diff --git a/backend/packages/harness/deerflow/persistence/engine.py b/backend/packages/harness/deerflow/persistence/engine.py
index 5ed647d035..127ee73f30 100644
--- a/backend/packages/harness/deerflow/persistence/engine.py
+++ b/backend/packages/harness/deerflow/persistence/engine.py
@@ -82,7 +82,14 @@ async def init_engine(
             import asyncpg  # noqa: F401
         except ImportError:
             raise ImportError(
-                "database.backend is set to 'postgres' but asyncpg is not installed.\nInstall it with:\n    uv sync --all-packages --extra postgres\nOr switch to backend: sqlite in config.yaml for single-node deployment."
+                "database.backend is set to 'postgres' but asyncpg is not installed.\n"
+                "Install it with:\n"
+                "    cd backend && uv sync --all-packages --extra postgres\n"
+                "On the next `make dev` the postgres extra is auto-detected from\n"
+                "config.yaml (database.backend: postgres) and reinstalled, so it\n"
+                "will not be wiped again. Set UV_EXTRAS=postgres in .env to opt in\n"
+                "explicitly. Or switch to backend: sqlite in config.yaml for\n"
+                "single-node deployment."
             ) from None
 
     if backend == "sqlite":
diff --git a/backend/tests/test_detect_uv_extras.py b/backend/tests/test_detect_uv_extras.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..a202f6b801
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/tests/test_detect_uv_extras.py
@@ -0,0 +1,201 @@
+"""Unit tests for scripts/detect_uv_extras.py.
+
+The detector resolves uv extras for `make dev` so that postgres (and any
+future opt-in extras) are not wiped on every restart — see Issue #2754.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import importlib.util
+from pathlib import Path
+
+import pytest
+
+REPO_ROOT = Path(__file__).resolve().parents[2]
+DETECT_SCRIPT_PATH = REPO_ROOT / "scripts" / "detect_uv_extras.py"
+
+
+spec = importlib.util.spec_from_file_location("deerflow_detect_uv_extras", DETECT_SCRIPT_PATH)
+assert spec is not None and spec.loader is not None
+detect = importlib.util.module_from_spec(spec)
+spec.loader.exec_module(detect)
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+def isolated_cwd(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+    """Isolate `find_config_file()` from the real repo by chdir + clearing env."""
+    monkeypatch.chdir(tmp_path)
+    monkeypatch.delenv("UV_EXTRAS", raising=False)
+    monkeypatch.delenv("DEER_FLOW_CONFIG_PATH", raising=False)
+    return tmp_path
+
+
+def test_parse_env_extras_supports_comma_and_whitespace():
+    assert detect.parse_env_extras("postgres") == ["postgres"]
+    assert detect.parse_env_extras("postgres,ollama") == ["postgres", "ollama"]
+    assert detect.parse_env_extras("postgres ollama") == ["postgres", "ollama"]
+    assert detect.parse_env_extras(" postgres ,  ollama ,") == ["postgres", "ollama"]
+    assert detect.parse_env_extras("") == []
+
+
+def test_parse_env_extras_drops_shell_metacharacters(capsys):
+    """A `.env` value containing shell injection bait must not pass through.
+
+    The whitelist guarantees the *bytes* that reach `uv sync` cannot include
+    shell metacharacters. Any name that looks identifier-like still survives
+    (uv itself will reject unknown extras with its own error), but `;`, `&`,
+    backticks, parentheses, slashes, etc. are stripped.
+    """
+    # Pure-metacharacter inputs collapse to empty.
+    assert detect.parse_env_extras(";") == []
+    assert detect.parse_env_extras("$(whoami)") == []
+    assert detect.parse_env_extras("`echo bad`") == []
+    assert detect.parse_env_extras("postgres;evil") == []  # single token, contains `;`
+    # Splitting on whitespace yields ['rm'] which is identifier-shaped, but the
+    # destructive bits (`;`, `-rf`, `/`) are dropped.
