diff --git a/plugin/hooks/hooks.json b/plugin/hooks/hooks.json
index 09c5acd0..f12600e0 100644
--- a/plugin/hooks/hooks.json
+++ b/plugin/hooks/hooks.json
@@ -24,12 +24,12 @@
           },
           {
             "type": "command",
-            "command": "_R=\"${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}\"; [ -z \"$_R\" ] && _R=\"$HOME/.claude/plugins/marketplaces/thedotmack/plugin\"; node \"$_R/scripts/bun-runner.js\" \"$_R/scripts/worker-service.cjs\" start",
+            "command": "_R=\"${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}\"; [ -z \"$_R\" ] && _R=\"$HOME/.claude/plugins/marketplaces/thedotmack/plugin\"; node \"$_R/scripts/bun-runner.js\" \"$_R/scripts/worker-service.cjs\" start; for i in 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8; do curl -sf http://localhost:37777/health >/dev/null 2>&1 && break; sleep 1; done; curl -sf http://localhost:37777/health >/dev/null 2>&1 || exit 1; echo '{\"continue\":true,\"suppressOutput\":true}'",
             "timeout": 60
           },
           {
             "type": "command",
-            "command": "_R=\"${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}\"; [ -z \"$_R\" ] && _R=\"$HOME/.claude/plugins/marketplaces/thedotmack/plugin\"; node \"$_R/scripts/bun-runner.js\" \"$_R/scripts/worker-service.cjs\" hook claude-code context",
+            "command": "_R=\"${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}\"; [ -z \"$_R\" ] && _R=\"$HOME/.claude/plugins/marketplaces/thedotmack/plugin\"; for i in 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8; do curl -sf http://localhost:37777/health >/dev/null 2>&1 && break; sleep 1; done; node \"$_R/scripts/bun-runner.js\" \"$_R/scripts/worker-service.cjs\" hook claude-code context",
             "timeout": 60
           }
         ]
diff --git a/plugin/scripts/bun-runner.js b/plugin/scripts/bun-runner.js
index 8135718b..0fb34282 100644
--- a/plugin/scripts/bun-runner.js
+++ b/plugin/scripts/bun-runner.js
@@ -174,6 +174,12 @@ child.on('error', (err) => {
   process.exit(1);
 });
 
-child.on('close', (code) => {
+child.on('close', (code, signal) => {
+  // Fix #1505: When the "start" subcommand forks a daemon, the parent bun
+  // process may be killed by signal (e.g. SIGKILL, exit code 137). The daemon
+  // is running fine — treat signal-based exits for "start" as success.
+  if (signal || (code > 128 && args.includes('start'))) {
+    process.exit(0);
+  }
   process.exit(code || 0);
 });