diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 38a34c4..7adc93e 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -33,18 +33,35 @@ does.
 ## Layout
 
 ```
-playbook.yml               Ansible deployment (hosts: webservers)
-inventory.ini              Inventory (localhost + commented remote example)
-trade-hub/
-  podman-compose.yml       Local three-service stack (db + backend + frontend)
-  backend/                 FastAPI app, tests, data fetch script, Dockerfile
-  frontend/                nginx config + static inventory UI
+playbook.yml                     Example play using the role (hosts: webservers)
+inventory.ini                    Inventory (localhost + commented remote example)
+teardown.yml                     Removes this project's containers and data
+roles/trade_hub/
+  README.md                      Role usage and variables
+  defaults/main.yml              Configurable defaults
+  tasks/main.yml                 Stage source, build images, run containers
+  files/trade-hub/
+    podman-compose.yml           Local three-service stack (db + backend + frontend)
+    backend/                     FastAPI app, tests, data fetch script, Dockerfile
+    frontend/                    nginx config + static inventory UI
 ```
 
+The Ansible deployment is a self-contained role. To deploy it from an existing
+playbook, copy `roles/trade_hub` into that repository's `roles/` directory and
+add the role to the play:
+
+```yaml
+    - role: trade_hub
+      tags: [trade_hub]
+```
+
+See `roles/trade_hub/README.md` for the variables. The play-level `become: true`
+used by a typical server play makes podman run as root.
+
 ## Run locally with Podman Compose
 
 ```bash
-cd trade-hub
+cd roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub
 podman-compose up -d --build
 # or: podman compose up -d --build
 ```
@@ -60,7 +77,8 @@ POSTGRES_PASSWORD='choose-something-strong' podman-compose up -d --build
 
 ## Deploy with Ansible
 
-Deploys to every host in the `webservers` group (defaults to localhost):
+The example play deploys the role to every host in the `webservers` group
+(defaults to localhost):
 
 ```bash
 POSTGRES_PASSWORD='choose-something-strong' ansible-playbook playbook.yml
@@ -73,16 +91,22 @@ To deploy to a remote server, edit `inventory.ini`:
 server1 ansible_host=203.0.113.10 ansible_user=deploy
 ```
 
-Then run the same command from this directory. The playbook:
+Then run the same command from this directory. The role:
 
-1. installs podman if missing,
-2. removes the legacy `my-apache-server` container if present,
-3. builds `sc-inventory-backend` / `sc-inventory-frontend` images (skipped when
-   they already exist; set `-e force_rebuild=true` to rebuild),
+1. installs podman if missing (only when `trade_hub_install_podman: true`),
+2. optionally removes the legacy `my-apache-server` container
+   (`trade_hub_remove_legacy_apache: true`),
+3. stages the application source in `/opt/trade-hub` and builds the
+   `sc-inventory-backend` / `sc-inventory-frontend` images (skipped when the
+   source is unchanged and the images already exist; set
+   `-e trade_hub_force_rebuild=true` to force it),
 4. creates the `sc-inventory` podman network and the `sc-inventory-data` volume,
 5. runs PostgreSQL, the backend, and the frontend containers (only the frontend
    publishes a port: 8080),
-6. verifies `http://localhost:8080/healthz` returns 200.
+6. verifies `http://127.0.0.1:8080/healthz` returns 200.
+
+The old standalone playbook's variables (`force_rebuild`, `cookie_secure`, …)
+became `trade_hub_*` variables; see `roles/trade_hub/README.md`.
 
 ## Reset for testing (remove everything)
 
@@ -165,7 +189,8 @@ The stack publishes plain HTTP on port 8080. Session cookies therefore travel
 in cleartext, and `COOKIE_SECURE` defaults to `false` so local development works.
 Before putting this on the open internet, terminate TLS in front of the
 frontend (Caddy, nginx with certificates, or a load balancer) and set
-`COOKIE_SECURE=true` (compose env var) or `-e cookie_secure=true` (Ansible).
+`COOKIE_SECURE=true` (compose env var) or
+`-e trade_hub_cookie_secure=true` (Ansible).
 Also change `POSTGRES_PASSWORD` from its development default.