+    assert detect.parse_env_extras("; rm -rf /") == ["rm"]
+    err = capsys.readouterr().err
+    assert "ignoring invalid UV_EXTRAS entry" in err
+    assert "';'" in err  # confirms the dangerous token was reported and dropped
+
+
+def test_parse_env_extras_rejects_leading_digits_and_punctuation():
+    """Names must start with a letter — pyproject extras follow this shape."""
+    assert detect.parse_env_extras("1postgres") == []
+    assert detect.parse_env_extras("-postgres") == []
+    # Hyphens and underscores inside the name are fine.
+    assert detect.parse_env_extras("post_gres") == ["post_gres"]
+    assert detect.parse_env_extras("post-gres") == ["post-gres"]
+
+
+def test_format_flags_emits_one_flag_per_extra():
+    assert detect.format_flags([]) == ""
+    assert detect.format_flags(["postgres"]) == "--extra postgres"
+    assert detect.format_flags(["postgres", "ollama"]) == "--extra postgres --extra ollama"
+
+
+def test_strip_comment_preserves_quoted_hash():
+    assert detect._strip_comment("backend: postgres  # trailing") == "backend: postgres"
+    assert detect._strip_comment('name: "value#with-hash"') == 'name: "value#with-hash"'
+    assert detect._strip_comment("# whole line comment") == ""
+
+
+def test_section_value_finds_nested_key():
+    yaml_lines = [
+        "database:",
+        "  backend: postgres",
+        "  postgres_url: $DATABASE_URL",
+        "",
+        "checkpointer:",
+        "  type: sqlite",
+    ]
+    assert detect.section_value(yaml_lines, "database", "backend") == "postgres"
+    assert detect.section_value(yaml_lines, "checkpointer", "type") == "sqlite"
+    assert detect.section_value(yaml_lines, "database", "missing") is None
+    assert detect.section_value(yaml_lines, "absent_section", "anything") is None
+
+
+def test_section_value_ignores_commented_lines():
+    yaml_lines = [
+        "# database:",
+        "#   backend: postgres",
+        "database:",
+        "  backend: sqlite",
+    ]
+    assert detect.section_value(yaml_lines, "database", "backend") == "sqlite"
+
+
+def test_section_value_strips_quotes():
+    yaml_lines = [
+        "database:",
+        '  backend: "postgres"',
+    ]
+    assert detect.section_value(yaml_lines, "database", "backend") == "postgres"
+
+
+def test_section_value_does_not_descend_into_grandchildren():
+    yaml_lines = [
+        "database:",
+        "  backend: sqlite",
+        "  nested:",
+        "    backend: postgres",
+    ]
+    # Only the immediate child level counts — keeps the parser predictable.
+    assert detect.section_value(yaml_lines, "database", "backend") == "sqlite"
+
+
+def test_detect_from_config_postgres_via_database(tmp_path):
+    cfg = tmp_path / "config.yaml"
+    cfg.write_text("database:\n  backend: postgres\n  postgres_url: $DATABASE_URL\n")
+    assert detect.detect_from_config(cfg) == ["postgres"]
+
+
+def test_detect_from_config_postgres_via_checkpointer(tmp_path):
+    cfg = tmp_path / "config.yaml"
+    cfg.write_text("checkpointer:\n  type: postgres\n  connection_string: postgresql://localhost/db\n")
+    assert detect.detect_from_config(cfg) == ["postgres"]
+
+
+def test_detect_from_config_sqlite_returns_no_extras(tmp_path):
+    cfg = tmp_path / "config.yaml"
+    cfg.write_text("database:\n  backend: sqlite\n  sqlite_dir: .deer-flow/data\n")
+    assert detect.detect_from_config(cfg) == []
+
+
+def test_detect_from_config_dedupes_when_both_present(tmp_path):
+    cfg = tmp_path / "config.yaml"
+    cfg.write_text("checkpointer:\n  type: postgres\ndatabase:\n  backend: postgres\n")
+    # Sorted unique extras, no double-counting.
