behavior
 
-Ledger no longer assumes demo accounts on a normal install.
+Ledger starts with real setup, not demo accounts.
 
 - `docker compose up` now runs a single `bootstrap` container that installs dependencies once into a shared Docker volume
 - PostgreSQL and Redis stay internal to the Compose network by default
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ Ledger no longer assumes demo accounts on a normal install.
   - the site name and brand color
   - the footer text
   - the initial public knowledge base toggle
-- Demo users and sample content are only created when `LEDGER_ENABLE_DEMO_SEED=true`
+- After setup, the instance is ready for real configuration, integrations, and content
 
 ## Monorepo layout
 
@@ -76,7 +76,7 @@ Services:
 - Postgres: internal-only in Docker Compose
 - Redis: internal-only in Docker Compose
 
-On first boot, open the frontend and complete the setup wizard instead of using a pre-seeded admin login.
+On first boot, open the frontend and complete the setup wizard.
 
 ## Without Docker
 
@@ -89,21 +89,6 @@ npm run dev:web
 npm run dev:worker
 ```
 
-## Optional demo seed
-
-If you want the old demo-style experience with seeded users and pages:
-
-```bash
-LEDGER_ENABLE_DEMO_SEED=true
-```
-
-All demo users use password `Password123!`.
-
-- `[email protected]`
-- `[email protected]`
-- `[email protected]`
-- `[email protected]`
-
 ## Important endpoints
 
 - `POST /api/auth/login`
diff --git a/apps/api/src/config/env.ts b/apps/api/src/config/env.ts
index 908fedf..d5b3f5e 100644
--- a/apps/api/src/config/env.ts
+++ b/apps/api/src/config/env.ts
@@ -7,10 +7,6 @@ const envSchema = z.object({
   LEDGER_APP_URL: z.string().url().default("http://localhost:5173"),
   DATABASE_URL: z.string().default("postgresql://ledger:ledger@localhost:5432/ledger"),
   REDIS_URL: z.string().default("redis://localhost:6379"),
-  LEDGER_ENABLE_DEMO_SEED: z
-    .enum(["true", "false"])
-    .default("false")
-    .transform((value) => value === "true"),
   JWT_SECRET: z.string().min(8).default("change-me"),
   SESSION_COOKIE_NAME: z.string().default("ledger_session"),
   PASSWORD_PEPPER: z.string().min(4).default("change-me"),
diff --git a/apps/api/src/db/seed.ts b/apps/api/src/db/seed.ts
index ddce7c7..5884d13 100644
--- a/apps/api/src/db/seed.ts
+++ b/apps/api/src/db/seed.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,3 @@
-import { env } from "../config/env.js";
-import { hashPassword } from "../services/auth.js";
 import { pool } from "./pool.js";
 
 async function main() {
@@ -47,109 +45,7 @@ async function main() {
     `
   );
 
-  if (env.LEDGER_ENABLE_DEMO_SEED) {
-    const roles = await pool.query(`SELECT id, key FROM roles`);
-    const roleMap = new Map(roles.rows.map((row) => [row.key, row.id]));
-
-    const users = [
-      ["[email protected]", "Ledger Owner", "owner"],
-      ["[email protected]", "Ledger Admin", "admin"],
-      ["[email protected]", "Ledger Editor", "editor"],
-      ["[email protected]", "Ledger Viewer", "viewer"]
-    ];
-
-    for (const [email, displayName, roleKey] of users) {
-      await pool.query(
-        `
-          INSERT INTO users (email, password_hash, display_name, primary_role_id)
-          VALUES ($1, $2, $3, $4)
-          ON CONFLICT (email) DO NOTHING
-        `,
-        [email, await hashPassword("Password123!"), displayName, roleMap.get(roleKey)]
-      );
-    }
-
-    const owner = await pool.query(`SELECT id FROM users WHERE email = '[email protected]'`);
-    const editor = await pool.query(`SELECT id FROM users WHERE email = '[email protected]'`);
-    const engineeringGroup = await pool.query(`SELECT id FROM groups WHERE name = 'engineering'`);
-