 
 ## Verify
@@ -195,7 +220,7 @@ curl -fsS -b cookies.txt http://localhost:8080/api/v1/me/inventory
 ## Backend development
 
 ```bash
-cd trade-hub/backend
+cd roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/backend
 python3 -m venv .venv
 .venv/bin/pip install -r requirements.txt -r requirements-dev.txt
 .venv/bin/python -m pytest tests/ -q          # 83 tests, no database needed
diff --git a/playbook.yml b/playbook.yml
index caa90c1..95f6f15 100644
--- a/playbook.yml
+++ b/playbook.yml
@@ -1,126 +1,23 @@
 ---
+# Example play that exercises the trade_hub role against the local inventory.
+# To use the role in an existing playbook, copy roles/trade_hub into that
+# repository's roles/ directory and add:
+#
+#   roles:
+#     - role: trade_hub
+#       tags: [trade_hub]
+#
 - name: Deploy Star Citizen Inventory (trade-hub)
   hosts: webservers
 
   vars:
-    backend_image: sc-inventory-backend
-    frontend_image: sc-inventory-frontend
-    postgres_image: docker.io/library/postgres:16-alpine
-    image_tag: latest
-    network_name: sc-inventory
-    frontend_port: "8080:80"
-    postgres_volume: sc-inventory-data
-    postgres_password: "{{ lookup('env', 'POSTGRES_PASSWORD') | default('sc_inventory_dev', true) }}"
-    database_url: "postgresql+psycopg://sc_inventory:{{ postgres_password }}@db:5432/sc_inventory"
-    # Set to true once the site is served over TLS.
-    cookie_secure: "false"
-    # Set to true to force image rebuilds even when the images already exist
-    force_rebuild: false
+    # The standalone play used to install podman; in a larger playbook the
+    # "packages" role normally provides it instead.
+    trade_hub_install_podman: true
+    trade_hub_postgres_password: "{{ lookup('env', 'POSTGRES_PASSWORD') | default('sc_inventory_dev', true) }}"
+    trade_hub_cookie_secure: "false"
+    trade_hub_force_rebuild: false
 
-  tasks:
-    - name: Check whether podman is installed
-      ansible.builtin.command: podman --version
-      register: podman_check
-      failed_when: false
-      changed_when: false
-
-    - name: Install podman if missing
-      become: true
-      ansible.builtin.package:
-        name: podman
-        state: present
-      when: podman_check.rc != 0
-
-    - name: Remove legacy Apache container if present
-      containers.podman.podman_container:
-        name: my-apache-server
-        state: absent
-
-    - name: Check if backend image exists
-      ansible.builtin.command: podman image exists {{ backend_image }}:{{ image_tag }}
-      register: backend_image_check
-      failed_when: false
-      changed_when: false
-
-    - name: Check if frontend image exists
-      ansible.builtin.command: podman image exists {{ frontend_image }}:{{ image_tag }}
-      register: frontend_image_check
-      failed_when: false
-      changed_when: false
-
-    - name: Build backend image
-      ansible.builtin.command: >
-        podman build -t {{ backend_image }}:{{ image_tag }}
-        {{ playbook_dir }}/trade-hub/backend
-      when: backend_image_check.rc != 0 or force_rebuild | bool
-
-    - name: Build frontend image
-      ansible.builtin.command: >
-        podman build -t {{ frontend_image }}:{{ image_tag }}
-        {{ playbook_dir }}/trade-hub/frontend
-      when: frontend_image_check.rc != 0 or force_rebuild | bool
-
-    - name: Create podman network
-      containers.podman.podman_network:
-        name: "{{ network_name }}"
-        state: present
-
-    - name: Create PostgreSQL data volume
-      containers.podman.podman_volume:
-        name: "{{ postgres_volume }}"
-        state: present
-
-    - name: Run PostgreSQL container (internal only)
-      containers.podman.podman_container:
-        name: sc-inventory-db
-        image: "{{ postgres_image }}"
-        state: started
-        network: "{{ network_name }}"
-        network_aliases:
-          - db
-        env:
-          POSTGRES_USER: sc_inventory
-          POSTGRES_PASSWORD: "{{ postgres_password }}"
-          POSTGRES_DB: sc_inventory
-        volumes:
-          - "{{ postgres_volume }}:/var/lib/postgresql/data:Z"
-        restart_policy: unless-stopped
-
-    - name: Run backend container (internal only)
-      containers.podman.podman_container:
-        name: sc-inventory-backend
-        image: "{{ backend_image }}:{{ image_tag }}"
-        state: started
-        # podman does not recreate a container when its image tag resolves to
-        # a new ID, so without this a rebuilt image would be ignored.
