diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
index cae6aa873..b15185198 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -29,10 +29,10 @@ jobs:
           persist-credentials: false
 
       - name: Generate FreeBSD port diff
-        run: bash release_files/freebsd-port-diff.sh
+        run: bash -x release_files/freebsd-port-diff.sh
 
       - name: Generate FreeBSD port issue body
-        run: bash release_files/freebsd-port-issue-body.sh
+        run: bash -x release_files/freebsd-port-issue-body.sh
 
       - name: Check if diff was generated
         id: check_diff
diff --git a/.github/workflows/wasm-build-validation.yml b/.github/workflows/wasm-build-validation.yml
index dd39d979d..318a127dd 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/wasm-build-validation.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/wasm-build-validation.yml
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ jobs:
 
           echo "Size: ${SIZE} bytes (${SIZE_MB} MB)"
 
-          if [ ${SIZE} -gt 58720256 ]; then
-            echo "Wasm binary size (${SIZE_MB}MB) exceeds 56MB limit!"
+          if [ ${SIZE} -gt 62914560 ]; then
+            echo "Wasm binary size (${SIZE_MB}MB) exceeds 60MB limit!"
             exit 1
           fi
diff --git a/client/cmd/debug.go b/client/cmd/debug.go
index 2a8cdc887..02a742b28 100644
--- a/client/cmd/debug.go
+++ b/client/cmd/debug.go
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/netbirdio/netbird/client/server"
 	mgmProto "github.com/netbirdio/netbird/shared/management/proto"
 	"github.com/netbirdio/netbird/upload-server/types"
+	"github.com/netbirdio/netbird/version"
 )
 
 const errCloseConnection = "Failed to close connection: %v"
@@ -100,6 +101,7 @@ func debugBundle(cmd *cobra.Command, _ []string) error {
 		Anonymize:    anonymizeFlag,
 		SystemInfo:   systemInfoFlag,
 		LogFileCount: logFileCount,
+		CliVersion:   version.NetbirdVersion(),
 	}
 	if uploadBundleFlag {
 		request.UploadURL = uploadBundleURLFlag
@@ -298,6 +300,7 @@ func runForDuration(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 		Anonymize:    anonymizeFlag,
 		SystemInfo:   systemInfoFlag,
 		LogFileCount: logFileCount,
+		CliVersion:   version.NetbirdVersion(),
 	}
 	if uploadBundleFlag {
 		request.UploadURL = uploadBundleURLFlag
@@ -432,6 +435,7 @@ func generateDebugBundle(config *profilemanager.Config, recorder *peer.Status, c
 			SyncResponse:   syncResponse,
 			LogPath:        logFilePath,
 			CPUProfile:     nil,
+			DaemonVersion:  version.NetbirdVersion(), // acting as daemon
 		},
 		debug.BundleConfig{
 			IncludeSystemInfo: true,
diff --git a/client/cmd/service_controller.go b/client/cmd/service_controller.go
index 88121c067..8de147946 100644
--- a/client/cmd/service_controller.go
+++ b/client/cmd/service_controller.go
@@ -102,7 +102,7 @@ func (p *program) Stop(srv service.Service) error {
 }
 
 // Common setup for service control commands
-func setupServiceControlCommand(cmd *cobra.Command, ctx context.Context, cancel context.CancelFunc) (service.Service, error) {
+func setupServiceControlCommand(cmd *cobra.Command, ctx context.Context, cancel context.CancelFunc, consoleLog bool) (service.Service, error) {
 	// rootCmd env vars are already applied by PersistentPreRunE.
 	SetFlagsFromEnvVars(serviceCmd)
 
@@ -112,8 +112,14 @@ func setupServiceControlCommand(cmd *cobra.Command, ctx context.Context, cancel
 		return nil, err
 	}
 
-	if err := util.InitLog(logLevel, logFiles...); err != nil {
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("init log: %w", err)
+	if consoleLog {
+		if err := util.InitLog(logLevel, util.LogConsole); err != nil {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("init log: %w", err)
+		}
+	} else {
+		if err := util.InitLog(logLevel, logFiles...); err != nil {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("init log: %w", err)
+		}
 	}
 
 	cfg, err := newSVCConfig()
@@ -138,7 +144,7 @@ var runCmd = &cobra.Command{
 		SetupCloseHandler(ctx, cancel)
 		SetupDebugHandler(ctx, nil, nil, nil, util.FindFirstLogPath(logFiles))
 
-		s, err := setupServiceControlCommand(cmd, ctx, cancel)
+		s, err := setupServiceControlCommand(cmd, ctx, cancel, false)
 		if err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
@@ -152,7 +158,7 @@ var startCmd = &cobra.Command{
 	Short: "starts NetBird service",
 	RunE: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 		ctx, cancel := context.WithCancel(cmd.Context())
-		s, err := setupServiceControlCommand(cmd, ctx, cancel)
+		s, err := setupServiceControlCommand(cmd, ctx, cancel, false)
 		if err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
@@ -170,7 +176,7 @@ var stopCmd = &cobra.Command{
 	Short: "stops NetBird service",
 	RunE: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 		ctx, cancel := context.WithCancel(cmd.Context())
-		s, err := setupServiceControlCommand(cmd, ctx, cancel)
+		s, err := setupServiceControlCommand(cmd, ctx, cancel, false)
 		if err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
@@ -188,7 +194,7 @@ var restartCmd = &cobra.Command{
 	Short: "restarts NetBird service",
 	RunE: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 		ctx, cancel := context.WithCancel(cmd.Context())
-		s, err := setupServiceControlCommand(cmd, ctx, cancel)
+		s, err := setupServiceControlCommand(cmd, ctx, cancel, false)
 		if err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
@@ -206,7 +212,7 @@ var svcStatusCmd = &cobra.Command{
 	Short: "shows NetBird service status",
 	RunE: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 		ctx, cancel := context.WithCancel(cmd.Context())
-		s, err := setupServiceControlCommand(cmd, ctx, cancel)
+		s, err := setupServiceControlCommand(cmd, ctx, cancel, true)
 		if err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
diff --git a/client/internal/debug/debug.go b/client/internal/debug/debug.go
index ebaf71b21..9ab18dd80 100644
--- a/client/internal/debug/debug.go
+++ b/client/internal/debug/debug.go
@@ -254,6 +254,8 @@ type BundleGenerator struct {
 	capturePath    string
 	refreshStatus  func() // Optional callback to refresh status before bundle generation
 	clientMetrics  MetricsExporter
+	daemonVersion  string
+	cliVersion     string
 
 	anonymize         bool
 	includeSystemInfo bool
@@ -278,6 +280,8 @@ type GeneratorDependencies struct {
 	CapturePath    string
 	RefreshStatus  func()
 	ClientMetrics  MetricsExporter
+	DaemonVersion  string
+	CliVersion     string
 }
 
 func NewBundleGenerator(deps GeneratorDependencies, cfg BundleConfig) *BundleGenerator {
@@ -299,6 +303,8 @@ func NewBundleGenerator(deps GeneratorDependencies, cfg BundleConfig) *BundleGen
 		capturePath:    deps.CapturePath,
 		refreshStatus:  deps.RefreshStatus,
 		clientMetrics:  deps.ClientMetrics,
+		daemonVersion:  deps.DaemonVersion,
+		cliVersion:     deps.CliVersion,
 
 		anonymize:         cfg.Anonymize,
 		includeSystemInfo: cfg.IncludeSystemInfo,
@@ -459,9 +465,11 @@ func (g *BundleGenerator) addStatus() error {
 		protoFullStatus := nbstatus.ToProtoFullStatus(fullStatus)
 		protoFullStatus.Events = g.statusRecorder.GetEventHistory()
 		overview := nbstatus.ConvertToStatusOutputOverview(protoFullStatus, nbstatus.ConvertOptions{
-			Anonymize:   g.anonymize,
-			ProfileName: profName,
+			Anonymize:     g.anonymize,
+			ProfileName:   profName,
+			DaemonVersion: g.daemonVersion,
 		})
+		overview.CliVersion = g.cliVersion
 		statusOutput := overview.FullDetailSummary()
 
 		statusReader := strings.NewReader(statusOutput)
@@ -798,6 +806,8 @@ func (g *BundleGenerator) addSyncResponse() error {
 		AllowPartial:    true,
 	}
 
+	g.maskSecrets()
+
 	jsonBytes, err := options.Marshal(g.syncResponse)
 	if err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("generate json: %w", err)
@@ -810,6 +820,27 @@ func (g *BundleGenerator) addSyncResponse() error {
 	return nil
 }
 
+func (g *BundleGenerator) maskSecrets() {
+	if g.syncResponse == nil || g.syncResponse.NetbirdConfig == nil {
+		return
+	}
+
+	if g.syncResponse.NetbirdConfig.Flow != nil {
+		g.syncResponse.NetbirdConfig.Flow.TokenPayload = maskedValue
+
+	}
+
+	if g.syncResponse.NetbirdConfig.Relay != nil {
+		g.syncResponse.NetbirdConfig.Relay.TokenPayload = maskedValue
+	}
+
+	for i := range g.syncResponse.NetbirdConfig.Turns {
+		if g.syncResponse.NetbirdConfig.Turns[i] != nil {
+			g.syncResponse.NetbirdConfig.Turns[i].Password = maskedValue
+		}
+	}
+}
+
 func (g *BundleGenerator) addStateFile() error {
 	sm := profilemanager.NewServiceManager("")
 	path := sm.GetStatePath()
@@ -1039,7 +1070,8 @@ func (g *BundleGenerator) addRotatedLogFiles(logDir string) {
 		return
 	}
 
-	pattern := filepath.Join(logDir, "client-*.log.gz")
+	// This regex will match both logs rotated by us and logrotate on linux
+	pattern := filepath.Join(logDir, "client*.log.*")
 	files, err := filepath.Glob(pattern)
 	if err != nil {
 		log.Warnf("failed to glob rotated logs: %v", err)
@@ -1072,7 +1104,12 @@ func (g *BundleGenerator) addRotatedLogFiles(logDir string) {
 
 	for i := 0; i < maxFiles; i++ {
 		name := filepath.Base(files[i])
-		if err := g.addSingleLogFileGz(files[i], name); err != nil {
+		if strings.HasSuffix(name, ".gz") {
+			err = g.addSingleLogFileGz(files[i], name)
+		} else {
+			err = g.addSingleLogfile(files[i], name)
+		}
+		if err != nil {
 			log.Warnf("failed to add rotated log %s: %v", name, err)
 		}
 	}
diff --git a/client/internal/debug/debug_logfiles_test.go b/client/internal/debug/debug_logfiles_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..f6473f979
--- /dev/null
+++ b/client/internal/debug/debug_logfiles_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,103 @@
+package debug
+
+import (
+	"archive/zip"
+	"bytes"
+	"compress/gzip"
+	"io"
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
+)
+
+// TestAddRotatedLogFiles_PicksUpAllVariants asserts that the rotated-log
+// glob picks up logs rotated by timberjack (gzipped) and by logrotate (plain
+// and gzipped), and skips unrelated files.
+func TestAddRotatedLogFiles_PicksUpAllVariants(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+
+	writeFile(t, filepath.Join(dir, "client.log"), "active log\n")
+	writeFile(t, filepath.Join(dir, "other.log"), "unrelated\n")
+
+	timberjackRotated := "client-2026-05-21T10-30-45.000.log.gz"
+	writeGzFile(t, filepath.Join(dir, timberjackRotated), "timberjack rotated content\n")
+
+	logrotatePlain := "client.log.1"
+	writeFile(t, filepath.Join(dir, logrotatePlain), "logrotate plain content\n")
+
+	logrotateGz := "client.log.2.gz"
+	writeGzFile(t, filepath.Join(dir, logrotateGz), "logrotate gz content\n")
+
+	names := runAddRotatedLogFiles(t, dir, 10)
+
+	require.Contains(t, names, timberjackRotated, "timberjack rotated file should be in bundle")
+	require.Contains(t, names, logrotatePlain, "logrotate plain rotated file should be in bundle")
+	require.Contains(t, names, logrotateGz, "logrotate gzipped rotated file should be in bundle")
+	require.NotContains(t, names, "client.log", "active log should not be added by addRotatedLogFiles")
+	require.NotContains(t, names, "other.log", "unrelated files should not be in bundle")
+}
+
+// TestAddRotatedLogFiles_RespectsLogFileCount asserts that only the newest
+// logFileCount rotated files are bundled, ordered by mtime.
+func TestAddRotatedLogFiles_RespectsLogFileCount(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+
+	oldest := filepath.Join(dir, "client.log.3")
+	middle := filepath.Join(dir, "client.log.2")
+	newest := filepath.Join(dir, "client.log.1")
+	writeFile(t, oldest, "old\n")
+	writeFile(t, middle, "mid\n")
+	writeFile(t, newest, "new\n")
+
+	now := time.Now()
+	require.NoError(t, os.Chtimes(oldest, now.Add(-2*time.Hour), now.Add(-2*time.Hour)))
+	require.NoError(t, os.Chtimes(middle, now.Add(-1*time.Hour), now.Add(-1*time.Hour)))
+	require.NoError(t, os.Chtimes(newest, now, now))
+
+	names := runAddRotatedLogFiles(t, dir, 2)
+
+	require.Contains(t, names, "client.log.1")
+	require.Contains(t, names, "client.log.2")
+	require.NotContains(t, names, "client.log.3", "oldest file should be dropped when logFileCount=2")
+}
+
+// runAddRotatedLogFiles calls addRotatedLogFiles against a fresh in-memory
+// zip writer and returns the set of entry names that ended up in the archive.
+func runAddRotatedLogFiles(t *testing.T, dir string, logFileCount uint32) map[string]struct{} {
+	t.Helper()
+
+	var buf bytes.Buffer
+	g := &BundleGenerator{
+		archive:      zip.NewWriter(&buf),
+		logFileCount: logFileCount,
+	}
+	g.addRotatedLogFiles(dir)
+	require.NoError(t, g.archive.Close())
+
+	zr, err := zip.NewReader(bytes.NewReader(buf.Bytes()), int64(buf.Len()))
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	names := make(map[string]struct{}, len(zr.File))
+	for _, f := range zr.File {
+		names[f.Name] = struct{}{}
+	}
+	return names
+}
+
+func writeFile(t *testing.T, path, content string) {
+	t.Helper()
+	require.NoError(t, os.WriteFile(path, []byte(content), 0o644))
+}
+
+func writeGzFile(t *testing.T, path, content string) {
+	t.Helper()
+	var buf bytes.Buffer
+	gw := gzip.NewWriter(&buf)
+	_, err := io.WriteString(gw, content)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	require.NoError(t, gw.Close())
+	require.NoError(t, os.WriteFile(path, buf.Bytes(), 0o644))
+}
diff --git a/client/internal/dns/server.go b/client/internal/dns/server.go
index 7a35e56d8..dcd4cb9d0 100644
--- a/client/internal/dns/server.go
+++ b/client/internal/dns/server.go
@@ -777,13 +777,24 @@ func (s *DefaultServer) applyHostConfig() {
 // context is released rather than leaked until GC.
 func (s *DefaultServer) registerFallback() {
 	originalNameservers := s.hostManager.getOriginalNameservers()
-	if len(originalNameservers) == 0 {
+
+	serverIP := s.service.RuntimeIP()
+	var servers []netip.AddrPort
+	for _, ns := range originalNameservers {
+		if ns == serverIP {
+			log.Debugf("skipping original nameserver %s as it is the same as the server IP %s", ns, serverIP)
+			continue
+		}
+		servers = append(servers, netip.AddrPortFrom(ns, DefaultPort))
+	}
+
+	if len(servers) == 0 {
 		log.Debugf("no fallback upstreams to register; clearing PriorityFallback handler")
 		s.clearFallback()
 		return
 	}
 
-	log.Infof("registering original nameservers %v as upstream handlers with priority %d", originalNameservers, PriorityFallback)
+	log.Infof("registering original nameservers %v as upstream handlers with priority %d", servers, PriorityFallback)
 
 	handler, err := newUpstreamResolver(
 		s.ctx,
@@ -797,11 +808,6 @@ func (s *DefaultServer) registerFallback() {
 		return
 	}
 	handler.selectedRoutes = s.selectedRoutes
-
-	var servers []netip.AddrPort
-	for _, ns := range originalNameservers {
-		servers = append(servers, netip.AddrPortFrom(ns, DefaultPort))
-	}
 	handler.addRace(servers)
 
 	prev := s.fallbackHandler
diff --git a/client/internal/engine.go b/client/internal/engine.go
index 7aa84e489..e4ca59ae8 100644
--- a/client/internal/engine.go
+++ b/client/internal/engine.go
@@ -72,6 +72,7 @@ import (
 	sProto "github.com/netbirdio/netbird/shared/signal/proto"
 	"github.com/netbirdio/netbird/util"
 	"github.com/netbirdio/netbird/util/capture"
+	"github.com/netbirdio/netbird/version"
 )
 
 // PeerConnectionTimeoutMax is a timeout of an initial connection attempt to a remote peer.
@@ -1072,6 +1073,7 @@ func (e *Engine) updateConfig(conf *mgmProto.PeerConfig) error {
 	state.PubKey = e.config.WgPrivateKey.PublicKey().String()
 	state.KernelInterface = !e.wgInterface.IsUserspaceBind()
 	state.FQDN = conf.GetFqdn()
+	state.WgPort = e.config.WgPort
 
 	e.statusRecorder.UpdateLocalPeerState(state)
 
@@ -1150,6 +1152,7 @@ func (e *Engine) handleBundle(params *mgmProto.BundleParameters) (*mgmProto.JobR
 		LogPath:        e.config.LogPath,
 		TempDir:        e.config.TempDir,
 		ClientMetrics:  e.clientMetrics,
+		DaemonVersion:  version.NetbirdVersion(),
 		RefreshStatus: func() {
 			e.RunHealthProbes(true)
 		},
diff --git a/client/internal/peer/status.go b/client/internal/peer/status.go
index c5fa4e9f9..b6c6c14ac 100644
--- a/client/internal/peer/status.go
+++ b/client/internal/peer/status.go
@@ -111,6 +111,7 @@ type LocalPeerState struct {
 	PubKey          string
 	KernelInterface bool
 	FQDN            string
+	WgPort          int
 	Routes          map[string]struct{}
 }
 
@@ -1357,6 +1358,7 @@ func (fs FullStatus) ToProto() *proto.FullStatus {
 	pbFullStatus.LocalPeerState.PubKey = fs.LocalPeerState.PubKey
 	pbFullStatus.LocalPeerState.KernelInterface = fs.LocalPeerState.KernelInterface
 	pbFullStatus.LocalPeerState.Fqdn = fs.LocalPeerState.FQDN
+	pbFullStatus.LocalPeerState.WgPort = int32(fs.LocalPeerState.WgPort)
 	pbFullStatus.LocalPeerState.RosenpassPermissive = fs.RosenpassState.Permissive
 	pbFullStatus.LocalPeerState.RosenpassEnabled = fs.RosenpassState.Enabled
 	pbFullStatus.NumberOfForwardingRules = int32(fs.NumOfForwardingRules)
diff --git a/client/internal/routemanager/manager.go b/client/internal/routemanager/manager.go
index 839ec14c0..f10a2b5e0 100644
--- a/client/internal/routemanager/manager.go
+++ b/client/internal/routemanager/manager.go
@@ -700,6 +700,13 @@ func resolveURLsToIPs(urls []string) []net.IP {
 