+    assert detect.detect_from_config(cfg) == ["postgres"]
+
+
+def test_detect_from_config_missing_file_returns_empty(tmp_path):
+    assert detect.detect_from_config(tmp_path / "does-not-exist.yaml") == []
+
+
+def test_resolve_extras_env_overrides_config(isolated_cwd, monkeypatch):
+    cfg = isolated_cwd / "config.yaml"
+    cfg.write_text("database:\n  backend: sqlite\n")
+    monkeypatch.setenv("UV_EXTRAS", "postgres")
+
+    assert detect.resolve_extras() == ["postgres"]
+
+
+def test_resolve_extras_env_supports_multiple(isolated_cwd, monkeypatch):
+    monkeypatch.setenv("UV_EXTRAS", "postgres,ollama")
+    assert detect.resolve_extras() == ["postgres", "ollama"]
+
+
+def test_resolve_extras_falls_back_to_config(isolated_cwd):
+    (isolated_cwd / "config.yaml").write_text("database:\n  backend: postgres\n")
+    assert detect.resolve_extras() == ["postgres"]
+
+
+def test_resolve_extras_respects_explicit_config_path(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+    monkeypatch.delenv("UV_EXTRAS", raising=False)
+    elsewhere = tmp_path / "elsewhere.yaml"
+    elsewhere.write_text("database:\n  backend: postgres\n")
+    monkeypatch.chdir(tmp_path)
+    monkeypatch.setenv("DEER_FLOW_CONFIG_PATH", str(elsewhere))
+
+    assert detect.resolve_extras() == ["postgres"]
+
+
+def test_resolve_extras_no_config_no_env(isolated_cwd):
+    assert detect.resolve_extras() == []
+
+
+def test_resolve_extras_finds_backend_subdir_config(isolated_cwd):
+    sub = isolated_cwd / "backend"
+    sub.mkdir()
+    (sub / "config.yaml").write_text("database:\n  backend: postgres\n")
+    assert detect.resolve_extras() == ["postgres"]
+
+
+def test_resolve_extras_root_config_takes_precedence(isolated_cwd):
+    (isolated_cwd / "config.yaml").write_text("database:\n  backend: sqlite\n")
+    sub = isolated_cwd / "backend"
+    sub.mkdir()
+    (sub / "config.yaml").write_text("database:\n  backend: postgres\n")
+    # Root config.yaml is checked first, matching the precedence in serve.sh.
+    assert detect.resolve_extras() == []
diff --git a/backend/tests/test_dev_entrypoint.py b/backend/tests/test_dev_entrypoint.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..b587e0dfec
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/tests/test_dev_entrypoint.py
@@ -0,0 +1,102 @@
+"""Unit tests for docker/dev-entrypoint.sh (UV_EXTRAS validation + parsing).
+
+Exercises the script via its `--print-extras` dry-run hook so we don't actually
+launch uvicorn or hit /app/logs. Together with test_detect_uv_extras.py these
+cover both the local make-dev path and the docker-compose-dev path with the
+same shape — see PR #2767 / Issue #2754.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import os
+import subprocess
+from pathlib import Path
+
+import pytest
+
+REPO_ROOT = Path(__file__).resolve().parents[2]
+ENTRYPOINT = REPO_ROOT / "docker" / "dev-entrypoint.sh"
+
+
+def _run(uv_extras: str | None) -> subprocess.CompletedProcess[str]:
+    """Invoke `dev-entrypoint.sh --print-extras` with UV_EXTRAS set."""