-        recreate: true
-        network: "{{ network_name }}"
-        # Network alias "backend" matches the compose service name, so the
-        # nginx upstream (http://backend:8000) resolves in both deployments.
-        network_aliases:
-          - backend
-        env:
-          DATABASE_URL: "{{ database_url }}"
-          DB_WAIT_SECONDS: "60"
-          COOKIE_SECURE: "{{ cookie_secure }}"
-        restart_policy: unless-stopped
-
-    - name: Run frontend container (published port)
-      containers.podman.podman_container:
-        name: sc-inventory-frontend
-        image: "{{ frontend_image }}:{{ image_tag }}"
-        state: started
-        recreate: true
-        network: "{{ network_name }}"
-        ports:
-          - "{{ frontend_port }}"
-        restart_policy: unless-stopped
-
-    - name: Verify the stack responds
-      ansible.builtin.uri:
-        url: http://localhost:8080/healthz
-        status_code: 200
-      register: health_result
-      until: health_result.status == 200
-      retries: 8
-      delay: 10
+  roles:
+    - role: trade_hub
+      tags: [trade_hub]
diff --git a/roles/trade_hub/README.md b/roles/trade_hub/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d1b4b16
--- /dev/null
+++ b/roles/trade_hub/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,82 @@
+# trade_hub
+
+Deploys the Free People of the Verse trade hub: a FastAPI backend, an nginx
+frontend and PostgreSQL, all run by podman on the target host. The role stages
+its own copy of the application source from `files/trade-hub/` and builds the
+backend and frontend images locally, so it does not need a registry.
+
+## Usage
+
+Add the role to an existing play. It is safe to run after a `packages` role that
+already installs podman:
+
+```yaml
+- hosts: internal-apps
+  become: true
+  vars_files:
+    - ./vars.yml
+  roles:
+    - role: packages
+      tags: [packages]
+    # ...
+    - role: trade_hub
+      tags: [trade_hub]
+```
+
+The play-level `become: true` makes podman run as root. If you run the role
+without become, podman runs rootless and the containers belong to the connecting
+user.
+
+The playbook's `Pull images` task is unrelated to this role: the role builds its
+own backend/frontend images from the staged source. The PostgreSQL image is
+pulled by the role if it is not already present.
+
+## Required variables
+
+Set a real database password in `vars.yml` (or the environment of the control
+node):
+
+```yaml
+trade_hub_postgres_password: "choose-something-strong"
+```
+
+If it is omitted, the role falls back to `POSTGRES_PASSWORD` from the control
+node environment, then to the development default `sc_inventory_dev`.
+
+## Common variables
+
+| Variable | Default | Purpose |
+| --- | --- | --- |
+| `trade_hub_app_dir` | `/opt/trade-hub` | Where the build context is staged |
+| `trade_hub_install_podman` | `false` | Install podman if it is missing |
+| `trade_hub_build_images` | `true` | Build backend/frontend images on the target |
+| `trade_hub_force_rebuild` | `false` | Rebuild images and restart containers |
+| `trade_hub_image_tag` | `latest` | Tag applied to built images |
+| `trade_hub_backend_image` | `localhost/sc-inventory-backend` | Backend image name |
+| `trade_hub_frontend_image` | `localhost/sc-inventory-frontend` | Frontend image name |
+| `trade_hub_postgres_image` | `docker.io/library/postgres:16-alpine` | Database image |
+| `trade_hub_postgres_user` | `sc_inventory` | Database user |
+| `trade_hub_postgres_db` | `sc_inventory` | Database name |
+| `trade_hub_postgres_password` | env `POSTGRES_PASSWORD` or `sc_inventory_dev` | Database password |
+| `trade_hub_network` | `sc-inventory` | Podman network name |
+| `trade_hub_volume` | `sc-inventory-data` | PostgreSQL data volume |
+| `trade_hub_frontend_bind` | `0.0.0.0` | Address the frontend publishes on |
+| `trade_hub_frontend_port` | `8080` | Host port for the frontend |
+| `trade_hub_cookie_secure` | `false` | Mark session cookies `Secure` (enable behind TLS) |
+| `trade_hub_healthcheck_url` | `http://127.0.0.1:<port>/healthz` | Post-deploy check |
+| `trade_hub_remove_legacy_apache` | `false` | Remove a container named `my-apache-server` |
+| `trade_hub_enable_restart_service` | `false` | Enable `podman-restart.service` |
+
+The container names also default to `sc-inventory-db`, `sc-inventory-backend`
+and `sc-inventory-frontend`, matching the previous standalone playbook so an
+existing installation is upgraded in place.
