diff --git a/backend/src/middleware/branding/brandingMiddlewares.ts b/backend/src/middleware/branding/brandingMiddlewares.ts
index 8d47043e8..f2da97682 100644
--- a/backend/src/middleware/branding/brandingMiddlewares.ts
+++ b/backend/src/middleware/branding/brandingMiddlewares.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
-// eslint-disable-next-line import/no-cycle
-import { MiddlewareOrder } from '@middleware/index'
+// import { addMiddleware } from '@middleware/index'
 
-export default (): MiddlewareOrder[] => {
-  return []
+export default () => {
+  // addMiddleware({ name: 'myMW', middleware: myMW, position: { } })
 }
diff --git a/backend/src/middleware/categories.ts b/backend/src/middleware/categories.ts
index 7d9f2a71e..609811e29 100644
--- a/backend/src/middleware/categories.ts
+++ b/backend/src/middleware/categories.ts
@@ -1,18 +1,20 @@
+import { GraphQLResolveInfo } from 'graphql'
+
 import type { Context } from '@src/context'
 
 type Resolver = (
   root: unknown,
   args: unknown,
   context: Context,
-  resolveInfo: unknown,
+  resolveInfo: GraphQLResolveInfo,
 ) => Promise<unknown>
-const checkCategoriesActive = (
+const checkCategoriesActive = async (
   resolve: Resolver,
   root: unknown,
   args: unknown,
   context: Context,
-  resolveInfo: unknown,
-) => {
+  resolveInfo: GraphQLResolveInfo,
+): Promise<unknown> => {
   if (context.config.CATEGORIES_ACTIVE) {
     return resolve(root, args, context, resolveInfo)
   }
diff --git a/backend/src/middleware/index.spec.ts b/backend/src/middleware/index.spec.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..4bdea7df5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/src/middleware/index.spec.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,223 @@
+/* eslint-disable @typescript-eslint/no-var-requires */
+/* eslint-disable n/global-require */
+
+// Unit tests for addMiddleware – testing append, prepend, before, after, and error cases.
+// Each test uses jest.isolateModules + jest.doMock to get a fresh ocelotMiddlewares array.
+
+interface MiddlewareModule {
+  addMiddleware: (mw: { name: string; middleware: unknown; position: unknown }) => void
+  default: (schema: unknown) => unknown
+}
+
+interface MockOptions {
+  extraMocks?: Record<string, unknown>
+  disabledMiddlewares?: string[]
+}
+
+const middlewareModules = [
+  './categories',
+  './chatMiddleware',
+  './excerptMiddleware',
+  './hashtags/hashtagsMiddleware',
+  './includedFieldsMiddleware',
+  './languages/languages',
+  './login/loginMiddleware',
+  './notifications/notificationsMiddleware',
+  './orderByMiddleware',
+  './permissionsMiddleware',
+  './sentryMiddleware',
+  './sluggifyMiddleware',
+  './softDelete/softDeleteMiddleware',
+  './userInteractions',
+  './validation/validationMiddleware',
+  './xssMiddleware',
+]
+
+const setupMocks = ({ extraMocks, disabledMiddlewares = [] }: MockOptions = {}) => {
+  jest.doMock('./branding/brandingMiddlewares', () => jest.fn())
+  jest.doMock('@config/index', () => ({ DISABLED_MIDDLEWARES: disabledMiddlewares }))
+
+  // Mock all middlewares and allow to override its mock
+  for (const mod of middlewareModules) {
