diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/ci-cd.yml b/.gitea/workflows/ci-cd.yml
index 923122c..8b97459 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/ci-cd.yml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/ci-cd.yml
@@ -333,52 +333,102 @@ jobs:
           docker network disconnect meezi_default meezi-redis 2>/dev/null || true
           docker network connect --alias postgres meezi_default meezi-db
           docker network connect --alias redis    meezi_default meezi-redis
+          echo "=== infra network state ==="
+          docker inspect meezi-db    --format='meezi-db    networks={{json .NetworkSettings.Networks}}' 2>&1 || true
+          docker inspect meezi-redis --format='meezi-redis networks={{json .NetworkSettings.Networks}}' 2>&1 || true
 
-      - name: Deploy main app services
+      - name: Start API
+        # --no-deps skips all depends_on checks so compose starts api immediately
+        # without trying to verify postgres/redis health (they're not compose-managed).
+        run: docker compose up -d --no-deps api
+
+      - name: Wait for API healthy
+        # Poll ourselves so we can detect crashes early and print logs before
+        # restart-policy smothers them. Mirrors healthcheck: start_period=40s,
+        # interval=10s, retries=12 → up to 3 min total.
+        # Also checks RestartCount: restart:unless-stopped hides crashes behind
+        # rapid restarts, so state=exited is fleeting — a rising count tells us.
         run: |
-          docker compose up -d --no-deps api web website koja
+          echo "Waiting for meezi-api (up to 3 min)..."
+          for i in $(seq 1 36); do
+            HEALTH=$(docker inspect --format='{{.State.Health.Status}}' meezi-api 2>/dev/null || echo "missing")
+            STATE=$(docker inspect  --format='{{.State.Status}}'        meezi-api 2>/dev/null || echo "missing")
+            RESTARTS=$(docker inspect --format='{{.RestartCount}}'      meezi-api 2>/dev/null || echo "0")
+            echo "  [$i/36] state=$STATE health=$HEALTH restarts=$RESTARTS"
+            [ "$HEALTH" = "healthy" ] && echo "✅ meezi-api healthy" && break
+            if [ "$STATE" = "exited" ] || [ "$STATE" = "dead" ]; then
+              echo "❌ meezi-api crashed (state=$STATE) — logs:"
+              docker logs meezi-api 2>&1 | tail -120
+              exit 1
+            fi
+            if [ "$RESTARTS" -gt 1 ]; then
+              echo "❌ meezi-api crash-loop (restarts=$RESTARTS) — logs:"
+              docker logs meezi-api 2>&1 | tail -120
+              exit 1
+            fi
+            [ "$i" = "36" ] && echo "❌ meezi-api timeout (3 min)" \
+              && docker logs meezi-api 2>&1 | tail -80 && exit 1
+            sleep 5
+          done
 
-      - name: Deploy admin services
+      - name: Start web services
+        # API is healthy at this point; start the three Next.js frontends.
+        run: docker compose up -d --no-deps web website koja
+
+      - name: Start admin API
         run: |
           docker compose \
             -f docker-compose.yml \
             -f docker-compose.admin.yml \
-            up -d \
-            --no-deps \
-            admin-api admin-web
-
-      - name: Wait for main API healthy
-        run: |
-          for i in $(seq 1 24); do
-            STATUS=$(docker inspect --format='{{.State.Health.Status}}' meezi-api 2>/dev/null || echo "missing")
-            echo "  [$i/24] $STATUS"
-            [ "$STATUS" = "healthy" ] && echo "✅ meezi-api healthy" && break
-            [ "$i" = "24" ] && echo "❌ meezi-api timeout" && docker compose logs --tail=40 api && exit 1
-            sleep 5
-          done
+            up -d --no-deps admin-api
 
       - name: Wait for admin API healthy
         run: |
-          for i in $(seq 1 24); do
-            STATUS=$(docker inspect --format='{{.State.Health.Status}}' meezi-admin-api 2>/dev/null || echo "missing")
-            echo "  [$i/24] $STATUS"
-            [ "$STATUS" = "healthy" ] && echo "✅ meezi-admin-api healthy" && break
-            [ "$i" = "24" ] && echo "❌ meezi-admin-api timeout" && docker compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.admin.yml logs --tail=40 admin-api && exit 1
+          echo "Waiting for meezi-admin-api (up to 3 min)..."
+          for i in $(seq 1 36); do
+            HEALTH=$(docker inspect --format='{{.State.Health.Status}}' meezi-admin-api 2>/dev/null || echo "missing")
+            STATE=$(docker inspect  --format='{{.State.Status}}'        meezi-admin-api 2>/dev/null || echo "missing")
+            RESTARTS=$(docker inspect --format='{{.RestartCount}}'      meezi-admin-api 2>/dev/null || echo "0")
+            echo "  [$i/36] state=$STATE health=$HEALTH restarts=$RESTARTS"
+            [ "$HEALTH" = "healthy" ] && echo "✅ meezi-admin-api healthy" && break
+            if [ "$STATE" = "exited" ] || [ "$STATE" = "dead" ]; then
+              echo "❌ meezi-admin-api crashed (state=$STATE) — logs:"
+              docker logs meezi-admin-api 2>&1 | tail -80
+              exit 1
+            fi
+            if [ "$RESTARTS" -gt 1 ]; then
+              echo "❌ meezi-admin-api crash-loop (restarts=$RESTARTS) — logs:"
+              docker logs meezi-admin-api 2>&1 | tail -80
+              exit 1
+            fi
+            [ "$i" = "36" ] && echo "❌ meezi-admin-api timeout (3 min)" \
+              && docker logs meezi-admin-api 2>&1 | tail -80 && exit 1
             sleep 5
           done
 
+      - name: Start admin web
+        run: |
+          docker compose \
+            -f docker-compose.yml \
+            -f docker-compose.admin.yml \
+            up -d --no-deps admin-web
+
       - name: Show all running containers
         if: always()
         run: docker compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.admin.yml ps
 
-      - name: Dump API logs on failure
+      - name: Dump logs on failure
         if: failure()
         run: |
           echo "=== meezi-api logs ==="
-          docker logs meezi-api --tail=60 2>&1 || true
+          docker logs meezi-api --tail=120 2>&1 || true
           echo "=== meezi-admin-api logs ==="
-          docker logs meezi-admin-api --tail=30 2>&1 || true
+          docker logs meezi-admin-api --tail=80 2>&1 || true
           echo "=== meezi_default network ==="
           docker network inspect meezi_default 2>&1 || true
+          echo "=== meezi-db network state ==="
+          docker inspect meezi-db    --format='{{json .NetworkSettings.Networks}}' 2>&1 || true
+          echo "=== meezi-redis network state ==="
+          docker inspect meezi-redis --format='{{json .NetworkSettings.Networks}}' 2>&1 || true
 
       # Intentionally no image pruning — disk cleanup is done manually on the server.