+    env = os.environ.copy()
+    env.pop("UV_EXTRAS", None)
+    if uv_extras is not None:
+        env["UV_EXTRAS"] = uv_extras
+    return subprocess.run(
+        ["sh", str(ENTRYPOINT), "--print-extras"],
+        env=env,
+        capture_output=True,
+        text=True,
+        check=False,
+    )
+
+
+def test_entrypoint_script_exists_and_is_posix_sh():
+    assert ENTRYPOINT.is_file()
+    # Catch syntax errors before runtime — `sh -n` is a parse-only check.
+    proc = subprocess.run(["sh", "-n", str(ENTRYPOINT)], capture_output=True, text=True, check=False)
+    assert proc.returncode == 0, proc.stderr
+
+
+def test_no_uv_extras_yields_empty_flags():
+    proc = _run(None)
+    assert proc.returncode == 0
+    assert proc.stdout.strip() == ""
+
+
+def test_single_extra():
+    proc = _run("postgres")
+    assert proc.returncode == 0
+    assert proc.stdout.strip() == "--extra postgres"
+
+
+def test_multi_extra_comma_separated():
+    proc = _run("postgres,ollama")
+    assert proc.returncode == 0
+    assert proc.stdout.strip() == "--extra postgres --extra ollama"
+
+
+def test_multi_extra_whitespace_separated():
+    proc = _run("postgres ollama")
+    assert proc.returncode == 0
+    assert proc.stdout.strip() == "--extra postgres --extra ollama"
+
+
+def test_multi_extra_mixed_separators():
+    proc = _run(" postgres ,  ollama ,")
+    assert proc.returncode == 0
+    assert proc.stdout.strip() == "--extra postgres --extra ollama"
+
+
+def test_empty_string_yields_empty_flags():
+    proc = _run("")
+    assert proc.returncode == 0
+    assert proc.stdout.strip() == ""
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    "bad_value",
+    [
+        "; rm -rf /",  # the canonical injection attempt
+        "$(whoami)",  # command substitution
+        "`echo bad`",  # backticks
+        "postgres;evil",  # mixed legal+illegal in a single token
+        "1postgres",  # leading digit
+        "-postgres",  # leading hyphen
+        "post gres extra/path",  # contains slash
+    ],
+)
+def test_metacharacters_abort_with_nonzero_exit(bad_value):
+    proc = _run(bad_value)
+    assert proc.returncode != 0, f"expected abort for {bad_value!r}, got 0"
+    assert "is invalid" in proc.stderr
+    assert proc.stdout.strip() == ""
+
+
+def test_underscores_and_hyphens_in_name_are_allowed():
+    """Mirrors uv's accepted shape for `[project.optional-dependencies]` keys."""
+    proc = _run("post_gres,post-gres")
+    assert proc.returncode == 0
+    assert proc.stdout.strip() == "--extra post_gres --extra post-gres"
diff --git a/config.example.yaml b/config.example.yaml
index 6f3fb1483b..31b2ac29c4 100644
--- a/config.example.yaml
+++ b/config.example.yaml
@@ -871,9 +871,25 @@ skill_evolution:
 #
 # Postgres mode: put your connection URL in .env as DATABASE_URL,
 # then reference it here with $DATABASE_URL.
-# Install the driver first:
-#   Local:  uv sync --extra postgres
-#   Docker: UV_EXTRAS=postgres docker compose build
+#
+# Install the driver — Issue #2754 fix lands `UV_EXTRAS` in every code path:
+#   Local      `make dev` auto-detects from `database.backend: postgres` below
+#              and passes `--extra postgres` to `uv sync` on every restart, so
+#              the extra is no longer wiped. To opt in explicitly (or layer
+#              extras like `postgres,ollama`), set in project-root .env:
+#                  UV_EXTRAS=postgres
+#   Docker dev `make docker-start` reads `UV_EXTRAS` from project-root .env via
+#              `env_file`. Set:
+#                  UV_EXTRAS=postgres
+#              Multiple extras (`postgres,ollama`) supported here too — see
+#              docker/dev-entrypoint.sh.
