diff --git a/src/main.cpp b/src/main.cpp
index 336675c..4d48198 100644
--- a/src/main.cpp
+++ b/src/main.cpp
@@ -6,7 +6,6 @@
 #include <ctime>
 #include <fstream>
 #include <string>
-#include <vector>
 #include <unistd.h>
 #include "config.h"
 #include "rsync_manager.h"
@@ -20,24 +19,6 @@ static bool is_root() {
 	return getuid() == 0;
 }
 
-static void escalate_privileges(int argc, char* argv[]) {
-	if (is_root()) return;
-
-	g_print("x3-backup requires root privileges. Re-launching with pkexec...\n");
-
-	/* Build argv for exec: pkexec + original args + NULL */
-	std::vector<const char*> new_argv;
-	new_argv.push_back("pkexec");
-	for (int i = 0; i < argc; i++)
-		new_argv.push_back(argv[i]);
-	new_argv.push_back(nullptr);
-
-	execvp("pkexec", const_cast<char* const*>(new_argv.data()));
-	/* If execvp returns, it failed */
-	perror("execvp pkexec");
-	exit(1);
-}
-
 static std::string get_log_path() {
 	const char* home = getenv("HOME");
 	if (!home) home = ".";
@@ -124,13 +105,12 @@ int main(int argc, char* argv[]) {
 		g_print("  --log             Print log to stdout\n");
 		g_print("  --help, -h        Show this help\n\n");
 		g_print("Without options, x3-backup starts in GUI mode with system tray.\n\n");
-		g_print("Note: x3-backup requires root privileges and will prompt\n");
-		g_print("      for authentication via pkexec on startup.\n\n");
+		g_print("Note: Backups require root privileges. The first backup/restore\n");
+		g_print("      will prompt for your sudo password in the terminal.\n\n");
 		g_print("Log file: ~/.config/x3-backup/x3-backup.log\n");
 		return 0;
 	}
 
-	escalate_privileges(argc, argv);
 	gtk_init(&argc, &argv);
 
 	setup_logging(cli_mode);
diff --git a/src/rsync_manager.cpp b/src/rsync_manager.cpp
index e5b7532..a8cb7b7 100644
--- a/src/rsync_manager.cpp
+++ b/src/rsync_manager.cpp
@@ -88,7 +88,7 @@ bool RsyncManager::create_snapshot(const std::string& snapshot_name,
 
 	rsync_flags += " \"" + source + "/\" \"" + target + "/\" 2>&1";
 
-	std::string cmd = "mkdir -p \"" + dest + "\" && " + rsync_flags;
+	std::string cmd = "mkdir -p \"" + dest + "\" && sudo " + rsync_flags;
 
 	/* Force line-buffered output so we get real-time progress from rsync */
 	std::string full_cmd = "stdbuf -oL " + cmd;
@@ -216,7 +216,7 @@ bool RsyncManager::restore_files(const std::string& snapshot_path,
 		std::string src = snapshot_path + "/" + f;
 		std::string dst = restore_dest + "/" + f;
 
-		std::string cmd = "rsync -aAX \"" + src + "\" \"" + dst + "\" 2>&1";
+		std::string cmd = "sudo rsync -aAX \"" + src + "\" \"" + dst + "\" 2>&1";
 
 		g_message("restore cmd: %s", cmd.c_str());
 
@@ -276,7 +276,7 @@ bool RsyncManager::restore_full_snapshot(const std::string& snapshot_path,
 		log_buffer_.clear();
 	}
 
-	std::string cmd = "rsync -aAX --delete \""
+	std::string cmd = "sudo rsync -aAX --delete \""
 		+ snapshot_path + "/\" \"" + restore_dest + "/\" 2>&1";
 
 	g_message("full restore cmd: %s", cmd.c_str());
diff --git a/src/snapshot_manager.cpp b/src/snapshot_manager.cpp
index 0e6be6a..060c3eb 100644
--- a/src/snapshot_manager.cpp
+++ b/src/snapshot_manager.cpp
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ std::string SnapshotManager::create_snapshot(const std::string& description) {
 	std::string snapshots_dir = config_.snapshots_dir();
 	std::string metadata_dir = config_.metadata_dir();
 
-	std::string mkdir_cmd = "mkdir -p \"" + snapshots_dir + "\" && mkdir -p \"" + metadata_dir + "\"";
+	std::string mkdir_cmd = "sudo mkdir -p \"" + snapshots_dir + "\" && sudo mkdir -p \"" + metadata_dir + "\"";
 	system(mkdir_cmd.c_str());
 
 	/* Find latest snapshot for hardlink delta */
@@ -55,10 +55,10 @@ void SnapshotManager::delete_snapshot(const std::string& name) {
 	std::string path = config_.snapshots_dir() + "/" + name;
 	std::string meta = config_.metadata_dir() + "/" + name + ".json";
 
-	std::string cmd = "rm -rf \"" + path + "\"";
+	std::string cmd = "sudo rm -rf \"" + path + "\"";
 	system(cmd.c_str());
 
-	std::string meta_cmd = "rm -f \"" + meta + "\"";
+	std::string meta_cmd = "sudo rm -f \"" + meta + "\"";
 	system(meta_cmd.c_str());
 }