diff --git a/systems/docgpt/.env.test.example b/systems/docgpt/.env.test.example
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..360e6b0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/systems/docgpt/.env.test.example
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+# Gemini API key (or set GOOGLE_API_KEY)
+AI_GEMINI_APIKEY=
+
+# Discord bot token (use a dedicated test bot token)
+APP_DISCORD_TOKEN=
+
+# Force pgvector backend for isolated test database runs
+STORAGE_VECTOR_BACKEND=pgvector
+
+# PostgreSQL test database (docker-compose.test.yml)
+# Format: postgresql+psycopg://USER:PASSWORD@HOST:PORT/DATABASE
+STORAGE_VECTOR_URL=postgresql+psycopg://root:example@localhost:55432/docgpt_test
+
+# MongoDB test database (docker-compose.test.yml)
+STORAGE_MEMORY_URL=mongodb://root:example@localhost:27018/docgpt_test
+
+# Optional
+LOG_LEVEL=INFO
diff --git a/systems/docgpt/README.md b/systems/docgpt/README.md
index 2bbd56f..7e22a9d 100644
--- a/systems/docgpt/README.md
+++ b/systems/docgpt/README.md
@@ -25,3 +25,70 @@ Ask about the R data.table package documentation and contribution guide.
 2. Run ```docker compose up```
 3. Ingest data (once): ```uv run python main.py --ingest```
 4. Start the Discord bot: ```uv run python main.py```
+
+## Manual bot testing with separate test DB
+
+Use this flow when you want to interact with the bot in Discord without touching normal dev data.
+
+1. Create a test env file from the template:
+   ```powershell
+   Copy-Item .env.test.example .env.test
+   ```
+2. Fill in `AI_GEMINI_APIKEY` and `APP_DISCORD_TOKEN` in `.env.test`.
+3. Start isolated test databases:
+   ```powershell
+   docker compose -f docker-compose.test.yml up -d
+   ```
+4. Load `.env.test` into the current PowerShell session:
+   ```powershell
+   Get-Content .env.test | ForEach-Object {
+     if ($_ -match '^\s*#' -or $_ -match '^\s*$') { return }
+     $name, $value = $_ -split '=', 2
+     Set-Item -Path "Env:$name" -Value $value
+   }
+   ```
+5. Ingest documents into the test vector database:
+   ```powershell
+   uv run python main.py --ingest
+   ```
+6. Run the Discord bot using the test DB settings:
+   ```powershell
+   uv run python main.py
+   ```
+7. Tear down and wipe test data when done:
+   ```powershell
+   docker compose -f docker-compose.test.yml down -v
+   ```
+
+This keeps vector data and chat memory isolated to test services (`localhost:55432`, `localhost:27018`) and removes persisted test data on teardown.
+
+## Run a second bot on EC2 (side-by-side with prod)
+
+Use this when your production bot is already running and you want a separate test bot process.
+
+1. Create a second Discord bot application/token (test-only) and add it to a test server.
+2. Prepare test environment values:
+   ```bash
+   cp .env.test.example .env.test
+   ```
+3. Edit `.env.test` and set:
+   - `APP_DISCORD_TOKEN` to the test bot token
+   - `AI_GEMINI_APIKEY`
+4. Ingest test data once:
+   ```bash
+   set -a && source .env.test && set +a
+   docker compose -f docker-compose.test.yml up -d
+   uv run python main.py --ingest
+   ```
+5. Run the second bot:
+   ```bash
+   ./run-test-bot.sh
+   ```
+
+Notes:
+- Do not reuse the production bot token for the test bot.
+- Production bot keeps using `.env`; test bot uses `.env.test`.
+- Stop and wipe test data when finished:
+  ```bash
+  docker compose -f docker-compose.test.yml down -v
+  ```
diff --git a/systems/docgpt/docker-compose.test.yml b/systems/docgpt/docker-compose.test.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fe3794f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/systems/docgpt/docker-compose.test.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+version: "3"
+
+services:
+  vector_storage_test:
+    image: ankane/pgvector
+    container_name: vector_storage_test
+    restart: always
+    ports:
+      - "55432:5432"
+    environment:
+      - POSTGRES_USER=root
+      - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=example
+      - POSTGRES_DB=docgpt_test
+    volumes:
+      - docgpt_test_postgres_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
+
+  memory_storage_test:
+    image: mongo
+    container_name: memory_storage_test
+    restart: always
+    ports:
+      - "27018:27017"
+    environment:
+      MONGO_INITDB_ROOT_USERNAME: root
+      MONGO_INITDB_ROOT_PASSWORD: example
+    volumes:
+      - docgpt_test_mongo_data:/data/db
+
+volumes:
+  docgpt_test_postgres_data:
+  docgpt_test_mongo_data:
diff --git a/systems/docgpt/run-test-bot.sh b/systems/docgpt/run-test-bot.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..68af4a9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/systems/docgpt/run-test-bot.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -euo pipefail
+
+if [[ ! -f ".env.test" ]]; then
+  echo ".env.test not found. Create it from .env.test.example first."
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+# Export all variables from .env.test for this shell.
+set -a
+source .env.test
+set +a
+
+echo "Starting isolated test databases..."
+docker compose -f docker-compose.test.yml up -d
+
+echo "Running second (test) bot with .env.test configuration..."
+uv run python main.py
diff --git a/systems/docgpt/src/app/discord.py b/systems/docgpt/src/app/discord.py
index 21d21db..202a687 100644
--- a/systems/docgpt/src/app/discord.py
+++ b/systems/docgpt/src/app/discord.py
@@ -147,8 +147,20 @@ async def on_message(
         add_start_index=True,
     ).split_text(result.answer)
 
+    first_reply_message: discord.Message | None = None
     for reply in response_chunks:
-        await user_message.reply(reply)
+        sent = await user_message.reply(reply)
+        if first_reply_message is None:
+            first_reply_message = sent
+
+    # Add feedback reactions to the assistant's first reply (the answer),
+    # not to the original user question message.
+    if first_reply_message is not None:
+        try:
+            await first_reply_message.add_reaction("👍")
+            await first_reply_message.add_reaction("👎")
+        except Exception:
+            log.exception("Failed to add feedback reactions to assistant reply")
 
     if channel.name.lower() == NEW_THREAD_NAME.lower():
         title_result = assistant.prompt(