+
+## Example deployment
+
+```bash
+ansible-playbook site.yml --tags trade_hub -e trade_hub_postgres_password='...'
+```
+
+The role verifies `http://127.0.0.1:8080/healthz` after starting the containers.
+Only the frontend publishes a port; the database and backend stay on the
+internal podman network.
diff --git a/roles/trade_hub/defaults/main.yml b/roles/trade_hub/defaults/main.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3dc7ce9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/roles/trade_hub/defaults/main.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+---
+# Where the application build context is staged on the target host.
+trade_hub_app_dir: /opt/trade-hub
+
+# Install podman as part of this role. Leave false when another role (for
+# example "packages") already provides podman.
+trade_hub_install_podman: false
+
+# Images. These are built locally by default; point them at a registry if you
+# prefer to pull prebuilt images.
+trade_hub_image_tag: latest
+trade_hub_backend_image: localhost/sc-inventory-backend
+trade_hub_frontend_image: localhost/sc-inventory-frontend
+trade_hub_postgres_image: docker.io/library/postgres:16-alpine
+trade_hub_build_images: true
+trade_hub_force_rebuild: false
+
+# Container names. Kept compatible with the previous standalone playbook so an
+# existing installation is upgraded in place.
+trade_hub_db_container: sc-inventory-db
+trade_hub_backend_container: sc-inventory-backend
+trade_hub_frontend_container: sc-inventory-frontend
+
+# Database.
+trade_hub_postgres_user: sc_inventory
+trade_hub_postgres_db: sc_inventory
+trade_hub_postgres_password: "{{ lookup('env', 'POSTGRES_PASSWORD') | default('sc_inventory_dev', true) }}"
+trade_hub_database_url: "postgresql+psycopg://{{ trade_hub_postgres_user }}:{{ trade_hub_postgres_password }}@db:5432/{{ trade_hub_postgres_db }}"
+trade_hub_db_wait_seconds: 60
+
+# Networking.
+trade_hub_network: sc-inventory
+trade_hub_volume: sc-inventory-data
+trade_hub_frontend_bind: 0.0.0.0
+trade_hub_frontend_port: 8080
+# Set to true (or "true") once the site is served over TLS.
+trade_hub_cookie_secure: "false"
+
+# Post-deploy health check.
+trade_hub_healthcheck_url: "http://127.0.0.1:{{ trade_hub_frontend_port }}/healthz"
+trade_hub_healthcheck_retries: 12
+trade_hub_healthcheck_delay: 5
+
+# The original standalone playbook removed an ad-hoc Apache container that
+# used the same host. Disabled by default so the role never touches unrelated
+# containers.
+trade_hub_remove_legacy_apache: false
+trade_hub_legacy_apache_container: my-apache-server
+
+# Enable podman-restart.service so the containers come back after a reboot.
