diff --git a/start.sh b/start.sh
index f70d591..eee674c 100755
--- a/start.sh
+++ b/start.sh
@@ -1,5 +1,4 @@
 #!/bin/bash
-set -euo pipefail
 
 # ── Clean up stale sockets from previous run ──────────────────────────────────
 rm -f /tmp/.X99-lock
@@ -117,6 +116,7 @@ echo "socat mic listener started on TCP :12345"
 # gst_agent exits with code 1 on ICE failure or other fatal errors.
 # Without a restart loop, the container sits dead until manually restarted.
 # 3 second delay before each restart to avoid a tight crash loop.
+#
 while true; do
     python3 ~/streaming-agent/gst_agent.py
     echo "[gst_agent] exited with code $?, restarting in 3s..."
diff --git a/streaming-agent/signaling-server.js b/streaming-agent/signaling-server.js
index c4cc981..7d5996f 100644
--- a/streaming-agent/signaling-server.js
+++ b/streaming-agent/signaling-server.js
@@ -252,17 +252,6 @@ function performCssRestart(reason) {
   containerRestarting = true;
   broadcastQueueState();
 
-  // Use Wine's own proper teardown instead of pkill + a fixed sleep guess.
-  // `wineserver -k` signals every Wine process under this prefix to exit;
-  // `wineserver -w` BLOCKS until wineserver has actually fully released all
-  // its shared memory / locks / sockets, rather than gambling on a fixed
-  // delay being long enough. This is what previously let a fresh CSS
-  // instance start before the old one had genuinely finished tearing down,
-  // inheriting a wedged state and landing right back on the same stuck
-  // "Connecting to server..." screen even after repeated restarts.
-  // Wrapped in `timeout` so a manual restart can never hang indefinitely if
-  // wineserver somehow never exits — after 15s we give up waiting and
-  // proceed to relaunch anyway.
   try {
     execSync(`docker exec ${CONTAINER} bash -c "wineserver -k; timeout 15 wineserver -w || true"`);
     console.log('[sig] CSS restart: wineserver fully torn down');
@@ -296,7 +285,14 @@ function performCssRestart(reason) {
     // the actual cause of "keyboard stuck, mouse/video fine" after restarts.
     setTimeout(() => {
       try {
-        execSync(`docker exec ${CONTAINER} bash -c "DISPLAY=:99 WIN=\$(xdotool search --name '' | head -1) && xdotool windowfocus --sync \$WIN" || true`);
+        // A fresh `docker exec` session gets a NEW environment built from
+        // the image's defaults, not the runtime environment of the
+        // container's PID 1 (start.sh) — unlike gst_agent.py, which
+        // inherits start.sh's environment directly as a child process and
+        // has always found xdotool fine. Explicitly ensure common binary
+        // paths are present here too, since this exact command was
+        // silently failing with "xdotool: not found" every time.
+        execSync(`docker exec ${CONTAINER} bash -c "export PATH=\$PATH:/usr/bin:/usr/local/bin:/bin; DISPLAY=:99 WIN=\$(xdotool search --name '' | head -1) && xdotool windowfocus --sync \$WIN" || true`);
         console.log('[sig] CSS restart: focused new window');
       } catch (e) {
         console.error('[sig] CSS restart: failed to focus new window:', e.message);
@@ -313,6 +309,49 @@ function performCssRestart(reason) {
 const CSS_RESTART_INTERVAL = 5 * 60 * 60 * 1000; // 5 hours
 setInterval(() => performCssRestart('scheduled 5-hour restart'), CSS_RESTART_INTERVAL);
 
+// ── Container liveness check ──────────────────────────────────────────────────
+// Everything above (performCssRestart, the watchdog, the manual restart
+// button) assumes the DOCKER CONTAINER itself is alive and only needs its
+// internal Wine/CSS process cycled. If the container's own main process
+// (start.sh, PID 1) dies for any reason, the whole container exits — at
+// which point every docker exec call above fails outright with "container
+// is not running", 
+//
+const CONTAINER_LIVENESS_INTERVAL = 30 * 1000; // 30 seconds
+
+function checkContainerLiveness() {
+  let running = false;
+  try {
+    const out = execSync(`docker inspect -f "{{.State.Running}}" ${CONTAINER}`).toString().trim();
+    running = out === 'true';
+  } catch (e) {
+    running = false;
+  }
+
+  if (!running) {
+    console.error(`[sig] CONTAINER ${CONTAINER} IS NOT RUNNING — attempting docker start`);
+    try {
+      execSync(`docker start ${CONTAINER}`);
+      console.log(`[sig] docker start ${CONTAINER} succeeded — container should reboot via start.sh`);
+    } catch (e) {
+      console.error(`[sig] docker start ${CONTAINER} failed:`, e.message);
+    }
+
+    // The old agent registration and controller state are now stale — the
+    // container is rebooting from scratch (fresh gst_agent, fresh CSS).
+    // Clear them so the browser doesn't sit on a dead session waiting for
+    // an agent that will never re-register under the old WebSocket.
+    agentSessions.clear();
+    if (currentController) {
+      releaseControl(currentController, 'container-restart');
+    }
+    containerRestarting = true;
+    broadcastQueueState();
+  }
+}
+
+setInterval(checkContainerLiveness, CONTAINER_LIVENESS_INTERVAL);
+
 function releaseControl(entry, reason) {
   if (idleTimer) { clearTimeout(idleTimer); idleTimer = null; }
   if (currentController !== entry) return;
@@ -441,6 +480,18 @@ wss.on('connection', (ws, req) => {
         agentWs:        ws,
       });
       console.log(`[sig] agent registered — sessionId=${agentSessionId}`);
+
+      // A fresh agent registering is the actual completion signal for a
+      // full container reboot (checkContainerLiveness sets
+      // containerRestarting=true immediately after `docker start`, but that
+      // only kicks off the boot — the full start.sh sequence, Weston,
+      // Xwayland, PipeWire, CSS launch, then gst_agent itself starting and
+      // registering, takes much longer than a same-container CSS restart).
+      // Clear it here so the browser's loading overlay doesn't stay stuck.
+      if (containerRestarting) {
+        containerRestarting = false;
+        broadcastQueueState();
+      }
     }
 
     else if (msg.type === 'request_control') {