 // updateRouteSelectorFromManagement updates the route selector based on the isSelected status from the management server
 func (m *DefaultManager) updateRouteSelectorFromManagement(clientRoutes route.HAMap) {
+	// An explicit user "deselect all" must not be overridden by management auto-apply.
+	// Auto-applying an exit node here would call SelectRoutes, which clears the
+	// deselect-all flag and re-enables every route the user turned off.
+	if m.routeSelector.IsDeselectAll() {
+		return
+	}
+
 	exitNodeInfo := m.collectExitNodeInfo(clientRoutes)
 	if len(exitNodeInfo.allIDs) == 0 {
 		return
diff --git a/client/internal/routemanager/selector_management_test.go b/client/internal/routemanager/selector_management_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..04659db65
--- /dev/null
+++ b/client/internal/routemanager/selector_management_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,71 @@
+package routemanager
+
+import (
+	"net/netip"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
+
+	"github.com/netbirdio/netbird/client/internal/routeselector"
+	"github.com/netbirdio/netbird/route"
+)
+
+func exitNodeRoutes(netID route.NetID, skipAutoApply bool) route.HAMap {
+	haID := route.HAUniqueID(string(netID) + "|0.0.0.0/0")
+	return route.HAMap{
+		haID: []*route.Route{
+			{
+				ID:            "r-" + route.ID(netID),
+				NetID:         netID,
+				Network:       netip.MustParsePrefix("0.0.0.0/0"),
+				NetworkType:   route.IPv4Network,
+				Enabled:       true,
+				SkipAutoApply: skipAutoApply,
+			},
+		},
+	}
+}
+
+func TestUpdateRouteSelectorFromManagement(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Run("management auto-apply selects exit node without user selection", func(t *testing.T) {
+		m := &DefaultManager{routeSelector: routeselector.NewRouteSelector()}
+		routes := exitNodeRoutes("exit1", false)
+
+		m.updateRouteSelectorFromManagement(routes)
+
+		require.True(t, m.routeSelector.IsSelected("exit1"), "auto-apply exit node should be selected")
+		require.Len(t, m.routeSelector.FilterSelectedExitNodes(routes), 1, "selected exit node should pass the filter")
+	})
+
+	t.Run("management SkipAutoApply leaves exit node deselected", func(t *testing.T) {
+		m := &DefaultManager{routeSelector: routeselector.NewRouteSelector()}
+		routes := exitNodeRoutes("exit1", true)
+
+		m.updateRouteSelectorFromManagement(routes)
+
+		require.False(t, m.routeSelector.IsSelected("exit1"), "SkipAutoApply exit node should not be selected")
+		require.Empty(t, m.routeSelector.FilterSelectedExitNodes(routes), "deselected exit node should be filtered out")
+	})
+
+	t.Run("user selection is not overridden by management", func(t *testing.T) {
+		m := &DefaultManager{routeSelector: routeselector.NewRouteSelector()}
+		require.NoError(t, m.routeSelector.SelectRoutes([]route.NetID{"exit1"}, true, []route.NetID{"exit1"}))
+		routes := exitNodeRoutes("exit1", true)
+
+		m.updateRouteSelectorFromManagement(routes)
+
+		require.True(t, m.routeSelector.IsSelected("exit1"), "explicit user selection must survive a management sync that wants to skip auto-apply")
+		require.Len(t, m.routeSelector.FilterSelectedExitNodes(routes), 1, "user-selected exit node should pass the filter")
+	})
+
+	t.Run("deselect-all is preserved across a management sync", func(t *testing.T) {
+		m := &DefaultManager{routeSelector: routeselector.NewRouteSelector()}
+		m.routeSelector.DeselectAllRoutes()
+		routes := exitNodeRoutes("exit1", false)
+
+		m.updateRouteSelectorFromManagement(routes)
+
+		require.True(t, m.routeSelector.IsDeselectAll(), "an explicit deselect-all must not be cleared by management auto-apply")
+		require.Empty(t, m.routeSelector.FilterSelectedExitNodes(routes), "no routes should be selected while deselect-all is set")
+	})
+}
diff --git a/client/internal/routeselector/routeselector.go b/client/internal/routeselector/routeselector.go
index 2ddc24bf2..b9991cd37 100644
--- a/client/internal/routeselector/routeselector.go
+++ b/client/internal/routeselector/routeselector.go
@@ -116,6 +116,14 @@ func (rs *RouteSelector) DeselectAllRoutes() {
 	clear(rs.selectedRoutes)
 }
 
+// IsDeselectAll reports whether the user has explicitly deselected all routes.
+func (rs *RouteSelector) IsDeselectAll() bool {
+	rs.mu.RLock()
+	defer rs.mu.RUnlock()
+
+	return rs.deselectAll
+}
+
 // IsSelected checks if a specific route is selected.
 func (rs *RouteSelector) IsSelected(routeID route.NetID) bool {
 	rs.mu.RLock()
diff --git a/client/proto/daemon.pb.go b/client/proto/daemon.pb.go
index 2c054c99a..79fa1418a 100644
--- a/client/proto/daemon.pb.go
+++ b/client/proto/daemon.pb.go
@@ -1614,6 +1614,7 @@ type LocalPeerState struct {
 	RosenpassPermissive bool                   `protobuf:"varint,6,opt,name=rosenpassPermissive,proto3" json:"rosenpassPermissive,omitempty"`
 	Networks            []string               `protobuf:"bytes,7,rep,name=networks,proto3" json:"networks,omitempty"`
 	Ipv6                string                 `protobuf:"bytes,8,opt,name=ipv6,proto3" json:"ipv6,omitempty"`
+	WgPort              int32                  `protobuf:"varint,9,opt,name=wgPort,proto3" json:"wgPort,omitempty"`
 	unknownFields       protoimpl.UnknownFields
 	sizeCache           protoimpl.SizeCache
 }
@@ -1704,6 +1705,13 @@ func (x *LocalPeerState) GetIpv6() string {
 	return ""
 }
 
+func (x *LocalPeerState) GetWgPort() int32 {
+	if x != nil {
+		return x.WgPort
+	}
+	return 0
+}
+
 // SignalState contains the latest state of a signal connection
 type SignalState struct {
 	state         protoimpl.MessageState `protogen:"open.v1"`
@@ -2709,6 +2717,7 @@ type DebugBundleRequest struct {
 	SystemInfo    bool                   `protobuf:"varint,3,opt,name=systemInfo,proto3" json:"systemInfo,omitempty"`
 	UploadURL     string                 `protobuf:"bytes,4,opt,name=uploadURL,proto3" json:"uploadURL,omitempty"`
 	LogFileCount  uint32                 `protobuf:"varint,5,opt,name=logFileCount,proto3" json:"logFileCount,omitempty"`
+	CliVersion    string                 `protobuf:"bytes,6,opt,name=cliVersion,proto3" json:"cliVersion,omitempty"`
 	unknownFields protoimpl.UnknownFields
 	sizeCache     protoimpl.SizeCache
 }
@@ -2771,6 +2780,13 @@ func (x *DebugBundleRequest) GetLogFileCount() uint32 {
 	return 0
 }
 
+func (x *DebugBundleRequest) GetCliVersion() string {
+	if x != nil {
+		return x.CliVersion
+	}
+	return ""
+}
+
 type DebugBundleResponse struct {
 	state               protoimpl.MessageState `protogen:"open.v1"`
 	Path                string                 `protobuf:"bytes,1,opt,name=path,proto3" json:"path,omitempty"`
@@ -6389,7 +6405,7 @@ const file_daemon_proto_rawDesc = "" +
 	"\n" +
 	"sshHostKey\x18\x13 \x01(\fR\n" +
 	"sshHostKey\x12\x12\n" +
-	"\x04ipv6\x18\x14 \x01(\tR\x04ipv6\"\x84\x02\n" +
+	"\x04ipv6\x18\x14 \x01(\tR\x04ipv6\"\x9c\x02\n" +
 	"\x0eLocalPeerState\x12\x0e\n" +
 	"\x02IP\x18\x01 \x01(\tR\x02IP\x12\x16\n" +
 	"\x06pubKey\x18\x02 \x01(\tR\x06pubKey\x12(\n" +
@@ -6398,7 +6414,8 @@ const file_daemon_proto_rawDesc = "" +
 	"\x10rosenpassEnabled\x18\x05 \x01(\bR\x10rosenpassEnabled\x120\n" +
 	"\x13rosenpassPermissive\x18\x06 \x01(\bR\x13rosenpassPermissive\x12\x1a\n" +
 	"\bnetworks\x18\a \x03(\tR\bnetworks\x12\x12\n" +
-	"\x04ipv6\x18\b \x01(\tR\x04ipv6\"S\n" +
+	"\x04ipv6\x18\b \x01(\tR\x04ipv6\x12\x16\n" +
+	"\x06wgPort\x18\t \x01(\x05R\x06wgPort\"S\n" +
 	"\vSignalState\x12\x10\n" +
 	"\x03URL\x18\x01 \x01(\tR\x03URL\x12\x1c\n" +
 	"\tconnected\x18\x02 \x01(\bR\tconnected\x12\x14\n" +
@@ -6475,14 +6492,17 @@ const file_daemon_proto_rawDesc = "" +
 	"\x12translatedHostname\x18\x04 \x01(\tR\x12translatedHostname\x128\n" +
 	"\x0etranslatedPort\x18\x05 \x01(\v2\x10.daemon.PortInfoR\x0etranslatedPort\"G\n" +
 	"\x17ForwardingRulesResponse\x12,\n" +
-	"\x05rules\x18\x01 \x03(\v2\x16.daemon.ForwardingRuleR\x05rules\"\x94\x01\n" +
+	"\x05rules\x18\x01 \x03(\v2\x16.daemon.ForwardingRuleR\x05rules\"\xb4\x01\n" +
 	"\x12DebugBundleRequest\x12\x1c\n" +
 	"\tanonymize\x18\x01 \x01(\bR\tanonymize\x12\x1e\n" +
 	"\n" +
 	"systemInfo\x18\x03 \x01(\bR\n" +
 	"systemInfo\x12\x1c\n" +
 	"\tuploadURL\x18\x04 \x01(\tR\tuploadURL\x12\"\n" +
-	"\flogFileCount\x18\x05 \x01(\rR\flogFileCount\"}\n" +
+	"\flogFileCount\x18\x05 \x01(\rR\flogFileCount\x12\x1e\n" +
+	"\n" +
+	"cliVersion\x18\x06 \x01(\tR\n" +
+	"cliVersion\"}\n" +
 	"\x13DebugBundleResponse\x12\x12\n" +
 	"\x04path\x18\x01 \x01(\tR\x04path\x12 \n" +
 	"\vuploadedKey\x18\x02 \x01(\tR\vuploadedKey\x120\n" +
diff --git a/client/proto/daemon.proto b/client/proto/daemon.proto
index dedff43e2..6982e4a1c 100644
--- a/client/proto/daemon.proto
+++ b/client/proto/daemon.proto
@@ -349,6 +349,7 @@ message LocalPeerState {
   bool rosenpassPermissive = 6;
   repeated string networks = 7;
   string ipv6 = 8;
+  int32 wgPort = 9;
 }
 
 // SignalState contains the latest state of a signal connection
@@ -471,6 +472,7 @@ message DebugBundleRequest {
   bool systemInfo = 3;
   string uploadURL = 4;
   uint32 logFileCount = 5;
+  string cliVersion = 6;
 }
 
 message DebugBundleResponse {
diff --git a/client/proto/generate.sh b/client/proto/generate.sh
index e659cef90..1ae55e380 100755
--- a/client/proto/generate.sh
+++ b/client/proto/generate.sh
@@ -1,17 +1,16 @@
 #!/bin/bash
 set -e
 
-if ! which realpath > /dev/null 2>&1
-then
-  echo realpath is not installed
-  echo run: brew install coreutils
-  exit 1
+if ! which realpath >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+	echo realpath is not installed
+	echo run: brew install coreutils
+	exit 1
 fi
 
 old_pwd=$(pwd)
-script_path=$(dirname $(realpath "$0"))
+script_path=$(dirname "$(realpath "$0")")
 cd "$script_path"
 go install google.golang.org/protobuf/cmd/protoc-gen-go@v1.36.6
-go install google.golang.org/grpc/cmd/protoc-gen-go-grpc@v1.1
+go install google.golang.org/grpc/cmd/protoc-gen-go-grpc@v1.6.1
 protoc -I ./ ./daemon.proto --go_out=../ --go-grpc_out=../ --experimental_allow_proto3_optional
 cd "$old_pwd"
diff --git a/client/server/debug.go b/client/server/debug.go
index 33247db5f..14dcaba33 100644
--- a/client/server/debug.go
+++ b/client/server/debug.go
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/netbirdio/netbird/client/internal/debug"
 	"github.com/netbirdio/netbird/client/proto"
 	mgmProto "github.com/netbirdio/netbird/shared/management/proto"
+	"github.com/netbirdio/netbird/version"
 )
 
 // DebugBundle creates a debug bundle and returns the location.
@@ -67,6 +68,8 @@ func (s *Server) DebugBundle(_ context.Context, req *proto.DebugBundleRequest) (
 			CapturePath:    capturePath,
 			RefreshStatus:  refreshStatus,
 			ClientMetrics:  clientMetrics,
+			DaemonVersion:  version.NetbirdVersion(),
+			CliVersion:     req.CliVersion,
 		},
 		debug.BundleConfig{
 			Anonymize:         req.GetAnonymize(),
diff --git a/client/status/status.go b/client/status/status.go
index 11ed06c2d..e7e8ee11c 100644
--- a/client/status/status.go
+++ b/client/status/status.go
@@ -143,6 +143,7 @@ type OutputOverview struct {
 	IPv6                    string                     `json:"netbirdIpv6,omitempty" yaml:"netbirdIpv6,omitempty"`
 	PubKey                  string                     `json:"publicKey" yaml:"publicKey"`
 	KernelInterface         bool                       `json:"usesKernelInterface" yaml:"usesKernelInterface"`
+	WgPort                  int                        `json:"wireguardPort" yaml:"wireguardPort"`
 	FQDN                    string                     `json:"fqdn" yaml:"fqdn"`
 	RosenpassEnabled        bool                       `json:"quantumResistance" yaml:"quantumResistance"`
 	RosenpassPermissive     bool                       `json:"quantumResistancePermissive" yaml:"quantumResistancePermissive"`
@@ -187,6 +188,7 @@ func ConvertToStatusOutputOverview(pbFullStatus *proto.FullStatus, opts ConvertO
 		IPv6:                    pbFullStatus.GetLocalPeerState().GetIpv6(),
 		PubKey:                  pbFullStatus.GetLocalPeerState().GetPubKey(),
 		KernelInterface:         pbFullStatus.GetLocalPeerState().GetKernelInterface(),
+		WgPort:                  int(pbFullStatus.GetLocalPeerState().GetWgPort()),
 		FQDN:                    pbFullStatus.GetLocalPeerState().GetFqdn(),
 		RosenpassEnabled:        pbFullStatus.GetLocalPeerState().GetRosenpassEnabled(),
 		RosenpassPermissive:     pbFullStatus.GetLocalPeerState().GetRosenpassPermissive(),
@@ -547,6 +549,21 @@ func (o *OutputOverview) GeneralSummary(showURL bool, showRelays bool, showNameS
 		goarm = fmt.Sprintf(" (ARMv%s)", os.Getenv("GOARM"))
 	}
 
+	daemonVersion := "N/A"
+	if o.DaemonVersion != "" {
+		daemonVersion = o.DaemonVersion
+	}
+
+	cliVersion := version.NetbirdVersion()
+	if o.CliVersion != "" {
+		cliVersion = o.CliVersion
+	}
+
+	wgPortString := "N/A"
+	if o.WgPort > 0 {
+		wgPortString = fmt.Sprintf("%d", o.WgPort)
+	}
+
 	summary := fmt.Sprintf(
 		"OS: %s\n"+
 			"Daemon version: %s\n"+
@@ -560,6 +577,7 @@ func (o *OutputOverview) GeneralSummary(showURL bool, showRelays bool, showNameS
 			"NetBird IP: %s\n"+
 			"%s"+
 			"Interface type: %s\n"+
+			"Wireguard port: %s\n"+
 			"Quantum resistance: %s\n"+
 			"Lazy connection: %s\n"+
 			"SSH Server: %s\n"+
@@ -567,8 +585,8 @@ func (o *OutputOverview) GeneralSummary(showURL bool, showRelays bool, showNameS
 			"%s"+
 			"Peers count: %s\n",
 		fmt.Sprintf("%s/%s%s", goos, goarch, goarm),
-		o.DaemonVersion,
-		version.NetbirdVersion(),
+		daemonVersion,
+		cliVersion,
 		o.ProfileName,
 		managementConnString,
 		signalConnString,
@@ -578,6 +596,7 @@ func (o *OutputOverview) GeneralSummary(showURL bool, showRelays bool, showNameS
 		interfaceIP,
 		ipv6Line,
 		interfaceTypeString,
+		wgPortString,
 		rosenpassEnabledStatus,
 		lazyConnectionEnabledStatus,
 		sshServerStatus,
diff --git a/client/status/status_test.go b/client/status/status_test.go
index 0986bf0cd..1ae7157c0 100644
--- a/client/status/status_test.go
+++ b/client/status/status_test.go
@@ -94,6 +94,7 @@ var resp = &proto.StatusResponse{
 			Ipv6:            "fd00::100",
 			PubKey:          "Some-Pub-Key",
 			KernelInterface: true,
+			WgPort:          51820,
 			Fqdn:            "some-localhost.awesome-domain.com",
 			Networks: []string{
 				"10.10.0.0/24",
@@ -210,6 +211,7 @@ var overview = OutputOverview{
 	IPv6:            "fd00::100",
 	PubKey:          "Some-Pub-Key",
 	KernelInterface: true,
+	WgPort:          51820,
 	FQDN:            "some-localhost.awesome-domain.com",
 	NSServerGroups: []NsServerGroupStateOutput{
 		{
@@ -369,6 +371,7 @@ func TestParsingToJSON(t *testing.T) {
           "netbirdIpv6": "fd00::100",
           "publicKey": "Some-Pub-Key",
           "usesKernelInterface": true,
+          "wireguardPort": 51820,
           "fqdn": "some-localhost.awesome-domain.com",
           "quantumResistance": false,
           "quantumResistancePermissive": false,
@@ -487,6 +490,7 @@ netbirdIp: 192.168.178.100/16
 netbirdIpv6: fd00::100
 publicKey: Some-Pub-Key
 usesKernelInterface: true
+wireguardPort: 51820
 fqdn: some-localhost.awesome-domain.com
 quantumResistance: false
 quantumResistancePermissive: false
@@ -579,12 +583,13 @@ FQDN: some-localhost.awesome-domain.com
 NetBird IP: 192.168.178.100/16
 NetBird IPv6: fd00::100
 Interface type: Kernel
+Wireguard port: %d
 Quantum resistance: false
 Lazy connection: false
 SSH Server: Disabled
 Networks: 10.10.0.0/24
 Peers count: 2/2 Connected
-`, lastConnectionUpdate1, lastHandshake1, lastConnectionUpdate2, lastHandshake2, runtime.GOOS, runtime.GOARCH, overview.CliVersion)
+`, lastConnectionUpdate1, lastHandshake1, lastConnectionUpdate2, lastHandshake2, runtime.GOOS, runtime.GOARCH, overview.CliVersion, overview.WgPort)
 
 	assert.Equal(t, expectedDetail, detail)
 }
@@ -604,6 +609,7 @@ FQDN: some-localhost.awesome-domain.com
 NetBird IP: 192.168.178.100/16
 NetBird IPv6: fd00::100
 Interface type: Kernel
+Wireguard port: 51820
 Quantum resistance: false
 Lazy connection: false
 SSH Server: Disabled
diff --git a/client/ui/client_ui.go b/client/ui/client_ui.go
index c2129c7a2..c4b644354 100644
--- a/client/ui/client_ui.go
+++ b/client/ui/client_ui.go
@@ -502,7 +502,7 @@ func (s *serviceClient) getConnectionForm() *widget.Form {
 			{Text: "Pre-shared Key", Widget: s.iPreSharedKey},
 			{Text: "Quantum-Resistance", Widget: s.sRosenpassPermissive},
 			{Text: "Interface Name", Widget: s.iInterfaceName},
-			{Text: "Interface Port", Widget: s.iInterfacePort},
+			{Text: "Interface Port", Widget: s.iInterfacePort, HintText: "If set to 0, a random free port will be used"},
 			{Text: "MTU", Widget: s.iMTU},
 			{Text: "Log File", Widget: s.iLogFile},
 		},
@@ -558,8 +558,8 @@ func (s *serviceClient) parseNumericSettings() (int64, int64, error) {
 	if err != nil {
 		return 0, 0, errors.New("invalid interface port")
 	}
-	if port < 1 || port > 65535 {
-		return 0, 0, errors.New("invalid interface port: out of range 1-65535")
+	if port < 0 || port > 65535 {
+		return 0, 0, errors.New("invalid interface port: out of range 0-65535")
 	}
 
 	var mtu int64
@@ -1438,7 +1438,7 @@ func protoConfigToConfig(cfg *proto.GetConfigResponse) *profilemanager.Config {
 	}
 
 	config.WgIface = cfg.InterfaceName
-	if cfg.WireguardPort != 0 {
+	if cfg.WireguardPort >= 0 && cfg.WireguardPort <= 65535 {
 		config.WgPort = int(cfg.WireguardPort)
 	} else {
 		config.WgPort = iface.DefaultWgPort
diff --git a/client/ui/debug.go b/client/ui/debug.go
index cf5ac1a75..d3d4fa4f8 100644
--- a/client/ui/debug.go
+++ b/client/ui/debug.go
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/netbirdio/netbird/client/internal"
 	"github.com/netbirdio/netbird/client/proto"
 	uptypes "github.com/netbirdio/netbird/upload-server/types"
+	"github.com/netbirdio/netbird/version"
 )
 
