diff --git a/backend/admin/router.py b/backend/admin/router.py
index 450c30a..6af0cf6 100644
--- a/backend/admin/router.py
+++ b/backend/admin/router.py
@@ -44,15 +44,17 @@ async def deploy(request: Request):
 
     project_path = settings.deploy_project_path
     cmd = (
+        f"sleep 3 && "
         f"git config --global --add safe.directory {project_path} && "
         f"cd {project_path} && "
         f"git fetch origin main && "
         f"git reset --hard origin/main && "
         f"docker-compose up -d --build"
+        f" > /proc/1/fd/1 2>&1"
     )
 
-    # Fire and forget — run deploy in background so we can respond before
-    # the container restarts (which would kill this very process).
+    # Fire and forget — sleep gives uvicorn time to flush the HTTP response
+    # before docker-compose tears down and restarts this container.
     await asyncio.create_subprocess_shell(
         cmd,
         stdout=asyncio.subprocess.DEVNULL,
@@ -60,5 +62,5 @@ async def deploy(request: Request):
         start_new_session=True,
     )
 
-    logger.info("Auto-deploy started in background")
+    logger.info("Auto-deploy queued (starts in 3s)")
     return {"ok": True, "message": "Deploy started"}