diff --git a/backend/.env.example b/backend/.env.example
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..bf81915
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/.env.example
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+DATABASE_URL=postgresql+asyncpg://codetutor:codetutor@localhost:5432/codetutor
+DEBUG=false
+CORS_ORIGINS=["http://localhost:3000"]
diff --git a/backend/pyproject.toml b/backend/pyproject.toml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7f4e62f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/pyproject.toml
@@ -0,0 +1,86 @@
+[project]
+name = "codetutor-backend"
+version = "0.1.0"
+description = "CodeTutor API - Coding interview preparation backend"
+readme = "readme.md"
+requires-python = ">=3.12"
+dependencies = [
+    "fastapi>=0.115.0",
+    "uvicorn[standard]>=0.32.0",
+    "sqlalchemy>=2.0.36",
+    "asyncpg>=0.30.0",
+    "pydantic>=2.10.0",
+    "pydantic-settings>=2.6.0",
+    "alembic>=1.14.0",
+    "python-slugify>=8.0.0",
+    "pyyaml>=6.0.0",
+]
+
+[project.optional-dependencies]
+dev = [
+    "pytest>=8.3.0",
+    "pytest-asyncio>=0.24.0",
+    "pytest-cov>=6.0.0",
+    "httpx>=0.28.0",
+    "ruff>=0.8.0",
+    "mypy>=1.13.0",
+    "types-pyyaml>=6.0.0",
+]
+
+[build-system]
+requires = ["hatchling"]
+build-backend = "hatchling.build"
+
+[tool.hatch.build.targets.wheel]
+packages = ["src"]
+
+[tool.ruff]
+line-length = 100
+target-version = "py312"
+src = ["src"]
+
+[tool.ruff.lint]
+select = [
+    "E",      # pycodestyle errors
+    "W",      # pycodestyle warnings
+    "F",      # pyflakes
+    "I",      # isort
+    "B",      # flake8-bugbear
+    "C4",     # flake8-comprehensions
+    "UP",     # pyupgrade
+    "ARG",    # flake8-unused-arguments
+    "SIM",    # flake8-simplify
+]
+ignore = [
+    "E501",   # line too long (handled by formatter)
+]
+
+[tool.ruff.lint.isort]
+known-first-party = ["src"]
+
+[tool.mypy]
+python_version = "3.12"
+strict = true
+warn_return_any = true
+warn_unused_ignores = true
+plugins = ["pydantic.mypy"]
+
+[[tool.mypy.overrides]]
+module = ["asyncpg.*"]
+ignore_missing_imports = true
+
+[tool.pytest.ini_options]
+asyncio_mode = "auto"
+asyncio_default_fixture_loop_scope = "function"
+testpaths = ["tests"]
+addopts = "-v --cov=src --cov-report=term-missing"
+
+[tool.coverage.run]
+source = ["src"]
+branch = true
+
+[tool.coverage.report]
+exclude_lines = [
+    "pragma: no cover",
+    "if TYPE_CHECKING:",
+]
diff --git a/backend/readme.md b/backend/readme.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..453a2c9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/readme.md
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+# CodeTutor Backend
+
+FastAPI backend for the CodeTutor coding interview preparation application.
+
+## Setup
+
+```bash
+# Install dependencies
+pip install -e ".[dev]"
+
+# Run migrations
+alembic upgrade head
+
+# Load content data
+python scripts/load_data.py
+
+# Start development server
+uvicorn src.main:app --reload
+```
+
+## API Endpoints
+
+- `GET /api/questions` - List questions with filters
+- `GET /api/questions/{slug}` - Question detail
+- `GET /api/categories` - List categories
+- `GET /api/patterns` - List patterns
+- `GET /api/patterns/{slug}` - Pattern detail
+- `GET /api/stats` - Aggregate statistics
+- `GET /api/health` - Health check
+
+## Testing
+
+```bash
+pytest
+```
+
+## Code Quality
+
+```bash
+ruff check .
+ruff format --check .
+mypy src/
+```