+#   Docker img build-arg `UV_EXTRAS=postgres docker compose build` — single
+#              extra only at build time (backend/Dockerfile passes the value
+#              as one token to `--extra`).
+#
+# First-time bootstrap (before `make dev`):
+#   cd backend && uv sync --all-packages --extra postgres
+#   (--all-packages propagates the extra into workspace members — see PR #2584)
 #
 # NOTE: When both `checkpointer` and `database` are configured,
 # `checkpointer` takes precedence for LangGraph state persistence.
diff --git a/docker/dev-entrypoint.sh b/docker/dev-entrypoint.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..872e16022e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docker/dev-entrypoint.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,85 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env sh
+#
+# DeerFlow gateway dev entrypoint — runs inside the docker-compose-dev gateway
+# container. Extracted from docker/docker-compose-dev.yaml's inline `command:`
+# (PR #2767, addressing review on Issue #2754).
+#
+# Responsibilities:
+#   1. Resolve `--extra X` flags from UV_EXTRAS (comma- or whitespace-separated,
+#      mirroring scripts/detect_uv_extras.py for parity with local `make dev`).
+#   2. Validate each extra against [A-Za-z][A-Za-z0-9_-]* so a stray shell
+#      metacharacter in `.env` cannot reach `uv sync`.
+#   3. `uv sync --all-packages` so workspace member extras (deerflow-harness's
+#      postgres extra in particular) are installed — see PR #2584.
+#   4. Self-heal: if the first sync fails, recreate .venv and retry once.
+#   5. Hand off to uvicorn with reload, replacing this shell so uvicorn becomes
+#      PID 1 inside the container.
+#
+# Anchored at /bin/sh (not bash) since alpine-based base images may not ship
+# bash. Uses POSIX-only constructs throughout.
+
+set -e
+
+# `--print-extras` is a dry-run hook: parse + validate UV_EXTRAS, print the
+# resulting `--extra X` flags to stdout, and exit. Used by the unit test in
+# backend/tests/test_dev_entrypoint.py and useful for ad-hoc debugging.
+PRINT_EXTRAS_ONLY=0
+if [ "${1:-}" = "--print-extras" ]; then
+    PRINT_EXTRAS_ONLY=1
+fi
+
+# Mirror the legacy command's behavior: redirect both stdout and stderr to the
+# host-mounted log file (../logs/gateway.log → /app/logs/gateway.log). Skip
+# the redirect under --print-extras so the test runner can capture stdout.
+if [ "$PRINT_EXTRAS_ONLY" = "0" ]; then
+    exec >/app/logs/gateway.log 2>&1
+fi
+
+# ── Resolve extras ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+EXTRAS_FLAGS=""
+if [ -n "${UV_EXTRAS:-}" ]; then
+    # Normalize comma → space, then split on whitespace via the unquoted `for`.
+    for raw in $(printf '%s' "$UV_EXTRAS" | tr ',' ' '); do
+        [ -z "$raw" ] && continue
+        # Reject anything that does not look like an identifier.
+        # Two patterns: leading non-letter, or any non-[A-Za-z0-9_-] character.
+        case "$raw" in
+            [!A-Za-z]* | *[!A-Za-z0-9_-]*)
+                echo "[startup] UV_EXTRAS entry '$raw' is invalid (must match [A-Za-z][A-Za-z0-9_-]*) — aborting" >&2
+                exit 1
+                ;;
+        esac
+        EXTRAS_FLAGS="$EXTRAS_FLAGS --extra $raw"
+    done
+fi
+
+if [ "$PRINT_EXTRAS_ONLY" = "1" ]; then
+    # Trim leading space for tidier output, then exit.
