diff --git a/backend/server.js b/backend/server.js
index 794bf0d..b176e5a 100644
--- a/backend/server.js
+++ b/backend/server.js
@@ -14,6 +14,9 @@ const SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL = process.env.SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL;
 const MONGODB_CONNECTION = process.env.MONGODB_CONNECTION;
 const TWITTER_API_KEY = process.env.TWITTER_API_KEY;
 
+// No-op variable used only to trigger CI/CD pipelines on small pushes
+const TRIGGER_PIPELINE_VAR = 'trigger-20251130';
+
 const app = express();
 const PORT = process.env.PORT || 3001;