 // Initial state for the debug collection
@@ -462,6 +463,7 @@ func (s *serviceClient) createDebugBundleFromCollection(
 	request := &proto.DebugBundleRequest{
 		Anonymize:  params.anonymize,
 		SystemInfo: params.systemInfo,
+		CliVersion: version.NetbirdVersion(),
 	}
 
 	if params.upload {
@@ -593,6 +595,7 @@ func (s *serviceClient) createDebugBundle(anonymize bool, systemInfo bool, uploa
 	request := &proto.DebugBundleRequest{
 		Anonymize:  anonymize,
 		SystemInfo: systemInfo,
+		CliVersion: version.NetbirdVersion(),
 	}
 
 	if uploadURL != "" {
diff --git a/formatter/hook/hook.go b/formatter/hook/hook.go
index f0ee509f8..69758566d 100644
--- a/formatter/hook/hook.go
+++ b/formatter/hook/hook.go
@@ -99,6 +99,9 @@ func addFields(entry *logrus.Entry) {
 	if ctxAccountID, ok := entry.Context.Value(context.AccountIDKey).(string); ok {
 		entry.Data[context.AccountIDKey] = ctxAccountID
 	}
+	if ctxUserAgent, ok := entry.Context.Value(context.UserAgentKey).(string); ok {
+		entry.Data[context.UserAgentKey] = ctxUserAgent
+	}
 	if ctxInitiatorID, ok := entry.Context.Value(context.UserIDKey).(string); ok {
 		entry.Data[context.UserIDKey] = ctxInitiatorID
 	}
diff --git a/go.mod b/go.mod
index caf9cb689..bafdeaf86 100644
--- a/go.mod
+++ b/go.mod
@@ -24,13 +24,13 @@ require (
 	golang.zx2c4.com/wireguard/windows v0.5.3
 	google.golang.org/grpc v1.80.0
 	google.golang.org/protobuf v1.36.11
-	gopkg.in/natefinch/lumberjack.v2 v2.2.1
 )
 
 require (
 	fyne.io/fyne/v2 v2.7.0
 	fyne.io/systray v1.12.1-0.20260116214250-81f8e1a496f9
 	git.sr.ht/~jackmordaunt/go-toast/v2 v2.0.3
+	github.com/DeRuina/timberjack v1.4.2
 	github.com/awnumar/memguard v0.23.0
 	github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2 v1.38.3
 	github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/config v1.31.6
diff --git a/go.sum b/go.sum
index 7f0081425..2f42f96b1 100644
--- a/go.sum
+++ b/go.sum
@@ -29,6 +29,8 @@ github.com/Azure/go-ntlmssp v0.1.0 h1:DjFo6YtWzNqNvQdrwEyr/e4nhU3vRiwenz5QX7sFz+
 github.com/Azure/go-ntlmssp v0.1.0/go.mod h1:NYqdhxd/8aAct/s4qSYZEerdPuH1liG2/X9DiVTbhpk=
 github.com/BurntSushi/toml v1.5.0 h1:W5quZX/G/csjUnuI8SUYlsHs9M38FC7znL0lIO+DvMg=
 github.com/BurntSushi/toml v1.5.0/go.mod h1:ukJfTF/6rtPPRCnwkur4qwRxa8vTRFBF0uk2lLoLwho=
+github.com/DeRuina/timberjack v1.4.2 h1:4bKlzhKdsR+2oNkgef9mqb4n11ICow8VK88RfzJPzN8=
+github.com/DeRuina/timberjack v1.4.2/go.mod h1:RLoeQrwrCGIEF8gO5nV5b/gMD0QIy7bzQhBUgpp1EqE=
 github.com/Masterminds/goutils v1.1.1 h1:5nUrii3FMTL5diU80unEVvNevw1nH4+ZV4DSLVJLSYI=
 github.com/Masterminds/goutils v1.1.1/go.mod h1:8cTjp+g8YejhMuvIA5y2vz3BpJxksy863GQaJW2MFNU=
 github.com/Masterminds/semver/v3 v3.3.0 h1:B8LGeaivUe71a5qox1ICM/JLl0NqZSW5CHyL+hmvYS0=
@@ -940,8 +942,6 @@ gopkg.in/go-playground/assert.v1 v1.2.1/go.mod h1:9RXL0bg/zibRAgZUYszZSwO/z8Y/a8
 gopkg.in/go-playground/validator.v9 v9.29.1/go.mod h1:+c9/zcJMFNgbLvly1L1V+PpxWdVbfP1avr/N00E2vyQ=
 gopkg.in/ini.v1 v1.67.0 h1:Dgnx+6+nfE+IfzjUEISNeydPJh9AXNNsWbGP9KzCsOA=
 gopkg.in/ini.v1 v1.67.0/go.mod h1:pNLf8WUiyNEtQjuu5G5vTm06TEv9tsIgeAvK8hOrP4k=
-gopkg.in/natefinch/lumberjack.v2 v2.2.1 h1:bBRl1b0OH9s/DuPhuXpNl+VtCaJXFZ5/uEFST95x9zc=
-gopkg.in/natefinch/lumberjack.v2 v2.2.1/go.mod h1:YD8tP3GAjkrDg1eZH7EGmyESg/lsYskCTPBJVb9jqSc=
 gopkg.in/square/go-jose.v2 v2.6.0 h1:NGk74WTnPKBNUhNzQX7PYcTLUjoq7mzKk2OKbvwk2iI=
 gopkg.in/square/go-jose.v2 v2.6.0/go.mod h1:M9dMgbHiYLoDGQrXy7OpJDJWiKiU//h+vD76mk0e1AI=
 gopkg.in/tomb.v1 v1.0.0-20141024135613-dd632973f1e7 h1:uRGJdciOHaEIrze2W8Q3AKkepLTh2hOroT7a+7czfdQ=
diff --git a/infrastructure_files/getting-started.sh b/infrastructure_files/getting-started.sh
index 9d1b57258..770cecc44 100755
--- a/infrastructure_files/getting-started.sh
+++ b/infrastructure_files/getting-started.sh
@@ -19,6 +19,46 @@ readonly MSG_SEPARATOR="=========================================="
 # Utility Functions
 ############################################
 
+check_docker_sock_perms() {
+  local sock="${DOCKER_HOST:-unix:///var/run/docker.sock}"
+  sock="${sock#unix://}"
+
+  if [[ ! -S "$sock" ]]; then
+    return 0
+  fi
+
+  if [[ ! -r "$sock" ]] || [[ ! -w "$sock" ]]; then
+    local group
+    if [[ "${OSTYPE}" == "darwin"* ]]; then
+      group="$(stat -f '%Sg' "$sock")"
+    else
+      group="$(stat -c '%G' "$sock")"
+    fi
+
+    echo "Cannot access Docker socket: $sock" > /dev/stderr
+    echo "" > /dev/stderr
+    echo "Socket permissions:" > /dev/stderr
+    ls -l "$sock" > /dev/stderr
+    echo "" > /dev/stderr
+
+    if [[ "$group" == "docker" ]]; then
+      echo "Your user may need to be added to the '$group' group:" > /dev/stderr
+      echo "  sudo usermod -aG $group \"$USER\"" > /dev/stderr
+      echo "Then log out and back in, or run this for the current shell:" > /dev/stderr
+      echo "  newgrp $group" > /dev/stderr
+      echo "Note: newgrp is temporary; usermod is the permanent group change." > /dev/stderr
+    else
+      echo "The Docker socket is owned by the '$group' group, which is not the standard 'docker' group." > /dev/stderr
+      echo "For safety, this script will not suggest adding your user to '$group'." > /dev/stderr
+      echo "Instead, either run this script with appropriate privileges (for example, via sudo) or follow Docker's post-install steps to configure access via the 'docker' group:" > /dev/stderr
+      echo "  https://docs.docker.com/engine/install/linux-postinstall/" > /dev/stderr
+    fi
+
+    exit 1
+  fi
+  return 0
+}
+
 check_docker_compose() {
   if command -v docker-compose &> /dev/null
   then
@@ -311,11 +351,12 @@ initialize_default_values() {
   NETBIRD_STUN_PORT=3478
 
   # Docker images
-  DASHBOARD_IMAGE="netbirdio/dashboard:latest"
+  DASHBOARD_IMAGE=${DASHBOARD_IMAGE:-"netbirdio/dashboard:latest"}
   # Combined server replaces separate signal, relay, and management containers
-  NETBIRD_SERVER_IMAGE="netbirdio/netbird-server:latest"
-  NETBIRD_PROXY_IMAGE="netbirdio/reverse-proxy:latest"
-
+  NETBIRD_SERVER_IMAGE=${NETBIRD_SERVER_IMAGE:-"netbirdio/netbird-server:latest"}
+  NETBIRD_PROXY_IMAGE=${NETBIRD_PROXY_IMAGE:-"netbirdio/reverse-proxy:latest"}
+  TRAEFIK_IMAGE=${TRAEFIK_IMAGE:-"traefik:v3.6"}
+  CROWDSEC_IMAGE=${CROWDSEC_IMAGE:-"crowdsecurity/crowdsec:v1.7.7"}
   # Reverse proxy configuration
   REVERSE_PROXY_TYPE="0"
   TRAEFIK_EXTERNAL_NETWORK=""
@@ -580,12 +621,15 @@ start_services_and_show_instructions() {
 }
 
 init_environment() {
+  # Check if docker compose is installed using check_docker_compose function
+  DOCKER_COMPOSE_COMMAND=$(check_docker_compose)
+  check_docker_sock_perms
+
   initialize_default_values
   configure_domain
   configure_reverse_proxy
 
   check_jq
-  DOCKER_COMPOSE_COMMAND=$(check_docker_compose)
 
   check_existing_installation
   generate_configuration_files
@@ -656,7 +700,7 @@ render_docker_compose_traefik_builtin() {
     if [[ "$ENABLE_CROWDSEC" == "true" ]]; then
       crowdsec_service="
   crowdsec:
-    image: crowdsecurity/crowdsec:v1.7.7
+    image: $CROWDSEC_IMAGE
     container_name: netbird-crowdsec
     restart: unless-stopped
     networks: [netbird]
@@ -687,7 +731,7 @@ render_docker_compose_traefik_builtin() {
 services:
   # Traefik reverse proxy (automatic TLS via Let's Encrypt)
   traefik:
-    image: traefik:v3.6
+    image: $TRAEFIK_IMAGE
     container_name: netbird-traefik
     restart: unless-stopped
     networks:
@@ -771,7 +815,7 @@ $traefik_dynamic_volume
     labels:
       - traefik.enable=true
       # gRPC router (needs h2c backend for HTTP/2 cleartext)
-      - traefik.http.routers.netbird-grpc.rule=Host(\`$NETBIRD_DOMAIN\`) && (PathPrefix(\`/signalexchange.SignalExchange/\`) || PathPrefix(\`/management.ManagementService/\`))
+      - traefik.http.routers.netbird-grpc.rule=Host(\`$NETBIRD_DOMAIN\`) && (PathPrefix(\`/signalexchange.SignalExchange/\`) || PathPrefix(\`/management.ManagementService/\`) || PathPrefix(\`/management.ProxyService/\`))
       - traefik.http.routers.netbird-grpc.entrypoints=websecure
       - traefik.http.routers.netbird-grpc.tls=true
       - traefik.http.routers.netbird-grpc.tls.certresolver=letsencrypt
diff --git a/management/internals/shared/grpc/proxy.go b/management/internals/shared/grpc/proxy.go
index e7155ae09..0feb807f6 100644
--- a/management/internals/shared/grpc/proxy.go
+++ b/management/internals/shared/grpc/proxy.go
@@ -666,8 +666,10 @@ func (s *ProxyServiceServer) sender(conn *proxyConnection, errChan chan<- error)
 		case resp := <-conn.sendChan:
 			if err := conn.sendResponse(resp); err != nil {
 				errChan <- err
+				log.WithContext(conn.ctx).Tracef("Failed to send response to proxy %s: %v", conn.proxyID, err)
 				return
 			}
+			log.WithContext(conn.ctx).Tracef("Send response to proxy %s", conn.proxyID)
 		case <-conn.ctx.Done():
 			return
 		}
@@ -978,6 +980,7 @@ func shallowCloneMapping(m *proto.ProxyMapping) *proto.ProxyMapping {
 		Mode:               m.Mode,
 		ListenPort:         m.ListenPort,
 		AccessRestrictions: m.AccessRestrictions,
+		Private:            m.Private,
 	}
 }
 
diff --git a/management/internals/shared/grpc/proxy_clone_test.go b/management/internals/shared/grpc/proxy_clone_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..f00d40fae
--- /dev/null
+++ b/management/internals/shared/grpc/proxy_clone_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,88 @@
+package grpc
+
+import (
+	"reflect"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
+
+	"github.com/netbirdio/netbird/shared/management/proto"
+)
+
+// authTokenField is the only per-proxy field that shallowCloneMapping must NOT
+// copy from the source, since callers assign it individually after cloning.
+const authTokenField = "AuthToken"
+
+// TestShallowCloneMapping_ClonesAllFields populates every exported field of
+// ProxyMapping with a non-zero value and verifies the clone carries each one
+// (except AuthToken). It uses reflection so adding a new field to ProxyMapping
+// without updating shallowCloneMapping fails this test.
+func TestShallowCloneMapping_ClonesAllFields(t *testing.T) {
+	src := &proto.ProxyMapping{}
+	populated := populateExportedFields(t, reflect.ValueOf(src).Elem())
+	require.NotEmpty(t, populated, "ProxyMapping should expose fields to populate")
+
+	clone := shallowCloneMapping(src)
+	require.NotNil(t, clone, "clone must not be nil")
+
+	srcVal := reflect.ValueOf(src).Elem()
+	cloneVal := reflect.ValueOf(clone).Elem()
+
+	for _, name := range populated {
+		srcField := srcVal.FieldByName(name).Interface()
+		cloneField := cloneVal.FieldByName(name).Interface()
+
+		if name == authTokenField {
+			assert.Zero(t, cloneField, "AuthToken must not be cloned; it is set per proxy after cloning")
+			continue
+		}
+
+		assert.Equal(t, srcField, cloneField, "field %s must be carried over by shallowCloneMapping", name)
+	}
+}
+
+// populateExportedFields sets a non-zero value on every settable exported field
+// of the struct and returns their names.
+func populateExportedFields(t *testing.T, v reflect.Value) []string {
+	t.Helper()
+
+	var names []string
+	typ := v.Type()
+	for i := 0; i < v.NumField(); i++ {
+		field := v.Field(i)
+		structField := typ.Field(i)
+
+		if structField.PkgPath != "" || !field.CanSet() {
+			continue
+		}
+
+		setNonZero(t, field, structField.Name)
+		names = append(names, structField.Name)
+	}
+	return names
+}
+
+// setNonZero assigns a deterministic non-zero value based on the field kind.
+func setNonZero(t *testing.T, field reflect.Value, name string) {
+	t.Helper()
+
+	switch field.Kind() {
+	case reflect.String:
+		field.SetString("non-zero-" + name)
+	case reflect.Bool:
+		field.SetBool(true)
+	case reflect.Int, reflect.Int8, reflect.Int16, reflect.Int32, reflect.Int64:
+		field.SetInt(7)
+	case reflect.Uint, reflect.Uint8, reflect.Uint16, reflect.Uint32, reflect.Uint64:
+		field.SetUint(7)
+	case reflect.Ptr:
+		field.Set(reflect.New(field.Type().Elem()))
+	case reflect.Slice:
+		field.Set(reflect.MakeSlice(field.Type(), 1, 1))
+	case reflect.Map:
+		field.Set(reflect.MakeMapWithSize(field.Type(), 0))
+	default:
+		t.Fatalf("unhandled field kind %s for field %s; extend setNonZero", field.Kind(), name)
+	}
+}
diff --git a/management/server/context/keys.go b/management/server/context/keys.go
index 7a65afbbd..aa534c5d9 100644
--- a/management/server/context/keys.go
+++ b/management/server/context/keys.go
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ const (
 	RoleKey      = nbcontext.RoleKey
 	UserIDKey    = nbcontext.UserIDKey
 	PeerIDKey    = nbcontext.PeerIDKey
+	UserAgentKey = nbcontext.UserAgentKey
 )
 
 // RoleFromContext returns the role stored in ctx, or empty string and false if absent.
diff --git a/management/server/store/sql_store.go b/management/server/store/sql_store.go
index b6691ac79..c6ced2642 100644
--- a/management/server/store/sql_store.go
+++ b/management/server/store/sql_store.go
@@ -1216,6 +1216,7 @@ func (s *SqlStore) getAccountGorm(ctx context.Context, accountID string) (*types
 		Preload("NetworkResources").
 		Preload("Onboarding").
 		Preload("Services.Targets").
+		Preload("Domains").
 		Take(&account, idQueryCondition, accountID)
 	if result.Error != nil {
 		log.WithContext(ctx).Errorf("error when getting account %s from the store: %s", accountID, result.Error)
@@ -1302,7 +1303,7 @@ func (s *SqlStore) getAccountPgx(ctx context.Context, accountID string) (*types.
 	}
 
 	var wg sync.WaitGroup
-	errChan := make(chan error, 12)
+	errChan := make(chan error, 16)
 
 	wg.Add(1)
 	go func() {
@@ -1403,6 +1404,17 @@ func (s *SqlStore) getAccountPgx(ctx context.Context, accountID string) (*types.
 		account.Services = services
 	}()
 
+	wg.Add(1)
+	go func() {
+		defer wg.Done()
+		domains, err := s.ListCustomDomains(ctx, accountID)
+		if err != nil {
+			errChan <- err
+			return
+		}
+		account.Domains = domains
+	}()
+
 	wg.Add(1)
 	go func() {
 		defer wg.Done()
diff --git a/management/server/store/sql_store_get_account_test.go b/management/server/store/sql_store_get_account_test.go
index 9a9de8cdd..56f2a6c41 100644
--- a/management/server/store/sql_store_get_account_test.go
+++ b/management/server/store/sql_store_get_account_test.go
@@ -4,6 +4,8 @@ import (
 	"context"
 	"net"
 	"net/netip"
+	"os"
+	"runtime"
 	"testing"
 	"time"
 
@@ -21,6 +23,63 @@ import (
 	"github.com/netbirdio/netbird/route"
 )
 
+// TestGetAccount_LoadsCustomDomains verifies GetAccount populates account.Domains.
+// SynthesizePrivateServiceZones depends on this relation to anchor a custom-domain
+// private service's DNS zone; without the preload the relation is empty and the
+// service is silently skipped, so a custom domain never resolves on clients.
+func TestGetAccount_LoadsCustomDomains(t *testing.T) {
+	if runtime.GOOS == "windows" {
+		t.Skip("The SQLite store is not properly supported by Windows yet")
+	}
+
+	store, cleanup, err := NewTestStoreFromSQL(context.Background(), "", t.TempDir())
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	defer cleanup()
+
+	assertGetAccountLoadsCustomDomains(t, store)
+}
+
+func TestPostgresql_GetAccount_LoadsCustomDomains(t *testing.T) {
+	if (os.Getenv("CI") == "true" && runtime.GOOS == "darwin") || runtime.GOOS == "windows" {
+		t.Skip("skip CI tests on darwin and windows")
+	}
+
+	t.Setenv("NETBIRD_STORE_ENGINE", string(types.PostgresStoreEngine))
+	store, cleanup, err := NewTestStoreFromSQL(context.Background(), "", t.TempDir())
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	t.Cleanup(cleanup)
+
+	assertGetAccountLoadsCustomDomains(t, store)
+}
+
+// assertGetAccountLoadsCustomDomains exercises both the gorm and pgx GetAccount
+// paths: it persists two custom domains and asserts the relation comes back
+// populated, which SynthesizePrivateServiceZones relies on.
+func assertGetAccountLoadsCustomDomains(t *testing.T, store Store) {
+	t.Helper()
+	ctx := context.Background()
+
+	accountID := "acct-custom-domains"
+	require.NoError(t, store.SaveAccount(ctx, newAccountWithId(ctx, accountID, "user-1", "")))
+
+	_, err := store.CreateCustomDomain(ctx, accountID, "example.com", "eu.proxy.netbird.io", true)
+	require.NoError(t, err, "creating the first custom domain must succeed")
+	_, err = store.CreateCustomDomain(ctx, accountID, "apps.acme.io", "us.proxy.netbird.io", false)
+	require.NoError(t, err, "creating the second custom domain must succeed")
+
+	account, err := store.GetAccount(ctx, accountID)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	require.Len(t, account.Domains, 2, "GetAccount must preload the account's custom domains")
+
+	byDomain := map[string]string{}
+	for _, d := range account.Domains {
+		require.NotNil(t, d)
+		byDomain[d.Domain] = d.TargetCluster
+	}
+	assert.Equal(t, "eu.proxy.netbird.io", byDomain["example.com"], "custom domain must carry its target cluster")
+	assert.Equal(t, "us.proxy.netbird.io", byDomain["apps.acme.io"], "custom domain must carry its target cluster")
+}
+
 // TestGetAccount_ComprehensiveFieldValidation validates that GetAccount properly loads
 // all fields and nested objects from the database, including deeply nested structures.
 func TestGetAccount_ComprehensiveFieldValidation(t *testing.T) {
diff --git a/management/server/telemetry/http_api_metrics.go b/management/server/telemetry/http_api_metrics.go
index e48e6d64a..360d36949 100644
--- a/management/server/telemetry/http_api_metrics.go
+++ b/management/server/telemetry/http_api_metrics.go
@@ -21,6 +21,8 @@ const (
 	httpRequestCounterPrefix  = "management.http.request.counter"
 	httpResponseCounterPrefix = "management.http.response.counter"
 	httpRequestDurationPrefix = "management.http.request.duration.ms"
+
+	RequestIDHeader = "X-Request-Id"
 )
 
