diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index 87a94ad..0a34ea9 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ ENV PGDUMP_EXTRA_OPTS ''
 ENV MARIADB_DUMP_EXTRA_OPTS ''
 ENV MARIADB_EXTRA_OPTS ''
 ENV MSSQL_EXTRA_OPTS ''
-ENV MSSQL_BACKUP_DIR '/var/opt/mssql/data'
+ENV MSSQL_DATA_DIR '/var/opt/mssql/data'
 ENV S3_ACCESS_KEY_ID ''
 ENV S3_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY ''
 ENV S3_BUCKET ''
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 74cfa88..0dc7013 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ services:
       DATABASE_USER: sa
       DATABASE_PASSWORD: YourStrong@Passw0rd
       DATABASE_SERVER: mssql
-      MSSQL_BACKUP_DIR: /var/opt/mssql/data  # Path where backups are stored
+      MSSQL_DATA_DIR: /var/opt/mssql/data  # MSSQL data directory (where backups are temporarily stored)
 
 volumes:
   mssql-data:  # Shared volume for MSSQL data and backups
@@ -185,7 +185,7 @@ spec:
                 secretKeyRef:
                   name: db-credentials
                   key: password
-            - name: MSSQL_BACKUP_DIR
+            - name: MSSQL_DATA_DIR
               value: "/var/opt/mssql/data"
             - name: S3_REGION
               value: "us-east-1"
@@ -264,7 +264,7 @@ spec:
           value: "localhost"  # Same pod
         - name: DATABASE_PORT
           value: "1433"
-        - name: MSSQL_BACKUP_DIR
+        - name: MSSQL_DATA_DIR
           value: "/var/opt/mssql/data"
         # ... (S3 and DB credentials from secrets)
         volumeMounts:
@@ -274,7 +274,7 @@ spec:
 
 **Key Configuration:**
 - `DATABASE_HOST: "localhost"` - Both containers are in the same pod
-- `MSSQL_BACKUP_DIR: "/var/opt/mssql/data"` - Must match MSSQL's data directory
+- `MSSQL_DATA_DIR: "/var/opt/mssql/data"` - MSSQL's data directory (where backup files are temporarily stored)
 - Both containers mount the same volume at `/var/opt/mssql/data`
 - Set `SCHEDULE` env var for automated backups (cron format)
 
diff --git a/docker-compose.yaml b/docker-compose.yaml
index 47782ca..b533a8a 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yaml
+++ b/docker-compose.yaml
@@ -108,7 +108,7 @@ services:
       DATABASE_PORT: 1433
       DATABASE_SERVER: mssql
       DATABASE_PASSWORD: YourStrong@Passw0rd
-      MSSQL_BACKUP_DIR: /var/opt/mssql/data # Path where MSSQL backups are stored (must match volume mount)
+      MSSQL_DATA_DIR: /var/opt/mssql/data # Path where MSSQL backups are stored (must match volume mount)
 volumes:
   mssql-data: # MSSQL database storage
   minio-data: # MinIO object storage
diff --git a/k8s-mssql-configmap-example.yaml b/k8s-mssql-configmap-example.yaml
index ae78293..e9ff7e4 100644
--- a/k8s-mssql-configmap-example.yaml
+++ b/k8s-mssql-configmap-example.yaml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ data:
   # ============================================
   # MSSQL Specific Configuration
   # ============================================
-  MSSQL_BACKUP_DIR: "/var/opt/mssql/data"
+  MSSQL_DATA_DIR: "/var/opt/mssql/data"
   # MSSQL_EXTRA_OPTS: ""  # Additional sqlcmd options if needed
 
