fix: seed admin user on startup and run sync as background task

- Seed/update admin user from ADMIN_USERNAME/ADMIN_PASSWORD settings on
  startup (admin_users table was empty, login was impossible)
- POST /api/admin/sync now returns immediately and runs the equipment
  sync via BackgroundTasks (full sync took minutes and hit nginx 504)
- run_sync accepts optional sync_log_id to reuse a pre-created log entry
- Adapt admin router test to background sync behavior

backend/app/main.py

@@ -9,6 +9,9 @@ from app.config import get_settings
 from app.database import engine, init_db, async_session
 from app.cache import cache
 from app.routers import equipment, health, admin, rental_requests, contact
+from app.models.admin_user import AdminUser
+from app.auth import get_password_hash
+from sqlalchemy import select
 from app.services.sync_service import SyncService
 from app.services.email_service import EmailService
 from app.mcp_server import get_mcp_app, mcp_session_manager
@@ -36,10 +39,29 @@ async def run_email_retry() -> None:
         logger.info("Email retry complete: %d emails sent", sent)
 
 
+async def seed_admin_user() -> None:
+    """Ensure the admin user from settings exists (create or update password)."""
+    async with async_session() as db:
+        result = await db.execute(
+            select(AdminUser).where(AdminUser.username == settings.admin_username)
+        )
+        user = result.scalar_one_or_none()
+        if not user:
+            db.add(AdminUser(
+                username=settings.admin_username,
+                password_hash=get_password_hash(settings.admin_password),
+            ))
+            logger.info("Seeded admin user %s", settings.admin_username)
+        else:
+            user.password_hash = get_password_hash(settings.admin_password)
+        await db.commit()
+
+
 @asynccontextmanager
 async def lifespan(app: FastAPI):
-    """Application lifespan: init DB, start scheduler, connect cache."""
+    """Application lifespan: init DB, seed admin, start scheduler, connect cache."""
     await init_db()
+    await seed_admin_user()
     await cache.connect()
 
     _mcp_cm = mcp_session_manager.run()

backend/app/routers/admin.py

@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 """Admin router: login, sync endpoints, sync log."""
-from fastapi import APIRouter, Depends, HTTPException, Response, Query, status
+from fastapi import APIRouter, BackgroundTasks, Depends, HTTPException, Response, Query, status
 from sqlalchemy import select
 from sqlalchemy.ext.asyncio import AsyncSession
 from typing import Any
@@ -10,7 +10,9 @@ from app.schemas.auth import LoginRequest, TokenResponse, AdminInfo
 from app.schemas.sync import SyncStatus, SyncLogEntry, SyncTriggerResponse
 from app.auth import verify_password, create_access_token, get_current_user
 from app.services.sync_service import SyncService
+from app.database import async_session
 from app.cache import cache
+from datetime import datetime
 
 router = APIRouter(prefix="/api/admin", tags=["admin"])
 
@@ -54,13 +56,37 @@ async def get_me(user: AdminUser = Depends(get_current_user)) -> Any:
 
 @router.post("/sync", response_model=SyncTriggerResponse)
 async def trigger_sync(
+    background_tasks: BackgroundTasks,
     user: AdminUser = Depends(get_current_user),
     db: AsyncSession = Depends(get_db),
 ) -> Any:
-    """Trigger a manual equipment sync (admin only)."""
+    """Trigger a manual equipment sync in the background (admin only).
-    sync_service = SyncService(db)
+
-    result = await sync_service.run_sync()
+    Runs the sync via BackgroundTasks so the HTTP request returns immediately
-    return SyncTriggerResponse(sync_id=result["sync_id"], status=result["status"])
+    (a full sync of 700+ items incl. image downloads takes minutes and
+    would otherwise hit proxy timeouts).
+    Poll GET /api/admin/sync-status for progress.
+    """
+    log_entry = SyncLog(sync_type="equipment", status="running", started_at=datetime.utcnow())
+    db.add(log_entry)
+    await db.commit()
+    await db.refresh(log_entry)
+
+    async def _run_sync(sync_id: int) -> None:
+        async with async_session() as sync_db:
+            sync_service = SyncService(sync_db)
+            try:
+                await sync_service.run_sync(sync_log_id=sync_id)
+            except Exception as exc:  # noqa: BLE001
+                log = await sync_db.get(SyncLog, sync_id)
+                if log:
+                    log.status = "failed"
+                    log.error_message = str(exc)
+                    log.completed_at = datetime.utcnow()
+                    await sync_db.commit()
+
+    background_tasks.add_task(_run_sync, log_entry.id)
+    return SyncTriggerResponse(sync_id=log_entry.id, status="running")
 
 
 @router.get("/sync-status", response_model=SyncStatus)

backend/app/services/sync_service.py

@@ -23,10 +23,10 @@ class SyncService:
         self.db = db
         self.rentman = rentman or RentmanService()
 
-    async def run_sync(self) -> dict[str, Any]:
+    async def run_sync(self, sync_log_id: int | None = None) -> dict[str, Any]:
         """Execute an incremental equipment sync.
 
-        1. Create sync_log entry (status=running)
+        1. Create sync_log entry (status=running) or reuse sync_log_id
         2. Paginate GET /equipment from Rentman
         3. Compare updateHash with DB, only process changed items
         4. Download images only for changed items
@@ -35,12 +35,20 @@ class SyncService:
         7. Update sync_log (status=completed or failed)
         Returns dict with sync_id, items_processed, status.
         """
-        log_entry = SyncLog(
+        if sync_log_id is not None:
-            sync_type="equipment",
+            log_entry = await self.db.get(SyncLog, sync_log_id)
-            status="running",
+            if not log_entry:
-            started_at=datetime.utcnow(),
+                log_entry = None
-        )
+        if sync_log_id is None or log_entry is None:
-        self.db.add(log_entry)
+            log_entry = SyncLog(
+                sync_type="equipment",
+                status="running",
+                started_at=datetime.utcnow(),
+            )
+            self.db.add(log_entry)
+        else:
+            log_entry.status = "running"
+            log_entry.started_at = datetime.utcnow()
         await self.db.commit()
         await self.db.refresh(log_entry)
         sync_id = log_entry.id

backend/tests/test_admin_router.py

@@ -35,15 +35,18 @@ async def test_sync_with_valid_token(client, seeded_admin, test_db):
     })
     token = login_resp.json()["access_token"]
 
-    # Mock sync service
+    # Mock sync service (background task)
     with patch.object(SyncService, "run_sync", new_callable=AsyncMock) as mock_sync:
-        mock_sync.return_value = {"sync_id": 42, "items_processed": 10, "items_failed": 0, "status": "completed"}
+        mock_sync.return_value = {"sync_id": 1, "items_processed": 10, "items_failed": 0, "status": "completed"}
         resp = await client.post("/api/admin/sync", cookies={"hms_admin_token": token})
 
     assert resp.status_code == 200
     data = resp.json()
-    assert data["sync_id"] == 42
+    # Background sync: request returns immediately with a running log entry
-    assert data["status"] == "completed"
+    assert data["sync_id"] == 1
+    assert data["status"] == "running"
+    # Background task executed by TestClient: run_sync was called once
+    mock_sync.assert_awaited_once()
 
 
 @pytest.mark.asyncio