diff --git a/app/Http/Middleware/SetUserTimezone.php b/app/Http/Middleware/SetUserTimezone.php
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..d073a0ed2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/Http/Middleware/SetUserTimezone.php
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+<?php
+
+namespace App\Http\Middleware;
+
+use Closure;
+use Illuminate\Http\Request;
+use Symfony\Component\HttpFoundation\Response;
+
+class SetUserTimezone
+{
+    /**
+     * Handle an incoming request.
+     *
+     * Note: We do NOT set the global timezone here because it would interfere
+     * with database operations and helper functions. Instead, the timezone
+     * conversion happens in the userDate() and userDateDiffForHumans() helpers.
+     *
+     * @param  \Closure(\Illuminate\Http\Request): (\Symfony\Component\HttpFoundation\Response)  $next
+     */
+    public function handle(Request $request, Closure $next): Response
+    {
+        // Timezone conversion is handled by helper functions, not middleware
+        // This middleware is kept for future enhancements if needed
+        return $next($request);
+    }
+}
diff --git a/app/Rules/TurnstileRule.php b/app/Rules/TurnstileRule.php
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..345d56e79
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/Rules/TurnstileRule.php
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+<?php
+
+namespace App\Rules;
+
+use App\Services\TurnstileService;
+use Closure;
+use Illuminate\Contracts\Validation\ValidationRule;
+
+class TurnstileRule implements ValidationRule
+{
+    /**
+     * Run the validation rule.
+     */
+    public function validate(string $attribute, mixed $value, Closure $fail): void
+    {
+        if (empty($value)) {
+            $fail('Please complete the captcha verification.');
+
+            return;
+        }
+
+        if (! TurnstileService::verify($value)) {
+            $fail('The captcha verification failed. Please try again.');
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/database/migrations/2025_10_22_000000_create_system_metrics_table.php b/database/migrations/2025_10_22_000000_create_system_metrics_table.php
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..be39d1984
--- /dev/null
+++ b/database/migrations/2025_10_22_000000_create_system_metrics_table.php
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+<?php
+
+use Illuminate\Database\Migrations\Migration;
+use Illuminate\Database\Schema\Blueprint;
+use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Schema;
+
+return new class extends Migration
+{
+    /**
+     * Run the migrations.
+     */
+    public function up(): void
+    {
+        Schema::create('system_metrics', function (Blueprint $table) {
+            $table->id();
+            $table->string('metric_type', 50)->index(); // 'cpu' or 'ram'
+            $table->decimal('value', 8, 2); // The metric value (percentage or GB)
+            $table->timestamp('recorded_at')->index(); // When the metric was recorded
+            $table->timestamps();
+
+            // Composite index for efficient querying
+            $table->index(['metric_type', 'recorded_at']);
+        });
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Reverse the migrations.
+     */
+    public function down(): void
+    {
+        Schema::dropIfExists('system_metrics');
+    }
+};
diff --git a/database/migrations/2025_10_22_204937_add_sort_date_to_signup_stats_table.php b/database/migrations/2025_10_22_204937_add_sort_date_to_signup_stats_table.php
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..87362a67e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/database/migrations/2025_10_22_204937_add_sort_date_to_signup_stats_table.php
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+<?php
+
+use Illuminate\Database\Migrations\Migration;
+use Illuminate\Database\Schema\Blueprint;
+use Illuminate\Support\Facades\DB;
+use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Schema;
+
+return new class extends Migration
+{
+    /**
+     * Run the migrations.
+     */
+    public function up(): void
+    {
+        Schema::table('signup_stats', function (Blueprint $table) {
+            $table->date('sort_date')->nullable()->after('month');
+            $table->index('sort_date');
+        });
+
+        // Populate sort_date for existing records
+        // Parse month strings like "October 2025" to create sortable dates
+        DB::statement("
+            UPDATE signup_stats
+            SET sort_date = STR_TO_DATE(CONCAT('01 ', month), '%d %M %Y')
+            WHERE sort_date IS NULL AND month IS NOT NULL
+        ");
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Reverse the migrations.
+     */
+    public function down(): void
+    {
+        Schema::table('signup_stats', function (Blueprint $table) {
+            $table->dropIndex(['sort_date']);
+            $table->dropColumn('sort_date');
+        });
+    }
+};
diff --git a/database/migrations/2025_10_23_094253_add_timezone_to_users_table.php b/database/migrations/2025_10_23_094253_add_timezone_to_users_table.php
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..aeb3a20d1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/database/migrations/2025_10_23_094253_add_timezone_to_users_table.php
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+<?php
+
+use Illuminate\Database\Migrations\Migration;
+use Illuminate\Database\Schema\Blueprint;
+use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Schema;
+
+return new class extends Migration
+{
+    /**
+     * Run the migrations.
+     */
+    public function up(): void
+    {
+        if (! Schema::hasColumn('users', 'timezone')) {
+            Schema::table('users', function (Blueprint $table) {
+                $table->string('timezone', 50)->default('UTC')->after('style');
+            });
+        }
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Reverse the migrations.
+     */
+    public function down(): void
+    {
+        Schema::table('users', function (Blueprint $table) {
+            $table->dropColumn('timezone');
+        });
+    }
+};
diff --git a/database/migrations/2025_10_23_100000_add_movie_layout_to_users_table.php b/database/migrations/2025_10_23_100000_add_movie_layout_to_users_table.php
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..5a8b6049e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/database/migrations/2025_10_23_100000_add_movie_layout_to_users_table.php
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+<?php
+
+use Illuminate\Database\Migrations\Migration;
+use Illuminate\Database\Schema\Blueprint;
+use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Schema;
+
+return new class extends Migration
+{
+    /**
+     * Run the migrations.
+     */
+    public function up(): void
+    {
+        if (! Schema::hasColumn('users', 'movie_layout')) {
+            Schema::table('users', function (Blueprint $table) {
+                $table->tinyInteger('movie_layout')->default(2)->comment('1=1-column, 2=2-columns')->after('timezone');
+            });
+        }
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Reverse the migrations.
+     */
+    public function down(): void
+    {
+        Schema::table('users', function (Blueprint $table) {
+            $table->dropColumn('movie_layout');
+        });
+    }
+};
diff --git a/database/migrations/2025_10_24_000000_create_user_activity_stats_table.php b/database/migrations/2025_10_24_000000_create_user_activity_stats_table.php
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..07007aefe
--- /dev/null
+++ b/database/migrations/2025_10_24_000000_create_user_activity_stats_table.php
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+<?php
+
+use Illuminate\Database\Migrations\Migration;
+use Illuminate\Database\Schema\Blueprint;
+use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Schema;
+
+return new class extends Migration
+{
+    /**
+     * Run the migrations.
+     */
+    public function up(): void
+    {
+        Schema::create('user_activity_stats', function (Blueprint $table) {
+            $table->id();
+            $table->date('stat_date')->index();
+            $table->integer('downloads_count')->default(0);
+            $table->integer('api_hits_count')->default(0);
+            $table->timestamps();
+
+            // Ensure one record per date
+            $table->unique('stat_date');
+        });
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Reverse the migrations.
+     */
+    public function down(): void
+    {
+        Schema::dropIfExists('user_activity_stats');
+    }
+};