   # ============================================
@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ data:
 #      --from-literal=DATABASE_HOST='mssql-service' \
 #      --from-literal=DATABASE_NAME='MyDatabase' \
 #      --from-literal=DATABASE_PORT='1433' \
-#      --from-literal=MSSQL_BACKUP_DIR='/var/opt/mssql/data' \
+#      --from-literal=MSSQL_DATA_DIR='/var/opt/mssql/data' \
 #      --from-literal=SCHEDULE='0 2 * * *' \
 #      --from-literal=BACKUP_KEEP_DAYS='7' \
 #      --from-literal=S3_BUCKET='my-backups' \
diff --git a/k8s-statefulset-with-sidecar.yaml b/k8s-statefulset-with-sidecar.yaml
index 1a08493..a95dd6c 100644
--- a/k8s-statefulset-with-sidecar.yaml
+++ b/k8s-statefulset-with-sidecar.yaml
@@ -118,7 +118,7 @@ spec:
 #
 # ConfigMap (mssql-config) - See k8s-mssql-configmap-example.yaml
 #   - DATABASE_SERVER, DATABASE_HOST, DATABASE_NAME, DATABASE_PORT
-#   - MSSQL_BACKUP_DIR, MSSQL_EXTRA_OPTS
+#   - MSSQL_DATA_DIR, MSSQL_EXTRA_OPTS
 #   - SCHEDULE, BACKUP_KEEP_DAYS
 #   - S3_BUCKET, S3_PREFIX, S3_REGION, S3_ENDPOINT, S3_S3V4
 #   Note: DATABASE_HOST is overridden to "localhost" in the StatefulSet for sidecar pattern
diff --git a/src/backup.sh b/src/backup.sh
index 2981206..f3c8d2d 100644
--- a/src/backup.sh
+++ b/src/backup.sh
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ timestamp=$(date +"%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S")
 
 # MSSQL uses .bak extension, other databases use .dump
 if [ "$DATABASE_SERVER" = "mssql" ]; then
-  local_file="${MSSQL_BACKUP_DIR}/db.bak"
+  local_file="${MSSQL_DATA_DIR}/db.bak"
   s3_uri_base="s3://${S3_BUCKET}/${S3_PREFIX}/${DATABASE_NAME}_${timestamp}.bak"
 else
   local_file="db.dump"
diff --git a/src/helpers.sh b/src/helpers.sh
index fb4a3bd..844c10b 100644
--- a/src/helpers.sh
+++ b/src/helpers.sh
@@ -62,12 +62,12 @@ restore_mariadb() {
 
 backup_mssql() {
     # Use native BACKUP DATABASE command
-    # Note: Requires shared volume mounted at MSSQL_BACKUP_DIR
+    # Note: Requires shared volume mounted at MSSQL_DATA_DIR
     sqlcmd -S ${DATABASE_HOST},${DATABASE_PORT} \
         -U ${DATABASE_USER} \
         -P "${DATABASE_PASSWORD}" \
         -C \
-        -Q "BACKUP DATABASE [${DATABASE_NAME}] TO DISK = N'${MSSQL_BACKUP_DIR}/db.bak' WITH INIT;" \
+        -Q "BACKUP DATABASE [${DATABASE_NAME}] TO DISK = N'${MSSQL_DATA_DIR}/db.bak' WITH INIT;" \
         $MSSQL_EXTRA_OPTS
 }
 
@@ -78,7 +78,7 @@ restore_mssql() {
         -U ${DATABASE_USER} \
         -P "${DATABASE_PASSWORD}" \
         -C -W \
-        -Q "SET NOCOUNT ON; RESTORE FILELISTONLY FROM DISK = N'${MSSQL_BACKUP_DIR}/db.bak';" \
+        -Q "SET NOCOUNT ON; RESTORE FILELISTONLY FROM DISK = N'${MSSQL_DATA_DIR}/db.bak';" \
         | grep -v '^$' | awk '{print $1}' | tail -n +3)
 
     # Parse logical names (first two lines after headers)
@@ -90,9 +90,9 @@ restore_mssql() {
         -U ${DATABASE_USER} \
         -P "${DATABASE_PASSWORD}" \
         -C \
-        -Q "RESTORE DATABASE [${DATABASE_NAME}] FROM DISK = N'${MSSQL_BACKUP_DIR}/db.bak' WITH REPLACE, MOVE N'${data_file}' TO N'${MSSQL_BACKUP_DIR}/${DATABASE_NAME}.mdf', MOVE N'${log_file}' TO N'${MSSQL_BACKUP_DIR}/${DATABASE_NAME}_log.ldf';" \
+        -Q "RESTORE DATABASE [${DATABASE_NAME}] FROM DISK = N'${MSSQL_DATA_DIR}/db.bak' WITH REPLACE, MOVE N'${data_file}' TO N'${MSSQL_DATA_DIR}/${DATABASE_NAME}.mdf', MOVE N'${log_file}' TO N'${MSSQL_DATA_DIR}/${DATABASE_NAME}_log.ldf';" \
         $MSSQL_EXTRA_OPTS
 