 // WrappedResponseWriter is a wrapper for http.ResponseWriter that allows the
@@ -172,6 +174,10 @@ func (m *HTTPMiddleware) Handler(h http.Handler) http.Handler {
 		reqID := xid.New().String()
 		//nolint
 		ctx = context.WithValue(ctx, nbContext.RequestIDKey, reqID)
+		//nolint
+		ctx = context.WithValue(ctx, nbContext.UserAgentKey, r.UserAgent())
+
+		rw.Header().Set(RequestIDHeader, reqID)
 
 		log.WithContext(ctx).Tracef("HTTP request %v: %v %v", reqID, r.Method, r.URL)
 
diff --git a/management/server/types/account.go b/management/server/types/account.go
index 0d0893e28..d658f605d 100644
--- a/management/server/types/account.go
+++ b/management/server/types/account.go
@@ -273,7 +273,7 @@ func (a *Account) SynthesizePrivateServiceZones(peerID string) []nbdns.CustomZon
 	}
 
 	peerGroups := a.GetPeerGroups(peerID)
-	zonesByCluster := map[string]*nbdns.CustomZone{}
+	zonesByApex := map[string]*nbdns.CustomZone{}
 
 	for _, svc := range a.Services {
 		if svc == nil || !svc.Enabled || !svc.Private {
@@ -290,19 +290,24 @@ func (a *Account) SynthesizePrivateServiceZones(peerID string) []nbdns.CustomZon
 			continue
 		}
 
-		zone, exists := zonesByCluster[svc.ProxyCluster]
+		serviceDomainZone := a.privateServiceDomainZone(svc)
+		if serviceDomainZone == "" {
+			continue
+		}
+
+		zone, exists := zonesByApex[serviceDomainZone]
 		if !exists {
 			// NonAuthoritative makes this a match-only zone: queries for
 			// names without an explicit record fall through to the
 			// upstream resolver instead of returning NXDOMAIN. Without
 			// it, adding a single private service would black-hole every
-			// other name under the cluster apex.
+			// other name under the zone apex.
 			zone = &nbdns.CustomZone{
-				Domain:           dns.Fqdn(svc.ProxyCluster),
+				Domain:           dns.Fqdn(serviceDomainZone),
 				Records:          []nbdns.SimpleRecord{},
 				NonAuthoritative: true,
 			}
-			zonesByCluster[svc.ProxyCluster] = zone
+			zonesByApex[serviceDomainZone] = zone
 		}
 
 		emitted := 0
@@ -340,8 +345,8 @@ func (a *Account) SynthesizePrivateServiceZones(peerID string) []nbdns.CustomZon
 		}
 	}
 
-	out := make([]nbdns.CustomZone, 0, len(zonesByCluster))
-	for _, zone := range zonesByCluster {
+	out := make([]nbdns.CustomZone, 0, len(zonesByApex))
+	for _, zone := range zonesByApex {
 		if len(zone.Records) == 0 {
 			continue
 		}
@@ -357,6 +362,33 @@ func (a *Account) SynthesizePrivateServiceZones(peerID string) []nbdns.CustomZon
 	return out
 }
 
+// privateServiceDomainZone returns the DNS zone name for the given private service domain by
+// looking at the proxy cluster domain then the custom domains.
+func (a *Account) privateServiceDomainZone(svc *service.Service) string {
+	if domainFromSuffix(svc.Domain, svc.ProxyCluster) {
+		return svc.ProxyCluster
+	}
+
+	// Longest matching custom domain wins
+	zoneName := ""
+	for _, d := range a.Domains {
+		if d == nil || d.TargetCluster != svc.ProxyCluster {
+			continue
+		}
+		if domainFromSuffix(svc.Domain, d.Domain) && len(d.Domain) > len(zoneName) {
+			zoneName = d.Domain
+		}
+	}
+	return zoneName
+}
+
+func domainFromSuffix(domain, suffix string) bool {
+	if suffix == "" {
+		return false
+	}
+	return domain == suffix || strings.HasSuffix(domain, "."+suffix)
+}
+
 // peerInDistributionGroups reports whether any of the peer's groups
 // matches the service's bearer-auth distribution_groups.
 func peerInDistributionGroups(peerGroups LookupMap, distributionGroups []string) bool {
diff --git a/management/server/types/account_private_zones_test.go b/management/server/types/account_private_zones_test.go
index 1d4f720b7..efbbbffaf 100644
--- a/management/server/types/account_private_zones_test.go
+++ b/management/server/types/account_private_zones_test.go
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
 
 	nbdns "github.com/netbirdio/netbird/dns"
+	proxydomain "github.com/netbirdio/netbird/management/internals/modules/reverseproxy/domain"
 	"github.com/netbirdio/netbird/management/internals/modules/reverseproxy/service"
 	nbpeer "github.com/netbirdio/netbird/management/server/peer"
 )
@@ -234,6 +235,113 @@ func TestPrivateZone_GetPeerNetworkMap_PeerOutsideGroups_OmitsSynthZone(t *testi
 	assert.False(t, ok, "peer outside the distribution_groups must not see the synth zone")
 }
 
+func TestSynthesizePrivateServiceZones_CustomDomain_ZoneApexIsRegisteredDomain(t *testing.T) {
+	account := privateZoneTestAccount(t)
+	// A custom-domain service: Domain is the custom FQDN, ProxyCluster
+	// is the cluster serving it, and account.Domains holds the registered
+	// custom domain. The synth zone apex must be the registered domain,
+	// not the cluster, or the client's match-only zone never intercepts
+	// the query.
+	account.Services[0].Domain = "app.example.com"
+	account.Domains = []*proxydomain.Domain{
+		{Domain: "example.com", AccountID: "acct-1", TargetCluster: "eu.proxy.netbird.io", Validated: true},
+	}
+
+	zones := account.SynthesizePrivateServiceZones("user-peer")
+	require.Len(t, zones, 1, "custom-domain service must still produce one zone")
+	zone := zones[0]
+	assert.Equal(t, "example.com.", zone.Domain, "zone apex must be the registered custom domain, not the cluster or the service FQDN")
+	assert.True(t, zone.NonAuthoritative, "synth zone must remain match-only")
+	require.Len(t, zone.Records, 1, "custom-domain service yields one A record")
+	rec := zone.Records[0]
+	assert.Equal(t, "app.example.com.", rec.Name, "record name is the custom service FQDN")
+	assert.Equal(t, "100.64.0.99", rec.RData, "record points at the embedded proxy peer's tunnel IP")
+}
+
+func TestSynthesizePrivateServiceZones_CustomAndFreeDomain_SeparateZones(t *testing.T) {
+	account := privateZoneTestAccount(t)
+	account.Domains = []*proxydomain.Domain{
+		{Domain: "example.com", AccountID: "acct-1", TargetCluster: "eu.proxy.netbird.io", Validated: true},
+	}
+	account.Services = append(account.Services, &service.Service{
+		ID:           "svc-2",
+		AccountID:    "acct-1",
+		Name:         "custom",
+		Domain:       "app.example.com",
+		ProxyCluster: "eu.proxy.netbird.io",
+		Enabled:      true,
+		Private:      true,
+		Mode:         service.ModeHTTP,
+		AccessGroups: []string{"grp-admins"},
+	})
+
+	zones := account.SynthesizePrivateServiceZones("user-peer")
+	require.Len(t, zones, 2, "a free-domain and a custom-domain service must not collapse into one zone")
+
+	free, ok := findCustomZone(zones, "eu.proxy.netbird.io")
+	require.True(t, ok, "free-domain service keeps the shared cluster-apex zone")
+	require.Len(t, free.Records, 1, "cluster zone carries only the free-domain record")
+	assert.Equal(t, "myapp.eu.proxy.netbird.io.", free.Records[0].Name, "cluster zone record is the free-domain FQDN")
+
+	custom, ok := findCustomZone(zones, "example.com")
+	require.True(t, ok, "custom-domain service gets its own zone at the registered custom domain apex")
+	require.Len(t, custom.Records, 1, "custom zone carries only the custom-domain record")
+	assert.Equal(t, "app.example.com.", custom.Records[0].Name, "custom zone record is the custom-domain FQDN")
+}
+
+func TestSynthesizePrivateServiceZones_TwoServicesSameCustomDomain_OneZone(t *testing.T) {
+	account := privateZoneTestAccount(t)
+	account.Domains = []*proxydomain.Domain{
+		{Domain: "example.com", AccountID: "acct-1", TargetCluster: "eu.proxy.netbird.io", Validated: true},
+	}
+	account.Services[0].Domain = "a.example.com"
+	account.Services = append(account.Services, &service.Service{
+		ID:           "svc-2",
+		AccountID:    "acct-1",
+		Name:         "bapp",
+		Domain:       "b.example.com",
+		ProxyCluster: "eu.proxy.netbird.io",
+		Enabled:      true,
+		Private:      true,
+		Mode:         service.ModeHTTP,
+		AccessGroups: []string{"grp-admins"},
+	})
+
+	zones := account.SynthesizePrivateServiceZones("user-peer")
+	require.Len(t, zones, 1, "two services under the same registered custom domain must share one zone")
+	assert.Equal(t, "example.com.", zones[0].Domain, "shared zone apex is the registered custom domain")
+	require.Len(t, zones[0].Records, 2, "both services surface as records in the shared custom-domain zone")
+	names := []string{zones[0].Records[0].Name, zones[0].Records[1].Name}
+	assert.ElementsMatch(t, []string{"a.example.com.", "b.example.com."}, names, "both custom-domain service FQDNs must surface")
+}
+
+func TestSynthesizePrivateServiceZones_CustomDomainNotRegistered_NoZone(t *testing.T) {
+	account := privateZoneTestAccount(t)
+	// Service domain is outside the cluster and no account.Domains entry
+	// covers it: there is no apex that would intercept the query, so the
+	// service must be skipped rather than emit an unmatchable record.
+	account.Services[0].Domain = "app.example.com"
+
+	zones := account.SynthesizePrivateServiceZones("user-peer")
+	assert.Empty(t, zones, "a custom-domain service with no registered domain apex must not produce a zone")
+}
+
+func TestSynthesizePrivateServiceZones_CustomDomainClusterMismatch_NoZone(t *testing.T) {
+	account := privateZoneTestAccount(t)
+	// The registered custom domain matches the service FQDN by suffix but
+	// targets a different cluster than the service's ProxyCluster. It must
+	// be ignored, leaving no apex to intercept the query — otherwise the
+	// zone would point at this cluster's proxy peers under a domain owned
+	// by a different cluster.
+	account.Services[0].Domain = "app.example.com"
+	account.Domains = []*proxydomain.Domain{
+		{Domain: "example.com", AccountID: "acct-1", TargetCluster: "us.proxy.netbird.io", Validated: true},
+	}
+
+	zones := account.SynthesizePrivateServiceZones("user-peer")
+	assert.Empty(t, zones, "a custom domain targeting a different cluster must not anchor the service zone")
+}
+
 func TestSynthesizePrivateServiceZones_TwoServicesSameCluster_OneZone(t *testing.T) {
 	account := privateZoneTestAccount(t)
 	account.Services = append(account.Services, &service.Service{
@@ -254,3 +362,72 @@ func TestSynthesizePrivateServiceZones_TwoServicesSameCluster_OneZone(t *testing
 	names := []string{zones[0].Records[0].Name, zones[0].Records[1].Name}
 	assert.ElementsMatch(t, []string{"myapp.eu.proxy.netbird.io.", "anotherapp.eu.proxy.netbird.io."}, names, "both service domains must surface")
 }
+
+func TestSynthesizePrivateServiceZones_MixedClusterCustomAndPublic(t *testing.T) {
+	account := privateZoneTestAccount(t)
+	account.Domains = []*proxydomain.Domain{
+		{Domain: "example.com", AccountID: "acct-1", TargetCluster: "eu.proxy.netbird.io", Validated: true},
+	}
+
+	privateService := func(id, domain string) *service.Service {
+		return &service.Service{
+			ID:           id,
+			AccountID:    "acct-1",
+			Name:         id,
+			Domain:       domain,
+			ProxyCluster: "eu.proxy.netbird.io",
+			Enabled:      true,
+			Private:      true,
+			Mode:         service.ModeHTTP,
+			AccessGroups: []string{"grp-admins"},
+		}
+	}
+	publicService := func(id, domain string) *service.Service {
+		s := privateService(id, domain)
+		s.Private = false
+		return s
+	}
+
+	account.Services = []*service.Service{
+		// 3 private services under the cluster suffix.
+		privateService("cluster-1", "cluster1.eu.proxy.netbird.io"),
+		privateService("cluster-2", "cluster2.eu.proxy.netbird.io"),
+		privateService("cluster-3", "cluster3.eu.proxy.netbird.io"),
+		// 4 private services under the custom domain suffix.
+		privateService("custom-1", "custom1.example.com"),
+		privateService("custom-2", "custom2.example.com"),
+		privateService("custom-3", "custom3.example.com"),
+		privateService("custom-4", "custom4.example.com"),
+		// 2 public services, one per suffix, must not surface.
+		publicService("public-cluster", "public.eu.proxy.netbird.io"),
+		publicService("public-custom", "public.example.com"),
+	}
+
+	zones := account.SynthesizePrivateServiceZones("user-peer")
+	require.Len(t, zones, 2, "one zone per apex: the cluster apex and the custom domain apex")
+
+	cluster, ok := findCustomZone(zones, "eu.proxy.netbird.io")
+	require.True(t, ok, "cluster-suffix services collapse into the cluster-apex zone")
+	clusterNames := recordNames(cluster)
+	assert.ElementsMatch(t,
+		[]string{"cluster1.eu.proxy.netbird.io.", "cluster2.eu.proxy.netbird.io.", "cluster3.eu.proxy.netbird.io."},
+		clusterNames,
+		"only the 3 private cluster services surface in the cluster zone (public one excluded)")
+
+	custom, ok := findCustomZone(zones, "example.com")
+	require.True(t, ok, "custom-suffix services collapse into the custom-domain-apex zone")
+	customNames := recordNames(custom)
+	assert.ElementsMatch(t,
+		[]string{"custom1.example.com.", "custom2.example.com.", "custom3.example.com.", "custom4.example.com."},
+		customNames,
+		"only the 4 private custom services surface in the custom zone (public one excluded)")
+}
+
+// recordNames returns the record names of a zone for order-independent assertions.
+func recordNames(zone nbdns.CustomZone) []string {
+	names := make([]string, 0, len(zone.Records))
+	for _, r := range zone.Records {
+		names = append(names, r.Name)
+	}
+	return names
+}
diff --git a/management/server/types/networkmap_components.go b/management/server/types/networkmap_components.go
index 3a7e20ec5..b5514e19b 100644
--- a/management/server/types/networkmap_components.go
+++ b/management/server/types/networkmap_components.go
@@ -557,7 +557,6 @@ func (c *NetworkMapComponents) getRoutingPeerRoutes(peerID string) (enabledRoute
 	return enabledRoutes, disabledRoutes
 }
 
-
 func (c *NetworkMapComponents) filterRoutesByGroups(routes []*route.Route, groupListMap LookupMap) []*route.Route {
 	var filteredRoutes []*route.Route
 	for _, r := range routes {
@@ -628,9 +627,14 @@ func (c *NetworkMapComponents) getDefaultPermit(r *route.Route, includeIPv6 bool
 
 	rules := []*RouteFirewallRule{&rule}
 
-	if includeIPv6 && r.IsDynamic() {
+	isDefaultV4 := r.Network.Addr().Is4() && r.Network.Bits() == 0
+	if includeIPv6 && (r.IsDynamic() || isDefaultV4) {
 		ruleV6 := rule
 		ruleV6.SourceRanges = []string{"::/0"}
+		if isDefaultV4 {
+			ruleV6.Destination = "::/0"
+			ruleV6.RouteID = r.ID + "-v6-default"
+		}
 		rules = append(rules, &ruleV6)
 	}
 
diff --git a/management/server/types/networkmap_components_correctness_test.go b/management/server/types/networkmap_components_correctness_test.go
index bcfb6fdf9..3785a7399 100644
--- a/management/server/types/networkmap_components_correctness_test.go
+++ b/management/server/types/networkmap_components_correctness_test.go
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"net"
 	"net/netip"
+	"slices"
 	"testing"
 	"time"
 
@@ -1029,6 +1030,48 @@ func TestComponents_RouteDefaultPermit(t *testing.T) {
 	assert.True(t, hasDefaultPermit, "route without ACG should have default permit rule with 0.0.0.0/0 source")
 }
 
+// TestComponents_ExitNodeDefaultPermitIPv6 verifies that a default exit node route
+// (0.0.0.0/0) without AccessControlGroups also emits an IPv6 default permit rule
+// (::/0 source and destination) for peers that support IPv6, mirroring the route
+// the client installs. Without it, IPv6 traffic is routed to the exit node but
+// dropped at the forward chain.
+func TestComponents_ExitNodeDefaultPermitIPv6(t *testing.T) {
+	account, validatedPeers := scalableTestAccount(20, 2)
+
+	routingPeerID := "peer-5"
+	routingPeer := account.Peers[routingPeerID]
+	routingPeer.IPv6 = netip.MustParseAddr("fd00::5")
+	routingPeer.Meta.Capabilities = append(routingPeer.Meta.Capabilities, nbpeer.PeerCapabilityIPv6Overlay)
+
+	account.Routes["route-exit"] = &route.Route{
+		ID: "route-exit", Network: netip.MustParsePrefix("0.0.0.0/0"),
+		PeerID: routingPeerID, Peer: routingPeer.Key,
+		Enabled: true, Groups: []string{"group-all"}, PeerGroups: []string{"group-0"},
+		AccessControlGroups: []string{},
+		AccountID:           "test-account",
+	}
+
+	nm := componentsNetworkMap(account, routingPeerID, validatedPeers)
+	require.NotNil(t, nm)
+
+	hasV4 := false
+	hasV6 := false
+	for _, rfr := range nm.RoutesFirewallRules {
+		switch rfr.Destination {
+		case "0.0.0.0/0":
+			if slices.Contains(rfr.SourceRanges, "0.0.0.0/0") {
+				hasV4 = true
+			}
+		case "::/0":
+			if slices.Contains(rfr.SourceRanges, "::/0") {
+				hasV6 = true
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	assert.True(t, hasV4, "exit node route should have an IPv4 default permit rule (0.0.0.0/0)")
+	assert.True(t, hasV6, "exit node route should have an IPv6 default permit rule (::/0)")
+}
+
 // ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 // 15. MULTIPLE ROUTERS PER NETWORK
 // ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
diff --git a/proxy/cmd/proxy/cmd/root.go b/proxy/cmd/proxy/cmd/root.go
index d0e11517e..ad8e1b7c0 100644
--- a/proxy/cmd/proxy/cmd/root.go
+++ b/proxy/cmd/proxy/cmd/root.go
@@ -249,6 +249,7 @@ func runServer(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 		Private:                  private,
 		MaxDialTimeout:           maxDialTimeout,
 		MaxSessionIdleTimeout:    maxSessionIdleTimeout,
+		MappingBatchWatchdog:     envDurationOrDefault("NB_PROXY_MAPPING_BATCH_WATCHDOG", 0),
 		GeoDataDir:               geoDataDir,
 		CrowdSecAPIURL:           crowdsecAPIURL,
 		CrowdSecAPIKey:           crowdsecAPIKey,
diff --git a/proxy/internal/roundtrip/netbird.go b/proxy/internal/roundtrip/netbird.go
index 1d1e68f4a..13d386da2 100644
--- a/proxy/internal/roundtrip/netbird.go
+++ b/proxy/internal/roundtrip/netbird.go
@@ -28,6 +28,10 @@ import (
 
 const deviceNamePrefix = "ingress-proxy-"
 
+const clientStopTimeout = 30 * time.Second
+
+const createProxyPeerTimeout = 30 * time.Second
+
 // backendKey identifies a backend by its host:port from the target URL.
 type backendKey string
 
@@ -162,6 +166,7 @@ type NetBird struct {
 
 	clientsMux     sync.RWMutex
 	clients        map[types.AccountID]*clientEntry
+	lifecycleMu    sync.Map
 	initLogOnce    sync.Once
 	statusNotifier statusNotifier
 	// readyHandler runs after the embedded client for an account reports
@@ -177,6 +182,10 @@ type NetBird struct {
 	// (i.e. when a new client was actually created, not when an existing one
 	// was reused). The duration covers keygen + gRPC CreateProxyPeer + embed.New.
 	OnAddPeer func(d time.Duration, err error)
+
+	// startClient runs the post-create client startup. Nil uses runClientStartup;
+	// tests override it to avoid a real embed client.Start.
+	startClient func(accountID types.AccountID, client *embed.Client)
 }
 
 // ClientDebugInfo contains debug information about a client.
@@ -200,31 +209,20 @@ type skipTLSVerifyContextKey struct{}
 func (n *NetBird) AddPeer(ctx context.Context, accountID types.AccountID, key ServiceKey, authToken string, serviceID types.ServiceID) error {
 	si := serviceInfo{serviceID: serviceID}
 
-	n.clientsMux.Lock()
+	if n.registerExistingClient(accountID, key, si) {
+		return nil
+	}
 
-	entry, exists := n.clients[accountID]
-	if exists {
-		entry.services[key] = si
-		started := entry.started
-		n.clientsMux.Unlock()
-
-		n.logger.WithFields(log.Fields{
-			"account_id":  accountID,
-			"service_key": key,
-		}).Debug("registered service with existing client")
-
-		if started && n.statusNotifier != nil {
-			// Use a background context, not the caller's: the management
-			// connection notification must land even if the request /
-			// stream that triggered this registration is cancelled.
-			// Mirrors the async runClientStartup path.
-			if err := n.statusNotifier.NotifyStatus(context.Background(), accountID, serviceID, true); err != nil {
-				n.logger.WithFields(log.Fields{
-					"account_id":  accountID,
-					"service_key": key,
-				}).WithError(err).Warn("failed to notify status for existing client")
-			}
+	lifecycle := n.accountLifecycle(accountID)
+	lifecycle.Lock()
+	transferred := false
+	defer func() {
+		if !transferred {
+			lifecycle.Unlock()
 		}
+	}()
+
+	if n.registerExistingClient(accountID, key, si) {
 		return nil
 	}
 
