diff --git a/src/lib/components/backup/VolumePicker.svelte b/src/lib/components/backup/VolumePicker.svelte
index a3dd1e8..45dbe65 100644
--- a/src/lib/components/backup/VolumePicker.svelte
+++ b/src/lib/components/backup/VolumePicker.svelte
@@ -20,6 +20,8 @@
 		mountPoint: string;
 		mountType?: 'volume' | 'bind';
 		source?: string;
+		/** Socket / host system bind the engine won't capture: listed but not selectable. */
+		unbackupable?: boolean;
 	}
 
 	interface Props {
@@ -40,7 +42,10 @@
 		showBindWarning = true
 	}: Props = $props();
 
-	const bindMounts = $derived(volumes.filter((v) => v.mountType === 'bind'));
+	// Unbackupable binds (docker.sock, host system paths) are listed for context but
+	// never count as backup targets and can't be selected. The engine skips them too.
+	const backupable = $derived(volumes.filter((v) => !v.unbackupable));
+	const bindMounts = $derived(backupable.filter((v) => v.mountType === 'bind'));
 
 	function toggleVolume(name: string) {
 		if (selectedVolumes.includes(name)) {
@@ -56,7 +61,7 @@
 	     so the switch clearly belongs to the volumes below it. -->
 	<div class="border rounded-md overflow-hidden">
 		<div class="flex items-center justify-between gap-4 px-3 py-2 bg-muted/30 border-b">
-			<Label class="text-xs">Backup all volumes ({volumes.length})</Label>
+			<Label class="text-xs">Backup all volumes ({backupable.length})</Label>
 			<TogglePill bind:checked={allVolumes} onLabel="Yes" offLabel="No" />
 		</div>
 
@@ -73,11 +78,11 @@
 		<!-- List always shown: informational when "all" is on, selectable when off. -->
 		<div class="divide-y max-h-40 overflow-y-auto">
 			{#each volumes as vol}
-				<label class="flex items-center gap-2 px-3 py-1.5 text-xs" class:cursor-pointer={!allVolumes}>
+				<label class="flex items-center gap-2 px-3 py-1.5 text-xs" class:cursor-pointer={!allVolumes && !vol.unbackupable} class:opacity-50={vol.unbackupable}>
 					<Checkbox
-						checked={allVolumes || selectedVolumes.includes(vol.name)}
-						disabled={allVolumes}
-						onCheckedChange={() => toggleVolume(vol.name)}
+						checked={!vol.unbackupable && (allVolumes || selectedVolumes.includes(vol.name))}
+						disabled={allVolumes || vol.unbackupable}
+						onCheckedChange={() => !vol.unbackupable && toggleVolume(vol.name)}
 						class="h-3.5 w-3.5"
 					/>
 					<MountTypeBadge type={vol.mountType} size="sm" />
@@ -85,7 +90,9 @@
 						{#if vol.source && vol.source !== vol.name}
 							<span class="text-muted-foreground font-mono truncate">from {vol.source}</span>
 						{/if}
-						{#if vol.mountPoint}
+						{#if vol.unbackupable}
+							<span class="text-muted-foreground ml-auto shrink-0 italic">socket / system path - not backed up</span>
+						{:else if vol.mountPoint}
 							<span class="text-muted-foreground ml-auto truncate">{vol.mountPoint}</span>
 						{/if}
 					</label>
diff --git a/src/lib/server/backups/discovery-core.ts b/src/lib/server/backups/discovery-core.ts
index 18102cc..015dd95 100644
--- a/src/lib/server/backups/discovery-core.ts
+++ b/src/lib/server/backups/discovery-core.ts
@@ -13,6 +13,8 @@
  * quietly omits data is exactly the failure mode we refuse.
  */
 
+import { isUnbackupableBindSource } from '../../utils/unbackupable-mounts';
+
 /** A single mount as returned by a container inspect (the fields we use). */
 export interface Mount {
 	Type: string;
@@ -102,6 +104,14 @@ export function discoverVolumesFromMounts(containers: Array<{ name: string; moun
 					source: mount.Name,
 				});
 			} else if (mount.Type === 'bind' && mount.Source && mount.Destination) {
+				if (isUnbackupableBindSource(mount.Source)) {
+					skipped.push({
+						type: 'bind',
+						destination: mount.Destination,
+						reason: `${mount.Source} is a socket or host system path, not backed up`,
+					});
+					continue;
+				}
 				const pairKey = `${mount.Source}\n${mount.Destination}`;
 				if (seenBindPairs.has(pairKey)) continue;
 				seenBindPairs.add(pairKey);
diff --git a/src/lib/utils/mounts.ts b/src/lib/utils/mounts.ts
index c3ddd01..72446a9 100644
--- a/src/lib/utils/mounts.ts
+++ b/src/lib/utils/mounts.ts
@@ -4,6 +4,8 @@
  * unit-testable under `bun test`.
  */
 