+    printf '%s\n' "${EXTRAS_FLAGS# }"
+    exit 0
+fi
+
+if [ -n "$EXTRAS_FLAGS" ]; then
+    echo "[startup] uv extras:$EXTRAS_FLAGS"
+fi
+
+# ── Sync dependencies (with self-heal) ──────────────────────────────────────
+
+cd /app/backend
+
+# `--all-packages` propagates extras into workspace members (PR #2584).
+# `$EXTRAS_FLAGS` intentionally unquoted so each `--extra X` becomes its own arg.
+# shellcheck disable=SC2086 # word-splitting is intentional here
+if ! uv sync --all-packages $EXTRAS_FLAGS; then
+    echo "[startup] uv sync failed; recreating .venv and retrying once"
+    uv venv --allow-existing .venv
+    # shellcheck disable=SC2086
+    uv sync --all-packages $EXTRAS_FLAGS
+fi
+
+# ── Hand off to uvicorn ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+PYTHONPATH=. exec uv run uvicorn app.gateway.app:app \
+    --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8001 \
+    --reload --reload-include='*.yaml .env'
diff --git a/docker/docker-compose-dev.yaml b/docker/docker-compose-dev.yaml
index 6d00d71ff7..db608f597d 100644
--- a/docker/docker-compose-dev.yaml
+++ b/docker/docker-compose-dev.yaml
@@ -125,8 +125,15 @@ services:
         UV_IMAGE: ${UV_IMAGE:-ghcr.io/astral-sh/uv:0.7.20}
         UV_INDEX_URL: ${UV_INDEX_URL:-https://pypi.org/simple}
     container_name: deer-flow-gateway
-    command: sh -c "{ cd backend && (uv sync || (echo '[startup] uv sync failed; recreating .venv and retrying once' && uv venv --allow-existing .venv && uv sync)) && PYTHONPATH=. uv run uvicorn app.gateway.app:app --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8001 --reload --reload-include='*.yaml .env'; } > /app/logs/gateway.log 2>&1"
+    # Startup logic lives in docker/dev-entrypoint.sh — UV_EXTRAS validation,
+    # `uv sync --all-packages`, .venv self-heal, and uvicorn handoff. Keeps
+    # this file readable and lets the script be linted (shellcheck-clean).
+    # See PR #2767 / Issue #2754.
+    command: ["sh", "/usr/local/bin/dev-entrypoint.sh"]
     volumes:
+      # Mount the dev entrypoint as a read-only file so edits to the script
+      # take effect on `make docker-restart` without requiring an image rebuild.
+      - ./dev-entrypoint.sh:/usr/local/bin/dev-entrypoint.sh:ro
       - ../backend/:/app/backend/
       # Preserve the .venv built during Docker image build — mounting the full backend/
       # directory above would otherwise shadow it with the (empty) host directory.
diff --git a/scripts/detect_uv_extras.py b/scripts/detect_uv_extras.py
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..91a9bd0adb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/detect_uv_extras.py
@@ -0,0 +1,180 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
+"""Resolve uv extras for local `uv sync` based on environment + config.yaml.
+
+Order of resolution:
+1. `UV_EXTRAS` env var. Comma- or whitespace-separated names so multiple
+   extras can be layered (e.g. ``UV_EXTRAS=postgres,ollama``). The same
+   parsing semantics apply in the Docker dev container via
+   ``docker/dev-entrypoint.sh``. The Docker image-build path
+   (``backend/Dockerfile``) still treats `UV_EXTRAS` as a single token, so
+   ``UV_EXTRAS=postgres,ollama`` would only install ``postgres,ollama`` as
+   one (invalid) extra at build time — author build-time values as a
+   single name.
+2. Auto-detection from config.yaml — currently maps:
+   - database.backend == postgres        -> postgres
+   - checkpointer.type == postgres       -> postgres
+
+Each extra name is validated against ``^[A-Za-z][A-Za-z0-9_-]*$`` (the same
+shape uv enforces for `[project.optional-dependencies]` keys). Anything else
+is dropped with a stderr warning so a stray shell metacharacter in `.env`
+cannot reach the `uv sync` invocation downstream.
