diff --git a/demo/README-curated-files.md b/demo/README-curated-files.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..58593c8f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/demo/README-curated-files.md
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+# Curated demo files
+
+Drop real files into `demo/files/` to make them the cloud's content for **every**
+demo visitor (read-only — visitors can browse, download, and "buy" them, but only
+maintainers add them). This is the "private login": the only way to add files is
+to commit them here, which requires repo access.
+
+```
+demo/files/
+  Documents/whitepaper.pdf
+  Photos/rig.jpg
+  Music/track.mp3
+```
+
+- Folder structure becomes the cloud's folders.
+- Text files (`.md .txt .json .csv …`, < 1 MB) are inlined; everything else is
+  streamed from disk on download.
+- If `demo/files/` is empty, the demo falls back to the built-in seeded set
+  (Documents/Photos/Music/Videos with sample content).
+
+After adding files, commit and push — CI rebuilds the `:demo` image and Portainer
+redeploys. Keep the total modest (these load into the demo image).
diff --git a/demo/files/.gitkeep b/demo/files/.gitkeep
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..e69de29b
diff --git a/neode-ui/Dockerfile.backend b/neode-ui/Dockerfile.backend
index 1881cc70..fde87eb3 100644
--- a/neode-ui/Dockerfile.backend
+++ b/neode-ui/Dockerfile.backend
@@ -14,6 +14,11 @@ RUN npm install
 # Copy application code
 COPY neode-ui/ ./
 
+# Sibling assets the mock backend reads relative to /app (../docker, ../demo):
+# the Bitcoin UI mock shell and any curated cloud files dropped into demo/files.
+COPY docker/bitcoin-ui /docker/bitcoin-ui
+COPY demo/files /demo/files
+
 # Expose port
 EXPOSE 5959
 
diff --git a/neode-ui/mock-backend.js b/neode-ui/mock-backend.js
index 1353f83c..92d8f723 100755
--- a/neode-ui/mock-backend.js
+++ b/neode-ui/mock-backend.js
@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@ const DEMO =
 
 // Find container socket: Podman (macOS/Linux) or Docker
 import { existsSync, readFileSync } from 'fs'
+import * as fsSync from 'fs'
 
 // Report the real app version, suffixed with -demo in the public sandbox so it's
 // obviously the demo while still tracking whatever version the UI ships.
@@ -3448,6 +3449,53 @@ const SEED_FILE_CONTENTS = {
   '/Documents/backup-log.json': JSON.stringify({ backups: [{ id: 'bkp-2025-03-01', timestamp: '2025-03-01T02:00:00Z', type: 'full', apps: ['bitcoin-knots', 'lnd', 'mempool'], size_mb: 2340, status: 'success' }] }, null, 2),
 }
 
+// Curated real files: drop files into <repo>/demo/files/<Folder>/<file> and they
+// replace the seeded cloud content for every visitor (read-only — visitors can
+// view/download/buy them but only maintainers add them, via git = the "private
+// login"). If the folder is absent/empty the hardcoded seeds above are kept.
+// Binary files are streamed from disk on demand (diskFilePaths); text is inlined.
+const diskFilePaths = {}
+function loadDemoDiskFiles() {
+  const root = path.join(__dirname, '..', 'demo', 'files')
+  let top
+  try { top = fsSync.readdirSync(root, { withFileTypes: true }) } catch { return }
+  const tree = { '/': [] }
+  const contents = {}
+  const TEXT_EXT = new Set(['txt', 'md', 'json', 'csv', 'log', 'yaml', 'yml', 'xml', 'conf', 'ini'])
+  const walk = (absDir, relDir) => {
+    let entries
+    try { entries = fsSync.readdirSync(absDir, { withFileTypes: true }) } catch { return }
+    tree[relDir] = tree[relDir] || []
+    for (const e of entries) {
+      if (e.name.startsWith('.')) continue
+      const abs = path.join(absDir, e.name)
+      const rel = relDir === '/' ? `/${e.name}` : `${relDir}/${e.name}`
+      if (e.isDirectory()) {
+        tree[relDir].push({ name: e.name, path: rel, size: 0, modified: new Date().toISOString(), isDir: true, type: '' })
+        walk(abs, rel)
+      } else {
+        let st; try { st = fsSync.statSync(abs) } catch { continue }
+        const ext = (e.name.includes('.') ? e.name.split('.').pop() : '').toLowerCase()
+        const type = fbType(e.name)
+        tree[relDir].push({ name: e.name, path: rel, size: st.size, modified: st.mtime.toISOString(), isDir: false, type })
+        if (TEXT_EXT.has(ext) && st.size < 1_000_000) {
+          try { contents[rel] = fsSync.readFileSync(abs, 'utf-8') } catch { /* skip */ }
+        } else {
+          diskFilePaths[rel] = abs // streamed from disk by the raw handler
+        }
+      }
+    }
+  }
+  walk(root, '/')
+  if (!tree['/'].length) return // empty folder → keep the hardcoded seeds
+  for (const k of Object.keys(SEED_FILES)) delete SEED_FILES[k]
+  Object.assign(SEED_FILES, tree)
+  for (const k of Object.keys(SEED_FILE_CONTENTS)) delete SEED_FILE_CONTENTS[k]
+  Object.assign(SEED_FILE_CONTENTS, contents)
+  console.log(`[Demo] Loaded curated files from demo/files (${Object.keys(diskFilePaths).length} binary, ${Object.keys(contents).length} text)`)
+}
+loadDemoDiskFiles()
+
 // FileBrowser UI (demo placeholder when launched directly)
 app.get('/app/filebrowser/', (req, res) => {
   res.type('html').send(`<!DOCTYPE html><html><head><meta charset="utf-8"><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width,initial-scale=1">
@@ -3605,6 +3653,13 @@ app.patch('/app/filebrowser/api/resources/*', (req, res) => {
 // FileBrowser raw file content (text reads, blob/stream fetches)
 app.get('/app/filebrowser/api/raw/*', (req, res) => {
   const full = fbNormalize(req.params[0] || '')
+  // Curated binary files live on disk and stream directly.
+  if (diskFilePaths[full]) {
+    res.type(fbContentType(fbBase(full)))
+    return fsSync.createReadStream(diskFilePaths[full]).on('error', () => {
+      if (!res.headersSent) res.status(404).send('File not found')
+    }).pipe(res)
+  }
   const content = currentStore().files.contents[full]
   if (content === undefined) return res.status(404).send('File not found')
   res.type(fbContentType(fbBase(full)))