diff --git a/alembic/env.py b/alembic/env.py
index 920a806..4522785 100644
--- a/alembic/env.py
+++ b/alembic/env.py
@@ -1,4 +1,6 @@
+import subprocess
 from logging.config import fileConfig
+from pathlib import Path
 
 from sqlalchemy import engine_from_config, pool
 
@@ -7,6 +9,28 @@ from alembic import context
 from quartermaster.config import DB_URL
 from quartermaster.models import Base
 
+
+def _backup_before_migrations() -> None:
+    script = Path(__file__).resolve().parents[1] / "scripts" / "backup-db.sh"
+    if not script.is_file():
+        return
+    result = subprocess.run(
+        [str(script), "alembic"],
+        check=False,
+        capture_output=True,
+        text=True,
+    )
+    if result.stdout:
+        print(result.stdout, end="")
+    if result.returncode != 0 and result.stderr:
+        print(
+            f"alembic: backup-db.sh returned {result.returncode}; "
+            f"continuing without a fresh backup.\n{result.stderr}",
+        )
+
+
+_backup_before_migrations()
+
 config = context.config
 config.set_main_option("sqlalchemy.url", DB_URL)