+trade_hub_enable_restart_service: false
diff --git a/trade-hub/backend/Dockerfile b/roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/backend/Dockerfile
similarity index 100%
rename from trade-hub/backend/Dockerfile
rename to roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/backend/Dockerfile
diff --git a/trade-hub/backend/app/__init__.py b/roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/backend/app/__init__.py
similarity index 100%
rename from trade-hub/backend/app/__init__.py
rename to roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/backend/app/__init__.py
diff --git a/trade-hub/backend/app/api.py b/roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/backend/app/api.py
similarity index 100%
rename from trade-hub/backend/app/api.py
rename to roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/backend/app/api.py
diff --git a/trade-hub/backend/app/auth.py b/roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/backend/app/auth.py
similarity index 100%
rename from trade-hub/backend/app/auth.py
rename to roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/backend/app/auth.py
diff --git a/trade-hub/backend/app/available.py b/roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/backend/app/available.py
similarity index 100%
rename from trade-hub/backend/app/available.py
rename to roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/backend/app/available.py
diff --git a/trade-hub/backend/app/catalog.py b/roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/backend/app/catalog.py
similarity index 100%
rename from trade-hub/backend/app/catalog.py
rename to roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/backend/app/catalog.py
diff --git a/trade-hub/backend/app/config.py b/roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/backend/app/config.py
similarity index 100%
rename from trade-hub/backend/app/config.py
rename to roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/backend/app/config.py
diff --git a/trade-hub/backend/app/db.py b/roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/backend/app/db.py
similarity index 100%
rename from trade-hub/backend/app/db.py
rename to roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/backend/app/db.py
diff --git a/trade-hub/backend/app/deps.py b/roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/backend/app/deps.py
similarity index 100%
rename from trade-hub/backend/app/deps.py
rename to roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/backend/app/deps.py
diff --git a/trade-hub/backend/app/inventory.py b/roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/backend/app/inventory.py
similarity index 100%
rename from trade-hub/backend/app/inventory.py
rename to roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/backend/app/inventory.py
diff --git a/trade-hub/backend/app/loader.py b/roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/backend/app/loader.py
similarity index 100%
rename from trade-hub/backend/app/loader.py
rename to roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/backend/app/loader.py
diff --git a/trade-hub/backend/app/models.py b/roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/backend/app/models.py
similarity index 100%
rename from trade-hub/backend/app/models.py
rename to roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/backend/app/models.py
diff --git a/trade-hub/backend/app/orders.py b/roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/backend/app/orders.py
similarity index 100%
rename from trade-hub/backend/app/orders.py
rename to roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/backend/app/orders.py
diff --git a/trade-hub/backend/app/schemas.py b/roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/backend/app/schemas.py
similarity index 100%
rename from trade-hub/backend/app/schemas.py
rename to roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/backend/app/schemas.py
diff --git a/trade-hub/backend/app/security.py b/roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/backend/app/security.py
similarity index 100%
rename from trade-hub/backend/app/security.py
rename to roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/backend/app/security.py
diff --git a/trade-hub/backend/data/samples/commodities.json b/roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/backend/data/samples/commodities.json
similarity index 100%
rename from trade-hub/backend/data/samples/commodities.json
rename to roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/backend/data/samples/commodities.json
diff --git a/trade-hub/backend/data/samples/fps-items.json b/roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/backend/data/samples/fps-items.json
similarity index 100%
rename from trade-hub/backend/data/samples/fps-items.json
rename to roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/backend/data/samples/fps-items.json
diff --git a/trade-hub/backend/data/samples/manufacturers.json b/roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/backend/data/samples/manufacturers.json
similarity index 100%
rename from trade-hub/backend/data/samples/manufacturers.json
rename to roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/backend/data/samples/manufacturers.json
diff --git a/trade-hub/backend/data/samples/ship-items.json b/roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/backend/data/samples/ship-items.json
similarity index 100%
rename from trade-hub/backend/data/samples/ship-items.json
rename to roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/backend/data/samples/ship-items.json
diff --git a/trade-hub/backend/data/samples/ships.json b/roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/backend/data/samples/ships.json
similarity index 100%
rename from trade-hub/backend/data/samples/ships.json
rename to roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/backend/data/samples/ships.json
diff --git a/trade-hub/backend/main.py b/roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/backend/main.py
similarity index 100%
rename from trade-hub/backend/main.py
rename to roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/backend/main.py
diff --git a/trade-hub/backend/requirements-dev.txt b/roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/backend/requirements-dev.txt
similarity index 100%