+    // eslint-disable-next-line security/detect-object-injection
+    jest.doMock(mod, () => extraMocks?.[mod] ?? {})
+  }
+}
+
+const loadModule = (
+  options?: MockOptions,
+): { mod: MiddlewareModule; getCapturedMiddlewares: () => unknown[] } => {
+  let capturedArgs: unknown[] = []
+  jest.doMock('graphql-middleware', () => ({
+    applyMiddleware: (_schema: unknown, ...middlewares: unknown[]) => {
+      capturedArgs = middlewares
+      return _schema
+    },
+  }))
+  setupMocks(options)
+  // eslint-disable-next-line n/no-missing-require
+  const mod = require('./index') as MiddlewareModule
+  return {
+    mod,
+    getCapturedMiddlewares: () => {
+      mod.default({})
+      return capturedArgs
+    },
+  }
+}
+
+describe('default', () => {
+  it('registers the 16 default middlewares', () => {
+    jest.isolateModules(() => {
+      const { getCapturedMiddlewares } = loadModule()
+      expect(getCapturedMiddlewares()).toHaveLength(16)
+    })
+  })
+
+  it('calls brandingMiddlewares', () => {
+    jest.isolateModules(() => {
+      const { mod } = loadModule()
+      // eslint-disable-next-line n/no-missing-require
+      const brandingMiddlewares = require('./branding/brandingMiddlewares') as jest.Mock
+      mod.default({})
+      expect(brandingMiddlewares).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1)
+    })
+  })
+
+  it('filters out disabled middlewares', () => {
+    jest.isolateModules(() => {
+      const sentryMarker = { __test: 'sentry' }
+      const xssMarker = { __test: 'xss' }
+      const { getCapturedMiddlewares } = loadModule({
+        extraMocks: {
+          './sentryMiddleware': sentryMarker,
+          './xssMiddleware': xssMarker,
+        },
+        disabledMiddlewares: ['sentry', 'xss'],
+      })
+      const consoleSpy = jest.spyOn(console, 'log').mockImplementation()
+      const middlewares = getCapturedMiddlewares()
+      expect(middlewares).toHaveLength(14)
+      expect(middlewares).not.toContain(sentryMarker)
+      expect(middlewares).not.toContain(xssMarker)
+      expect(consoleSpy).toHaveBeenCalledWith('Warning: Disabled "sentry, xss" middleware.')
+      consoleSpy.mockRestore()
+    })
+  })
+})
+
+describe('addMiddleware', () => {
+  describe('append', () => {
+    it('adds middleware at the end', () => {
+      jest.isolateModules(() => {
+        const { mod, getCapturedMiddlewares } = loadModule()
+        const m = { __test: 'appended' }
+        mod.addMiddleware({ name: 'test-append', middleware: m, position: 'append' })
+        const middlewares = getCapturedMiddlewares()
+        expect(middlewares).toHaveLength(17)
+        expect(middlewares[16]).toBe(m)
+      })
+    })
+  })
+
+  describe('prepend', () => {
+    it('adds middleware at the beginning', () => {
+      jest.isolateModules(() => {
+        const { mod, getCapturedMiddlewares } = loadModule()
+        const m = { __test: 'prepended' }
+        mod.addMiddleware({ name: 'test-prepend', middleware: m, position: 'prepend' })
+        const middlewares = getCapturedMiddlewares()
+        expect(middlewares).toHaveLength(17)
+        expect(middlewares[0]).toBe(m)
+      })
+    })
+  })
+
+  describe('before', () => {