+
+Output: space-separated `--extra <name>` flags ready for splat into
+`uv sync`, e.g. `--extra postgres`. Empty output means "no extras".
+
+Intentionally implemented with the standard library only: this script must run
+*before* `uv sync` has populated the venv, so it cannot depend on PyYAML.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import os
+import re
+import sys
+from pathlib import Path
+
+# Mirrors uv's accepted shape for extra names — keeps the eventual
+# `uv sync --extra <name>` invocation free of shell metacharacters even when
+# `UV_EXTRAS` comes from `.env` or another semi-trusted source.
+_EXTRA_NAME_RE = re.compile(r"^[A-Za-z][A-Za-z0-9_-]*$")
+
+
+def _validate_extras(names: list[str]) -> list[str]:
+    valid: list[str] = []
+    for name in names:
+        if _EXTRA_NAME_RE.match(name):
+            valid.append(name)
+        else:
+            print(
+                f"detect_uv_extras: ignoring invalid UV_EXTRAS entry {name!r} (must match [A-Za-z][A-Za-z0-9_-]*)",
+                file=sys.stderr,
+            )
+    return valid
+
+
+def parse_env_extras(value: str) -> list[str]:
+    """Split UV_EXTRAS into a list, accepting comma or whitespace separators."""
+    parts = re.split(r"[\s,]+", value.strip())
+    return _validate_extras([p for p in parts if p])
+
+
+def find_config_file() -> Path | None:
+    """Locate config.yaml using the same precedence as serve.sh."""
+    explicit = os.environ.get("DEER_FLOW_CONFIG_PATH")
+    if explicit:
+        candidate = Path(explicit)
+        if candidate.is_file():
+            return candidate
+    for path in (Path("config.yaml"), Path("backend/config.yaml")):
+        if path.is_file():
+            return path
+    return None
+
+
+_SECTION_RE = re.compile(r"^([A-Za-z_][\w-]*)\s*:\s*$")
+_KEY_RE = re.compile(r"^\s+([A-Za-z_][\w-]*)\s*:\s*(\S.*?)\s*$")
+
+
+def _strip_comment(line: str) -> str:
+    """Drop trailing `#` comments while preserving `#` inside quoted strings."""
+    in_quote: str | None = None
+    out: list[str] = []
+    for ch in line:
+        if in_quote is not None:
+            out.append(ch)
+            if ch == in_quote:
+                in_quote = None
+            continue
+        if ch in ("'", '"'):
+            in_quote = ch
+            out.append(ch)
+        elif ch == "#":
+            break
+        else:
+            out.append(ch)
+    return "".join(out).rstrip()
+
+
+def _unquote(value: str) -> str:
+    if len(value) >= 2 and value[0] == value[-1] and value[0] in ("'", '"'):
+        return value[1:-1]
+    return value
+
+
+def section_value(lines: list[str], section: str, key: str) -> str | None:
+    """Return the value of `section.key` from a flat-ish YAML, or None.
+
+    Only handles the shallow shape DeerFlow uses for these settings:
+        database:
+          backend: postgres
+    Nested mappings deeper than the immediate child level are ignored on
+    purpose — that keeps this parser predictable without a full YAML stack.
