diff --git a/src/cli/src/commands/backup.ts b/src/cli/src/commands/backup.ts
index 146ddaa..00e6a0c 100644
--- a/src/cli/src/commands/backup.ts
+++ b/src/cli/src/commands/backup.ts
@@ -31,7 +31,14 @@ export function createBackupCommand(deps: BackupDeps): Command {
       const status = await deps.client.get<BackupStatus>('/api/v1/backup/status');
 
       if (!status.enabled) {
-        deps.log('Backup: disabled (set MCPD_BACKUP_REPO to enable)');
+        deps.log('Backup: disabled');
+        deps.log('');
+        deps.log('To enable, set MCPD_BACKUP_REPO in your mcpd environment:');
+        deps.log('  1. Create a bare git repo (e.g. on Gitea, GitHub, or local)');
+        deps.log('  2. Add MCPD_BACKUP_REPO=<repo-url> to stack/.env');
+        deps.log('  3. Redeploy mcpd (bash deploy.sh)');
+        deps.log('  4. Run: mcpctl backup key');
+        deps.log('     Add the SSH key as a deploy key (with write access) in your git host');
         return;
       }