rename from trade-hub/backend/requirements-dev.txt
rename to roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/backend/requirements-dev.txt
diff --git a/trade-hub/backend/requirements.txt b/roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/backend/requirements.txt
similarity index 100%
rename from trade-hub/backend/requirements.txt
rename to roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/backend/requirements.txt
diff --git a/trade-hub/backend/scripts/fetch_data.py b/roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/backend/scripts/fetch_data.py
similarity index 100%
rename from trade-hub/backend/scripts/fetch_data.py
rename to roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/backend/scripts/fetch_data.py
diff --git a/trade-hub/backend/tests/conftest.py b/roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/backend/tests/conftest.py
similarity index 100%
rename from trade-hub/backend/tests/conftest.py
rename to roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/backend/tests/conftest.py
diff --git a/trade-hub/backend/tests/fixtures/commodities.json b/roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/backend/tests/fixtures/commodities.json
similarity index 100%
rename from trade-hub/backend/tests/fixtures/commodities.json
rename to roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/backend/tests/fixtures/commodities.json
diff --git a/trade-hub/backend/tests/fixtures/fps-items.json b/roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/backend/tests/fixtures/fps-items.json
similarity index 100%
rename from trade-hub/backend/tests/fixtures/fps-items.json
rename to roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/backend/tests/fixtures/fps-items.json
diff --git a/trade-hub/backend/tests/fixtures/manufacturers.json b/roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/backend/tests/fixtures/manufacturers.json
similarity index 100%
rename from trade-hub/backend/tests/fixtures/manufacturers.json
rename to roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/backend/tests/fixtures/manufacturers.json
diff --git a/trade-hub/backend/tests/fixtures/ship-items.json b/roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/backend/tests/fixtures/ship-items.json
similarity index 100%
rename from trade-hub/backend/tests/fixtures/ship-items.json
rename to roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/backend/tests/fixtures/ship-items.json
diff --git a/trade-hub/backend/tests/fixtures/ships.json b/roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/backend/tests/fixtures/ships.json
similarity index 100%
rename from trade-hub/backend/tests/fixtures/ships.json
rename to roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/backend/tests/fixtures/ships.json
diff --git a/trade-hub/backend/tests/test_api.py b/roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/backend/tests/test_api.py
similarity index 100%
rename from trade-hub/backend/tests/test_api.py
rename to roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/backend/tests/test_api.py
diff --git a/trade-hub/backend/tests/test_auth.py b/roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/backend/tests/test_auth.py
similarity index 100%
rename from trade-hub/backend/tests/test_auth.py
rename to roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/backend/tests/test_auth.py
diff --git a/trade-hub/backend/tests/test_available.py b/roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/backend/tests/test_available.py
similarity index 100%
rename from trade-hub/backend/tests/test_available.py
rename to roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/backend/tests/test_available.py
diff --git a/trade-hub/backend/tests/test_inventory.py b/roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/backend/tests/test_inventory.py
similarity index 100%
rename from trade-hub/backend/tests/test_inventory.py
rename to roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/backend/tests/test_inventory.py
diff --git a/trade-hub/backend/tests/test_orders.py b/roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/backend/tests/test_orders.py
similarity index 100%
rename from trade-hub/backend/tests/test_orders.py
rename to roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/backend/tests/test_orders.py
diff --git a/trade-hub/frontend/Dockerfile b/roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/frontend/Dockerfile
similarity index 100%
rename from trade-hub/frontend/Dockerfile
rename to roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/frontend/Dockerfile
diff --git a/trade-hub/frontend/nginx.conf b/roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/frontend/nginx.conf
similarity index 100%
rename from trade-hub/frontend/nginx.conf
rename to roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/frontend/nginx.conf
diff --git a/trade-hub/frontend/src/app.js b/roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/frontend/src/app.js
similarity index 100%
rename from trade-hub/frontend/src/app.js
rename to roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/frontend/src/app.js
diff --git a/trade-hub/frontend/src/index.html b/roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/frontend/src/index.html
similarity index 100%
rename from trade-hub/frontend/src/index.html
rename to roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/frontend/src/index.html
diff --git a/trade-hub/frontend/src/style.css b/roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/frontend/src/style.css
similarity index 100%
rename from trade-hub/frontend/src/style.css
rename to roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/frontend/src/style.css
diff --git a/trade-hub/podman-compose.yml b/roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/podman-compose.yml
similarity index 100%
rename from trade-hub/podman-compose.yml
rename to roles/trade_hub/files/trade-hub/podman-compose.yml
diff --git a/roles/trade_hub/meta/main.yml b/roles/trade_hub/meta/main.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..37b93a8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/roles/trade_hub/meta/main.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+---
+galaxy_info:
+  role_name: trade_hub
+  author: boxswapper
+  description: Deploy the Free People of the Verse trade hub (FastAPI, nginx, PostgreSQL) with Podman.
