diff --git a/caching/Dockerfile.alpine-musl b/caching/Dockerfile.alpine-musl
index b9125e1..62142a7 100644
--- a/caching/Dockerfile.alpine-musl
+++ b/caching/Dockerfile.alpine-musl
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ RUN apk add --no-cache \
     curl-dev \
     curl-static \
     sqlite-dev \
+    postgresql-dev \
     linux-headers \
     wget \
     bash
@@ -103,13 +104,15 @@ RUN if [ "$DEBUG_BUILD" = "true" ]; then \
     -U_FORTIFY_SOURCE -D_FORTIFY_SOURCE=0 \
     -I. -Isrc -Inostr_core_lib -Inostr_core_lib/nostr_core \
     -Inostr_core_lib/cjson -Inostr_core_lib/nostr_websocket \
+    -I/usr/include/postgresql \
     src/main.c src/debug.c src/jsonc_strip.c src/config.c src/state.c \
     src/follow_graph.c src/relay_sink.c src/live_subscriber.c \
     src/backfill.c src/relay_discovery.c \
+    src/pg_inbox.c src/pg_config.c src/forward_catchup.c \
     -o /build/caching_relay_static \
     nostr_core_lib/libnostr_core.a \
     -lwebsockets -lssl -lcrypto -lsecp256k1 \
-    -lcurl -lz -lpthread -lm -ldl && \
+    -lcurl -lz -lpthread -lm -ldl -lpq -lpgcommon -lpgport && \
     eval "$STRIP_CMD"
 
 # Verify it's truly static
diff --git a/caching/src/follow_graph.c b/caching/src/follow_graph.c
index 3544065..2042215 100644
--- a/caching/src/follow_graph.c
+++ b/caching/src/follow_graph.c
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@
 
 #include <string.h>
 #include <stdlib.h>
+#include <ctype.h>
 
 int cr_follow_is_root(const cr_config_t *cfg, const char *hex) {
     if (!cfg->root_hex_ready) return 0;
@@ -16,17 +17,35 @@ int cr_follow_is_root(const cr_config_t *cfg, const char *hex) {
     return 0;
 }
 
+/* Check if a string is a 64-character hex pubkey (no npub prefix). */
+static int is_hex_pubkey(const char *s) {
+    if (!s || strlen(s) != 64) return 0;
+    for (int i = 0; i < 64; i++) {
+        if (!isxdigit((unsigned char)s[i])) return 0;
+    }
+    return 1;
+}
+
 int cr_follow_decode_roots(cr_config_t *cfg) {
     for (int i = 0; i < cfg->root_npub_count; i++) {
-        unsigned char pubkey[32];
-        if (nostr_decode_npub(cfg->root_npubs[i], pubkey) != NOSTR_SUCCESS) {
-            DEBUG_ERROR("follow: failed to decode npub '%s'", cfg->root_npubs[i]);
-            return -1;
+        const char *input = cfg->root_npubs[i];
+        if (is_hex_pubkey(input)) {
+            /* Already a 64-char hex pubkey — copy directly. */
+            strncpy(cfg->root_hex[i], input, 64);
+            cfg->root_hex[i][64] = '\0';
+        } else {
+            /* Assume npub (bech32) format — decode to hex. */
+            unsigned char pubkey[32];
+            if (nostr_decode_npub(input, pubkey) != NOSTR_SUCCESS) {
+                DEBUG_ERROR("follow: failed to decode root pubkey '%s' "
+                            "(not a valid npub or 64-char hex)", input);
+                return -1;
+            }
+            nostr_bytes_to_hex(pubkey, 32, cfg->root_hex[i]);
         }
-        nostr_bytes_to_hex(pubkey, 32, cfg->root_hex[i]);
     }
     cfg->root_hex_ready = 1;
-    DEBUG_INFO("follow: decoded %d root npubs", cfg->root_npub_count);
+    DEBUG_INFO("follow: decoded %d root pubkeys", cfg->root_npub_count);
     return 0;
 }
 
diff --git a/src/main.h b/src/main.h
index d243fc0..fcbb24f 100644
--- a/src/main.h
+++ b/src/main.h
@@ -13,8 +13,8 @@
 // Using CRELAY_ prefix to avoid conflicts with nostr_core_lib VERSION macros
 #define CRELAY_VERSION_MAJOR 2
 #define CRELAY_VERSION_MINOR 1
-#define CRELAY_VERSION_PATCH 25
-#define CRELAY_VERSION "v2.1.25"
+#define CRELAY_VERSION_PATCH 26
+#define CRELAY_VERSION "v2.1.26"
 
 // Relay metadata (authoritative source for NIP-11 information)
 #define RELAY_NAME "C-Relay-PG"