diff --git a/routstr/core/main.py b/routstr/core/main.py
index 4c679e44..535480a2 100644
--- a/routstr/core/main.py
+++ b/routstr/core/main.py
@@ -268,21 +268,8 @@ if UI_DIST_PATH.exists() and UI_DIST_PATH.is_dir():
     )
 
     @app.get("/", include_in_schema=False)
-    async def serve_root_ui() -> StarletteResponse:
-        index = UI_DIST_PATH / "index.html"
-        if index.exists():
-            return FileResponse(index)
-        # UI directory exists but the index page is missing — return a basic
-        # status payload so the home page never 404s.
-        from fastapi.responses import JSONResponse as _JSONResponse
-
-        return _JSONResponse(
-            {
-                "name": global_settings.name,
-                "version": __version__,
-                "status": "running",
-            }
-        )
+    async def serve_root_ui() -> FileResponse:
+        return FileResponse(UI_DIST_PATH / "index.html")
 
     # Serve the App Router RSC payload for the home page.
     @app.get("/index.txt", include_in_schema=False)
diff --git a/routstr/proxy.py b/routstr/proxy.py
index f416a302..01bb753b 100644
--- a/routstr/proxy.py
+++ b/routstr/proxy.py
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ import json
 from typing import Any
 
 from fastapi import APIRouter, Depends, HTTPException, Request
-from fastapi.responses import JSONResponse, Response, StreamingResponse
+from fastapi.responses import Response, StreamingResponse
 from sqlmodel import select
 
 from .algorithm import create_model_mappings
@@ -174,21 +174,6 @@ async def proxy(
     # so that OpenAI-style endpoints work with or without the `v1/` prefix
     # (e.g. `/chat/completions` as well as `/v1/chat/completions`).
     if request.method == "GET" and not path.startswith(_API_PATH_PREFIXES):
-        # An empty path means the root `/` reached the catch-all because no
-        # explicit handler matched (e.g. the UI bundle is missing from the
-        # deploy). Return a small status payload instead of a 404 so that the
-        # home page never appears broken.
-        if not path:
-            from .core.version import __version__
-
-            return JSONResponse(
-                status_code=200,
-                content={
-                    "name": settings.name,
-                    "version": __version__,
-                    "status": "running",
-                },
-            )
         return build_not_found_response(request, path)
 
     headers = dict(request.headers)