+  license: MIT
+  min_ansible_version: "2.15"
+  platforms:
+    - name: GenericLinux
+      versions:
+        - all
+  galaxy_tags:
+    - podman
+    - fastapi
+    - postgresql
+dependencies: []
diff --git a/roles/trade_hub/tasks/main.yml b/roles/trade_hub/tasks/main.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e8e7752
--- /dev/null
+++ b/roles/trade_hub/tasks/main.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,217 @@
+---
+- name: Check whether podman is installed
+  ansible.builtin.command: podman --version
+  register: trade_hub_podman_check
+  changed_when: false
+  failed_when: false
+  check_mode: false
+
+- name: Install podman when requested
+  ansible.builtin.package:
+    name: podman
+    state: present
+  become: true
+  when:
+    - trade_hub_podman_check.rc != 0
+    - trade_hub_install_podman | bool
+
+- name: Re-check podman after installation
+  ansible.builtin.command: podman --version
+  register: trade_hub_podman_recheck
+  changed_when: false
+  failed_when: false
+  check_mode: false
+  when: trade_hub_podman_check.rc != 0
+
+- name: Require podman to be available
+  ansible.builtin.assert:
+    that:
+      - trade_hub_podman_check.rc == 0 or (trade_hub_podman_recheck.rc | default(1)) == 0
+    fail_msg: >-
+      podman is not installed on {{ inventory_hostname }}. Install it first
+      (for example with the "packages" role) or run this role with
+      -e trade_hub_install_podman=true.
+    quiet: true
+
+- name: Remove the legacy Apache container when requested
+  containers.podman.podman_container:
+    name: "{{ trade_hub_legacy_apache_container }}"
+    state: absent
+  when: trade_hub_remove_legacy_apache | bool
+
+- name: Create the application directory
+  ansible.builtin.file:
+    path: "{{ trade_hub_app_dir }}"
+    state: directory
+    mode: "0755"
+
+- name: Stage the application build context
+  ansible.builtin.copy:
+    src: "{{ role_path }}/files/trade-hub/{{ item.src }}"
+    dest: "{{ trade_hub_app_dir }}/{{ item.dest }}"
+    mode: preserve
+  loop:
+    # Only the files needed by the two Dockerfiles are staged. Copying the
+    # whole tree would also ship local development artefacts such as .venv.
+    - { src: "backend/Dockerfile", dest: "backend/Dockerfile" }
+    - { src: "backend/requirements.txt", dest: "backend/requirements.txt" }
+    - { src: "backend/main.py", dest: "backend/main.py" }
+    - { src: "backend/app/", dest: "backend/app/" }
+    - { src: "backend/scripts/", dest: "backend/scripts/" }
+    - { src: "frontend/Dockerfile", dest: "frontend/Dockerfile" }
+    - { src: "frontend/nginx.conf", dest: "frontend/nginx.conf" }
+    - { src: "frontend/src/", dest: "frontend/src/" }
+  register: trade_hub_source
+
+- name: Check whether the backend image exists
+  ansible.builtin.command:
+    argv:
+      - podman
+      - image
+      - exists
+      - "{{ trade_hub_backend_image }}:{{ trade_hub_image_tag }}"
+  register: trade_hub_backend_image_check
+  changed_when: false
+  failed_when: false
+  check_mode: false
+
+- name: Check whether the frontend image exists
+  ansible.builtin.command:
+    argv:
+      - podman
+      - image
+      - exists
+      - "{{ trade_hub_frontend_image }}:{{ trade_hub_image_tag }}"
+  register: trade_hub_frontend_image_check
+  changed_when: false
+  failed_when: false
+  check_mode: false
+
+- name: Build the backend image
+  ansible.builtin.command:
+    argv:
+      - podman
+      - build
+      - --tag
+      - "{{ trade_hub_backend_image }}:{{ trade_hub_image_tag }}"
+      - "{{ trade_hub_app_dir }}/backend"
+  when:
+    - trade_hub_build_images | bool
+    - trade_hub_force_rebuild | bool or trade_hub_source.changed or trade_hub_backend_image_check.rc != 0
+  register: trade_hub_backend_build
+
+- name: Build the frontend image
+  ansible.builtin.command:
+    argv:
+      - podman
+      - build
+      - --tag
+      - "{{ trade_hub_frontend_image }}:{{ trade_hub_image_tag }}"
+      - "{{ trade_hub_app_dir }}/frontend"
+  when:
+    - trade_hub_build_images | bool
+    - trade_hub_force_rebuild | bool or trade_hub_source.changed or trade_hub_frontend_image_check.rc != 0
+  register: trade_hub_frontend_build
+
+- name: Require prebuilt images when image builds are disabled
+  ansible.builtin.assert:
+    that:
+      - trade_hub_backend_image_check.rc == 0
+      - trade_hub_frontend_image_check.rc == 0
+    fail_msg: >-
+      trade_hub_build_images is false but {{ trade_hub_backend_image }}:{{
+      trade_hub_image_tag }} and/or {{ trade_hub_frontend_image }}:{{
+      trade_hub_image_tag }} are missing on {{ inventory_hostname }}.
