diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index c42bbb2..c481f2f 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -22,4 +22,5 @@ examples/example
 vsr_boot_marker
 *.pem
 *.exe
-.claude/
\ No newline at end of file
+.claude/
+cluster-data/
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/cluster.sh b/cluster.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..74fbb52
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cluster.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,177 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+#
+# Cluster management script for ToastyFS.
+# Manages a 3-node server cluster with 1 HTTP proxy.
+#
+# Usage:
+#   ./cluster.sh start   - Build (if needed) and start all nodes + proxy
+#   ./cluster.sh stop    - Stop all running nodes and the proxy
+#   ./cluster.sh status  - Show the status of each process
+#   ./cluster.sh restart - Stop then start
+#   ./cluster.sh clean   - Stop everything and remove data/log directories
+#
+
+set -e
+
+SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")" && pwd)"
+DATA_DIR="$SCRIPT_DIR/cluster-data"
+LOG_DIR="$DATA_DIR/logs"
+PID_DIR="$DATA_DIR/pids"
+
+NODE1_ADDR="127.0.0.1:8001"
+NODE2_ADDR="127.0.0.1:8002"
+NODE3_ADDR="127.0.0.1:8003"
+
+build() {
+    echo "Building ToastyFS..."
+    (cd "$SCRIPT_DIR" && bash build.sh)
+    echo "Build complete."
+}
+
+ensure_dirs() {
+    mkdir -p "$LOG_DIR" "$PID_DIR"
+    mkdir -p "$DATA_DIR/chunks-node1"
+    mkdir -p "$DATA_DIR/chunks-node2"
+    mkdir -p "$DATA_DIR/chunks-node3"
+}
+
+start_node() {
+    local name="$1"
+    local addr="$2"
+    local peer1="$3"
+    local peer2="$4"
+    local chunks="$5"
+
+    local pidfile="$PID_DIR/$name.pid"
+    local logfile="$LOG_DIR/$name.log"
+
+    if [ -f "$pidfile" ] && kill -0 "$(cat "$pidfile")" 2>/dev/null; then
+        echo "  $name is already running (pid $(cat "$pidfile"))"
+        return
+    fi
+
+    "$SCRIPT_DIR/toasty" \
+        --addr "$addr" \
+        --peer "$peer1" \
+        --peer "$peer2" \
+        --chunks "$chunks" \
+        > "$logfile" 2>&1 &
+
+    local pid=$!
+    echo "$pid" > "$pidfile"
+    echo "  $name started (pid $pid) on $addr"
+}
+
+start_proxy() {
+    local pidfile="$PID_DIR/proxy.pid"
+    local logfile="$LOG_DIR/proxy.log"
+
+    if [ -f "$pidfile" ] && kill -0 "$(cat "$pidfile")" 2>/dev/null; then
+        echo "  proxy is already running (pid $(cat "$pidfile"))"
+        return
+    fi
+
+    "$SCRIPT_DIR/toasty_proxy" \
+        --server "$NODE1_ADDR" \
+        --server "$NODE2_ADDR" \
+        --server "$NODE3_ADDR" \
+        > "$logfile" 2>&1 &
+
+    local pid=$!
+    echo "$pid" > "$pidfile"
+    echo "  proxy started (pid $pid) on 127.0.0.1:3000"
+}
+
+stop_process() {
+    local name="$1"
+    local pidfile="$PID_DIR/$name.pid"
+
+    if [ ! -f "$pidfile" ]; then
+        echo "  $name is not running (no pid file)"
+        return
+    fi
+
+    local pid
+    pid=$(cat "$pidfile")
+
+    if kill -0 "$pid" 2>/dev/null; then
+        kill "$pid"
+        # Wait briefly for graceful shutdown
+        local i=0
+        while kill -0 "$pid" 2>/dev/null && [ $i -lt 10 ]; do
+            sleep 0.1
+            i=$((i + 1))
+        done
+        if kill -0 "$pid" 2>/dev/null; then
+            kill -9 "$pid" 2>/dev/null || true
+        fi
+        echo "  $name stopped (was pid $pid)"
+    else
+        echo "  $name was not running (stale pid $pid)"
+    fi
+
+    rm -f "$pidfile"
+}
+
+do_start() {
+    if [ ! -f "$SCRIPT_DIR/toasty" ] || [ ! -f "$SCRIPT_DIR/toasty_proxy" ]; then
+        build
+    fi
+
+    ensure_dirs
+
+    echo "Starting cluster..."
+    start_node "node1" "$NODE1_ADDR" "$NODE2_ADDR" "$NODE3_ADDR" "$DATA_DIR/chunks-node1"
+    start_node "node2" "$NODE2_ADDR" "$NODE1_ADDR" "$NODE3_ADDR" "$DATA_DIR/chunks-node2"
+    start_node "node3" "$NODE3_ADDR" "$NODE1_ADDR" "$NODE2_ADDR" "$DATA_DIR/chunks-node3"
+
+    # Give servers a moment to start listening before launching the proxy
+    sleep 1
+
+    start_proxy
+    echo "Cluster is running. HTTP proxy at http://127.0.0.1:3000"
+}
+
+do_stop() {
+    echo "Stopping cluster..."
+    stop_process "proxy"
+    stop_process "node1"
+    stop_process "node2"
+    stop_process "node3"
+    echo "Cluster stopped."
+}
+
+do_status() {
+    local all_stopped=true
+    for name in node1 node2 node3 proxy; do
+        local pidfile="$PID_DIR/$name.pid"
+        if [ -f "$pidfile" ] && kill -0 "$(cat "$pidfile")" 2>/dev/null; then
+            echo "  $name: running (pid $(cat "$pidfile"))"
+            all_stopped=false
+        else
+            echo "  $name: stopped"
+        fi
+    done
+    if $all_stopped; then
+        echo "Cluster is not running."
+    fi
+}
+
+do_clean() {
+    do_stop
+    echo "Removing cluster data..."
+    rm -rf "$DATA_DIR"
+    echo "Clean complete."
+}
+
+case "${1:-}" in
+    start)   do_start   ;;
+    stop)    do_stop    ;;
+    status)  do_status  ;;
+    restart) do_stop; do_start ;;
+    clean)   do_clean   ;;
+    *)
+        echo "Usage: $0 {start|stop|status|restart|clean}"
+        exit 1
+        ;;
+esac