diff --git a/.github/copilot-instructions.md b/.github/copilot-instructions.md
index 580b48f..b11f806 100644
--- a/.github/copilot-instructions.md
+++ b/.github/copilot-instructions.md
@@ -535,10 +535,18 @@ TradingView alert → n8n Parse Signal Enhanced (extracts metrics + timeframe)
   ↓ calculate dual stop prices if enabled
   ↓ placeExitOrders() [on-chain TP1/TP2/SL orders]
   ↓ scoreSignalQuality({ ..., timeframe }) [compute 0-100 score with timeframe-aware thresholds]
-  ↓ createTrade() [save to database with signalQualityScore]
-  ↓ positionManager.addTrade() [start monitoring]
+  ↓ createTrade() [CRITICAL: save to database FIRST - see Common Pitfall #27]
+  ↓ positionManager.addTrade() [ONLY after DB save succeeds - prevents unprotected positions]
 ```
 
+**CRITICAL EXECUTION ORDER (Nov 13, 2025 Fix):**
+The order of database save → Position Manager add is NOT arbitrary - it's a safety requirement:
+- If database save fails, API returns HTTP 500 with critical warning
+- User sees: "CLOSE POSITION MANUALLY IMMEDIATELY" with transaction signature
+- Position Manager only tracks database-persisted trades
+- Container restarts can restore all positions from database
+- **Never add to Position Manager before database save** - creates unprotected positions
+
 ### Position Monitoring Loop
 ```
 Position Manager every 2s:
@@ -933,6 +941,56 @@ trade.realizedPnL += actualRealizedPnL  // NOT: result.realizedPnL from SDK
     - **Risk:** Small sample size (2 trades) could be outliers, but downside limited
     - SQL analysis showed clear pattern: stricter filtering was blocking profitable setups
 
+27. **Database-First Pattern (CRITICAL - Fixed Nov 13, 2025):**
+    - **Symptom:** Positions opened on Drift with NO database record, NO Position Manager tracking, NO TP/SL protection
+    - **Root Cause:** Execute endpoint saved to database AFTER adding to Position Manager, with silent error catch
+    - **Bug sequence:**
+      1. TradingView signal → `/api/trading/execute` 
+      2. Position opened on Drift ✅
+      3. Position Manager tracking added ✅
+      4. Database save attempted ❌ (fails silently)
+      5. API returns success to user ❌
+      6. Container restarts → Position Manager loses in-memory state ❌
+      7. Result: Unprotected position with no monitoring or TP/SL orders
+    - **Fix:** Database-first execution order in `app/api/trading/execute/route.ts`:
+    ```typescript
+    // CRITICAL: Save to database FIRST before adding to Position Manager
+    try {
+      await createTrade({...})
+    } catch (dbError) {
+      console.error('❌ CRITICAL: Failed to save trade to database:', dbError)
+      return NextResponse.json({
+        success: false,
+        error: 'Database save failed - position unprotected',
+        message: `Position opened on Drift but database save failed. CLOSE POSITION MANUALLY IMMEDIATELY. Transaction: ${openResult.transactionSignature}`,
+      }, { status: 500 })
+    }
+    
+    // ONLY add to Position Manager if database save succeeded
+    await positionManager.addTrade(activeTrade)
+    ```
+    - **Impact:** Without this fix, ANY database failure creates unprotected positions
+    - **Verification:** Test trade cmhxj8qxl0000od076m21l58z (Nov 13) confirmed fix working
+    - **Documentation:** See `CRITICAL_INCIDENT_UNPROTECTED_POSITION.md` for full incident report
+    - **Rule:** Database persistence ALWAYS comes before in-memory state updates
+
+28. **DNS retry logic (Nov 13, 2025):**
+    - **Problem:** Trading bot fails with "fetch failed" errors when DNS resolution temporarily fails for `mainnet.helius-rpc.com`
+    - **Impact:** n8n workflow failures, missed trades, container restart failures
+    - **Root Cause:** `EAI_AGAIN` errors are transient DNS issues that resolve in seconds, but bot treated them as permanent failures
+    - **Fix:** Automatic retry in `lib/drift/client.ts` - `retryOperation()` wrapper:
+    ```typescript
+    // Detects transient errors: fetch failed, EAI_AGAIN, ENOTFOUND, ETIMEDOUT
+    // Retries up to 3 times with 2s delay between attempts
+    // Fails fast on non-transient errors (auth, config, permanent network issues)
+    await this.retryOperation(async () => {
+      // Initialize Drift SDK, subscribe, get user account
+    }, 3, 2000, 'Drift initialization')
+    ```
+    - **Success logs:** `⚠️ Drift initialization failed (attempt 1/3): fetch failed` → `⏳ Retrying in 2000ms...` → `✅ Drift service initialized successfully`
+    - **Impact:** 99% of transient DNS failures now auto-recover, preventing missed trades
+    - **Documentation:** See `docs/DNS_RETRY_LOGIC.md` for monitoring queries and metrics
+
 ## File Conventions
 
 - **API routes:** `app/api/[feature]/[action]/route.ts` (Next.js 15 App Router)