diff --git a/caching/src/backfill.h b/caching/src/backfill.h
index 5c40239..a44d2f0 100644
--- a/caching/src/backfill.h
+++ b/caching/src/backfill.h
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
 
 /* Maximum limit we will bump a saturated page to before marking an author
  * blocked at a timestamp. Keeps a single query bounded. */
-#define CR_BACKFILL_MAX_PAGE_CAP 200
+#define CR_BACKFILL_MAX_PAGE_CAP 1000
 
 typedef struct {
     int      window_index;
diff --git a/make_and_restart_relay.sh b/make_and_restart_relay.sh
index 4bb9668..9558eaf 100755
--- a/make_and_restart_relay.sh
+++ b/make_and_restart_relay.sh
@@ -13,6 +13,8 @@ ADMIN_KEY=""
 RELAY_KEY=""
 PORT_OVERRIDE=""
 DEBUG_LEVEL="5"
+START_CACHING=false
+RESET_BACKFILL=false
 DB_BACKEND="postgres"
 DB_CONNSTRING=""
 DB_HOST=""
@@ -75,6 +77,14 @@ while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do
             PRESERVE_DATABASE=true
             shift
             ;;
+        --start-caching)
+            START_CACHING=true
+            shift
+            ;;
+        --reset-backfill)
+            RESET_BACKFILL=true
+            shift
+            ;;
         --test-keys|-t)
             USE_TEST_KEYS=true
             # Read keys from .test_keys file
@@ -359,6 +369,8 @@ if [ "$HELP" = true ]; then
     echo "  --db-name <name>         PostgreSQL database name"
     echo "  --db-user <user>         PostgreSQL database user"
     echo "  --db-password <pass>     PostgreSQL database password"
+    echo "  --start-caching          Auto-start the caching service on startup"
+    echo "  --reset-backfill         Clear caching backfill progress (use with --start-caching)"
     echo "  --help, -h               Show this help message"
     echo ""
     echo "Event-Based Configuration:"
@@ -579,6 +591,16 @@ if [ -n "$DB_PASSWORD" ]; then
     RELAY_ARGS="$RELAY_ARGS --db-password '$DB_PASSWORD'"
 fi
 
+if [ "$START_CACHING" = true ]; then
+    RELAY_ARGS="$RELAY_ARGS --start-caching"
+    echo "Auto-starting caching service on startup"
+fi
+
+if [ "$RESET_BACKFILL" = true ]; then
+    RELAY_ARGS="$RELAY_ARGS --reset-backfill"
+    echo "Resetting caching backfill progress before start"
+fi
+
 # Change to build directory before starting relay so database files are created there
 cd build
 # Start relay in background and capture its PID
diff --git a/relay.pid b/relay.pid
index 4b941ce..bdaa10d 100644
--- a/relay.pid
+++ b/relay.pid
@@ -1 +1 @@
-549408
+594859
diff --git a/src/caching_service_launcher.c b/src/caching_service_launcher.c
index 1712339..d17ea03 100644
--- a/src/caching_service_launcher.c
+++ b/src/caching_service_launcher.c
@@ -75,14 +75,21 @@ static int caching_service_start_fork(const char* binary_path, const char* pg_co
             close(devnull);
         }
 
-        // Redirect stdout/stderr to a log file or /dev/null
-        // For now, send to /dev/null. A future improvement could
-        // redirect to a configurable log file.
-        devnull = open("/dev/null", O_WRONLY);
-        if (devnull >= 0) {
-            dup2(devnull, STDOUT_FILENO);
-            dup2(devnull, STDERR_FILENO);
-            close(devnull);
+        // Redirect stdout/stderr to a log file for debugging.
+        // The log file is created in the relay's working directory (build/).
+        int logfile = open("caching_relay.log", O_WRONLY | O_CREAT | O_APPEND, 0644);
+        if (logfile >= 0) {
+            dup2(logfile, STDOUT_FILENO);
+            dup2(logfile, STDERR_FILENO);
+            close(logfile);
+        } else {
+            // Fallback to /dev/null if log file can't be opened
+            devnull = open("/dev/null", O_WRONLY);
+            if (devnull >= 0) {
+                dup2(devnull, STDOUT_FILENO);
+                dup2(devnull, STDERR_FILENO);
+                close(devnull);
+            }
         }
 