+    quiet: true
+  when: not trade_hub_build_images | bool
+
+- name: Record whether the application containers need to be recreated
+  ansible.builtin.set_fact:
+    trade_hub_recreate_containers: >-
+      {{ (trade_hub_force_rebuild | bool)
+         or ((trade_hub_build_images | bool) and (trade_hub_source.changed | default(false)))
+         or (trade_hub_backend_build.changed | default(false))
+         or (trade_hub_frontend_build.changed | default(false)) }}
+
+- name: Ensure the PostgreSQL image is present
+  containers.podman.podman_image:
+    name: "{{ trade_hub_postgres_image }}"
+    state: present
+  when: not ansible_check_mode
+
+- name: Create the podman network
+  containers.podman.podman_network:
+    name: "{{ trade_hub_network }}"
+    state: present
+
+- name: Create the PostgreSQL data volume
+  containers.podman.podman_volume:
+    name: "{{ trade_hub_volume }}"
+    state: present
+
+- name: Run the PostgreSQL container
+  containers.podman.podman_container:
+    name: "{{ trade_hub_db_container }}"
+    image: "{{ trade_hub_postgres_image }}"
+    state: started
+    recreate: "{{ trade_hub_force_rebuild | bool }}"
+    network: "{{ trade_hub_network }}"
+    network_aliases:
+      - db
+    env:
+      POSTGRES_USER: "{{ trade_hub_postgres_user }}"
+      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: "{{ trade_hub_postgres_password }}"
+      POSTGRES_DB: "{{ trade_hub_postgres_db }}"
+    volumes:
+      - "{{ trade_hub_volume }}:/var/lib/postgresql/data:Z"
+    restart_policy: unless-stopped
+  when: not ansible_check_mode
+
+- name: Run the backend container
+  containers.podman.podman_container:
+    name: "{{ trade_hub_backend_container }}"
+    image: "{{ trade_hub_backend_image }}:{{ trade_hub_image_tag }}"
+    state: started
+    # podman does not recreate a container when its image tag resolves to a new
+    # ID, so recreate whenever the image was rebuilt or the app changed.
+    recreate: "{{ trade_hub_recreate_containers | bool }}"
+    network: "{{ trade_hub_network }}"
+    # The nginx upstream is http://backend:8000, so this alias must match.
+    network_aliases:
+      - backend
+    env:
+      DATABASE_URL: "{{ trade_hub_database_url }}"
+      DB_WAIT_SECONDS: "{{ trade_hub_db_wait_seconds }}"
+      COOKIE_SECURE: "{{ trade_hub_cookie_secure | bool | lower }}"
+    restart_policy: unless-stopped
+  when: not ansible_check_mode
+
+- name: Run the frontend container
+  containers.podman.podman_container:
+    name: "{{ trade_hub_frontend_container }}"
+    image: "{{ trade_hub_frontend_image }}:{{ trade_hub_image_tag }}"
+    state: started
+    recreate: "{{ trade_hub_recreate_containers | bool }}"
+    network: "{{ trade_hub_network }}"
+    ports:
+      - "{{ trade_hub_frontend_bind }}:{{ trade_hub_frontend_port }}:80"
+    restart_policy: unless-stopped
+  when: not ansible_check_mode
+
+- name: Enable podman-restart so containers survive a reboot
+  ansible.builtin.systemd:
+    name: podman-restart.service
+    enabled: true
+    state: started
+  when: trade_hub_enable_restart_service | bool
+
+- name: Wait for the application to answer health checks
+  ansible.builtin.uri:
+    url: "{{ trade_hub_healthcheck_url }}"
+    status_code: 200
+  register: trade_hub_health
+  until: trade_hub_health.status == 200
+  retries: "{{ trade_hub_healthcheck_retries }}"
+  delay: "{{ trade_hub_healthcheck_delay }}"
+  changed_when: false
+  when: not ansible_check_mode