+    it('inserts middleware directly before the named anchor', () => {
+      jest.isolateModules(() => {
+        const sentryMarker = { __test: 'sentry' }
+        const permissionsMarker = { __test: 'permissions' }
+        const { mod, getCapturedMiddlewares } = loadModule({
+          extraMocks: {
+            './sentryMiddleware': sentryMarker,
+            './permissionsMiddleware': permissionsMarker,
+          },
+        })
+
+        const m = { __test: 'before-permissions' }
+        mod.addMiddleware({
+          name: 'test-before-permissions',
+          middleware: m,
+          position: { before: 'permissions' },
+        })
+
+        const middlewares = getCapturedMiddlewares()
+        const idxSentry = middlewares.indexOf(sentryMarker)
+        const idxNew = middlewares.indexOf(m)
+        const idxPermissions = middlewares.indexOf(permissionsMarker)
+
+        expect(idxSentry).toBeLessThan(idxNew)
+        expect(idxNew).toBe(idxPermissions - 1)
+      })
+    })
+  })
+
+  describe('after', () => {
+    it('inserts middleware directly after the named anchor', () => {
+      jest.isolateModules(() => {
+        const sentryMarker = { __test: 'sentry' }
+        const permissionsMarker = { __test: 'permissions' }
+        const { mod, getCapturedMiddlewares } = loadModule({
+          extraMocks: {
+            './sentryMiddleware': sentryMarker,
+            './permissionsMiddleware': permissionsMarker,
+          },
+        })
+
+        const m = { __test: 'after-sentry' }
+        mod.addMiddleware({
+          name: 'test-after-sentry',
+          middleware: m,
+          position: { after: 'sentry' },
+        })
+
+        const middlewares = getCapturedMiddlewares()
+        const idxSentry = middlewares.indexOf(sentryMarker)
+        const idxNew = middlewares.indexOf(m)
+        const idxPermissions = middlewares.indexOf(permissionsMarker)
+
+        expect(idxNew).toBe(idxSentry + 1)
+        expect(idxNew).toBeLessThan(idxPermissions)
+      })
+    })
+  })
+
+  describe('unknown anchor', () => {
+    it('throws when "before" anchor does not exist', () => {
+      jest.isolateModules(() => {
+        const { mod } = loadModule()
+        expect(() =>
+          mod.addMiddleware({
+            name: 'failure',
+            middleware: {},
+            position: { before: 'nonexistent' },
+          }),
+        ).toThrow('Could not find middleware "nonexistent" to append the middleware "failure"')
+      })
+    })
+
+    it('throws when "after" anchor does not exist', () => {
+      jest.isolateModules(() => {
+        const { mod } = loadModule()
+        expect(() =>
+          mod.addMiddleware({
+            name: 'failure',
+            middleware: {},
+            position: { after: 'nonexistent' },
+          }),
+        ).toThrow('Could not find middleware "nonexistent" to append the middleware "failure"')
+      })
+    })
+  })
+})
diff --git a/backend/src/middleware/index.ts b/backend/src/middleware/index.ts
index 6b5ca7654..34e10eb1f 100644
--- a/backend/src/middleware/index.ts
+++ b/backend/src/middleware/index.ts
@@ -1,11 +1,10 @@
 /* eslint-disable @typescript-eslint/no-unsafe-argument */
 
