diff --git a/cantaloupe_sync.py b/cantaloupe_sync.py
index 4a9d0fd..906e2d4 100644
--- a/cantaloupe_sync.py
+++ b/cantaloupe_sync.py
@@ -419,10 +419,11 @@ async def run_sync(
         # Try subprocess call to cantaloupe export
         try:
             import subprocess
+            cantaloupe_dir = os.path.expanduser("~/projects/cantaloupe-downloader")
             result = subprocess.run(
                 ["python", "-m", "cantaloupe", "export", "--scheduled"],
                 capture_output=True, text=True, timeout=120,
-                cwd=str(Path(__file__).parent),
+                cwd=cantaloupe_dir,
             )
             if result.returncode != 0:
                 raise HTTPException(
diff --git a/scripts/cantaloupe-sync.sh b/scripts/cantaloupe-sync.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..d25a8f8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/cantaloupe-sync.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+# Cantaloupe Sync — export + trigger staged import
+# Runs every 6 hours via Hermes cron (no_agent mode)
+set -euo pipefail
+
+EXPORT_DIR="$HOME/cantaloupe-exports"
+ADMIN_URL="http://127.0.0.1:8090"
+LOG_TAG="[cantaloupe-sync]"
+
+echo "$LOG_TAG Starting sync at $(date -Iseconds)"
+
+# ── Step 1: Export from Cantaloupe ─────────────────────────────────
+echo "$LOG_TAG Step 1/2: Exporting from mycantaloupe.com..."
+cd "$HOME/projects/cantaloupe-downloader"
+
+if python -m cantaloupe export --scheduled --output "$EXPORT_DIR" 2>&1; then
+    echo "$LOG_TAG Export completed successfully."
+else
+    echo "$LOG_TAG Export failed (exit=$?). Will try to sync any existing export file."
+fi
+
+# ── Step 2: Trigger sync API ───────────────────────────────────────
+echo "$LOG_TAG Step 2/2: Triggering admin server sync API..."
+
+# Get a fresh auth token
+TOKEN=$(curl -s -X POST "$ADMIN_URL/api/auth/login" \
+    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
+    -d '{"username":"admin","password":"changeme"}' \
+    | python3 -c "import sys,json; print(json.load(sys.stdin)['token'])" 2>/dev/null)
+
+if [ -z "${TOKEN:-}" ]; then
+    echo "$LOG_TAG ERROR: Could not obtain admin auth token."
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+# Trigger sync
+RESPONSE=$(curl -s -X POST "$ADMIN_URL/api/admin/cantaloupe/sync" \
+    -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
+    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
+    -d '{}' 2>&1)
+
+echo "$LOG_TAG Sync API response: $RESPONSE"
+
+# ── Summary ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+if echo "$RESPONSE" | python3 -c "import sys,json; d=json.load(sys.stdin); print(f\"Batch: {d.get('batch_id','?')}, Rows: {d.get('total_rows','?')}, New: {d.get('new_rows','?')}, Changed: {d.get('changed_rows','?')}\")" 2>/dev/null; then
+    echo "$LOG_TAG Sync complete."
+else
+    echo "$LOG_TAG Sync triggered (see response above)."
+fi
+
+echo "$LOG_TAG Done at $(date -Iseconds)"