diff --git a/backend-rust/Cargo.lock b/backend-rust/Cargo.lock
index 412333b..feab1af 100644
--- a/backend-rust/Cargo.lock
+++ b/backend-rust/Cargo.lock
@@ -317,6 +317,12 @@ dependencies = [
  "syn",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "dotenv"
+version = "0.15.0"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "77c90badedccf4105eca100756a0b1289e191f6fcbdadd3cee1d2f614f97da8f"
+
 [[package]]
 name = "dotenvy"
 version = "0.15.7"
@@ -1079,6 +1085,7 @@ version = "0.1.0"
 dependencies = [
  "anyhow",
  "axum",
+ "dotenv",
  "serde",
  "serde_json",
  "sqlx",
diff --git a/backend-rust/Cargo.toml b/backend-rust/Cargo.toml
index 48c7a74..77060af 100644
--- a/backend-rust/Cargo.toml
+++ b/backend-rust/Cargo.toml
@@ -10,3 +10,4 @@ axum = "0.8.4"
 serde = { version = "1.0", features = ["derive"] }
 serde_json = "1.0"
 sqlx = { version = "0.8", features = ["runtime-tokio", "tls-native-tls", "sqlite", "macros", "migrate", "chrono", "json"] }
+dotenv = "0.15"
diff --git a/backend-rust/ROADMAP.md b/backend-rust/ROADMAP.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..83b2bb6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend-rust/ROADMAP.md
@@ -0,0 +1,171 @@
+# Owly News Summariser - Project Roadmap
+
+This document outlines the strategic approach for transforming the project through three phases: Python-to-Rust backend migration, CLI application addition, and Vue-to-Dioxus frontend migration.
+
+## Project Structure Strategy
+
+### Current Phase: Axum API Setup
+```
+
+owly-news-summariser/
+├── src/
+│   ├── main.rs              # Entry point (will evolve)
+│   ├── db.rs                # Database connection & SQLx setup
+│   ├── api.rs               # API module declaration
+│   ├── api/                 # API-specific modules (no mod.rs needed)
+│   │   ├── routes.rs        # Route definitions
+│   │   ├── middleware.rs    # Custom middleware
+│   │   └── handlers.rs      # Request handlers & business logic
+│   ├── models.rs            # Models module declaration
+│   ├── models/              # Data models & database entities
+│   │   ├── user.rs
+│   │   ├── article.rs
+│   │   └── summary.rs
+│   ├── services.rs          # Services module declaration
+│   ├── services/            # Business logic layer
+│   │   ├── news_service.rs
+│   │   └── summary_service.rs
+│   └── config.rs            # Configuration management
+├── migrations/              # SQLx migrations (managed by SQLx CLI)
+├── frontend/                # Keep existing Vue frontend for now
+└── Cargo.toml
+```
+### Phase 2: Multi-Binary Structure (API + CLI)
+```
+
+owly-news-summariser/
+├── src/
+│   ├── lib.rs               # Shared library code
+│   ├── bin/
+│   │   ├── server.rs        # API server binary
+│   │   └── cli.rs           # CLI application binary
+│   ├── [same module structure as Phase 1]
+├── migrations/
+├── frontend/
+└── Cargo.toml               # Updated for multiple binaries
+```
+### Phase 3: Full Rust Stack
+```
+
+owly-news-summariser/
+├── src/
+│   ├── [same structure as Phase 2]
+├── migrations/
+├── frontend-dioxus/         # New Dioxus frontend
+├── frontend/                # Legacy Vue (to be removed)
+└── Cargo.toml
+```
+## Step-by-Step Process
+
+### Phase 1: Axum API Implementation
+
+**Step 1: Core Infrastructure Setup**
+- Set up database connection pooling with SQLx
+- Create configuration management system (environment variables, config files)
+- Establish error handling patterns with `anyhow`
+- Set up logging infrastructure
+
+**Step 2: Data Layer**
+- Design your database schema and create SQLx migrations using `sqlx migrate add`
+- Create Rust structs that mirror your Python backend's data models
+- Implement database access layer with proper async patterns
+- Use SQLx's compile-time checked queries
+
+**Step 3: API Layer Architecture**
+- Create modular route structure (users, articles, summaries, etc.)
