diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index 9a573fe..9b8c3a6 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -47,6 +47,16 @@ services:
     depends_on:
       qdrant:
         condition: service_healthy
+    # Backend startup loads spaCy (NLP extra), initializes mem0 v2, mounts MCP,
+    # and warms 4 workers — needs ~30-60s. start_period below keeps healthcheck
+    # failures from counting (and from triggering willfarrell/autoheal) during
+    # boot.
+    healthcheck:
+      test: ["CMD", "curl", "-f", "http://localhost:8000/health"]
+      interval: 30s
+      timeout: 10s
+      retries: 5
+      start_period: 90s
     restart: unless-stopped
     volumes:
       - ./backend:/app