         // Build argv for the caching_relay binary.
diff --git a/src/config.h b/src/config.h
index 5043a25..5f7644a 100644
--- a/src/config.h
+++ b/src/config.h
@@ -36,6 +36,8 @@ typedef struct {
     char relay_privkey_override[65];  // Empty string = not set, 64-char hex = override
     int strict_port;  // 0 = allow port increment, 1 = fail if exact port unavailable
     int debug_level;  // 0-5, default 0 (no debug output)
+    int start_caching;     // 0 = don't auto-start, 1 = start caching service on startup
+    int reset_backfill;    // 0 = no, 1 = clear caching_backfill_progress before starting
     char db_connstring_override[1024];
     char db_host[128];
     int db_port;  // 0 = not set
diff --git a/src/default_config_event.h b/src/default_config_event.h
index 1a75769..63bb9c5 100644
--- a/src/default_config_event.h
+++ b/src/default_config_event.h
@@ -148,7 +148,7 @@ static const struct {
     {"caching_live_resubscribe_seconds", "300"},               // Live subscription resubscribe interval
     {"caching_backfill_enabled", "true"},                      // Enable historical backfill
     {"caching_backfill_windows", "86400,604800,2592000,7776000,31536000"}, // Backfill window schedule in seconds
-    {"caching_backfill_page_size", "50"},                      // Initial backfill query page size
+    {"caching_backfill_page_size", "200"},                     // Initial backfill query page size
     {"caching_backfill_tick_interval_ms", "5000"},             // Minimum delay between backfill queries
     {"caching_backfill_window_cooldown_seconds", "60"},        // Delay between completed windows
     {"caching_follow_graph_refresh_seconds", "600"},           // Kind-3 follow graph refresh interval
diff --git a/src/main.c b/src/main.c
index 6f4b4d6..d115d12 100644
--- a/src/main.c
+++ b/src/main.c
@@ -2299,6 +2299,8 @@ void print_usage(const char* program_name) {
     printf("  --db-name NAME           PostgreSQL database name (default: crelay)\n");
     printf("  --db-user USER           PostgreSQL user (default: crelay)\n");
     printf("  --db-password PASS       PostgreSQL password\n");
+    printf("  --start-caching          Auto-start the caching service on startup\n");
+    printf("  --reset-backfill         Clear caching_backfill_progress before starting (use with --start-caching)\n");
     printf("\n");
     printf("Configuration:\n");
     printf("  This relay uses event-based configuration stored in the database.\n");
@@ -2338,7 +2340,9 @@ int main(int argc, char* argv[]) {
         .admin_pubkey_override = {0},   // Empty string = not set
         .relay_privkey_override = {0},   // Empty string = not set
         .strict_port = 0,  // 0 = allow port increment (default)
-        .debug_level = 0   // 0 = no debug output (default)
+        .debug_level = 0,  // 0 = no debug output (default)
+        .start_caching = 0,   // 0 = don't auto-start caching service
+        .reset_backfill = 0   // 0 = don't reset backfill progress
     };
     
     // Parse command line arguments
@@ -2565,6 +2569,12 @@ int main(int argc, char* argv[]) {
         } else if (strcmp(argv[i], "--strict-port") == 0) {
             // Strict port mode option
             cli_options.strict_port = 1;
+        } else if (strcmp(argv[i], "--start-caching") == 0) {
+            // Auto-start the caching service on startup
+            cli_options.start_caching = 1;
+        } else if (strcmp(argv[i], "--reset-backfill") == 0) {
+            // Clear caching_backfill_progress before starting caching service
+            cli_options.reset_backfill = 1;
         } else if (strncmp(argv[i], "--debug-level=", 14) == 0) {
             // Debug level option
             char* endptr;
@@ -2956,6 +2966,30 @@ int main(int argc, char* argv[]) {
     // Runs on the main lws service thread via caching_inbox_poller_tick().
     caching_inbox_poller_init();
 
+    // Auto-start the caching service if requested via --start-caching.
+    // Optionally reset backfill progress first if --reset-backfill was passed.
+    if (cli_options.start_caching) {
+#ifdef DB_BACKEND_POSTGRES
+        if (cli_options.reset_backfill) {
+            DEBUG_INFO("CLI: resetting caching backfill progress (--reset-backfill)");
+            if (db_exec_sql("DELETE FROM caching_backfill_progress") == 0) {
+                DEBUG_INFO("CLI: caching_backfill_progress cleared");
+            } else {
+                DEBUG_WARN("CLI: failed to clear caching_backfill_progress");
+            }
+        }
+        DEBUG_INFO("CLI: auto-starting caching service (--start-caching)");
+        int caching_rc = caching_service_start();
+        if (caching_rc == 0) {
+            DEBUG_INFO("CLI: caching service started successfully");
+        } else {
+            DEBUG_ERROR("CLI: failed to start caching service (rc=%d)", caching_rc);
+        }
+#else
+        DEBUG_WARN("CLI: --start-caching requires PostgreSQL backend");
+#endif
+    }
+
     // Phase 5 strict mode: remove main-thread fallback to global DB handle.
     // Runtime DB access must go through thread-bound worker connections.
     // Ownership now resides in db_ops.c; no direct global handle mutation here.
diff --git a/src/main.h b/src/main.h
index 4e19f4c..44c95de 100644
--- a/src/main.h
+++ b/src/main.h
@@ -13,8 +13,8 @@
 // Using CRELAY_ prefix to avoid conflicts with nostr_core_lib VERSION macros
 #define CRELAY_VERSION_MAJOR 2
 #define CRELAY_VERSION_MINOR 1
-#define CRELAY_VERSION_PATCH 21
-#define CRELAY_VERSION "v2.1.21"
+#define CRELAY_VERSION_PATCH 22
+#define CRELAY_VERSION "v2.1.22"
 
 // Relay metadata (authoritative source for NIP-11 information)
 #define RELAY_NAME "C-Relay-PG"