-    await pool.query(
-      `INSERT INTO group_memberships (user_id, group_id) VALUES ($1, $2) ON CONFLICT DO NOTHING`,
-      [editor.rows[0].id, engineeringGroup.rows[0].id]
-    );
-
-    await pool.query(
-      `
-        INSERT INTO spaces (name, key, description, visibility, created_by_user_id)
-        VALUES
-          ('Docs', 'docs', 'Public product documentation', 'public', $1),
-          ('Ops', 'ops', 'Internal runbooks and procedures', 'internal', $1)
-        ON CONFLICT (key) DO NOTHING
-      `,
-      [owner.rows[0].id]
-    );
-
-    const docsSpace = await pool.query(`SELECT id FROM spaces WHERE key = 'docs'`);
-    const opsSpace = await pool.query(`SELECT id FROM spaces WHERE key = 'ops'`);
-
-    const existingPublic = await pool.query(`SELECT id FROM pages WHERE slug = 'welcome-to-ledger'`);
-    if (!existingPublic.rowCount) {
-      const page = await pool.query(
-        `
-          INSERT INTO pages (space_id, title, slug, excerpt, visibility, state, is_public, owner_user_id)
-          VALUES ($1, 'Welcome to Ledger', 'welcome-to-ledger', 'Ledger helps teams publish trusted answers.', 'public', 'published', true, $2)
-          RETURNING id
-        `,
-        [docsSpace.rows[0].id, owner.rows[0].id]
-      );
-
-      const revision = await pool.query(
-        `
-          INSERT INTO page_revisions (page_id, title, slug, excerpt, visibility, state, body_markdown, edited_by_user_id)
-          VALUES ($1, 'Welcome to Ledger', 'welcome-to-ledger', 'Ledger helps teams publish trusted answers.', 'public', 'published', '# Welcome to Ledger\n\nLedger is a secure knowledge base for public docs and internal answers.\n\n## What you can do\n\n- Publish public docs\n- Keep internal pages permission-aware\n- Search across trusted knowledge', $2)
-          RETURNING id
-        `,
-        [page.rows[0].id, owner.rows[0].id]
-      );
-
-      await pool.query(`UPDATE pages SET current_revision_id = $2 WHERE id = $1`, [
-        page.rows[0].id,
-        revision.rows[0].id
-      ]);
-    }
-
-    const existingInternal = await pool.query(`SELECT id FROM pages WHERE slug = 'incident-runbook'`);
-    if (!existingInternal.rowCount) {
-      const page = await pool.query(
-        `
-          INSERT INTO pages (space_id, title, slug, excerpt, visibility, state, is_public, owner_user_id)
-          VALUES ($1, 'Incident Runbook', 'incident-runbook', 'Internal escalation workflow for incidents.', 'restricted', 'published', false, $2)
-          RETURNING id
-        `,
-        [opsSpace.rows[0].id, owner.rows[0].id]
-      );
-
-      const revision = await pool.query(
-        `
-          INSERT INTO page_revisions (page_id, title, slug, excerpt, visibility, state, body_markdown, edited_by_user_id, tag_snapshot)
-          VALUES ($1, 'Incident Runbook', 'incident-runbook', 'Internal escalation workflow for incidents.', 'restricted', 'published', '# Incident Runbook\n\nUse this page when triaging a Sev-1 incident.\n\n## First 10 minutes\n\n- Declare incident commander\n- Open incident channel\n- Update status page', $2, '["internal","ops"]'::jsonb)
-          RETURNING id
-        `,
-        [page.rows[0].id, owner.rows[0].id]
-      );
-
-      await pool.query(`UPDATE pages SET current_revision_id = $2 WHERE id = $1`, [
-        page.rows[0].id,
-        revision.rows[0].id
-      ]);
-      await pool.query(`INSERT INTO page_permissions (page_id, group_id) VALUES ($1, $2)`, [
-        page.rows[0].id,
-        engineeringGroup.rows[0].id
-      ]);
-    }
-  }
-
-  console.log(env.LEDGER_ENABLE_DEMO_SEED ? "Seeded Ledger demo data" : "Seeded Ledger base data");
+  console.log("Seeded Ledger base data");
 }
 
 main()