diff --git a/src/middleware.ts b/src/proxy.ts
similarity index 59%
rename from src/middleware.ts
rename to src/proxy.ts
index 7fb49d82..35f467db 100644
--- a/src/middleware.ts
+++ b/src/proxy.ts
@@ -1,10 +1,10 @@
 import { type NextRequest, NextResponse } from "next/server";
 
-// Edge middleware: Prisma can't run here, so we only forward the request path
-// (so server components / the access guard can read it via headers()) and
-// normalize the real client IP. The DB-backed banned/maintenance checks happen
-// in src/lib/access-guard.ts (Node runtime) from the root layout.
-export function middleware(req: NextRequest) {
+// Edge proxy (formerly "middleware"): Prisma can't run here, so we only forward
+// the request path (so server components / the access guard can read it via
+// headers()) and normalize the real client IP. The DB-backed banned/maintenance
+// checks happen in src/lib/access-guard.ts (Node runtime) from the root layout.
+export function proxy(req: NextRequest) {
   const headers = new Headers(req.headers);
   headers.set("x-pathname", req.nextUrl.pathname);
   const ip =