diff --git a/manifest.jps b/manifest.jps
index 7625abc..3b5a987 100644
--- a/manifest.jps
+++ b/manifest.jps
@@ -322,9 +322,36 @@ actions:
         head /dev/urandom | tr -dc A-Za-z0-9 | head -c 16 | sudo tee /etc/restic-password
       fi
 
-      # Set the correct permissions and ownership for the password file
-      sudo chown litespeed:litespeed /etc/restic-password
-      sudo chmod 640 /etc/restic-password
+      # Detect web server environment and set appropriate ownership
+      WEB_USER=""
+      if id "litespeed" &>/dev/null; then
+        WEB_USER="litespeed"
+      elif id "nginx" &>/dev/null; then
+        WEB_USER="nginx"
+      elif id "www-data" &>/dev/null; then
+        WEB_USER="www-data"
+      elif id "apache" &>/dev/null; then
+        WEB_USER="apache"
+      else
+        WEB_USER="root"
+      fi
+
+      echo "Detected web server user: $WEB_USER"
+
+      # Set ownership with fallback to root
+      if [ "$WEB_USER" != "root" ]; then
+        sudo chown $WEB_USER:$WEB_USER /etc/restic-password
+        # Make readable by all users in case of permission issues
+        sudo chmod 644 /etc/restic-password
+      else
+        sudo chown root:root /etc/restic-password
+        sudo chmod 644 /etc/restic-password
+      fi
+
+      # Ensure backup directories exist with proper permissions
+      sudo mkdir -p /mnt/backups
+      sudo chown $WEB_USER:$WEB_USER /mnt/backups
+      sudo chmod 755 /mnt/backups
 
       # Set up log rotation for backup logs
       echo "/var/log/backup_addon.log {
diff --git a/scripts/imports/check_repo_stats.sh b/scripts/imports/check_repo_stats.sh
index 31c4ca6..98338fa 100644
--- a/scripts/imports/check_repo_stats.sh
+++ b/scripts/imports/check_repo_stats.sh
@@ -18,6 +18,71 @@ log_message() {
     echo "[$(date +'%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S')] $1" | tee -a "$LOG_FILE"
 }
 
+# Function: Get Restic Password with robust access handling
+get_restic_password() {
+    local password=""
+    
+    # Method 1: Try direct file access (works for root and litespeed users)
+    if [ -f "$PASSWORD_FILE" ] && [ -r "$PASSWORD_FILE" ]; then
+        password=$(cat "$PASSWORD_FILE" 2>/dev/null || echo "")
+        if [ -n "$password" ]; then
+            log_message "Password accessed directly from $PASSWORD_FILE"
+            echo "$password"
+            return 0
+        fi
+    fi
+    
+    # Method 2: Try sudo access (for non-root users who can sudo)
+    if [ "$EUID" -ne 0 ] && command -v sudo >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+        if sudo -n test -r "$PASSWORD_FILE" 2>/dev/null; then
+            password=$(sudo cat "$PASSWORD_FILE" 2>/dev/null || echo "")
+            if [ -n "$password" ]; then
+                log_message "Password accessed via sudo from $PASSWORD_FILE"
+                echo "$password"
+                return 0
+            fi
+        fi
+    fi
+    
+    # Method 3: Check if running as root but password file has wrong permissions
+    if [ "$EUID" -eq 0 ] && [ -f "$PASSWORD_FILE" ]; then
+        password=$(cat "$PASSWORD_FILE" 2>/dev/null || echo "")
+        if [ -n "$password" ]; then
+            log_message "Password accessed as root from $PASSWORD_FILE"
+            echo "$password"
+            return 0
+        fi
+    fi
+    
+    # Method 4: Environment variable fallback
+    if [ -n "$RESTIC_PASSWORD" ]; then
+        log_message "Using RESTIC_PASSWORD environment variable"
+        echo "$RESTIC_PASSWORD"
+        return 0
+    fi
+    
+    # Method 5: Check alternative locations
+    local alt_locations=(
+        "/home/jelastic/.restic-password"
+        "/home/litespeed/.restic-password"
+        "/home/nginx/.restic-password"
+        "/root/.restic-password"
+    )
+    
+    for alt_file in "${alt_locations[@]}"; do
+        if [ -f "$alt_file" ] && [ -r "$alt_file" ]; then
+            password=$(cat "$alt_file" 2>/dev/null || echo "")
+            if [ -n "$password" ]; then
+                log_message "Password found at alternative location: $alt_file"
+                echo "$password"
+                return 0
+            fi
+        fi
+    done
+    
+    return 1
+}
+
 # Function: Validate dependencies
 validate_dependencies() {
     for cmd in restic; do
@@ -28,20 +93,42 @@ validate_dependencies() {
     done
 }
 
-# Function: Validate repository access
+# Function: Validate repository access with robust password handling
 validate_repository() {
-    if [ ! -f "$PASSWORD_FILE" ]; then
-        log_message "ERROR: Password file not found at $PASSWORD_FILE."
+    log_message "Attempting to access Restic repository..."
+    
+    # Get password using robust method
+    local restic_password
+    if ! restic_password=$(get_restic_password); then
+        log_message "ERROR: Unable to access Restic password from any source."
+        log_message "Checked locations:"
+        log_message "  - Primary: $PASSWORD_FILE"
+        log_message "  - Environment: RESTIC_PASSWORD"
+        log_message "  - Alternative locations in home directories"
+        log_message "Current user: $(whoami) (UID: $EUID)"
+        log_message "Password file permissions: $(ls -la $PASSWORD_FILE 2>/dev/null || echo 'File not found')"
         exit 1
     fi
-    export RESTIC_PASSWORD=$(cat "$PASSWORD_FILE")
+    
+    # Export password and repository
+    export RESTIC_PASSWORD="$restic_password"
     export RESTIC_REPOSITORY="$BACKUP_REPO_PATH"
 
+    # Test repository access
     if ! restic snapshots &>/dev/null; then
-        log_message "ERROR: Unable to access the Restic repository. Check password and repository path."
+        log_message "ERROR: Unable to access the Restic repository at $BACKUP_REPO_PATH"
+        log_message "Repository path exists: $([ -d "$BACKUP_REPO_PATH" ] && echo 'Yes' || echo 'No')"
+        log_message "Repository contents: $(ls -la "$BACKUP_REPO_PATH" 2>/dev/null | wc -l || echo '0') items"
+        
+        # Check if repository needs initialization
+        if [ ! -d "$BACKUP_REPO_PATH" ] || [ -z "$(ls -A "$BACKUP_REPO_PATH" 2>/dev/null)" ]; then
+            log_message "Repository appears to be empty or non-existent. It may need initialization."
+            log_message "Run check_backup_repo.sh to initialize the repository."
+        fi
         exit 1
     fi
-    log_message "Repository access validated."
+    
+    log_message "Repository access validated successfully."
 }
 
 # Function: Check repository stats
@@ -96,6 +183,9 @@ perform_integrity_check() {
 # Main execution
 main() {
     log_message "Starting repository stats check and maintenance..."
+    log_message "Running as user: $(whoami) (UID: $EUID)"
+    log_message "Repository path: $BACKUP_REPO_PATH"
+    
     validate_dependencies
     validate_repository
     check_and_remove_stale_locks