 /* eslint-disable @typescript-eslint/no-unsafe-assignment */
-import { applyMiddleware, IMiddleware } from 'graphql-middleware'
+import { applyMiddleware, IMiddleware, IMiddlewareGenerator } from 'graphql-middleware'
 
 import CONFIG from '@config/index'
 
-// eslint-disable-next-line import/no-cycle
 import brandingMiddlewares from './branding/brandingMiddlewares'
 import categories from './categories'
 import chatMiddleware from './chatMiddleware'
@@ -25,41 +24,79 @@ import validation from './validation/validationMiddleware'
 import xss from './xssMiddleware'
 
 export interface MiddlewareOrder {
-  order: number
+  position: 'prepend' | 'append' | { before: string } | { after: string }
   name: string
-  middleware: IMiddleware
+  // eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/no-explicit-any
+  middleware: IMiddleware | IMiddlewareGenerator<any, any, any>
 }
 
-const ocelotMiddlewares: MiddlewareOrder[] = [
-  { order: -200, name: 'sentry', middleware: sentry },
-  { order: -190, name: 'permissions', middleware: permissions },
-  { order: -180, name: 'xss', middleware: xss },
-  { order: -170, name: 'validation', middleware: validation },
-  { order: -160, name: 'userInteractions', middleware: userInteractions },
-  { order: -150, name: 'sluggify', middleware: sluggify },
-  { order: -140, name: 'languages', middleware: languages },
-  { order: -130, name: 'excerpt', middleware: excerpt },
-  { order: -120, name: 'login', middleware: login },
-  { order: -110, name: 'notifications', middleware: notifications },
-  { order: -100, name: 'hashtags', middleware: hashtags },
-  { order: -90, name: 'softDelete', middleware: softDelete },
-  { order: -80, name: 'includedFields', middleware: includedFields },
-  { order: -70, name: 'orderBy', middleware: orderBy },
-  { order: -60, name: 'chatMiddleware', middleware: chatMiddleware },
-  { order: -50, name: 'categories', middleware: categories },
-]
+const ocelotMiddlewares: MiddlewareOrder[] = []
+
+export const addMiddleware = (middleware: MiddlewareOrder) => {
+  switch (middleware.position) {
+    case 'append':
+      ocelotMiddlewares.push(middleware)
+      break
+    case 'prepend':
+      ocelotMiddlewares.unshift(middleware)
+      break
+    default: {
+      const anchor =
+        'before' in middleware.position ? middleware.position.before : middleware.position.after
+      const appendMiddlewareAt = ocelotMiddlewares.findIndex((m) => m.name === anchor)
+      if (appendMiddlewareAt === -1) {
+        throw new Error(
+          `Could not find middleware "${anchor}" to append the middleware "${middleware.name}"`,
+        )
+      }
+      ocelotMiddlewares.splice(
+        appendMiddlewareAt + ('before' in middleware.position ? 0 : 1),
+        0,
+        middleware,
+      )
+    }
+  }
+}
+
+addMiddleware({ name: 'sentry', middleware: sentry, position: 'append' })
+addMiddleware({ name: 'permissions', middleware: permissions, position: { after: 'sentry' } })
+addMiddleware({ name: 'xss', middleware: xss, position: { after: 'permissions' } })
+addMiddleware({ name: 'validation', middleware: validation, position: { after: 'xss' } })
+addMiddleware({
+  name: 'userInteractions',
+  middleware: userInteractions,
+  position: { after: 'validation' },
+})
+addMiddleware({ name: 'sluggify', middleware: sluggify, position: { after: 'userInteractions' } })
+addMiddleware({ name: 'languages', middleware: languages, position: { after: 'sluggify' } })
+addMiddleware({ name: 'excerpt', middleware: excerpt, position: { after: 'languages' } })
+addMiddleware({ name: 'login', middleware: login, position: { after: 'excerpt' } })
+addMiddleware({ name: 'notifications', middleware: notifications, position: { after: 'login' } })
+addMiddleware({ name: 'hashtags', middleware: hashtags, position: { after: 'notifications' } })
+addMiddleware({ name: 'softDelete', middleware: softDelete, position: { after: 'hashtags' } })
+addMiddleware({
+  name: 'includedFields',
+  middleware: includedFields,
+  position: { after: 'softDelete' },
+})
+addMiddleware({ name: 'orderBy', middleware: orderBy, position: { after: 'includedFields' } })
+addMiddleware({
+  name: 'chatMiddleware',
+  middleware: chatMiddleware,
+  position: { after: 'orderBy' },
+})
+addMiddleware({ name: 'categories', middleware: categories, position: { after: 'chatMiddleware' } })
 
 export default (schema) => {
-  const middlewares = ocelotMiddlewares
-    .concat(brandingMiddlewares())
-    .sort((a, b) => a.order - b.order)
+  // execute branding middleware function
+  brandingMiddlewares()
 
-  const filteredMiddlewares = middlewares.filter(
+  const filteredMiddlewares = ocelotMiddlewares.filter(
     (middleware) => !CONFIG.DISABLED_MIDDLEWARES.includes(middleware.name),
   )
 
   // Warn if we filtered
-  if (middlewares.length < filteredMiddlewares.length) {
+  if (ocelotMiddlewares.length !== filteredMiddlewares.length) {
     // eslint-disable-next-line no-console
     console.log(`Warning: Disabled "${CONFIG.DISABLED_MIDDLEWARES.join(', ')}" middleware.`)
   }