@@ -234,10 +232,10 @@ func (n *NetBird) AddPeer(ctx context.Context, accountID types.AccountID, key Se
 		n.OnAddPeer(time.Since(createStart), err)
 	}
 	if err != nil {
-		n.clientsMux.Unlock()
 		return err
 	}
 
+	n.clientsMux.Lock()
 	n.clients[accountID] = entry
 	n.clientsMux.Unlock()
 
@@ -246,17 +244,64 @@ func (n *NetBird) AddPeer(ctx context.Context, accountID types.AccountID, key Se
 		"service_key": key,
 	}).Info("created new client for account")
 
-	// Attempt to start the client in the background; if this fails we will
-	// retry on the first request via RoundTrip. runClientStartup uses its
-	// own background context so the caller's request-scoped ctx can't
-	// cancel the inbound bring-up.
-	go n.runClientStartup(accountID, entry.client)
+	transferred = true
+	go func() {
+		defer lifecycle.Unlock()
+		n.startClientStartup(accountID, entry.client)
+	}()
 
 	return nil
 }
 
+func (n *NetBird) startClientStartup(accountID types.AccountID, client *embed.Client) {
+	if n.startClient != nil {
+		n.startClient(accountID, client)
+		return
+	}
+	n.runClientStartup(accountID, client)
+}
+
+// registerExistingClient registers the service against an already-present
+// client for the account and returns true when it did. It notifies management
+// of the new service when the client is already started.
+func (n *NetBird) registerExistingClient(accountID types.AccountID, key ServiceKey, si serviceInfo) bool {
+	n.clientsMux.Lock()
+	entry, exists := n.clients[accountID]
+	if !exists {
+		n.clientsMux.Unlock()
+		return false
+	}
+	entry.services[key] = si
+	started := entry.started
+	n.clientsMux.Unlock()
+
+	n.logger.WithFields(log.Fields{
+		"account_id":  accountID,
+		"service_key": key,
+	}).Debug("registered service with existing client")
+
+	if started && n.statusNotifier != nil {
+		if err := n.statusNotifier.NotifyStatus(context.Background(), accountID, si.serviceID, true); err != nil {
+			n.logger.WithFields(log.Fields{
+				"account_id":  accountID,
+				"service_key": key,
+			}).WithError(err).Warn("failed to notify status for existing client")
+		}
+	}
+	return true
+}
+
+// accountLifecycle returns the per-account lifecycle mutex, serialising client
+// creation against teardown so a slow client.Stop cannot race a new
+// client.Start for the same account, without blocking clientsMux.
+func (n *NetBird) accountLifecycle(accountID types.AccountID) *sync.Mutex {
+	mu, _ := n.lifecycleMu.LoadOrStore(accountID, &sync.Mutex{})
+	return mu.(*sync.Mutex)
+}
+
 // createClientEntry generates a WireGuard keypair, authenticates with management,
-// and creates an embedded NetBird client. Must be called with clientsMux held.
+// and creates an embedded NetBird client. Must be called with the account's
+// lifecycle mutex held.
 func (n *NetBird) createClientEntry(ctx context.Context, accountID types.AccountID, key ServiceKey, authToken string, si serviceInfo) (*clientEntry, error) {
 	serviceID := si.serviceID
 	n.logger.WithFields(log.Fields{
@@ -276,7 +321,9 @@ func (n *NetBird) createClientEntry(ctx context.Context, accountID types.Account
 		"public_key": publicKey.String(),
 	}).Debug("authenticating new proxy peer with management")
 
-	resp, err := n.mgmtClient.CreateProxyPeer(ctx, &proto.CreateProxyPeerRequest{
+	createCtx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(ctx, createProxyPeerTimeout)
+	defer cancel()
+	resp, err := n.mgmtClient.CreateProxyPeer(createCtx, &proto.CreateProxyPeerRequest{
 		ServiceId:          string(serviceID),
 		AccountId:          string(accountID),
 		Token:              authToken,
@@ -444,6 +491,15 @@ func (n *NetBird) notifyClientReady(accountID types.AccountID, client *embed.Cli
 // RemovePeer unregisters a service from an account. The client is only stopped
 // when no services are using it anymore.
 func (n *NetBird) RemovePeer(ctx context.Context, accountID types.AccountID, key ServiceKey) error {
+	lifecycle := n.accountLifecycle(accountID)
+	lifecycle.Lock()
+	transferred := false
+	defer func() {
+		if !transferred {
+			lifecycle.Unlock()
+		}
+	}()
+
 	n.clientsMux.Lock()
 
 	entry, exists := n.clients[accountID]
@@ -466,17 +522,8 @@ func (n *NetBird) RemovePeer(ctx context.Context, accountID types.AccountID, key
 	delete(entry.services, key)
 
 	stopClient := len(entry.services) == 0
-	var client *embed.Client
-	var transport, insecureTransport *http.Transport
-	var inbound any
-	var stopHandler func(types.AccountID, any)
 	if stopClient {
 		n.logger.WithField("account_id", accountID).Info("stopping client, no more services")
-		client = entry.client
-		transport = entry.transport
-		insecureTransport = entry.insecureTransport
-		inbound = entry.inbound
-		stopHandler = n.stopHandler
 		delete(n.clients, accountID)
 	} else {
 		n.logger.WithFields(log.Fields{
@@ -490,19 +537,40 @@ func (n *NetBird) RemovePeer(ctx context.Context, accountID types.AccountID, key
 	n.notifyDisconnect(ctx, accountID, key, si.serviceID)
 
 	if stopClient {
-		if inbound != nil && stopHandler != nil {
-			stopHandler(accountID, inbound)
-		}
-		transport.CloseIdleConnections()
-		insecureTransport.CloseIdleConnections()
-		if err := client.Stop(ctx); err != nil {
-			n.logger.WithField("account_id", accountID).WithError(err).Warn("failed to stop netbird client")
-		}
+		transferred = true
+		go n.stopClientLocked(accountID, lifecycle, entry)
 	}
 
 	return nil
 }
 
+// stopClientLocked releases a client's resources off the caller's goroutine so a
+// slow client.Stop cannot wedge the mapping receive loop (which calls RemovePeer
+// synchronously). It unlocks lifecycle when done so a new client.Start for the
+// same account waits for this teardown.
+func (n *NetBird) stopClientLocked(accountID types.AccountID, lifecycle *sync.Mutex, entry *clientEntry) {
+	defer lifecycle.Unlock()
+
+	if entry.inbound != nil && n.stopHandler != nil {
+		n.stopHandler(accountID, entry.inbound)
+	}
+	if entry.transport != nil {
+		entry.transport.CloseIdleConnections()
+	}
+	if entry.insecureTransport != nil {
+		entry.insecureTransport.CloseIdleConnections()
+	}
+	if entry.client == nil {
+		return
+	}
+
+	ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), clientStopTimeout)
+	defer cancel()
+	if err := entry.client.Stop(ctx); err != nil {
+		n.logger.WithField("account_id", accountID).WithError(err).Warn("failed to stop netbird client")
+	}
+}
+
 func (n *NetBird) notifyDisconnect(ctx context.Context, accountID types.AccountID, key ServiceKey, serviceID types.ServiceID) {
 	if n.statusNotifier == nil {
 		return
diff --git a/proxy/internal/roundtrip/netbird_test.go b/proxy/internal/roundtrip/netbird_test.go
index b1c36b465..700cca83e 100644
--- a/proxy/internal/roundtrip/netbird_test.go
+++ b/proxy/internal/roundtrip/netbird_test.go
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import (
 	"net/netip"
 	"sync"
 	"testing"
+	"time"
 
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
@@ -22,6 +23,18 @@ func (m *mockMgmtClient) CreateProxyPeer(_ context.Context, _ *proto.CreateProxy
 	return &proto.CreateProxyPeerResponse{Success: true}, nil
 }
 
+// signalMgmtClient closes entered the first time CreateProxyPeer is called, so
+// tests can detect AddPeer reaching client creation.
+type signalMgmtClient struct {
+	entered chan struct{}
+	once    sync.Once
+}
+
+func (m *signalMgmtClient) CreateProxyPeer(_ context.Context, _ *proto.CreateProxyPeerRequest, _ ...grpc.CallOption) (*proto.CreateProxyPeerResponse, error) {
+	m.once.Do(func() { close(m.entered) })
+	return &proto.CreateProxyPeerResponse{Success: true}, nil
+}
+
 type mockStatusNotifier struct {
 	mu       sync.Mutex
 	statuses []statusCall
@@ -52,11 +65,15 @@ func (m *mockStatusNotifier) calls() []statusCall {
 // mockNetBird creates a NetBird instance for testing without actually connecting.
 // It uses an invalid management URL to prevent real connections.
 func mockNetBird() *NetBird {
-	return NewNetBird(context.Background(), "test-proxy", "invalid.test", ClientConfig{
+	nb := NewNetBird(context.Background(), "test-proxy", "invalid.test", ClientConfig{
 		MgmtAddr:     "http://invalid.test:9999",
 		WGPort:       0,
 		PreSharedKey: "",
 	}, nil, nil, &mockMgmtClient{})
+	// Skip the real embed client.Start, which would hang against the unreachable
+	// mgmt URL and (now that the lifecycle lock spans startup) serialise removes.
+	nb.startClient = func(types.AccountID, *embed.Client) {}
+	return nb
 }
 
 func TestNetBird_AddPeer_CreatesClientForNewAccount(t *testing.T) {
@@ -288,6 +305,7 @@ func TestNetBird_AddPeer_ExistingStartedClient_NotifiesStatus(t *testing.T) {
 		WGPort:       0,
 		PreSharedKey: "",
 	}, nil, notifier, &mockMgmtClient{})
+	nb.startClient = func(types.AccountID, *embed.Client) {}
 	accountID := types.AccountID("account-1")
 
 	// Add first service — creates a new client entry.
@@ -372,6 +390,117 @@ func TestNetBird_RemovePeer_NotifiesDisconnection(t *testing.T) {
 	assert.False(t, calls[0].connected)
 }
 
+// TestNetBird_RemovePeer_TeardownIsAsync proves the fix for the receive-loop
+// stall: RemovePeer must return promptly even when the client teardown blocks,
+// because teardown runs off the caller's goroutine. The receive loop calls
+// RemovePeer synchronously, so a blocking teardown inline would wedge it.
+func TestNetBird_RemovePeer_TeardownIsAsync(t *testing.T) {
+	nb := NewNetBird(context.Background(), "test-proxy", "invalid.test", ClientConfig{
+		MgmtAddr: "http://invalid.test:9999",
+	}, nil, &mockStatusNotifier{}, &mockMgmtClient{})
+
+	accountID := types.AccountID("acct-async-teardown")
+	key := DomainServiceKey("svc.example")
+
+	teardownEntered := make(chan struct{})
+	releaseTeardown := make(chan struct{})
+	nb.SetClientLifecycle(nil, func(types.AccountID, any) {
+		close(teardownEntered)
+		<-releaseTeardown
+	})
+
+	nb.clientsMux.Lock()
+	nb.clients[accountID] = &clientEntry{
+		services: map[ServiceKey]serviceInfo{key: {serviceID: types.ServiceID("svc-1")}},
+		started:  true,
+		inbound:  struct{}{},
+	}
+	nb.clientsMux.Unlock()
+
+	done := make(chan error, 1)
+	go func() { done <- nb.RemovePeer(context.Background(), accountID, key) }()
+
+	select {
+	case err := <-done:
+		require.NoError(t, err)
+	case <-time.After(2 * time.Second):
+		t.Fatal("RemovePeer did not return while teardown was blocked — teardown is not async")
+	}
+
+	select {
+	case <-teardownEntered:
+	case <-time.After(2 * time.Second):
+		t.Fatal("teardown never ran")
+	}
+
+	close(releaseTeardown)
+}
+
+// TestNetBird_AddPeer_WaitsForTeardown proves the lifecycle lock serialises a
+// new client bringup behind an in-flight teardown for the same account, so a
+// slow client.Stop can never race a new client.Start for that account.
+//
+// It targets the handoff race specifically: AddPeer is launched immediately
+// after RemovePeer returns, WITHOUT waiting for the teardown goroutine to start.
+// This only passes if RemovePeer acquires the lifecycle lock synchronously
+// (before returning) and hands it to the teardown goroutine — if the goroutine
+// acquired the lock itself, AddPeer could win the lock in this window and start
+// a replacement client while the old teardown is still pending.
+func TestNetBird_AddPeer_WaitsForTeardown(t *testing.T) {
+	nb := NewNetBird(context.Background(), "test-proxy", "invalid.test", ClientConfig{
+		MgmtAddr: "http://invalid.test:9999",
+	}, nil, &mockStatusNotifier{}, &mockMgmtClient{})
+	nb.startClient = func(types.AccountID, *embed.Client) {}
+
+	accountID := types.AccountID("acct-serialize")
+	key := DomainServiceKey("svc.example")
+
+	addEntered := make(chan struct{})
+	releaseTeardown := make(chan struct{})
+	nb.SetClientLifecycle(nil, func(types.AccountID, any) {
+		// Block teardown until released. If AddPeer ever reaches createClientEntry
+		// (signalled via the mgmt client below) while we hold the lock, the lock
+		// failed to serialise and the test fails before we release.
+		<-releaseTeardown
+	})
+
+	nb.clientsMux.Lock()
+	nb.clients[accountID] = &clientEntry{
+		services: map[ServiceKey]serviceInfo{key: {serviceID: types.ServiceID("svc-1")}},
+		started:  true,
+		inbound:  struct{}{},
+	}
+	nb.clientsMux.Unlock()
+
+	// createClientEntry calls CreateProxyPeer; closing addEntered there tells us
+	// AddPeer got past the lifecycle lock and into client creation.
+	nb.mgmtClient = &signalMgmtClient{entered: addEntered}
+
+	require.NoError(t, nb.RemovePeer(context.Background(), accountID, key))
+
+	// Launch AddPeer with NO synchronisation against the teardown goroutine.
+	addReturned := make(chan struct{})
+	go func() {
+		_ = nb.AddPeer(context.Background(), accountID, DomainServiceKey("svc2.example"), "key-2", types.ServiceID("svc-2"))
+		close(addReturned)
+	}()
+
+	select {
+	case <-addEntered:
+		t.Fatal("AddPeer entered client creation while teardown held the lifecycle lock — handoff race not closed")
+	case <-addReturned:
+		t.Fatal("AddPeer completed while teardown held the lifecycle lock — not serialised")
+	case <-time.After(300 * time.Millisecond):
+	}
+
+	close(releaseTeardown)
+	select {
+	case <-addReturned:
+	case <-time.After(2 * time.Second):
+		t.Fatal("AddPeer never completed after teardown released the lifecycle lock")
+	}
+}
+
 // TestNotifyClientReady_UsesBackgroundCtx pins the contract that the
 // post-Start hooks (readyHandler + statusNotifier.NotifyStatus) run on
 // a fresh context.Background() rather than inheriting the AddPeer
diff --git a/proxy/lifecycle.go b/proxy/lifecycle.go
index 41d4bc496..0d4aded9c 100644
--- a/proxy/lifecycle.go
+++ b/proxy/lifecycle.go
@@ -114,6 +114,10 @@ type Config struct {
 	MaxDialTimeout time.Duration
 	// MaxSessionIdleTimeout caps the per-service session idle timeout.
 	MaxSessionIdleTimeout time.Duration
+	// MappingBatchWatchdog bounds how long a single mapping batch may spend
+	// being applied before the receive loop reconnects to resync. Zero falls
+	// back to the internal default.
+	MappingBatchWatchdog time.Duration
 
