diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index 41f9c2c..34d12c3 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-FROM denoland/deno:alpine-2.0.2
+FROM docker.io/denoland/deno:alpine-2.0.2
 
 WORKDIR /app
 
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ RUN deno install || true
 
 # Copy source code and assets
 COPY main.ts .
+COPY src ./src
 COPY viewer ./viewer
 COPY data ./data
 COPY mechanical ./mechanical
diff --git a/main.ts b/main.ts
index 291d1e9..c07ced1 100644
--- a/main.ts
+++ b/main.ts
@@ -5,8 +5,8 @@ import { qaRoutes } from "./src/routes/qa.ts";
 
 const app = new Hono();
 
-// Initialize DB schema on startup
-await initDb();
+// Initialize DB schema in background so server opens port immediately
+initDb().catch((err) => console.error("Database background init failed:", err));
 
 // API Routes
 app.get("/api/status", async (c) => {
diff --git a/src/db/connection.ts b/src/db/connection.ts
index fe67a2e..7d0a16d 100644
--- a/src/db/connection.ts
+++ b/src/db/connection.ts
@@ -6,28 +6,42 @@ export const sql = postgres({
   database: Deno.env.get("POSTGRES_DB") || "nas_builder",
   username: Deno.env.get("POSTGRES_USER") || "nasadmin",
   password: Deno.env.get("POSTGRES_PASSWORD") || "your_secure_database_password_here",
+  max: 10,
+  idle_timeout: 30,
+  connect_timeout: 10,
 });
 
-export async function initDb() {
-  await sql`
-    CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS qa_checklists (
-      id VARCHAR(50) PRIMARY KEY,
-      label TEXT NOT NULL,
-      is_completed BOOLEAN DEFAULT false,
-      updated_at TIMESTAMP DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
-    );
-  `;
-  
-  // Seed some initial data if empty
-  const count = await sql`SELECT count(*) FROM qa_checklists`;
-  if (count[0].count === "0") {
-    await sql`
-      INSERT INTO qa_checklists (id, label, is_completed) VALUES
-      ('qa-cap', 'Supercap mounted & isolated', false),
-      ('qa-sas', 'Broadcom SAS seated in PCIe', false),
-      ('qa-cool', 'Waterblock pressure tested', false),
-      ('qa-zfs', 'ZFS pool scrub baseline passed', false)
-    `;
+export async function initDb(retries = 5, delayMs = 2000) {
+  for (let i = 0; i < retries; i++) {
+    try {
+      await sql`
+        CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS qa_checklists (
+          id VARCHAR(50) PRIMARY KEY,
+          label TEXT NOT NULL,
+          is_completed BOOLEAN DEFAULT false,
+          updated_at TIMESTAMP DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
+        );
+      `;
+      
+      const count = await sql`SELECT count(*) FROM qa_checklists`;
+      if (count[0].count === "0") {
+        await sql`
+          INSERT INTO qa_checklists (id, label, is_completed) VALUES
+          ('qa-cap', 'Supercap mounted & isolated', false),
+          ('qa-sas', 'Broadcom SAS seated in PCIe', false),
+          ('qa-cool', 'Waterblock pressure tested', false),
+          ('qa-zfs', 'ZFS pool scrub baseline passed', false)
+        `;
+      }
+      console.log("✅ Database schema initialized successfully");
+      return;
+    } catch (err: any) {
+      console.warn(`⚠️ Database init attempt ${i + 1}/${retries} failed: ${err.message}`);
+      if (i < retries - 1) {
+        await new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, delayMs));
+      } else {
+        console.error("❌ Could not initialize database schema after retries:", err.message);
+      }
+    }
   }
-  console.log("✅ Database schema initialized");
 }