diff --git a/cmd/server/server.go b/cmd/server/server.go
index 7f39f20bb4..fdff54215f 100644
--- a/cmd/server/server.go
+++ b/cmd/server/server.go
@@ -350,8 +350,8 @@ func runServer(cmd *cobra.Command, _ []string) error {
 		flightrecorder.Module(flightRecorderCfg),
 		// Provide application module
 		appModule,
-		// Cold storage module (conditional on driver)
-		bootstrap.ColdStorageModule(cfg.ColdStorageConfig.Driver),
+		// Cold storage module (conditional on driver; never in restore mode)
+		bootstrap.ColdStorageModule(cfg.ColdStorageConfig.Driver, cfg.Restore),
 	}
 
 	defer func() {
diff --git a/internal/bootstrap/module.go b/internal/bootstrap/module.go
index 55da1fe50b..cc95e486de 100644
--- a/internal/bootstrap/module.go
+++ b/internal/bootstrap/module.go
@@ -87,14 +87,18 @@ type nodeProvideResult struct {
 	FreshStart walFreshStart
 }
 
-// coldStorageModule conditionally provides ColdStorage, ColdReader, and Archiver
-// when cold storage is enabled (driver != "none"). When disabled, these components
-// are not added to the fx graph and archiving is rejected at the admission layer.
 // ColdStorageModule conditionally provides ColdStorage, ColdReader, and Archiver
 // when cold storage is enabled (driver != "none"). When disabled, these components
 // are not added to the fx graph and archiving is rejected at the admission layer.
-func ColdStorageModule(coldStorageDriver string) fx.Option {
-	if coldStorageDriver == "none" {
+//
+// Restore mode never gets the module: the Archiver consumes the runtime graph
+// (*dal.Store, *state.Machine, ctrl.Admission, *node.Node) that RestoreModule
+// deliberately does not provide — including it makes the whole fx graph
+// unbuildable and the server exits at boot. A restoring server has no use for
+// it either: it neither archives nor reads cold data, and backup downloads
+// carry their own storage configuration per request.
+func ColdStorageModule(coldStorageDriver string, restore bool) fx.Option {
+	if coldStorageDriver == "none" || restore {
 		return fx.Options()
 	}
 
diff --git a/internal/bootstrap/module_restore_test.go b/internal/bootstrap/module_restore_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..6fc7ee3a03
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/bootstrap/module_restore_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,64 @@
+package bootstrap
+
+import (
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
+	"go.uber.org/fx"
+
+	logging "github.com/formancehq/go-libs/v5/pkg/observe/log"
+
+	"github.com/formancehq/ledger/v3/internal/infra/coldstorage"
+)
+
+// restoreGraphOptions assembles the restore-mode fx graph the way
+// cmd/server/server.go does: the restore app module plus the conditional
+// cold-storage module.
+func restoreGraphOptions(t *testing.T, coldStorageGated bool) fx.Option {
+	t.Helper()
+
+	cfg := Config{
+		ClusterID: "restore-graph-test",
+		DataDir:   t.TempDir(),
+		Restore:   true,
+		ColdStorageConfig: coldstorage.Config{
+			Driver:   "s3",
+			S3Bucket: "archives",
+			S3Region: "us-east-1",
+		},
+	}
+
+	restore := cfg.Restore
+	if !coldStorageGated {
+		restore = false
+	}
+
+	return fx.Options(
+		fx.Supply(cfg),
+		fx.Provide(func() logging.Logger { return logging.Testing() }),
+		RestoreModule(),
+		ColdStorageModule(cfg.ColdStorageConfig.Driver, restore),
+	)
+}
+
+// TestRestoreModeGraph_WithColdStorageEnabled pins the disaster-recovery
+// regression: a server with cold storage enabled must be able to build its fx
+// graph in restore mode. The Archiver consumes the runtime graph (*dal.Store,
+// *state.Machine, ctrl.Admission, *node.Node) that RestoreModule deliberately
+// does not provide, so the cold-storage module must stay out of restore mode.
+func TestRestoreModeGraph_WithColdStorageEnabled(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	require.NoError(t, fx.ValidateApp(restoreGraphOptions(t, true)))
+}
+
+// TestRestoreModeGraph_UngatedColdStorageIsUnbuildable documents why the gate
+// exists: without it, the restore-mode graph cannot be built at all — the shape
+// a cold-storage-enabled node hits at boot when asked to restore.
+func TestRestoreModeGraph_UngatedColdStorageIsUnbuildable(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	err := fx.ValidateApp(restoreGraphOptions(t, false))
+	require.Error(t, err)
+	require.Contains(t, err.Error(), "missing type")
+}