+    """
+    inside = False
+    child_indent: int | None = None
+    for raw in lines:
+        line = _strip_comment(raw)
+        if not line.strip():
+            continue
+        sect_match = _SECTION_RE.match(line)
+        if sect_match:
+            inside = sect_match.group(1) == section
+            child_indent = None
+            continue
+        if not inside:
+            continue
+        stripped = line.lstrip()
+        indent = len(line) - len(stripped)
+        if indent == 0:
+            inside = False
+            continue
+        if child_indent is None:
+            child_indent = indent
+        if indent < child_indent:
+            inside = False
+            continue
+        if indent != child_indent:
+            continue
+        key_match = _KEY_RE.match(line)
+        if key_match and key_match.group(1) == key:
+            return _unquote(key_match.group(2).strip())
+    return None
+
+
+def detect_from_config(path: Path) -> list[str]:
+    try:
+        text = path.read_text(encoding="utf-8", errors="replace")
+    except OSError:
+        return []
+    lines = text.splitlines()
+    extras: set[str] = set()
+    if (section_value(lines, "database", "backend") or "").lower() == "postgres":
+        extras.add("postgres")
+    if (section_value(lines, "checkpointer", "type") or "").lower() == "postgres":
+        extras.add("postgres")
+    return sorted(extras)
+
+
+def resolve_extras() -> list[str]:
+    env = os.environ.get("UV_EXTRAS", "")
+    if env.strip():
+        return parse_env_extras(env)
+    config = find_config_file()
+    if config is None:
+        return []
+    return detect_from_config(config)
+
+
+def format_flags(extras: list[str]) -> str:
+    return " ".join(f"--extra {e}" for e in extras)
+
+
+def main() -> int:
+    extras = resolve_extras()
+    if extras:
+        sys.stdout.write(format_flags(extras))
+    return 0
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    sys.exit(main())
diff --git a/scripts/serve.sh b/scripts/serve.sh
index 17d46eede3..a45ff1af19 100755
--- a/scripts/serve.sh
+++ b/scripts/serve.sh
@@ -157,9 +157,41 @@ fi
 
 # ── Install dependencies ────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
+# Pick a Python for the extras detector. Falls back to plain `python` for
+# Windows/Git Bash where only `python` is on PATH.
+if command -v python3 >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    DETECT_PYTHON="python3"
+elif command -v python >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    DETECT_PYTHON="python"
+else
+    DETECT_PYTHON=""
+fi
+
+# Resolve uv extras (postgres, etc.) from UV_EXTRAS or config.yaml so that
+# `uv sync` does not wipe out optional dependencies on every restart. See
+# scripts/detect_uv_extras.py and Issue #2754 for context. The detector
+# whitelists extra names against `^[A-Za-z][A-Za-z0-9_-]*$`, so the unquoted
+# splat below only sees valid uv argument tokens.
+#
+# Stderr is intentionally NOT redirected so the user sees:
+#   - whitelist warnings (e.g. "ignoring invalid UV_EXTRAS entry ';'");
+#   - detector crashes (e.g. unexpected Python error).
+# `|| true` keeps `set -e` from killing dev startup on a detector failure;
+# the result is just an empty UV_EXTRAS_FLAGS, which means "no extras".
+UV_EXTRAS_FLAGS=""
+if [ -n "$DETECT_PYTHON" ]; then
+    UV_EXTRAS_FLAGS=$("$DETECT_PYTHON" "$REPO_ROOT/scripts/detect_uv_extras.py" || { echo "[serve.sh] detect_uv_extras.py failed (exit $?) — proceeding without extras" >&2; echo ""; })
+fi
+
 if ! $SKIP_INSTALL; then
     echo "Syncing dependencies..."
-    (cd backend && uv sync --quiet) || { echo "✗ Backend dependency install failed"; exit 1; }
+    if [ -n "$UV_EXTRAS_FLAGS" ]; then
+        echo "  • uv extras: $UV_EXTRAS_FLAGS"
+    fi
+    # `--all-packages` propagates extras into workspace members (deerflow-harness
+    # in particular). Required for postgres extras — see PR #2584.
+    # Intentionally unquoted to splat multiple `--extra X` pairs.
+    (cd backend && uv sync --quiet --all-packages $UV_EXTRAS_FLAGS) || { echo "✗ Backend dependency install failed"; exit 1; }
     (cd frontend && pnpm install --silent) || { echo "✗ Frontend dependency install failed"; exit 1; }
     echo "✓ Dependencies synced"
 else