diff --git a/dashboard/src/dashboard/BotCard.tsx b/dashboard/src/dashboard/BotCard.tsx
index fc458df..93a624c 100644
--- a/dashboard/src/dashboard/BotCard.tsx
+++ b/dashboard/src/dashboard/BotCard.tsx
@@ -1,11 +1,12 @@
 import { useState } from 'react';
-import type { Bot, BotStatus } from '../types';
+import type { Bot } from '../types';
 import { StatusLight } from '../ui/StatusLight';
 import { Button } from '../ui/Button';
 import { Badge } from '../ui/Badge';
 import { Panel } from '../ui/Panel';
 import { TokenDisplay } from '../ui/TokenDisplay';
 import { BotLink } from '../ui/BotLink';
+import { getEffectiveStatus } from '../utils/bot-status';
 import './BotCard.css';
 
 interface BotCardProps {
@@ -16,23 +17,6 @@ interface BotCardProps {
   loading: boolean;
 }
 
-function getEffectiveStatus(bot: Bot): BotStatus {
-  const containerState = bot.container_status?.state;
-  if (containerState === 'running') {
-    // Check if recently started (within 8 seconds)
-    const startedAt = bot.container_status?.startedAt;
-    if (startedAt) {
-      const elapsed = Date.now() - new Date(startedAt).getTime();
-      if (elapsed < 8000) return 'starting';
-    }
-    return 'running';
-  }
-  if (containerState === 'exited' || containerState === 'dead') {
-    return bot.container_status?.exitCode === 0 ? 'stopped' : 'error';
-  }
-  return bot.status;
-}
-
 function formatDate(dateString: string): string {
   return new Date(dateString).toLocaleDateString(undefined, {
     month: 'short',
diff --git a/dashboard/src/dashboard/DashboardTab.tsx b/dashboard/src/dashboard/DashboardTab.tsx
index 25a94d5..43cbad1 100644
--- a/dashboard/src/dashboard/DashboardTab.tsx
+++ b/dashboard/src/dashboard/DashboardTab.tsx
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ import { useMemo } from 'react';
 import type { Bot, BotStatus } from '../types';
 import { StatusSection } from './StatusSection';
 import { EmptyState } from './EmptyState';
+import { getEffectiveStatus } from '../utils/bot-status';
 import './DashboardTab.css';
 
 interface DashboardTabProps {
@@ -15,23 +16,6 @@ interface DashboardTabProps {
   error: string;
 }
 
-function getEffectiveStatus(bot: Bot): BotStatus {
-  const containerState = bot.container_status?.state;
-  if (containerState === 'running') {
-    // Check if recently started (within 8 seconds)
-    const startedAt = bot.container_status?.startedAt;
-    if (startedAt) {
-      const elapsed = Date.now() - new Date(startedAt).getTime();
-      if (elapsed < 8000) return 'starting';
-    }
-    return 'running';
-  }
-  if (containerState === 'exited' || containerState === 'dead') {
-    return bot.container_status?.exitCode === 0 ? 'stopped' : 'error';
-  }
-  return bot.status;
-}
-
 export function DashboardTab({
   bots,
   onStart,
diff --git a/dashboard/src/types.ts b/dashboard/src/types.ts
index d0dd984..4deea7f 100644
--- a/dashboard/src/types.ts
+++ b/dashboard/src/types.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 export type BotStatus = 'created' | 'starting' | 'running' | 'stopped' | 'error';
 
+export type HealthStatus = 'none' | 'starting' | 'healthy' | 'unhealthy';
+
 export interface ContainerStatus {
   id: string;
   state: string;
@@ -7,6 +9,7 @@ export interface ContainerStatus {
   exitCode: number;
   startedAt: string;
   finishedAt: string;
+  health: HealthStatus;
 }
 
 export interface Bot {
diff --git a/dashboard/src/utils/bot-status.ts b/dashboard/src/utils/bot-status.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ad99173
--- /dev/null
+++ b/dashboard/src/utils/bot-status.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+import type { Bot, BotStatus } from '../types';
+
+/**
+ * Derives the effective bot status from database status and live container state.
+ * 
+ * Uses Docker health check status to determine if a running container is ready:
+ * - health='starting' → bot is initializing
+ * - health='healthy' → bot is ready
+ * - health='unhealthy' → bot has failed health checks
+ * - health='none' → legacy container without health check (treat as running)
+ */
+export function getEffectiveStatus(bot: Bot): BotStatus {
+  const containerState = bot.container_status?.state;
+  
+  if (containerState === 'running') {
+    // Use Docker health check status to determine if bot is ready
+    const health = bot.container_status?.health;
+    if (health === 'starting') {
+      return 'starting';
+    }
+    if (health === 'unhealthy') {
+      return 'error';
+    }
+    // 'healthy' or 'none' (no healthcheck configured) = running
+    return 'running';
+  }
+  
+  if (containerState === 'exited' || containerState === 'dead') {
+    return bot.container_status?.exitCode === 0 ? 'stopped' : 'error';
+  }
+  
+  // Fallback to database status
+  return bot.status;
+}
diff --git a/src/services/DockerService.ts b/src/services/DockerService.ts
index 193eef8..9711140 100644
--- a/src/services/DockerService.ts
+++ b/src/services/DockerService.ts
@@ -55,6 +55,13 @@ export class DockerService {
           [LABEL_BOT_ID]: botId,
           [LABEL_BOT_HOSTNAME]: hostname
         },
+        Healthcheck: {
+          Test: ['CMD', 'curl', '-sf', `http://localhost:${config.port}/`],
+          Interval: 2_000_000_000,  // 2s in nanoseconds
+          Timeout: 3_000_000_000,   // 3s in nanoseconds
+          Retries: 30,
+          StartPeriod: 5_000_000_000,  // 5s in nanoseconds
+        },
         HostConfig: {
           Binds: [
             `${config.hostSecretsPath}:/run/secrets:ro`,
@@ -182,13 +189,21 @@ export class DockerService {
       const container = this.docker.getContainer(containerName);
       const info = await container.inspect();
 
+      // Extract health status from Docker's Health field
+      const healthState = info.State.Health?.Status;
+      let health: ContainerStatus['health'] = 'none';
+      if (healthState === 'starting') health = 'starting';
+      else if (healthState === 'healthy') health = 'healthy';
+      else if (healthState === 'unhealthy') health = 'unhealthy';
+
       return {
         id: info.Id,
         state: info.State.Status as ContainerStatus['state'],
         running: info.State.Running,
         exitCode: info.State.ExitCode,
         startedAt: info.State.StartedAt,
-        finishedAt: info.State.FinishedAt
+        finishedAt: info.State.FinishedAt,
+        health
       };
     } catch (err) {
       const dockerErr = err as { statusCode?: number };
diff --git a/src/types/container.ts b/src/types/container.ts
index bff5ad4..3c44c3c 100644
--- a/src/types/container.ts
+++ b/src/types/container.ts
@@ -14,6 +14,9 @@ export type ContainerState =
   | 'removing'
   | 'dead';
 
+/** Docker health check status */
+export type HealthStatus = 'none' | 'starting' | 'healthy' | 'unhealthy';
+
 /** Container status from Docker inspect */
 export interface ContainerStatus {
   id: string;
@@ -22,6 +25,7 @@ export interface ContainerStatus {
   exitCode: number;
   startedAt: string;
   finishedAt: string;
+  health: HealthStatus;
 }
 
 /** Container info from Docker list (human-readable) */