+import { isUnbackupableBindSource } from './unbackupable-mounts';
+
 export interface VolumeInfo {
 	name: string;
 	mountPoint: string;
@@ -11,6 +13,10 @@ export interface VolumeInfo {
 	/** Bind mounts only: the host source path, for display (name is the container
 	 *  destination so it matches the backup engine's filter). */
 	source?: string;
+	/** Bind mounts only: true when the host source is a socket or host system path
+	 *  the backup engine refuses to capture. Shown in the picker but not selectable,
+	 *  and excluded from "backup all" — mirrors the engine's isUnbackupableBindSource. */
+	unbackupable?: boolean;
 }
 
 /** A raw Docker mount as returned by the containers API (list or inspect).
@@ -44,7 +50,9 @@ export function volumeInfoFromBind(bind: { hostPath: string; containerPath: stri
 	return {
 		name: mountType === 'bind' ? bind.containerPath : bind.hostPath,
 		mountPoint: bind.containerPath,
-		mountType
+		mountType,
+		source: mountType === 'bind' ? bind.hostPath : undefined,
+		unbackupable: mountType === 'bind' ? isUnbackupableBindSource(bind.hostPath) || undefined : undefined
 	};
 }
 
@@ -64,7 +72,7 @@ export function normalizeMounts(mounts: RawMount[] | null | undefined): VolumeIn
 		const destination = m.destination || m.Destination || '';
 		const source = m.source || m.Source || '';
 		if (type === 'bind') {
-			out.push({ name: destination || source, mountPoint: destination, mountType: 'bind', source: source || undefined });
+			out.push({ name: destination || source, mountPoint: destination, mountType: 'bind', source: source || undefined, unbackupable: isUnbackupableBindSource(source) || undefined });
 		} else {
 			const name = m.name || m.Name || source || destination || '';
 			out.push({ name, mountPoint: destination, mountType: 'volume' });
diff --git a/src/lib/utils/unbackupable-mounts.ts b/src/lib/utils/unbackupable-mounts.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6bcab2b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/lib/utils/unbackupable-mounts.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+/**
+ * Bind mounts that must never be backed up: Docker/containerd sockets and host
+ * system paths that are infrastructure, not data. Backing up a socket is
+ * meaningless (it's a device node, not files) and a "backup all" that captures
+ * /proc or /var/run is pointless and slow.
+ *
+ * Dependency-free so BOTH the backup engine (discovery-core.ts, which enumerates
+ * mounts itself for "backup all") and the UI picker (utils/mounts.ts) can share
+ * the exact same rule with no drift.
+ *
+ * Matches on the HOST SOURCE path of a bind mount, not the container destination
+ * (the source is what identifies "this is the host's docker socket", regardless
+ * of where a container maps it).
+ */
+
+/** Exact host source paths (or their children) that are never backed up. */
+const UNBACKUPABLE_PREFIXES = [
+	'/proc',
+	'/sys',
+	'/dev',
+	'/var/run',
+	'/run',
+];
+
+/** Exact socket files, matched anywhere, in case they live outside the prefixes
+ *  above (e.g. rootless docker under /var/run/user/<uid>, already covered by
+ *  /var/run, but a socket bound from an unusual path still gets caught here). */
+const UNBACKUPABLE_SOCKET_BASENAMES = ['docker.sock', 'containerd.sock'];
+
+/** True if a bind mount's host SOURCE is infrastructure that must not be backed
+ *  up (a socket or a host system path). Only applies to bind mounts — named
+ *  volumes are always data. */
+export function isUnbackupableBindSource(hostSource: string | undefined | null): boolean {
+	if (!hostSource || !hostSource.startsWith('/')) return false;
+	const path = hostSource.replace(/\/+$/, ''); // drop trailing slash
+	const base = path.slice(path.lastIndexOf('/') + 1);
+	if (UNBACKUPABLE_SOCKET_BASENAMES.includes(base)) return true;
+	for (const prefix of UNBACKUPABLE_PREFIXES) {
+		if (path === prefix || path.startsWith(prefix + '/')) return true;
+	}
+	return false;
+}