+- Implement middleware for CORS, authentication, logging
+- Set up request/response serialization with Serde
+- Create proper error responses and status codes
+
+**Step 4: Business Logic Migration**
+- Port your Python backend logic to Rust services
+- Maintain API compatibility with your existing Vue frontend
+- Implement proper async patterns for external API calls
+- Add comprehensive testing
+
+**Step 5: Integration & Testing**
+- Test API endpoints thoroughly
+- Ensure Vue frontend works seamlessly with new Rust backend
+- Performance testing and optimization
+- Deploy and monitor
+
+### Phase 2: CLI Application Addition
+
+**Step 1: Restructure for Multiple Binaries**
+- Move API code to `src/bin/server.rs`
+- Create `src/bin/cli.rs` for CLI application
+- Keep shared logic in `src/lib.rs`
+- Update Cargo.toml to support multiple binaries
+
+**Step 2: CLI Architecture**
+- Use clap for command-line argument parsing
+- Reuse existing services and models from the API
+- Create CLI-specific output formatting
+- Implement batch processing capabilities
+
+**Step 3: Shared Core Logic**
+- Extract common functionality into library crates
+- Ensure both API and CLI can use the same business logic
+- Implement proper configuration management for both contexts
+
+### Phase 3: Dioxus Frontend Migration
+
+**Step 1: Parallel Development**
+- Create new `frontend-dioxus/` directory
+- Keep existing Vue frontend running during development
+- Set up Dioxus project structure with proper routing
+
+**Step 2: Component Architecture**
+- Design reusable Dioxus components
+- Implement state management (similar to Pinia in Vue)
+- Create API client layer for communication with Rust backend
+
+**Step 3: Feature Parity**
+- Port Vue components to Dioxus incrementally
+- Ensure UI/UX consistency
+- Implement proper error handling and loading states
+
+**Step 4: Final Migration**
+- Switch production traffic to Dioxus frontend
+- Remove Vue frontend after thorough testing
+- Optimize bundle size and performance
+
+## Key Strategic Considerations
+
+### 1. Modern Rust Practices
+- Use modern module structure without `mod.rs` files
+- Leverage SQLx's built-in migration and connection management
+- Follow Rust 2018+ edition conventions
+
+### 2. Maintain Backward Compatibility
+- Keep API contracts stable during Vue-to-Dioxus transition
+- Use feature flags for gradual rollouts
+
+### 3. Shared Code Architecture
+- Design your core business logic to be framework-agnostic
+- Use workspace structure for better code organization
+- Consider extracting domain logic into separate crates
+
+### 4. Testing Strategy
+- Unit tests for business logic
+- Integration tests for API endpoints
+- End-to-end tests for the full stack
+- CLI integration tests
+
+### 5. Configuration Management
+- Environment-based configuration
+- Support for different deployment scenarios (API-only, CLI-only, full stack)
+- Proper secrets management
+
+### 6. Database Strategy
+- Use SQLx migrations for schema evolution (`sqlx migrate add/run`)
+- Leverage compile-time checked queries with SQLx macros
+- Implement proper connection pooling and error handling
+- Let SQLx handle what it does best - don't reinvent the wheel
+
+## What SQLx Handles for You
+
+- **Migrations**: Use `sqlx migrate add <name>` to create, `sqlx::migrate!()` macro to embed
+- **Connection Pooling**: Built-in `SqlitePool` with configuration options
+- **Query Safety**: Compile-time checked queries prevent SQL injection and typos
+- **Type Safety**: Automatic Rust type mapping from database types
diff --git a/backend-rust/src/api.rs b/backend-rust/src/api.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..24cb919
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend-rust/src/api.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+mod handlers;
+mod middleware;
+mod routes;
diff --git a/backend-rust/src/api/handlers.rs b/backend-rust/src/api/handlers.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e69de29
diff --git a/backend-rust/src/api/middleware.rs b/backend-rust/src/api/middleware.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e69de29
diff --git a/backend-rust/src/api/routes.rs b/backend-rust/src/api/routes.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e69de29
diff --git a/backend-rust/src/config.rs b/backend-rust/src/config.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e69de29
diff --git a/backend-rust/src/models.rs b/backend-rust/src/models.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1a9536f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend-rust/src/models.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+mod article;
+mod summary;
+mod user;
diff --git a/backend-rust/src/models/article.rs b/backend-rust/src/models/article.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e69de29
diff --git a/backend-rust/src/models/summary.rs b/backend-rust/src/models/summary.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e69de29
diff --git a/backend-rust/src/models/user.rs b/backend-rust/src/models/user.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e69de29
diff --git a/backend-rust/src/services.rs b/backend-rust/src/services.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2b7e9f0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend-rust/src/services.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+mod summary_service;
+mod news_service;
diff --git a/backend-rust/src/services/news_service.rs b/backend-rust/src/services/news_service.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e69de29
diff --git a/backend-rust/src/services/summary_service.rs b/backend-rust/src/services/summary_service.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e69de29