 	// GeoDataDir is the directory containing GeoLite2 MMDB files.
 	GeoDataDir string
@@ -164,6 +168,7 @@ func New(ctx context.Context, cfg Config) *Server {
 		Private:                  cfg.Private,
 		MaxDialTimeout:           cfg.MaxDialTimeout,
 		MaxSessionIdleTimeout:    cfg.MaxSessionIdleTimeout,
+		MappingBatchWatchdog:     cfg.MappingBatchWatchdog,
 		GeoDataDir:               cfg.GeoDataDir,
 		CrowdSecAPIURL:           cfg.CrowdSecAPIURL,
 		CrowdSecAPIKey:           cfg.CrowdSecAPIKey,
diff --git a/proxy/mapping_stall_test.go b/proxy/mapping_stall_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..acf313d19
--- /dev/null
+++ b/proxy/mapping_stall_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,282 @@
+package proxy
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"sync"
+	"sync/atomic"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	log "github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
+	"google.golang.org/grpc"
+	"google.golang.org/grpc/metadata"
+
+	"github.com/netbirdio/netbird/proxy/internal/roundtrip"
+	"github.com/netbirdio/netbird/proxy/internal/types"
+	"github.com/netbirdio/netbird/shared/management/proto"
+)
+
+// blockingMgmtClient implements roundtrip's managementClient interface.
+// CreateProxyPeer parks until release is closed, signalling entry on entered.
+// This reproduces the confirmed real-world stall: createClientEntry calls
+// CreateProxyPeer synchronously while holding clientsMux, and the proxy's
+// receive loop calls that path synchronously inside processMappings.
+type blockingMgmtClient struct {
+	entered chan struct{}
+	once    sync.Once
+}
+
+func (b *blockingMgmtClient) CreateProxyPeer(ctx context.Context, _ *proto.CreateProxyPeerRequest, _ ...grpc.CallOption) (*proto.CreateProxyPeerResponse, error) {
+	b.once.Do(func() { close(b.entered) })
+	// Park until the caller's context is cancelled. In production this ctx is
+	// the gRPC mapping-stream context with no per-call timeout, so a slow or
+	// unresponsive CreateProxyPeer parks the receive loop here indefinitely.
+	<-ctx.Done()
+	return nil, ctx.Err()
+}
+
+// gatedMappingStream is a mock GetMappingUpdate client stream that hands out a
+// pre-seeded list of messages, then records how many times Recv advanced. It
+// lets the test observe whether the single-threaded receive loop ever gets
+// past the first (blocking) batch to pull the second message.
+type gatedMappingStream struct {
+	grpc.ClientStream
+	messages []*proto.GetMappingUpdateResponse
+	idx      int32
+}
+
+func (g *gatedMappingStream) Recv() (*proto.GetMappingUpdateResponse, error) {
+	i := int(atomic.LoadInt32(&g.idx))
+	if i >= len(g.messages) {
+		// Block instead of returning EOF so the loop doesn't exit; we only
+		// care whether the loop ever reaches this second Recv at all.
+		select {}
+	}
+	msg := g.messages[i]
+	atomic.AddInt32(&g.idx, 1)
+	return msg, nil
+}
+
+func (g *gatedMappingStream) deliveredCount() int32 { return atomic.LoadInt32(&g.idx) }
+
+func (g *gatedMappingStream) Header() (metadata.MD, error) { return nil, nil } //nolint:nilnil
+func (g *gatedMappingStream) Trailer() metadata.MD         { return nil }
+func (g *gatedMappingStream) CloseSend() error             { return nil }
+func (g *gatedMappingStream) Context() context.Context     { return context.Background() }
+func (g *gatedMappingStream) SendMsg(any) error            { return nil }
+func (g *gatedMappingStream) RecvMsg(any) error            { return nil }
+
+// noopNotifier satisfies roundtrip's statusNotifier interface.
+type noopNotifier struct{}
+
+func (noopNotifier) NotifyStatus(context.Context, types.AccountID, types.ServiceID, bool) error {
+	return nil
+}
+
+// noopProxyClient is a proto.ProxyServiceClient that no-ops the one method the
+// teardown unwind reaches (SendStatusUpdate, via notifyError when the parked
+// AddPeer is cancelled). The embedded nil interface satisfies the rest at
+// compile time; none of those methods are called by this test.
+type noopProxyClient struct {
+	proto.ProxyServiceClient
+}
+
+func (noopProxyClient) SendStatusUpdate(context.Context, *proto.SendStatusUpdateRequest, ...grpc.CallOption) (*proto.SendStatusUpdateResponse, error) {
+	return &proto.SendStatusUpdateResponse{}, nil
+}
+
+// TestMappingStream_StallsWhenApplyBlocks proves the deadlock: the proxy's
+// mapping receive loop processes batches strictly serially, so when applying
+// one batch blocks (here: createClientEntry parked on a synchronous
+// CreateProxyPeer call, exactly as observed in production), the loop never
+// advances to Recv the next batch. Management can keep sending updates onto
+// the stream with no error and no channel overflow, yet the proxy applies
+// nothing further — it is stuck.
+func TestMappingStream_StallsWhenApplyBlocks(t *testing.T) {
+	logger := log.New()
+	logger.SetLevel(log.PanicLevel)
+
+	mgmt := &blockingMgmtClient{
+		entered: make(chan struct{}),
+	}
+
+	nb := roundtrip.NewNetBird(
+		context.Background(),
+		"proxy-test",
+		"proxy.example.com",
+		roundtrip.ClientConfig{},
+		logger,
+		noopNotifier{},
+		mgmt,
+	)
+
+	s := &Server{
+		Logger:       logger,
+		netbird:      nb,
+		mgmtClient:   noopProxyClient{},
+		routerReady:  closedChan(),
+		lastMappings: make(map[types.ServiceID]*proto.ProxyMapping),
+	}
+
+	// First batch: a CREATED mapping for a brand-new account. addMapping ->
+	// netbird.AddPeer -> createClientEntry -> CreateProxyPeer, which blocks.
+	// Empty Path keeps setupHTTPMapping a no-op (it returns early), so the
+	// ONLY blocking point is the synchronous CreateProxyPeer in AddPeer —
+	// no routers/auth need wiring. The second batch exists only to detect
+	// whether the loop ever advances past the blocked first batch.
+	stream := &gatedMappingStream{
+		messages: []*proto.GetMappingUpdateResponse{
+			{
+				Mapping: []*proto.ProxyMapping{
+					{
+						Type:      proto.ProxyMappingUpdateType_UPDATE_TYPE_CREATED,
+						Id:        "svc-1",
+						AccountId: "acct-1",
+						AuthToken: "token-1",
+					},
+				},
+			},
+			{
+				Mapping: []*proto.ProxyMapping{
+					{
+						Type:      proto.ProxyMappingUpdateType_UPDATE_TYPE_CREATED,
+						Id:        "svc-2",
+						AccountId: "acct-2",
+						AuthToken: "token-2",
+					},
+				},
+			},
+		},
+	}
+
+	ctx, cancel := context.WithCancel(context.Background())
+	// Unblock the parked apply on teardown via ctx (CreateProxyPeer returns
+	// ctx.Err()), so the wedged loop goroutine unwinds before embed.New —
+	// avoiding any dependency on collaborators this test deliberately leaves
+	// nil. The deadlock is fully proven before this fires.
+	t.Cleanup(cancel)
+
+	loopDone := make(chan struct{})
+	syncDone := false
+	go func() {
+		defer close(loopDone)
+		_ = s.handleMappingStream(ctx, stream, &syncDone, time.Time{})
+	}()
+
+	// The loop must reach the blocking apply for the first batch.
+	select {
+	case <-mgmt.entered:
+	case <-time.After(2 * time.Second):
+		t.Fatal("receive loop never reached CreateProxyPeer for the first batch")
+	}
+
+	// THE DEADLOCK: while the first batch is parked in CreateProxyPeer, the
+	// single-threaded loop cannot advance. The second batch is never pulled,
+	// even though it is already available on the stream. Give it ample time.
+	// deliveredCount is atomic; syncDone is intentionally not read here because
+	// the loop goroutine owns it (reading it from the test would race).
+	time.Sleep(500 * time.Millisecond)
+	assert.Equal(t, int32(1), stream.deliveredCount(),
+		"loop must NOT consume the second batch while the first is blocked in apply — proxy is stuck")
+
+	select {
+	case <-loopDone:
+		t.Fatal("receive loop returned while it should be wedged in apply")
+	default:
+		// Still wedged, as expected.
+	}
+}
+
+// TestMappingStream_StallsWhenRemoveBlocks proves the deadlock for the REMOVE
+// path observed in production: a mapping remove tears down the account's last
+// embedded client via netbird.RemovePeer -> client.Stop -> Engine.Stop, whose
+// jobExecutorWG.Wait() is unbounded. Because the receive loop is single-
+// threaded, a blocked remove wedges the loop: no further mapping updates of any
+// kind (create/modify/remove) are applied, while management keeps sending them
+// successfully (no send error, no channel-full). Matches the reported symptom:
+// the last log line is a remove that stops a client, then silence.
+func TestMappingStream_StallsWhenRemoveBlocks(t *testing.T) {
+	logger := log.New()
+	logger.SetLevel(log.PanicLevel)
+
+	enteredRemove := make(chan struct{})
+	blockRemove := make(chan struct{})
+	var once sync.Once
+
+	s := &Server{
+		Logger:       logger,
+		mgmtClient:   noopProxyClient{},
+		routerReady:  closedChan(),
+		lastMappings: make(map[types.ServiceID]*proto.ProxyMapping),
+		// Stand in for netbird.RemovePeer -> client.Stop hanging on
+		// Engine.Stop's unbounded jobExecutorWG.Wait(). Only the first remove
+		// blocks; later removes return immediately so the recovery assertion
+		// can observe the loop advancing.
+		removePeer: func(ctx context.Context, _ types.AccountID, _ roundtrip.ServiceKey) error {
+			first := false
+			once.Do(func() {
+				first = true
+				close(enteredRemove)
+			})
+			if !first {
+				return nil
+			}
+			select {
+			case <-blockRemove:
+			case <-ctx.Done():
+			}
+			return nil
+		},
+	}
+
+	// Batch 1 removes a service (blocks in teardown). Batch 2 is a later update
+	// that must never be applied while the remove is wedged.
+	stream := &gatedMappingStream{
+		messages: []*proto.GetMappingUpdateResponse{
+			{
+				Mapping: []*proto.ProxyMapping{
+					{Type: proto.ProxyMappingUpdateType_UPDATE_TYPE_REMOVED, Id: "svc-1", AccountId: "acct-1"},
+				},
+			},
+			{
+				Mapping: []*proto.ProxyMapping{
+					{Type: proto.ProxyMappingUpdateType_UPDATE_TYPE_REMOVED, Id: "svc-2", AccountId: "acct-1"},
+				},
+			},
+		},
+	}
+
+	loopDone := make(chan struct{})
+	syncDone := false
+	go func() {
+		defer close(loopDone)
+		_ = s.handleMappingStream(context.Background(), stream, &syncDone, time.Time{})
+	}()
+
+	select {
+	case <-enteredRemove:
+	case <-time.After(2 * time.Second):
+		t.Fatal("receive loop never reached the blocking remove for the first batch")
+	}
+
+	// THE DEADLOCK: the loop is parked in the blocked remove and cannot advance.
+	// syncDone is owned by the loop goroutine, so it is not read here.
+	time.Sleep(500 * time.Millisecond)
+	assert.Equal(t, int32(1), stream.deliveredCount(),
+		"loop must NOT consume the second batch while the first remove is blocked — proxy is stuck")
+
+	select {
+	case <-loopDone:
+		t.Fatal("receive loop returned while it should be wedged on the remove")
+	default:
+	}
+
+	// Unblock and confirm the wedge was solely the blocked remove: the loop
+	// then advances and consumes the next batch.
+	close(blockRemove)
+	assert.Eventually(t, func() bool {
+		return stream.deliveredCount() >= 2
+	}, 2*time.Second, 5*time.Millisecond,
+		"once the remove unblocks, the loop must advance and consume the next batch")
+}
diff --git a/proxy/server.go b/proxy/server.go
index 1f5e0abd6..6d5acfe46 100644
--- a/proxy/server.go
+++ b/proxy/server.go
@@ -118,6 +118,9 @@ type Server struct {
 	// The mapping worker waits on this before processing updates.
 	routerReady chan struct{}
 
+	// removePeer defaults to netbird.RemovePeer; overridable in tests.
+	removePeer func(ctx context.Context, accountID types.AccountID, key roundtrip.ServiceKey) error
+
 	// inbound, when non-nil, manages per-account inbound listeners. Set by
 	// initPrivateInbound only when Private is true so the standalone
 	// proxy keeps its zero-overhead default path.
@@ -227,6 +230,10 @@ type Server struct {
 	// Zero means no cap (the proxy honors whatever management sends).
 	// Set via NB_PROXY_MAX_SESSION_IDLE_TIMEOUT for shared deployments.
 	MaxSessionIdleTimeout time.Duration
+	// MappingBatchWatchdog bounds how long a single mapping batch may spend
+	// in processMappings before the receive loop reconnects to resync.
+	// Zero uses defaultMappingBatchWatchdog.
+	MappingBatchWatchdog time.Duration
 }
 
 // clampIdleTimeout returns d capped to MaxSessionIdleTimeout when configured.
@@ -1172,24 +1179,30 @@ func (s *Server) newManagementMappingWorker(ctx context.Context, client proto.Pr
 			s.healthChecker.SetManagementConnected(false)
 		}
 
+		connected := false
+		onConnected := func() { connected = true }
+
 		var streamErr error
 		if syncSupported {
-			streamErr = s.trySyncMappings(ctx, client, &initialSyncDone)
+			streamErr = s.trySyncMappings(ctx, client, &initialSyncDone, onConnected)
 			if isSyncUnimplemented(streamErr) {
 				syncSupported = false
 				s.Logger.Info("management does not support SyncMappings, falling back to GetMappingUpdate")
-				streamErr = s.tryGetMappingUpdate(ctx, client, &initialSyncDone)
+				streamErr = s.tryGetMappingUpdate(ctx, client, &initialSyncDone, onConnected)
 			}
 		} else {
-			streamErr = s.tryGetMappingUpdate(ctx, client, &initialSyncDone)
+			streamErr = s.tryGetMappingUpdate(ctx, client, &initialSyncDone, onConnected)
 		}
 
 		if s.healthChecker != nil {
 			s.healthChecker.SetManagementConnected(false)
 		}
 
-		// Stream established — reset backoff so the next failure retries quickly.
-		bo.Reset()
+		// Reset backoff only when a stream actually connected, so immediate
+		// connect failures still back off instead of spinning.
+		if connected {
+			bo.Reset()
+		}
 
 		if streamErr == nil {
 			return fmt.Errorf("stream closed by server")
@@ -1221,7 +1234,7 @@ func (s *Server) proxyCapabilities() *proto.ProxyCapabilities {
 	}
 }
 
-func (s *Server) tryGetMappingUpdate(ctx context.Context, client proto.ProxyServiceClient, initialSyncDone *bool) error {
+func (s *Server) tryGetMappingUpdate(ctx context.Context, client proto.ProxyServiceClient, initialSyncDone *bool, onConnected func()) error {
 	connectTime := time.Now()
 	mappingClient, err := client.GetMappingUpdate(ctx, &proto.GetMappingUpdateRequest{
 		ProxyId:      s.ID,
@@ -1234,6 +1247,7 @@ func (s *Server) tryGetMappingUpdate(ctx context.Context, client proto.ProxyServ
 		return fmt.Errorf("create mapping stream: %w", err)
 	}
 
+	onConnected()
 	if s.healthChecker != nil {
 		s.healthChecker.SetManagementConnected(true)
 	}
@@ -1242,7 +1256,7 @@ func (s *Server) tryGetMappingUpdate(ctx context.Context, client proto.ProxyServ
 	return s.handleMappingStream(ctx, mappingClient, initialSyncDone, connectTime)
 }
 
-func (s *Server) trySyncMappings(ctx context.Context, client proto.ProxyServiceClient, initialSyncDone *bool) error {
+func (s *Server) trySyncMappings(ctx context.Context, client proto.ProxyServiceClient, initialSyncDone *bool, onConnected func()) error {
 	connectTime := time.Now()
 	stream, err := client.SyncMappings(ctx)
 	if err != nil {
@@ -1263,6 +1277,7 @@ func (s *Server) trySyncMappings(ctx context.Context, client proto.ProxyServiceC
 		return fmt.Errorf("send sync init: %w", err)
 	}
 
+	onConnected()
 	if s.healthChecker != nil {
 		s.healthChecker.SetManagementConnected(true)
 	}
@@ -1307,7 +1322,9 @@ func (s *Server) handleSyncMappingsStream(ctx context.Context, stream proto.Prox
 
 			batchStart := time.Now()
 			s.Logger.Debug("Received mapping update, starting processing")
-			s.processMappings(ctx, msg.GetMapping())
+			if err := s.processMappingsGuarded(ctx, msg.GetMapping()); err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
 			s.Logger.Debug("Processing mapping update completed")
 			tracker.recordBatch(ctx, s, msg.GetMapping(), msg.GetInitialSyncComplete(), batchStart)
 
@@ -1391,7 +1408,9 @@ func (s *Server) handleMappingStream(ctx context.Context, mappingClient proto.Pr
 
 			batchStart := time.Now()
 			s.Logger.Debug("Received mapping update, starting processing")
-			s.processMappings(ctx, msg.GetMapping())
+			if err := s.processMappingsGuarded(ctx, msg.GetMapping()); err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
 			s.Logger.Debug("Processing mapping update completed")
 			tracker.recordBatch(ctx, s, msg.GetMapping(), msg.GetInitialSyncComplete(), batchStart)
 		}
@@ -1456,6 +1475,44 @@ func redactMappingForLog(m *proto.ProxyMapping) *proto.ProxyMapping {
 	return c
 }
 
+const defaultMappingBatchWatchdog = 2 * time.Minute
+
+// mappingBatchWatchdog returns the configured batch watchdog or the default.
+func (s *Server) mappingBatchWatchdog() time.Duration {
+	if s.MappingBatchWatchdog > 0 {
+		return s.MappingBatchWatchdog
+	}
+	return defaultMappingBatchWatchdog
+}
+
+// processMappingsGuarded applies a batch under a watchdog, returning an error
+// if processing exceeds the watchdog so the caller reconnects and resyncs
+// instead of wedging silently.
+func (s *Server) processMappingsGuarded(ctx context.Context, mappings []*proto.ProxyMapping) error {
+	batchCtx, cancel := context.WithCancel(ctx)
+	defer cancel()
+
+	done := make(chan struct{})
+	go func() {
+		defer close(done)
+		s.processMappings(batchCtx, mappings)
+	}()
+
+	watchdog := s.mappingBatchWatchdog()
+	timer := time.NewTimer(watchdog)
+	defer timer.Stop()
+
+	select {
+	case <-done:
+		return nil
+	case <-ctx.Done():
+		return ctx.Err()
+	case <-timer.C:
+		s.Logger.Errorf("processing mapping batch exceeded %s, cancelling and reconnecting to resync", watchdog)
+		return fmt.Errorf("mapping batch processing stalled after %s", watchdog)
+	}
+}
+
 func (s *Server) processMappings(ctx context.Context, mappings []*proto.ProxyMapping) {
 	debug := s.Logger != nil && s.Logger.IsLevelEnabled(log.DebugLevel)
 	for _, mapping := range mappings {
@@ -1951,7 +2008,11 @@ func (s *Server) updateMapping(ctx context.Context, mapping *proto.ProxyMapping)
 func (s *Server) removeMapping(ctx context.Context, mapping *proto.ProxyMapping) {
 	accountID := types.AccountID(mapping.GetAccountId())
 	svcKey := s.serviceKeyForMapping(mapping)
-	if err := s.netbird.RemovePeer(ctx, accountID, svcKey); err != nil {
+	removePeer := s.removePeer
+	if removePeer == nil {
+		removePeer = s.netbird.RemovePeer
+	}
+	if err := removePeer(ctx, accountID, svcKey); err != nil {
 		s.Logger.WithFields(log.Fields{
 			"account_id": accountID,
 			"service_id": mapping.GetId(),
diff --git a/release_files/install.sh b/release_files/install.sh
index 1e71936f3..a002de472 100755
--- a/release_files/install.sh
+++ b/release_files/install.sh
@@ -417,15 +417,30 @@ if type uname >/dev/null 2>&1; then
               # Check the availability of a compatible package manager
               if check_use_bin_variable; then
                   PACKAGE_MANAGER="bin"
+              elif [ -e /run/ostree-booted ]; then
+                  if [ -x "$(command -v rpm-ostree)" ]; then
+                      PACKAGE_MANAGER="rpm-ostree"
+                      echo "The installation will be performed using rpm-ostree package manager"
+                  elif [ -x "$(command -v bootc)" ]; then
+                      echo "Detected bootc system without rpm-ostree." >&2
+                      echo "NetBird cannot be installed via package manager on this system." >&2
+                      echo "Options:" >&2
+                      echo "  1. Install via Distrobox (instructions in the installation docs)" >&2
+                      echo "  2. Rebuild your base image with rpm-ostree included" >&2
+                      echo "  3. Bake NetBird into your Containerfile" >&2
+                      exit 1
+                  else
+                      echo "Detected ostree-booted system without rpm-ostree or bootc." >&2
+                      echo "NetBird cannot be installed automatically on this atomic system." >&2
+                      echo "Please install NetBird by rebuilding your base image or use a supported package manager." >&2
+                      exit 1
+                  fi
               elif [ -x "$(command -v apt-get)" ]; then
                   PACKAGE_MANAGER="apt"
                   echo "The installation will be performed using apt package manager"
               elif [ -x "$(command -v dnf)" ]; then
                   PACKAGE_MANAGER="dnf"
                   echo "The installation will be performed using dnf package manager"
-              elif [ -x "$(command -v rpm-ostree)" ]; then
-                  PACKAGE_MANAGER="rpm-ostree"
-                  echo "The installation will be performed using rpm-ostree package manager"
               elif [ -x "$(command -v yum)" ]; then
                   PACKAGE_MANAGER="yum"
                   echo "The installation will be performed using yum package manager"
diff --git a/shared/context/keys.go b/shared/context/keys.go
index ca56be67e..3287a6366 100644
--- a/shared/context/keys.go
+++ b/shared/context/keys.go
@@ -6,4 +6,5 @@ const (
 	RoleKey      = "role"
 	UserIDKey    = "userID"
 	PeerIDKey    = "peerID"
+	UserAgentKey = "userAgent"
 )
diff --git a/shared/management/http/api/openapi.yml b/shared/management/http/api/openapi.yml
index 03e30e6b7..f8c687b7b 100644
--- a/shared/management/http/api/openapi.yml
+++ b/shared/management/http/api/openapi.yml
@@ -5107,31 +5107,63 @@ components:
   responses:
     not_found:
       description: Resource not found
+      headers:
+        X-Request-Id:
+          $ref: '#/components/headers/X-Request-Id'
       content: { }
     validation_failed_simple:
       description: Validation failed
+      headers:
+        X-Request-Id:
+          $ref: '#/components/headers/X-Request-Id'
       content: { }
     bad_request:
       description: Bad Request
+      headers:
+        X-Request-Id:
+          $ref: '#/components/headers/X-Request-Id'
       content: { }
     internal_error:
       description: Internal Server Error
+      headers:
+        X-Request-Id:
+          $ref: '#/components/headers/X-Request-Id'
       content: { }
     validation_failed:
       description: Validation failed
+      headers:
+        X-Request-Id:
+          $ref: '#/components/headers/X-Request-Id'
       content: { }
     forbidden:
       description: Forbidden
+      headers:
+        X-Request-Id:
+          $ref: '#/components/headers/X-Request-Id'
       content: { }
     requires_authentication:
       description: Requires authentication
+      headers:
+        X-Request-Id:
+          $ref: '#/components/headers/X-Request-Id'
       content: { }
     conflict:
       description: Conflict
+      headers:
+        X-Request-Id:
+          $ref: '#/components/headers/X-Request-Id'
       content:
         application/json:
           schema:
             $ref: '#/components/schemas/ErrorResponse'
+  headers:
+    X-Request-Id:
+      description: |
+        Unique identifier assigned to the request by the server and set on every
+        response. Useful for correlating client requests with server-side logs.
+      schema:
+        type: string
+        example: cot7r4n3l3vh3qj4qveg
   securitySchemes:
     BearerAuth:
       type: http
diff --git a/shared/relay/client/client.go b/shared/relay/client/client.go
index 1800bddb2..002b8d134 100644
--- a/shared/relay/client/client.go
+++ b/shared/relay/client/client.go
@@ -9,12 +9,14 @@ import (
 	"net/url"
 	"strings"
 	"sync"
+	"sync/atomic"
 	"time"
 
 	log "github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
 
 	auth "github.com/netbirdio/netbird/shared/relay/auth/hmac"
 	"github.com/netbirdio/netbird/shared/relay/client/dialer"
+	netErr "github.com/netbirdio/netbird/shared/relay/client/dialer/net"
 	"github.com/netbirdio/netbird/shared/relay/healthcheck"
 	"github.com/netbirdio/netbird/shared/relay/messages"
 )
@@ -172,6 +174,19 @@ type Client struct {
 	stateSubscription *PeersStateSubscription
 
 	mtu uint16
+
+	// transportFallback, when set, records datagram-too-large failures so a
+	// datagram-sized transport is avoided on subsequent connects. Shared via
+	// the manager.
+	transportFallback *transportFallback
+	// datagramFallbackTriggered guards a single fallback per connection so a
+	// burst of oversized datagrams triggers one reconnect, not many.
+	datagramFallbackTriggered atomic.Bool
+}
+
+// SetTransportFallback wires the shared datagram-transport fallback tracker.
+func (c *Client) SetTransportFallback(tf *transportFallback) {
+	c.transportFallback = tf
 }
 
