diff --git a/9router-watchdog.sh b/9router-watchdog.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..852339c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/9router-watchdog.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+# 9router-watchdog.sh — local health monitor + auto-restart.
+#
+# Runs from cron (e.g. every minute). Checks the 9router API endpoint;
+# if it does NOT respond with HTTP 200, the service is (re)started via
+# start-9router.sh.
+#
+# Uses absolute paths because cron has a minimal PATH.
+# Run as root (so it can drop privileges via runuser inside start-9router.sh).
+
+CURL=/usr/bin/curl
+WRAPPER=/usr/local/bin/start-9router.sh
+URL=http://127.0.0.1:20128/v1/models
+LOG=/home/ardhi/9router.log
+
+# If the wrapper is missing, nothing we can do.
+[ -x "$WRAPPER" ] || exit 0
+
+# Probe the API. -f makes curl exit non-zero on HTTP >= 400.
+if "$CURL" -fs -m 5 -o /dev/null "$URL" 2>/dev/null; then
+  # Healthy — nothing to do.
+  exit 0
+fi
+
+# Unhealthy (no response / non-200) → restart.
+echo "[$(date '+%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S')] watchdog: 9router not healthy, restarting" >> "$LOG" 2>/dev/null
+"$WRAPPER"
+exit 0
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 75012e4..ec6502a 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -23,12 +23,38 @@ This project solves all three with a tiny **wrapper script** + an **adaptive cro
 
 ---
 
+## Optional: local watchdog (auto-restart if it dies)
+
+`@reboot` starts the service at boot but does **not** restart it if the parent
+`-t` process later dies. Add a local watchdog that probes the API every minute
+and restarts 9router if it isn't healthy.
+
+`9router-watchdog.sh` checks `http://127.0.0.1:20128/v1/models` — if it does **not**
+return HTTP 200, it calls `start-9router.sh` again. Run it from root's crontab:
+
+```bash
+# root crontab — every minute
+* * * * * /usr/local/bin/9router-watchdog.sh
+```
+
+Or just run `sudo ./install.sh` (it registers both the `@reboot` job and the
+per-minute watchdog for you).
+
+Notes:
+- The check is a real HTTP 200 probe (not just "is the port open"), so a hung
+  Next.js process that still holds the port will also be detected and restarted.
+- Max recovery delay is ~1 minute (the cron interval).
+- The watchdog runs **locally** on the same machine — no external monitoring infra needed.
+
+---
+
 ## Files
 
 | File | Purpose |
 |------|---------|
 | `start-9router.sh` | Detached launcher. Drops to `ardhi` if run as root, runs directly if already `ardhi`. Uses absolute paths (cron `@reboot` has a minimal `PATH`). |
-| `install.sh` | One-shot setup: installs the wrapper, fixes log ownership, and registers the `@reboot` cron as **root**. |
+| `9router-watchdog.sh` | Local health monitor. Probes `/v1/models`; restarts via the wrapper if not HTTP 200. |
+| `install.sh` | One-shot setup: installs both scripts, fixes log ownership, and registers the `@reboot` cron + per-minute watchdog as **root**. |
 | `README.md` | This file. |
 
 ---
diff --git a/install.sh b/install.sh
index 5ca4e2e..c425cd4 100755
--- a/install.sh
+++ b/install.sh
@@ -5,20 +5,27 @@ set -e
 
 WRAPPER_SRC="./start-9router.sh"
 WRAPPER_DST="/usr/local/bin/start-9router.sh"
+WATCHDOG_SRC="./9router-watchdog.sh"
+WATCHDOG_DST="/usr/local/bin/9router-watchdog.sh"
 LOG="/home/ardhi/9router.log"
 USER="ardhi"
 
 echo "==> Installing wrapper to $WRAPPER_DST"
 install -m 0755 "$WRAPPER_SRC" "$WRAPPER_DST"
 
+echo "==> Installing watchdog to $WATCHDOG_DST"
+install -m 0755 "$WATCHDOG_SRC" "$WATCHDOG_DST"
+
 echo "==> Preparing log file ($LOG) owned by $USER"
 touch "$LOG"
 chown "$USER:$USER" "$LOG"
 chmod 644 "$LOG"
 
-echo "==> Registering @reboot cron as ROOT"
-# Must be root's crontab (wrapper uses runuser to drop privileges).
-( crontab -l 2>/dev/null | grep -v 'start-9router.sh'; echo "@reboot $WRAPPER_DST" ) | crontab -
+echo "==> Registering @reboot cron + watchdog as ROOT"
+# Must be root's crontab (wrapper/watchdog use runuser to drop privileges).
+( crontab -l 2>/dev/null | grep -v 'start-9router.sh'; grep -v '9router-watchdog.sh'; \
+  echo "@reboot $WRAPPER_DST"; \
+  echo "* * * * * $WATCHDOG_DST" ) | crontab -
 
 echo "==> Ensuring cron daemon is active"
 systemctl enable cron >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
@@ -30,3 +37,4 @@ systemctl disable 9router >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
 echo "==> Done. Reboot to verify:"
 echo "      ss -ltnp | grep 20128"
 echo "      curl -s -o /dev/null -w '%{http_code}' http://127.0.0.1:20128/v1/models"
+echo "==> Watchdog runs every minute (cron) and restarts if /v1/models != 200."