diff --git a/src/status-box.js b/src/status-box.js
index a1106f7..c186214 100644
--- a/src/status-box.js
+++ b/src/status-box.js
@@ -311,6 +311,10 @@ class StatusBox extends EventEmitter {
         });
       });
 
+      req.setTimeout(30000, () => {
+        req.destroy(new Error('HTTP request timed out after 30s'));
+      });
+
       req.on('error', reject);
       if (bodyStr) req.write(bodyStr);
       req.end();
diff --git a/src/status-watcher.js b/src/status-watcher.js
index ce7e8e5..e8c3a20 100644
--- a/src/status-watcher.js
+++ b/src/status-watcher.js
@@ -83,6 +83,9 @@ class StatusWatcher extends EventEmitter {
       children: [],
       idleTimer: null,
       _lineBuffer: '',
+      _lockActive: false,
+      _lockExists: undefined,
+      _lockPollTimer: null,
     };
 
     this.sessions.set(sessionKey, state);
@@ -99,6 +102,9 @@ class StatusWatcher extends EventEmitter {
 
     // Start file polling as fallback (fs.watch may not work on bind mounts in Docker)
     this._startFilePoll(sessionKey, state);
+
+    // Start lock file poll fallback (inotify misses on Docker bind mounts)
+    this._startLockPoll(sessionKey, state);
   }
 
   /**
@@ -131,6 +137,60 @@ class StatusWatcher extends EventEmitter {
     }
   }
 
+  /**
+   * Start polling a lock file for changes (fallback for fs.watch on Docker bind mounts).
+   * Idempotent with fs.watch — if fs.watch already fired, _lockActive is already updated
+   * and no duplicate events are emitted.
+   * @private
+   */
+  _startLockPoll(sessionKey, state) {
+    var self = this;
+    var lockFile = state.transcriptFile + '.lock';
+
+    state._lockPollTimer = setInterval(function () {
+      try {
+        var exists = fs.existsSync(lockFile);
+
+        // First poll: just initialize state, don't emit
+        if (state._lockExists === undefined) {
+          state._lockExists = exists;
+          return;
+        }
+
+        var changed = exists !== state._lockExists;
+        state._lockExists = exists;
+
+        if (!changed) return;
+
+        if (exists) {
+          // Lock file appeared — session activated by user message
+          if (!state._lockActive) {
+            state._lockActive = true;
+            if (self.logger) {
+              self.logger.info({ sessionKey }, 'Lock poll: lock file appeared — emitting session-lock');
+            }
+            self.emit('session-lock', sessionKey);
+          }
+        } else {
+          // Lock file disappeared — turn complete
+          if (state._lockActive) {
+            state._lockActive = false;
+            if (self.logger) {
+              self.logger.info({ sessionKey }, 'Lock poll: lock file removed — emitting session-lock-released');
+            }
+            self.emit('session-lock-released', sessionKey);
+          }
+        }
+      } catch (_e) {
+        // Ignore stat errors (file/dir may not exist yet)
+      }
+    }, 1000);
+
+    if (self.logger) {
+      self.logger.info({ sessionKey }, 'Lock poll timer started');
+    }
+  }
+
   /**
    * Remove a session from watching.
    * @param {string} sessionKey
@@ -141,6 +201,7 @@ class StatusWatcher extends EventEmitter {
 
     if (state.idleTimer) clearTimeout(state.idleTimer);
     if (state._filePollTimer) clearInterval(state._filePollTimer);
+    if (state._lockPollTimer) clearInterval(state._lockPollTimer);
 
     // Keep fileToSession mapping alive so fs.watch still fires for this file.
     // Mark it as a "ghost" — changes trigger 'session-file-changed' so the
@@ -212,6 +273,10 @@ class StatusWatcher extends EventEmitter {
         clearInterval(state._filePollTimer);
         state._filePollTimer = null;
       }
+      if (state._lockPollTimer) {
+        clearInterval(state._lockPollTimer);
+        state._lockPollTimer = null;
+      }
     }
     if (this.logger) this.logger.info('StatusWatcher stopped');
   }
@@ -237,6 +302,12 @@ class StatusWatcher extends EventEmitter {
         // Lock file CREATED — gateway started processing user message.
         // Earliest possible signal: fires before any JSONL write.
         if (sessionKey) {
+          const sessionState = this.sessions.get(sessionKey);
+          // Sync _lockActive so poll fallback stays idempotent
+          if (sessionState && !sessionState._lockActive) {
+            sessionState._lockActive = true;
+            sessionState._lockExists = true;
+          }
           if (this.logger) this.logger.info({ sessionKey }, 'Lock file created — session active, triggering early reactivation');
           this.emit('session-lock', sessionKey);
         } else {
@@ -246,6 +317,12 @@ class StatusWatcher extends EventEmitter {
         // Lock file DELETED — gateway finished the turn and sent final reply.
         // Immediate idle signal: no need to wait for cache-ttl or 60s timeout.
         if (sessionKey) {
+          const sessionState = this.sessions.get(sessionKey);
+          // Sync _lockActive so poll fallback stays idempotent
+          if (sessionState && sessionState._lockActive) {
+            sessionState._lockActive = false;
+            sessionState._lockExists = false;
+          }
           if (this.logger) this.logger.info({ sessionKey }, 'Lock file deleted — turn complete, marking session done immediately');
           this.emit('session-lock-released', sessionKey);
         } else {
diff --git a/src/watcher-manager.js b/src/watcher-manager.js
index 01b38e2..76b0f2b 100644
--- a/src/watcher-manager.js
+++ b/src/watcher-manager.js
@@ -462,11 +462,17 @@ async function startDaemon() {
         }),
         start_time_ms: state.startTime,
       }).catch(function (err) {
-        // If plugin rejects (e.g. session not found), fall back to REST for this session
-        logger.warn({ sessionKey, err: err.message }, 'Plugin update failed — falling back to REST');
-        box.usePlugin = false;
-        var fallbackText = buildStatusText(box, state, activeBoxes, watcher, sessionKey);
-        sharedStatusBox.updatePost(box.postId, fallbackText).catch(function () {});
+        // Only permanently disable plugin mode for hard failures (non-retryable errors).
+        // 429 and 5xx are transient — keep plugin mode and retry on next update.
+        if (err.statusCode === 429 || (err.statusCode >= 500 && err.statusCode < 600)) {
+          logger.warn({ sessionKey, statusCode: err.statusCode }, 'Plugin API transient error — keeping plugin mode, will retry next update');
+          // do NOT set box.usePlugin = false
+        } else {
+          logger.warn({ sessionKey, err: err.message }, 'Plugin API hard failure — falling back to REST');
+          box.usePlugin = false;
+          var fallbackText = buildStatusText(box, state, activeBoxes, watcher, sessionKey);
+          sharedStatusBox.updatePost(box.postId, fallbackText).catch(function () {});
+        }
       });
     } else {
       // REST API fallback: format text and PUT update post