 // NewClient creates a new client for the relay server. The client is not connected to the server until the Connect
@@ -361,12 +376,13 @@ func (c *Client) Close() error {
 }
 
 func (c *Client) connect(ctx context.Context) (*RelayAddr, error) {
-	dialers := c.getDialers()
+	mode := transportModeFromEnv()
+	dialers := c.getDialers(mode)
 
 	var conn net.Conn
 	if c.serverIP.IsValid() {
 		var err error
-		conn, err = c.dialRaceDirect(ctx, dialers)
+		conn, err = c.dialRaceDirect(ctx, mode, dialers)
 		if err != nil {
 			c.log.Infof("dial via server IP %s failed, falling back to FQDN: %v", c.serverIP, err)
 			conn = nil
@@ -375,6 +391,9 @@ func (c *Client) connect(ctx context.Context) (*RelayAddr, error) {
 
 	if conn == nil {
 		rd := dialer.NewRaceDial(c.log, dialer.DefaultConnectionTimeout, c.connectionURL, dialers...)
+		if mode.sequential() {
+			rd.WithSequential()
+		}
 		var err error
 		conn, err = rd.Dial(ctx)
 		if err != nil {
@@ -382,6 +401,7 @@ func (c *Client) connect(ctx context.Context) (*RelayAddr, error) {
 		}
 	}
 	c.relayConn = conn
+	c.datagramFallbackTriggered.Store(false)
 
 	instanceURL, err := c.handShake(ctx)
 	if err != nil {
@@ -396,7 +416,7 @@ func (c *Client) connect(ctx context.Context) (*RelayAddr, error) {
 }
 
 // dialRaceDirect dials c.serverIP, preserving the original FQDN as the TLS ServerName for SNI.
-func (c *Client) dialRaceDirect(ctx context.Context, dialers []dialer.DialeFn) (net.Conn, error) {
+func (c *Client) dialRaceDirect(ctx context.Context, mode TransportMode, dialers []dialer.DialeFn) (net.Conn, error) {
 	directURL, serverName, err := substituteHost(c.connectionURL, c.serverIP)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("substitute host: %w", err)
@@ -406,6 +426,9 @@ func (c *Client) dialRaceDirect(ctx context.Context, dialers []dialer.DialeFn) (
 
 	rd := dialer.NewRaceDial(c.log, dialer.DefaultConnectionTimeout, directURL, dialers...).
 		WithServerName(serverName)
+	if mode.sequential() {
+		rd.WithSequential()
+	}
 	return rd.Dial(ctx)
 }
 
@@ -631,13 +654,53 @@ func (c *Client) writeTo(containerRef *connContainer, dstID messages.PeerID, pay
 	}
 
 	// the write always return with 0 length because the underling does not support the size feedback.
-	_, err = c.relayConn.Write(msg)
+	conn := c.relayConn
+	_, err = conn.Write(msg)
 	if err != nil {
-		c.log.Errorf("failed to write transport message: %s", err)
+		if errors.Is(err, netErr.ErrDatagramTooLarge) {
+			c.onDatagramTooLarge(conn, err)
+		} else {
+			c.log.Errorf("failed to write transport message: %s", err)
+		}
 	}
 	return len(payload), err
 }
 
+// onDatagramTooLarge reacts to a datagram rejected as too large for the path.
+// When a non-datagram transport is available, it records a fallback for this
+// server and closes the connection so the reconnect avoids datagram-sized
+// transports. A single fallback is triggered per connection regardless of how
+// many oversized datagrams arrive. cause carries the datagram size and budget.
+func (c *Client) onDatagramTooLarge(conn net.Conn, cause error) {
+	// Handle one oversized datagram per connection; a burst triggers a single
+	// fallback (and a single log line), not many.
+	if !c.datagramFallbackTriggered.CompareAndSwap(false, true) {
+		return
+	}
+
+	// If the selected mode offers no non-datagram transport (e.g. pinned to a
+	// datagram-sized transport), reconnecting would just re-fail, so leave the
+	// connection up rather than loop.
+	if len(nonDatagramSized(c.baseDialers(transportModeFromEnv()))) == 0 {
+		c.log.Warnf("%s, but no non-datagram transport is available, not falling back", cause)
+		return
+	}
+
+	// Without the shared tracker a reconnect would just select the same
+	// transport again and re-fail, so leave the connection up rather than loop.
+	if c.transportFallback == nil {
+		c.log.Debugf("%s, but no transport fallback configured, leaving connection up", cause)
+		return
+	}
+
+	window := c.transportFallback.recordFailure(c.connectionURL)
+	c.log.Warnf("%s, avoiding datagram-sized transport for %s", cause, window)
+
+	if err := conn.Close(); err != nil {
+		c.log.Debugf("close relay connection for transport fallback: %s", err)
+	}
+}
+
 func (c *Client) listenForStopEvents(ctx context.Context, hc *healthcheck.Receiver, conn net.Conn, internalStopFlag *internalStopFlag) {
 	for {
 		select {
diff --git a/shared/relay/client/dialer/capability.go b/shared/relay/client/dialer/capability.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..511cb2ac7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/shared/relay/client/dialer/capability.go
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+package dialer
+
+// DatagramSized is implemented by dialers whose connections carry each write in
+// a single datagram, so a write can be rejected when it exceeds the path's
+// datagram budget (e.g. QUIC). Transports without this capability (e.g.
+// WebSocket over TCP) impose no per-write size limit, so the relay client can
+// fall back to them when a datagram-sized transport rejects a write as too
+// large. The capability is advertised per dialer rather than hardcoded, so a
+// new transport only needs to declare whether it is datagram-sized.
+type DatagramSized interface {
+	DatagramSized()
+}
+
+// IsDatagramSized reports whether d produces datagram-sized connections.
+func IsDatagramSized(d DialeFn) bool {
+	_, ok := d.(DatagramSized)
+	return ok
+}
diff --git a/shared/relay/client/dialer/net/err.go b/shared/relay/client/dialer/net/err.go
index fee844963..c622420dc 100644
--- a/shared/relay/client/dialer/net/err.go
+++ b/shared/relay/client/dialer/net/err.go
@@ -4,4 +4,9 @@ import "errors"
 
 var (
 	ErrClosedByServer = errors.New("closed by server")
+
+	// ErrDatagramTooLarge is returned when a transport message exceeds the
+	// QUIC datagram size the path to the relay can carry. The relay client
+	// treats it as a signal to fall back to a non-datagram transport.
+	ErrDatagramTooLarge = errors.New("datagram frame too large")
 )
diff --git a/shared/relay/client/dialer/quic/conn.go b/shared/relay/client/dialer/quic/conn.go
index 1d90d7139..a5c982551 100644
--- a/shared/relay/client/dialer/quic/conn.go
+++ b/shared/relay/client/dialer/quic/conn.go
@@ -8,7 +8,6 @@ import (
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/quic-go/quic-go"
-	log "github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
 
 	netErr "github.com/netbirdio/netbird/shared/relay/client/dialer/net"
 )
@@ -52,11 +51,8 @@ func (c *Conn) Read(b []byte) (n int, err error) {
 }
 
 func (c *Conn) Write(b []byte) (int, error) {
-	err := c.session.SendDatagram(b)
-	if err != nil {
-		err = c.remoteCloseErrHandling(err)
-		log.Errorf("failed to write to QUIC stream: %v", err)
-		return 0, err
+	if err := c.session.SendDatagram(b); err != nil {
+		return 0, c.writeErrHandling(err, len(b))
 	}
 	return len(b), nil
 }
@@ -95,3 +91,15 @@ func (c *Conn) remoteCloseErrHandling(err error) error {
 	}
 	return err
 }
+
+// writeErrHandling normalizes SendDatagram errors. A datagram that exceeds the
+// path's QUIC packet budget is mapped to ErrDatagramTooLarge (annotated with the
+// datagram size and path budget) so the relay client can fall back to a
+// non-datagram transport.
+func (c *Conn) writeErrHandling(err error, size int) error {
+	var tooLarge *quic.DatagramTooLargeError
+	if errors.As(err, &tooLarge) {
+		return fmt.Errorf("%w: %d byte datagram over path budget %d", netErr.ErrDatagramTooLarge, size, tooLarge.MaxDatagramPayloadSize)
+	}
+	return c.remoteCloseErrHandling(err)
+}
diff --git a/shared/relay/client/dialer/quic/quic.go b/shared/relay/client/dialer/quic/quic.go
index 86f6f178d..5e1758a1c 100644
--- a/shared/relay/client/dialer/quic/quic.go
+++ b/shared/relay/client/dialer/quic/quic.go
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ import (
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/quic-go/quic-go"
+	"github.com/quic-go/quic-go/logging"
 	log "github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
 
 	nbnet "github.com/netbirdio/netbird/client/net"
@@ -23,6 +24,12 @@ func (d Dialer) Protocol() string {
 	return Network
 }
 
+// DatagramSized marks QUIC as a datagram-sized transport: relay traffic is
+// carried in QUIC DATAGRAM frames, which must fit a single packet.
+func (d Dialer) DatagramSized() {
+	// Intentional marker method; presence is the capability signal.
+}
+
 func (d Dialer) Dial(ctx context.Context, address, serverName string) (net.Conn, error) {
 	quicURL, err := prepareURL(address)
 	if err != nil {
@@ -47,6 +54,7 @@ func (d Dialer) Dial(ctx context.Context, address, serverName string) (net.Conn,
 		MaxIdleTimeout:    4 * time.Minute,
 		EnableDatagrams:   true,
 		InitialPacketSize: nbRelay.QUICInitialPacketSize,
+		Tracer:            connectionTracer(quicURL),
 	}
 
 	udpConn, err := nbnet.ListenUDP("udp", &net.UDPAddr{Port: 0})
@@ -74,6 +82,28 @@ func (d Dialer) Dial(ctx context.Context, address, serverName string) (net.Conn,
 	return conn, nil
 }
 
+// connectionTracer returns a QUIC tracer that logs the DPLPMTUD result and the
+// reason a relay connection closed, so the path MTU settled on and teardown
+// cause are visible in logs. Lines carry the relay address as a structured
+// field, matching the rest of the relay client logging.
+func connectionTracer(addr string) func(context.Context, logging.Perspective, quic.ConnectionID) *logging.ConnectionTracer {
+	relayLog := log.WithField("relay", addr)
+	return func(context.Context, logging.Perspective, quic.ConnectionID) *logging.ConnectionTracer {
+		return &logging.ConnectionTracer{
+			UpdatedMTU: func(mtu logging.ByteCount, done bool) {
+				if done {
+					relayLog.Infof("QUIC path MTU settled at %d", mtu)
+					return
+				}
+				relayLog.Debugf("QUIC path MTU probing at %d", mtu)
+			},
+			ClosedConnection: func(err error) {
+				relayLog.Debugf("QUIC connection closed: %v", err)
+			},
+		}
+	}
+}
+
 func prepareURL(address string) (string, error) {
 	var host string
 	var defaultPort string
diff --git a/shared/relay/client/dialer/race_dialer.go b/shared/relay/client/dialer/race_dialer.go
index 15208b858..aef1ef464 100644
--- a/shared/relay/client/dialer/race_dialer.go
+++ b/shared/relay/client/dialer/race_dialer.go
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@ type RaceDial struct {
 	serverName        string
 	dialerFns         []DialeFn
 	connectionTimeout time.Duration
+	sequential        bool
 }
 
 func NewRaceDial(log *log.Entry, connectionTimeout time.Duration, serverURL string, dialerFns ...DialeFn) *RaceDial {
@@ -53,7 +54,21 @@ func (r *RaceDial) WithServerName(serverName string) *RaceDial {
 	return r
 }
 
+// WithSequential makes Dial try the dialers in order, falling back to the next
+// only when one fails to connect, instead of racing them concurrently.
+//
+// Mutates the receiver and is not safe for concurrent reconfiguration; a
+// RaceDial is intended to be constructed per dial and discarded.
+func (r *RaceDial) WithSequential() *RaceDial {
+	r.sequential = true
+	return r
+}
+
 func (r *RaceDial) Dial(ctx context.Context) (net.Conn, error) {
+	if r.sequential {
+		return r.dialSequential(ctx)
+	}
+
 	connChan := make(chan dialResult, len(r.dialerFns))
 	winnerConn := make(chan net.Conn, 1)
 	abortCtx, abort := context.WithCancel(ctx)
@@ -72,6 +87,30 @@ func (r *RaceDial) Dial(ctx context.Context) (net.Conn, error) {
 	return conn, nil
 }
 
+// dialSequential tries each dialer in order, returning the first connection and
+// falling back to the next on failure.
+func (r *RaceDial) dialSequential(ctx context.Context) (net.Conn, error) {
+	for _, dfn := range r.dialerFns {
+		if err := ctx.Err(); err != nil {
+			return nil, err
+		}
+		attemptCtx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(ctx, r.connectionTimeout)
+		r.log.Infof("dialing Relay server via %s", dfn.Protocol())
+		conn, err := dfn.Dial(attemptCtx, r.serverURL, r.serverName)
+		cancel()
+		if err != nil {
+			if errors.Is(err, context.Canceled) {
+				return nil, err
+			}
+			r.log.Errorf("failed to dial via %s: %s", dfn.Protocol(), err)
+			continue
+		}
+		r.log.Infof("successfully dialed via: %s", dfn.Protocol())
+		return conn, nil
+	}
+	return nil, errors.New("failed to dial to Relay server on any protocol")
+}
+
 func (r *RaceDial) dial(dfn DialeFn, abortCtx context.Context, connChan chan dialResult) {
 	ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(abortCtx, r.connectionTimeout)
 	defer cancel()
diff --git a/shared/relay/client/dialer/race_dialer_test.go b/shared/relay/client/dialer/race_dialer_test.go
index a53edc00e..bd2f4bb85 100644
--- a/shared/relay/client/dialer/race_dialer_test.go
+++ b/shared/relay/client/dialer/race_dialer_test.go
@@ -250,3 +250,66 @@ func TestRaceDialFirstSuccessfulDialerWins(t *testing.T) {
 		}
 	}
 }
+
+func TestRaceDialSequentialFallback(t *testing.T) {
+	logger := logrus.NewEntry(logrus.New())
+	serverURL := "test.server.com"
+
+	var firstDialed, secondDialed bool
+	preferred := &MockDialer{
+		protocolStr: "quic",
+		dialFunc: func(ctx context.Context, address string) (net.Conn, error) {
+			firstDialed = true
+			return nil, errors.New("quic unreachable")
+		},
+	}
+	fallbackConn := &MockConn{remoteAddr: &MockAddr{network: "ws"}}
+	fallback := &MockDialer{
+		protocolStr: "ws",
+		dialFunc: func(ctx context.Context, address string) (net.Conn, error) {
+			secondDialed = true
+			return fallbackConn, nil
+		},
+	}
+
+	rd := NewRaceDial(logger, DefaultConnectionTimeout, serverURL, preferred, fallback).WithSequential()
+	conn, err := rd.Dial(context.Background())
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("expected fallback to succeed, got %v", err)
+	}
+	if conn != fallbackConn {
+		t.Errorf("expected fallback connection, got %v", conn)
+	}
+	if !firstDialed || !secondDialed {
+		t.Errorf("expected both dialers attempted in order, first=%v second=%v", firstDialed, secondDialed)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestRaceDialSequentialPreferredWins(t *testing.T) {
+	logger := logrus.NewEntry(logrus.New())
+	serverURL := "test.server.com"
+
+	preferredConn := &MockConn{remoteAddr: &MockAddr{network: "quic"}}
+	preferred := &MockDialer{
+		protocolStr: "quic",
+		dialFunc: func(ctx context.Context, address string) (net.Conn, error) {
+			return preferredConn, nil
+		},
+	}
+	fallback := &MockDialer{
+		protocolStr: "ws",
+		dialFunc: func(ctx context.Context, address string) (net.Conn, error) {
+			t.Errorf("fallback dialer must not be tried when preferred succeeds")
+			return nil, errors.New("should not happen")
+		},
+	}
+
+	rd := NewRaceDial(logger, DefaultConnectionTimeout, serverURL, preferred, fallback).WithSequential()
+	conn, err := rd.Dial(context.Background())
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("expected preferred to succeed, got %v", err)
+	}
+	if conn != preferredConn {
+		t.Errorf("expected preferred connection, got %v", conn)
+	}
+}
diff --git a/shared/relay/client/dialers_generic.go b/shared/relay/client/dialers_generic.go
index a8ed79961..95e319338 100644
--- a/shared/relay/client/dialers_generic.go
+++ b/shared/relay/client/dialers_generic.go
@@ -9,11 +9,42 @@ import (
 	"github.com/netbirdio/netbird/shared/relay/client/dialer/ws"
 )
 
-// getDialers returns the list of dialers to use for connecting to the relay server.
-func (c *Client) getDialers() []dialer.DialeFn {
-	if c.mtu > 0 && c.mtu > iface.DefaultMTU {
-		c.log.Infof("MTU %d exceeds default (%d), forcing WebSocket transport to avoid DATAGRAM frame size issues", c.mtu, iface.DefaultMTU)
-		return []dialer.DialeFn{ws.Dialer{}}
+// getDialers returns the ordered dialers for connecting to the relay server. It
+// applies the datagram fallback generically: if this server recently rejected a
+// datagram-sized transport, those dialers are dropped, leaving the rest.
+func (c *Client) getDialers(mode TransportMode) []dialer.DialeFn {
+	dialers := c.baseDialers(mode)
+
+	if c.transportFallback != nil && c.transportFallback.avoidDatagramSized(c.connectionURL) {
+		if filtered := nonDatagramSized(dialers); len(filtered) > 0 {
+			c.log.Infof("relay recently rejected a datagram-sized transport, avoiding it")
+			return filtered
+		}
 	}
-	return []dialer.DialeFn{quic.Dialer{}, ws.Dialer{}}
+	return dialers
+}
+
+// baseDialers returns the ordered dialers for the mode, before any datagram
+// fallback filtering. For racing modes (auto) the order is irrelevant; for
+// prefer modes the first entry is tried before falling back to the second.
+func (c *Client) baseDialers(mode TransportMode) []dialer.DialeFn {
+	switch mode {
+	case TransportModeWS:
+		c.log.Infof("%s=ws, using WebSocket transport", EnvRelayTransport)
+		return []dialer.DialeFn{ws.Dialer{}}
+	case TransportModeQUIC:
+		c.log.Infof("%s=quic, using QUIC transport", EnvRelayTransport)
+		return []dialer.DialeFn{quic.Dialer{}}
+	}
+
+	all := []dialer.DialeFn{quic.Dialer{}, ws.Dialer{}}
+	if mode == TransportModePreferWS {
+		all = []dialer.DialeFn{ws.Dialer{}, quic.Dialer{}}
+	}
+
+	if c.mtu > 0 && c.mtu > iface.DefaultMTU {
+		c.log.Infof("MTU %d exceeds default (%d), avoiding datagram-sized transports", c.mtu, iface.DefaultMTU)
+		return nonDatagramSized(all)
+	}
+	return all
 }
diff --git a/shared/relay/client/dialers_generic_test.go b/shared/relay/client/dialers_generic_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..c4ef9cc59
--- /dev/null
+++ b/shared/relay/client/dialers_generic_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,101 @@
+//go:build !js
+
+package client
+
+import (
+	"os"
+	"testing"
+
+	log "github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
+
+	"github.com/netbirdio/netbird/client/iface"
+	"github.com/netbirdio/netbird/shared/relay/client/dialer"
+	netErr "github.com/netbirdio/netbird/shared/relay/client/dialer/net"
+	"github.com/netbirdio/netbird/shared/relay/client/dialer/quic"
+	"github.com/netbirdio/netbird/shared/relay/client/dialer/ws"
+)
+
+// TestDatagramSizedCapability locks the capability the generic fallback relies
+// on: QUIC is datagram-sized, WebSocket is not.
+func TestDatagramSizedCapability(t *testing.T) {
+	assert.True(t, dialer.IsDatagramSized(quic.Dialer{}), "QUIC must advertise datagram-sized")
+	assert.False(t, dialer.IsDatagramSized(ws.Dialer{}), "WebSocket must not advertise datagram-sized")
+}
+
+func protocols(dialers []dialer.DialeFn) []string {
+	out := make([]string, len(dialers))
+	for i, d := range dialers {
+		out[i] = d.Protocol()
+	}
+	return out
+}
+
+func TestGetDialers(t *testing.T) {
+	const url = "rels://relay.example:443"
+
+	tests := []struct {
+		name     string
+		mode     string
+		mtu      uint16
+		preferWS bool
+		want     []string
+	}{
+		{name: "auto races quic and ws", mode: "auto", mtu: iface.DefaultMTU, want: []string{"quic", "WS"}},
+		{name: "ws pinned", mode: "ws", mtu: iface.DefaultMTU, want: []string{"WS"}},
+		{name: "quic pinned", mode: "quic", mtu: iface.DefaultMTU, want: []string{"quic"}},
+		{name: "prefer-quic orders quic first", mode: "prefer-quic", mtu: iface.DefaultMTU, want: []string{"quic", "WS"}},
+		{name: "prefer-ws orders ws first", mode: "prefer-ws", mtu: iface.DefaultMTU, want: []string{"WS", "quic"}},
+		{name: "mtu above default forces ws", mode: "auto", mtu: iface.DefaultMTU + 100, want: []string{"WS"}},
+		{name: "sticky fallback forces ws in auto", mode: "auto", mtu: iface.DefaultMTU, preferWS: true, want: []string{"WS"}},
+		{name: "sticky fallback forces ws in prefer-quic", mode: "prefer-quic", mtu: iface.DefaultMTU, preferWS: true, want: []string{"WS"}},
+		{name: "quic pin overrides sticky fallback", mode: "quic", mtu: iface.DefaultMTU, preferWS: true, want: []string{"quic"}},
+	}
+
+	for _, tc := range tests {
+		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			t.Setenv(EnvRelayTransport, tc.mode)
+			if tc.mode == "" {
+				os.Unsetenv(EnvRelayTransport)
+			}
+
+			tf := newTransportFallback()
+			if tc.preferWS {
+				tf.recordFailure(url)
+			}
+
+			c := &Client{
+				log:               log.WithField("test", t.Name()),
+				connectionURL:     url,
+				mtu:               tc.mtu,
+				transportFallback: tf,
+			}
+
+			assert.Equal(t, tc.want, protocols(c.getDialers(transportModeFromEnv())))
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+// TestStickyFallbackAfterDatagramTooLarge verifies the full chain: an oversized
+// datagram records a fallback that makes the next dial pick WebSocket, the way a
+// reconnect would after the connection is closed.
+func TestStickyFallbackAfterDatagramTooLarge(t *testing.T) {
+	const url = "rels://relay.example:443"
+	t.Setenv(EnvRelayTransport, string(TransportModeAuto))
+
+	c := &Client{
+		log:               log.WithField("test", t.Name()),
+		connectionURL:     url,
+		mtu:               iface.DefaultMTU,
+		transportFallback: newTransportFallback(),
+	}
+
+	// First dial races both transports.
+	assert.Equal(t, []string{"quic", "WS"}, protocols(c.getDialers(transportModeFromEnv())))
+
+	// An oversized datagram records the fallback for this server.
+	c.onDatagramTooLarge(&closeTrackingConn{}, netErr.ErrDatagramTooLarge)
+
+	// The reconnect now sticks to WebSocket.
+	assert.Equal(t, []string{"WS"}, protocols(c.getDialers(transportModeFromEnv())))
+}
diff --git a/shared/relay/client/dialers_js.go b/shared/relay/client/dialers_js.go
index 6bd0e6696..c93787729 100644
--- a/shared/relay/client/dialers_js.go
+++ b/shared/relay/client/dialers_js.go
@@ -7,7 +7,11 @@ import (
 	"github.com/netbirdio/netbird/shared/relay/client/dialer/ws"
 )
 
