diff --git a/bun.lock b/bun.lock
index e9b09f9..f9f9313 100644
--- a/bun.lock
+++ b/bun.lock
@@ -1,12 +1,11 @@
 {
   "lockfileVersion": 1,
-  "configVersion": 1,
   "workspaces": {
     "": {
       "name": "routstrd",
       "dependencies": {
         "@cashu/cashu-ts": "^3.1.1",
-        "@routstr/sdk": "^0.1.2",
+        "@routstr/sdk": "^0.1.4",
         "applesauce-core": "^5.1.0",
         "applesauce-relay": "^5.1.0",
         "better-sqlite3": "^11.7.2",
@@ -31,7 +30,7 @@
 
     "@noble/hashes": ["@noble/hashes@2.0.1", "", {}, "sha512-XlOlEbQcE9fmuXxrVTXCTlG2nlRXa9Rj3rr5Ue/+tX+nmkgbX720YHh0VR3hBF9xDvwnb8D2shVGOwNx+ulArw=="],
 
-    "@routstr/sdk": ["@routstr/sdk@0.1.2", "", { "dependencies": { "@cashu/cashu-ts": "^3.1.1", "applesauce-core": "^5.1.0", "applesauce-relay": "^5.1.0", "rxjs": "^7.8.1", "zustand": "^5.0.5" }, "optionalDependencies": { "better-sqlite3": "^11.7.2" }, "peerDependencies": { "typescript": ">=5.0.0" } }, "sha512-KzcEVAPaQTV9V/AKpAJLQ0YiCjXX4t2Ebz1t+id5dSl/YqTPHZZXm2HA+mT2xKlqcf8GK7hTdj312WxVji1nWQ=="],
+    "@routstr/sdk": ["@routstr/sdk@0.1.4", "", { "dependencies": { "@cashu/cashu-ts": "^3.1.1", "applesauce-core": "^5.1.0", "applesauce-relay": "^5.1.0", "rxjs": "^7.8.1", "zustand": "^5.0.5" }, "optionalDependencies": { "better-sqlite3": "^11.7.2" }, "peerDependencies": { "typescript": ">=5.0.0" } }, "sha512-4NQV7IcB1UkiO2HQa0as5OBu0v3pZ7TO265oTjMNYPtYMdYOSXjF+uPBcHCRJLfVhnTN4OOCmUQnnhYM0gR6Zw=="],
 
     "@scure/base": ["@scure/base@2.0.0", "", {}, "sha512-3E1kpuZginKkek01ovG8krQ0Z44E3DHPjc5S2rjJw9lZn3KSQOs8S7wqikF/AH7iRanHypj85uGyxk0XAyC37w=="],
 
diff --git a/src/daemon.ts b/src/daemon.ts
index 792a99a..eef4d74 100644
--- a/src/daemon.ts
+++ b/src/daemon.ts
@@ -251,13 +251,29 @@ async function main(): Promise<void> {
   const discoveryAdapter = createDiscoveryAdapterFromStore(store);
   const providerRegistry = createProviderRegistryFromStore(store);
   const storageAdapter = createStorageAdapterFromStore(store);
-
-  logger.log("Bootstrapping providers...");
   const modelManager = new ModelManager(discoveryAdapter);
-  const providers = await modelManager.bootstrapProviders(false);
-  logger.log(`Bootstrapped ${providers.length} providers`);
-  await modelManager.fetchModels(providers);
-  logger.log("Provider bootstrap complete.");
+
+  let providerBootstrapPromise: Promise<void> | null = null;
+  const ensureProvidersBootstrapped = (): Promise<void> => {
+    if (!providerBootstrapPromise) {
+      providerBootstrapPromise = (async () => {
+        logger.log("Bootstrapping providers...");
+        const providers = await modelManager.bootstrapProviders(false);
+        logger.log(`Bootstrapped ${providers.length} providers`);
+        await modelManager.fetchModels(providers);
+        logger.log("Provider bootstrap complete.");
+      })().catch((error) => {
+        logger.error("Provider bootstrap failed:", error);
+        throw error;
+      });
+    }
+    return providerBootstrapPromise;
+  };
+
+  // Start bootstrap in background so daemon can become healthy quickly.
+  void ensureProvidersBootstrapped().catch(() => {
+    // Error is already logged; keep daemon alive for troubleshooting/retries.
+  });
 
   let activeMintUrl: string | null = null;
   let mintUnits: Record<string, "sat" | "msat"> = {};
@@ -378,6 +394,7 @@ async function main(): Promise<void> {
 
       if (req.method === "GET" && url.pathname === "/models") {
         try {
+          await ensureProvidersBootstrapped();
           await modelManager.fetchRoutstr21Models();
           const models = discoveryAdapter.getRoutstr21Models();
           res.writeHead(200, { "Content-Type": "application/json" });
@@ -581,6 +598,7 @@ async function main(): Promise<void> {
         undefined;
 
       try {
+        await ensureProvidersBootstrapped();
         const response = await routeRequests({
           modelId,
           requestBody,
@@ -665,6 +683,8 @@ async function main(): Promise<void> {
 export async function startDaemon(options: { port?: string; provider?: string } = {}): Promise<void> {
   const args: string[] = [];
   const port = options.port || "8008";
+  const pollIntervalMs = 250;
+  const startupTimeoutMs = 10 * 60 * 1000;
 
   try {
     const existing = await fetch(`http://localhost:${port}/health`);
@@ -697,9 +717,22 @@ export async function startDaemon(options: { port?: string; provider?: string }
 
   proc.unref();
 
+  let exitCode: number | null = null;
+  proc.exited.then((code) => {
+    exitCode = code;
+  });
+
   // Poll until the daemon is healthy
-  for (let i = 0; i < 100; i++) {
-    await new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, 200));
+  const maxPolls = Math.ceil(startupTimeoutMs / pollIntervalMs);
+  for (let i = 0; i < maxPolls; i++) {
+    await new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, pollIntervalMs));
+
+    if (exitCode !== null) {
+      throw new Error(
+        `Daemon process exited early with code ${exitCode}. Check logs at ${LOG_FILE}`
+      );
+    }
+
     try {
       const res = await fetch(`http://localhost:${port}/health`);
       if (res.ok) {
@@ -711,7 +744,9 @@ export async function startDaemon(options: { port?: string; provider?: string }
     }
   }
 
-  throw new Error("Daemon failed to start within 20 seconds");
+  throw new Error(
+    `Daemon failed to start within ${Math.round(startupTimeoutMs / 1000)} seconds. Check logs at ${LOG_FILE}`
+  );
 }
 
 // Only auto-run main() when this file is executed directly (not imported)
diff --git a/src/utils/logger.ts b/src/utils/logger.ts
index 2acf4a6..19f639d 100644
--- a/src/utils/logger.ts
+++ b/src/utils/logger.ts
@@ -16,7 +16,19 @@ async function writeLog(level: string, ...args: unknown[]) {
   await ensureLogDir();
   const timestamp = new Date().toISOString();
   const message = args
-    .map((a) => (typeof a === "object" ? JSON.stringify(a) : String(a)))
+    .map((a) => {
+      if (a instanceof Error) {
+        return `${a.message}${a.stack ? `\n${a.stack}` : ""}`;
+      }
+      if (typeof a === "object") {
+        try {
+          return JSON.stringify(a);
+        } catch {
+          return String(a);
+        }
+      }
+      return String(a);
+    })
     .join(" ");
   const line = `[${timestamp}] [${level}] ${message}\n`;
   try {