     # Clean up backup file
-    rm "${MSSQL_BACKUP_DIR}/db.bak"
+    rm "${MSSQL_DATA_DIR}/db.bak"
 }
diff --git a/src/restore.sh b/src/restore.sh
index b3b8cc0..4747013 100644
--- a/src/restore.sh
+++ b/src/restore.sh
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ s3_uri_base="s3://${S3_BUCKET}/${S3_PREFIX}"
 
 # MSSQL uses .bak extension, other databases use .dump
 if [ "$DATABASE_SERVER" = "mssql" ]; then
-  backup_file="${MSSQL_BACKUP_DIR}/db.bak"
+  backup_file="${MSSQL_DATA_DIR}/db.bak"
   if [ -z "$PASSPHRASE" ]; then
     file_type=".bak"
   else
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ echo "Restoring from backup..."
 restore
 
 # Clean up backup file
-# Note: For MSSQL, the file is in MSSQL_BACKUP_DIR and cleanup happens in restore_mssql()
+# Note: For MSSQL, the file is in MSSQL_DATA_DIR and cleanup happens in restore_mssql()
 if [ "$DATABASE_SERVER" != "mssql" ]; then
   rm "${backup_file}"
 fi
diff --git a/tests/k8s-statefulset-test.yaml b/tests/k8s-statefulset-test.yaml
index 8ba351c..806bff1 100644
--- a/tests/k8s-statefulset-test.yaml
+++ b/tests/k8s-statefulset-test.yaml
@@ -119,7 +119,7 @@ spec:
 #
 # ConfigMap (mssql-config) - See k8s-mssql-configmap-example.yaml
 #   - DATABASE_SERVER, DATABASE_HOST, DATABASE_NAME, DATABASE_PORT
-#   - MSSQL_BACKUP_DIR, MSSQL_EXTRA_OPTS
+#   - MSSQL_DATA_DIR, MSSQL_EXTRA_OPTS
 #   - SCHEDULE, BACKUP_KEEP_DAYS
 #   - S3_BUCKET, S3_PREFIX, S3_REGION, S3_ENDPOINT, S3_S3V4
 #   Note: DATABASE_HOST is overridden to "localhost" in the StatefulSet for sidecar pattern
diff --git a/tests/test-mssql-k8s.sh b/tests/test-mssql-k8s.sh
index 263ab39..cca1678 100755
--- a/tests/test-mssql-k8s.sh
+++ b/tests/test-mssql-k8s.sh
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ STATEFULSET_NAME="mssql"
 POD_NAME="mssql-0"
 MSSQL_PASSWORD="YourStrong@Passw0rd"
 DATABASE_NAME="TestDB"
-MSSQL_BACKUP_DIR="${MSSQL_BACKUP_DIR:-/var/opt/mssql/data}"
+MSSQL_DATA_DIR="${MSSQL_DATA_DIR:-/var/opt/mssql/data}"
 S3_BUCKET="${S3_BUCKET:-test-backups}"
 S3_ENDPOINT="${S3_ENDPOINT:-}"  # Set this if using MinIO or other S3-compatible storage
 STATEFULSET_FILE="${STATEFULSET_FILE:-$(dirname "$0")/../k8s-statefulset-with-sidecar.yaml}"
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ kubectl create configmap mssql-config -n $NAMESPACE \
   --from-literal=DATABASE_HOST='mssql-service' \
   --from-literal=DATABASE_NAME="$DATABASE_NAME" \
   --from-literal=DATABASE_PORT='1433' \
-  --from-literal=MSSQL_BACKUP_DIR='/var/opt/mssql/data' \
+  --from-literal=MSSQL_DATA_DIR='/var/opt/mssql/data' \
   --from-literal=SCHEDULE='*/5 * * * *' \
   --from-literal=BACKUP_KEEP_DAYS='7' \
   --from-literal=S3_BUCKET="$S3_BUCKET" \