diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 09675d5..cbce990 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -3,5 +3,6 @@ naviwatcher
 naviwatcher-linux
 naviwatcher-mac
 naviwatcher.exe
+config.yaml
 data/
 coverage.out
diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index 79b825a..3c5948d 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -13,17 +13,22 @@ COPY . .
 RUN CGO_ENABLED=1 GOOS=linux go build -o naviwatcher ./cmd/naviwatcher
 
 # Runtime stage
-FROM alpine:latest
+FROM alpine:3.21
 
-RUN apk add --no-cache ca-certificates sqlite-libs
+RUN apk add --no-cache ca-certificates sqlite-libs && \
+    adduser -D -g '' appuser
 
 WORKDIR /app
 
 COPY --from=builder /app/naviwatcher .
 
+RUN chown appuser:appuser /app
+
 EXPOSE 8080
 
 VOLUME ["/app/data"]
 
+USER appuser
+
 ENTRYPOINT ["./naviwatcher"]
 CMD ["-config=/app/data/config.yaml"]
diff --git a/internal/database/database.go b/internal/database/database.go
index 5462971..6e50f8a 100644
--- a/internal/database/database.go
+++ b/internal/database/database.go
@@ -96,7 +96,7 @@ func (db *DB) migrate() error {
 		{
 			name: "003_create_notifications_sent",
 			sql: `CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS notifications_sent (
-				rgid TEXT NOT NULL,
+				rgid TEXT NOT NULL REFERENCES external_releases(rgid),
 				sent_at DATETIME DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP,
 				PRIMARY KEY (rgid, sent_at)
 			);`,
@@ -112,13 +112,24 @@ func (db *DB) migrate() error {
 			continue
 		}
 
-		if _, err := db.conn.Exec(m.sql); err != nil {
+		tx, err := db.conn.Begin()
+		if err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("begin transaction for migration %s: %w", m.name, err)
+		}
+
+		if _, err := tx.Exec(m.sql); err != nil {
+			tx.Rollback()
 			return fmt.Errorf("apply migration %s: %w", m.name, err)
 		}
 
-		if err := db.markMigrationApplied(m.name); err != nil {
+		if _, err := tx.Exec("INSERT INTO _migrations (name) VALUES (?)", m.name); err != nil {
+			tx.Rollback()
 			return fmt.Errorf("record migration %s: %w", m.name, err)
 		}
+
+		if err := tx.Commit(); err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("commit migration %s: %w", m.name, err)
+		}
 	}
 
 	return nil
@@ -134,11 +145,6 @@ func (db *DB) isMigrationApplied(name string) (bool, error) {
 	return count > 0, nil
 }
 
-// markMigrationApplied records a migration as applied.
-func (db *DB) markMigrationApplied(name string) error {
-	_, err := db.conn.Exec("INSERT INTO _migrations (name) VALUES (?)", name)
-	return err
-}
 
 // ArtistSettings represents a row in the artist_settings table.
 type ArtistSettings struct {
diff --git a/internal/database/notifications.go b/internal/database/notifications.go
index c4b8016..e457134 100644
--- a/internal/database/notifications.go
+++ b/internal/database/notifications.go
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ func GetUnnotifiedReleases(db *DB) ([]ExternalRelease, error) {
 		SELECT e.rgid, e.artist_id, e.title, e.type, e.release_date, e.is_ignored
 		FROM external_releases e
 		LEFT JOIN notifications_sent n ON e.rgid = n.rgid
-		WHERE n.rgid IS NULL
+		WHERE n.rgid IS NULL AND e.is_ignored = 0
 	`)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("query unnotified releases: %w", err)
diff --git a/internal/database/notifications_test.go b/internal/database/notifications_test.go
index 0deb1eb..a5f87e0 100644
--- a/internal/database/notifications_test.go
+++ b/internal/database/notifications_test.go
@@ -364,3 +364,44 @@ func TestMarkNotificationSent_MultipleReleases(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Errorf("expected 3 notification rows, got %d", count)
 	}
 }
+
+// TestGetUnnotifiedReleases_IgnoredExcluded verifies that releases marked as ignored
+// are not returned by GetUnnotifiedReleases, per the notification lifecycle spec (section 4.4).
+func TestGetUnnotifiedReleases_IgnoredExcluded(t *testing.T) {
+	db, err := New(":memory:")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("New() error: %v", err)
+	}
+	defer db.Close()
+
+	if err := insertTestArtist(db, "artist-1"); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("insertTestArtist: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	releases := []ExternalRelease{
+		{RGID: "rg1", ArtistID: "artist-1", Title: "Normal Album", Type: "album", ReleaseDate: "2024-01-01", IsIgnored: false},
+		{RGID: "rg2", ArtistID: "artist-1", Title: "Ignored Album", Type: "album", ReleaseDate: "2024-06-01", IsIgnored: true},
+		{RGID: "rg3", ArtistID: "artist-1", Title: "Another Normal", Type: "single", ReleaseDate: "2024-03-01", IsIgnored: false},
+	}
+
+	for _, r := range releases {
+		if err := SaveExternalRelease(db, &r); err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("SaveExternalRelease(%s) error: %v", r.RGID, err)
+		}
+	}
+
+	results, err := GetUnnotifiedReleases(db)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("GetUnnotifiedReleases() error: %v", err)
+	}
+	if len(results) != 2 {
+		t.Fatalf("expected 2 unnotified releases (ignored excluded), got %d", len(results))
+	}
+
+	// Verify the ignored release is not in the results.
+	for _, r := range results {
+		if r.RGID == "rg2" {
+			t.Error("ignored release rg2 should not appear in unnotified releases")
+		}
+	}
+}