-func (c *Client) getDialers() []dialer.DialeFn {
+func (c *Client) getDialers(_ TransportMode) []dialer.DialeFn {
 	// JS/WASM build only uses WebSocket transport
 	return []dialer.DialeFn{ws.Dialer{}}
 }
+
+func (c *Client) baseDialers(_ TransportMode) []dialer.DialeFn {
+	return []dialer.DialeFn{ws.Dialer{}}
+}
diff --git a/shared/relay/client/manager.go b/shared/relay/client/manager.go
index 3858b3c83..f87da15de 100644
--- a/shared/relay/client/manager.go
+++ b/shared/relay/client/manager.go
@@ -79,23 +79,30 @@ type Manager struct {
 
 	cleanupInterval      time.Duration
 	keepUnusedServerTime time.Duration
+
+	// transportFallback is shared across home and foreign relay clients so a
+	// datagram-too-large failure makes that server avoid datagram-sized transports across reconnects.
+	transportFallback *transportFallback
 }
 
 // NewManager creates a new manager instance.
 // The serverURL address can be empty. In this case, the manager will not serve.
 func NewManager(ctx context.Context, serverURLs []string, peerID string, mtu uint16, opts ...ManagerOption) *Manager {
 	tokenStore := &relayAuth.TokenStore{}
+	tf := newTransportFallback()
 
 	m := &Manager{
-		ctx:        ctx,
-		peerID:     peerID,
-		tokenStore: tokenStore,
-		mtu:        mtu,
+		ctx:               ctx,
+		peerID:            peerID,
+		tokenStore:        tokenStore,
+		mtu:               mtu,
+		transportFallback: tf,
 		serverPicker: &ServerPicker{
 			TokenStore:        tokenStore,
 			PeerID:            peerID,
 			MTU:               mtu,
 			ConnectionTimeout: defaultConnectionTimeout,
+			TransportFallback: tf,
 		},
 		relayClients:            make(map[string]*RelayTrack),
 		onDisconnectedListeners: make(map[string]*list.List),
@@ -287,6 +294,7 @@ func (m *Manager) openConnVia(ctx context.Context, serverAddress, peerKey string
 	m.relayClientsMutex.Unlock()
 
 	relayClient := NewClientWithServerIP(serverAddress, serverIP, m.tokenStore, m.peerID, m.mtu)
+	relayClient.SetTransportFallback(m.transportFallback)
 	err := relayClient.Connect(m.ctx)
 	if err != nil {
 		rt.err = err
diff --git a/shared/relay/client/picker.go b/shared/relay/client/picker.go
index 39d0ba072..992e48114 100644
--- a/shared/relay/client/picker.go
+++ b/shared/relay/client/picker.go
@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@ type ServerPicker struct {
 	PeerID            string
 	MTU               uint16
 	ConnectionTimeout time.Duration
+	TransportFallback *transportFallback
 }
 
 func (sp *ServerPicker) PickServer(parentCtx context.Context) (*Client, error) {
@@ -70,6 +71,7 @@ func (sp *ServerPicker) PickServer(parentCtx context.Context) (*Client, error) {
 func (sp *ServerPicker) startConnection(ctx context.Context, resultChan chan connResult, url string) {
 	log.Infof("try to connecting to relay server: %s", url)
 	relayClient := NewClient(url, sp.TokenStore, sp.PeerID, sp.MTU)
+	relayClient.SetTransportFallback(sp.TransportFallback)
 	err := relayClient.Connect(ctx)
 	resultChan <- connResult{
 		RelayClient: relayClient,
diff --git a/shared/relay/client/transport.go b/shared/relay/client/transport.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..002707401
--- /dev/null
+++ b/shared/relay/client/transport.go
@@ -0,0 +1,129 @@
+package client
+
+import (
+	"os"
+	"strings"
+	"sync"
+	"time"
+
+	log "github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
+
+	"github.com/netbirdio/netbird/shared/relay/client/dialer"
+)
+
+// EnvRelayTransport pins the relay transport. Valid values: "auto" (default,
+// race QUIC and WebSocket), "quic" (QUIC only), "ws" (WebSocket only),
+// "prefer-quic" / "prefer-ws" (try the preferred transport first, fall back to
+// the other only if it fails to connect; no race). The prefer modes trade a
+// slower connect when the preferred transport is blackholed for deterministic
+// transport selection.
+const EnvRelayTransport = "NB_RELAY_TRANSPORT"
+
+const (
+	// transportFallbackBase is the initial window a relay server avoids
+	// datagram-sized transports after a datagram is rejected as too large.
+	transportFallbackBase = 10 * time.Minute
+	// transportFallbackMax caps the pinned window when failures repeat.
+	transportFallbackMax = 60 * time.Minute
+)
+
+// TransportMode selects which relay dialers are used.
+type TransportMode string
+
+const (
+	TransportModeAuto       TransportMode = "auto"
+	TransportModeQUIC       TransportMode = "quic"
+	TransportModeWS         TransportMode = "ws"
+	TransportModePreferQUIC TransportMode = "prefer-quic"
+	TransportModePreferWS   TransportMode = "prefer-ws"
+)
+
+// transportModeFromEnv reads EnvRelayTransport, defaulting to auto for an empty
+// or unrecognized value.
+func transportModeFromEnv() TransportMode {
+	switch TransportMode(strings.ToLower(strings.TrimSpace(os.Getenv(EnvRelayTransport)))) {
+	case "", TransportModeAuto:
+		return TransportModeAuto
+	case TransportModeQUIC:
+		return TransportModeQUIC
+	case TransportModeWS:
+		return TransportModeWS
+	case TransportModePreferQUIC:
+		return TransportModePreferQUIC
+	case TransportModePreferWS:
+		return TransportModePreferWS
+	default:
+		log.Warnf("invalid %s value %q, using %q", EnvRelayTransport, os.Getenv(EnvRelayTransport), TransportModeAuto)
+		return TransportModeAuto
+	}
+}
+
+// sequential reports whether the mode tries dialers in order with fallback
+// instead of racing them concurrently.
+func (m TransportMode) sequential() bool {
+	return m == TransportModePreferQUIC || m == TransportModePreferWS
+}
+
+// transportFallback tracks relay servers that have rejected a datagram-sized
+// transport (a write too large for the path) and should temporarily avoid such
+// transports. It is shared across the relay manager so the preference survives
+// client recreation (foreign relay clients are evicted and rebuilt on
+// disconnect). Entries are keyed by server URL and expire after a window that
+// grows on repeated failures.
+type transportFallback struct {
+	mu      sync.Mutex
+	entries map[string]*fallbackEntry
+}
+
+type fallbackEntry struct {
+	until    time.Time
+	duration time.Duration
+}
+
+func newTransportFallback() *transportFallback {
+	return &transportFallback{entries: make(map[string]*fallbackEntry)}
+}
+
+// avoidDatagramSized reports whether serverURL is currently within a window
+// where datagram-sized transports should be avoided.
+func (f *transportFallback) avoidDatagramSized(serverURL string) bool {
+	f.mu.Lock()
+	defer f.mu.Unlock()
+	e := f.entries[serverURL]
+	return e != nil && time.Now().Before(e.until)
+}
+
+// recordFailure makes serverURL avoid datagram-sized transports for a window:
+// transportFallbackBase on the first failure, doubling up to transportFallbackMax
+// when a datagram transport fails again after a previous window expired. It
+// returns the active window duration.
+func (f *transportFallback) recordFailure(serverURL string) time.Duration {
+	f.mu.Lock()
+	defer f.mu.Unlock()
+
+	now := time.Now()
+	e := f.entries[serverURL]
+	switch {
+	case e == nil:
+		e = &fallbackEntry{duration: transportFallbackBase}
+		f.entries[serverURL] = e
+	case now.Before(e.until):
+		return time.Until(e.until)
+	default:
+		e.duration = min(e.duration*2, transportFallbackMax)
+	}
+	e.until = now.Add(e.duration)
+	return e.duration
+}
+
+// nonDatagramSized returns the dialers from in that are not datagram-sized,
+// preserving order.
+func nonDatagramSized(in []dialer.DialeFn) []dialer.DialeFn {
+	out := make([]dialer.DialeFn, 0, len(in))
+	for _, d := range in {
+		if !dialer.IsDatagramSized(d) {
+			out = append(out, d)
+		}
+	}
+	return out
+}
diff --git a/shared/relay/client/transport_test.go b/shared/relay/client/transport_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..8e10c8d42
--- /dev/null
+++ b/shared/relay/client/transport_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,140 @@
+package client
+
+import (
+	"net"
+	"os"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	log "github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
+
+	netErr "github.com/netbirdio/netbird/shared/relay/client/dialer/net"
+)
+
+// closeTrackingConn records whether Close was called; only Close is exercised.
+type closeTrackingConn struct {
+	net.Conn
+	closed bool
+}
+
+func (c *closeTrackingConn) Close() error {
+	c.closed = true
+	return nil
+}
+
+func TestTransportModeFromEnv(t *testing.T) {
+	tests := []struct {
+		value string
+		want  TransportMode
+	}{
+		{"", TransportModeAuto},
+		{"auto", TransportModeAuto},
+		{"quic", TransportModeQUIC},
+		{"QUIC", TransportModeQUIC},
+		{"ws", TransportModeWS},
+		{" Ws ", TransportModeWS},
+		{"prefer-quic", TransportModePreferQUIC},
+		{"prefer-ws", TransportModePreferWS},
+		{"garbage", TransportModeAuto},
+	}
+
+	for _, tc := range tests {
+		t.Run(tc.value, func(t *testing.T) {
+			t.Setenv(EnvRelayTransport, tc.value)
+			if tc.value == "" {
+				os.Unsetenv(EnvRelayTransport)
+			}
+			assert.Equal(t, tc.want, transportModeFromEnv())
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+func TestTransportFallbackRecordAndExpiry(t *testing.T) {
+	const url = "rels://relay.example:443"
+	f := newTransportFallback()
+
+	assert.False(t, f.avoidDatagramSized(url), "no fallback recorded yet")
+
+	d := f.recordFailure(url)
+	assert.Equal(t, transportFallbackBase, d, "first failure pins for the base window")
+	assert.True(t, f.avoidDatagramSized(url), "datagram-sized transport avoided within the window")
+
+	// A second failure while still inside the window must not grow the window.
+	d = f.recordFailure(url)
+	assert.LessOrEqual(t, d, transportFallbackBase, "still within the active window")
+	require.NotNil(t, f.entries[url])
+	assert.Equal(t, transportFallbackBase, f.entries[url].duration, "duration unchanged inside window")
+
+	// Expire the window: datagram-sized transport allowed again.
+	f.entries[url].until = time.Now().Add(-time.Second)
+	assert.False(t, f.avoidDatagramSized(url), "window expired, datagram-sized transport allowed")
+}
+
+func TestTransportFallbackGrowsOnRepeat(t *testing.T) {
+	const url = "rels://relay.example:443"
+	f := newTransportFallback()
+
+	want := transportFallbackBase
+	for i := range 6 {
+		d := f.recordFailure(url)
+		assert.Equal(t, want, d, "window after %d expiries", i)
+
+		// expire the window so the next failure is treated as a repeat
+		f.entries[url].until = time.Now().Add(-time.Second)
+
+		want = min(want*2, transportFallbackMax)
+	}
+
+	assert.Equal(t, transportFallbackMax, f.entries[url].duration, "window caps at the max")
+}
+
+func TestOnDatagramTooLargeAuto(t *testing.T) {
+	const url = "rels://relay.example:443"
+	t.Setenv(EnvRelayTransport, string(TransportModeAuto))
+
+	tf := newTransportFallback()
+	c := &Client{
+		log:               log.WithField("test", t.Name()),
+		connectionURL:     url,
+		transportFallback: tf,
+	}
+	conn := &closeTrackingConn{}
+
+	c.onDatagramTooLarge(conn, netErr.ErrDatagramTooLarge)
+
+	assert.True(t, conn.closed, "connection closed to force reconnect")
+	assert.True(t, tf.avoidDatagramSized(url), "fallback recorded for the server")
+
+	// A second oversized datagram on the same connection must not re-close.
+	conn.closed = false
+	c.onDatagramTooLarge(conn, netErr.ErrDatagramTooLarge)
+	assert.False(t, conn.closed, "single fallback per connection")
+}
+
+func TestOnDatagramTooLargeQUICPinned(t *testing.T) {
+	const url = "rels://relay.example:443"
+	t.Setenv(EnvRelayTransport, string(TransportModeQUIC))
+
+	tf := newTransportFallback()
+	c := &Client{
+		log:               log.WithField("test", t.Name()),
+		connectionURL:     url,
+		transportFallback: tf,
+	}
+	conn := &closeTrackingConn{}
+
+	c.onDatagramTooLarge(conn, netErr.ErrDatagramTooLarge)
+
+	assert.False(t, conn.closed, "QUIC pin keeps the connection, no fallback redial")
+	assert.False(t, tf.avoidDatagramSized(url), "QUIC pin records no fallback")
+}
+
+func TestTransportFallbackPerServer(t *testing.T) {
+	f := newTransportFallback()
+	f.recordFailure("rels://a.example:443")
+
+	assert.True(t, f.avoidDatagramSized("rels://a.example:443"))
+	assert.False(t, f.avoidDatagramSized("rels://b.example:443"), "fallback is scoped to one server")
+}
diff --git a/util/log.go b/util/log.go
index b1de2d999..3896ff6bc 100644
--- a/util/log.go
+++ b/util/log.go
@@ -1,15 +1,16 @@
 package util
 
 import (
+	"fmt"
 	"io"
 	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
 	"slices"
 	"strconv"
 
+	"github.com/DeRuina/timberjack"
 	log "github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
 	"google.golang.org/grpc/grpclog"
-	"gopkg.in/natefinch/lumberjack.v2"
 
 	"github.com/netbirdio/netbird/formatter"
 )
@@ -37,8 +38,7 @@ func InitLog(logLevel string, logs ...string) error {
 func InitLogger(logger *log.Logger, logLevel string, logs ...string) error {
 	level, err := log.ParseLevel(logLevel)
 	if err != nil {
-		logger.Errorf("Failed parsing log-level %s: %s", logLevel, err)
-		return err
+		return fmt.Errorf("failed parsing log-level %s: %w", logLevel, err)
 	}
 	var writers []io.Writer
 	logFmt := os.Getenv("NB_LOG_FORMAT")
@@ -59,7 +59,11 @@ func InitLogger(logger *log.Logger, logLevel string, logs ...string) error {
 		case "":
 			logger.Warnf("empty log path received: %#v", logPath)
 		default:
-			writers = append(writers, newRotatedOutput(logPath))
+			writer, err := setupLogFile(logPath, isRotationDisabled(logger))
+			if err != nil {
+				return fmt.Errorf("failed setting up log file: %s, %w", logPath, err)
+			}
+			writers = append(writers, writer)
 		}
 	}
 
@@ -94,17 +98,43 @@ func FindFirstLogPath(logs []string) string {
 	return ""
 }
 
+func isRotationDisabled(logger *log.Logger) bool {
+	v, _ := os.LookupEnv("NB_LOG_DISABLE_ROTATION")
+	disabled, _ := strconv.ParseBool(v)
+	if disabled {
+		logger.Warnf("log rotation is disabled by env flag")
+		return true
+	}
+	conflict, configPath := FindFirstLogrotateConflict()
+	if conflict {
+		logger.Warnf("log rotation conflict detected in: %#v, rotation is disabled", configPath)
+		return true
+	}
+	return false
+}
+
+func setupLogFile(logPath string, disableRotation bool) (io.Writer, error) {
+	if disableRotation {
+		file, err := os.OpenFile(logPath, os.O_WRONLY|os.O_APPEND|os.O_CREATE, 0600)
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, err
+		}
+		return file, nil
+	}
+	return newRotatedOutput(logPath), nil
+}
+
 func newRotatedOutput(logPath string) io.Writer {
 	maxLogSize := getLogMaxSize()
-	lumberjackLogger := &lumberjack.Logger{
+	timberjackLogger := &timberjack.Logger{
 		// Log file absolute path, os agnostic
-		Filename:   filepath.ToSlash(logPath),
-		MaxSize:    maxLogSize, // MB
-		MaxBackups: 10,
-		MaxAge:     30, // days
-		Compress:   true,
+		Filename:    filepath.ToSlash(logPath),
+		MaxSize:     maxLogSize, // MB
+		MaxBackups:  10,
+		MaxAge:      30, // days
+		Compression: "gzip",
 	}
-	return lumberjackLogger
+	return timberjackLogger
 }
 
 func setGRPCLibLogger(logger *log.Logger) {
@@ -127,7 +157,7 @@ func getLogMaxSize() int {
 	if sizeVar, ok := os.LookupEnv("NB_LOG_MAX_SIZE_MB"); ok {
 		size, err := strconv.ParseInt(sizeVar, 10, 64)
 		if err != nil {
-			log.Errorf("Failed parsing log-size %s: %s. Should be just an integer", sizeVar, err)
+			log.Errorf("failed parsing log-size %s: %s. Should be just an integer", sizeVar, err)
 			return defaultLogSize
 		}
 
diff --git a/util/log_test.go b/util/log_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e9933e479
--- /dev/null
+++ b/util/log_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,96 @@
+package util
+
+import (
+	"io"
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	log "github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
+)
+
+// TestSetupLogFile_RotatesOnSize drives >MaxSize bytes through the writer
+// returned by setupLogFile and asserts a backup file appears.
+func TestSetupLogFile_RotatesOnSize(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Setenv("NB_LOG_MAX_SIZE_MB", "1")
+
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	logPath := filepath.Join(dir, "netbird.log")
+
+	w, err := setupLogFile(logPath, false)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	t.Cleanup(func() {
+		if c, ok := w.(io.Closer); ok {
+			_ = c.Close()
+		}
+	})
+
+	chunk := []byte(strings.Repeat("x", 64*1024) + "\n")
+	for range 20 {
+		_, err := w.Write(chunk)
+		require.NoError(t, err)
+	}
+
+	info, err := os.Stat(logPath)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	require.Less(t, info.Size(), int64(1<<20),
+		"active log should be < 1 MB after rotation, got %d", info.Size())
+
+	require.Eventually(t, func() bool {
+		entries, _ := os.ReadDir(dir)
+		for _, e := range entries {
+			name := e.Name()
+			if name == filepath.Base(logPath) {
+				continue
+			}
+			if strings.HasPrefix(name, "netbird-") && strings.HasSuffix(name, ".log.gz") {
+				return true
+			}
+		}
+		return false
+	}, 5*time.Second, 50*time.Millisecond, "expected a rotated backup file in %s", dir)
+}
+
+// TestSetupLogFile_RotationDisabled verifies that with rotation off, the file
+// grows past MaxSize and no backups are created.
+func TestSetupLogFile_RotationDisabled(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Setenv("NB_LOG_MAX_SIZE_MB", "1")
+
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	logPath := filepath.Join(dir, "netbird.log")
+
+	w, err := setupLogFile(logPath, true)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	f, ok := w.(*os.File)
+	require.True(t, ok, "expected plain *os.File when rotation is disabled, got %T", w)
+	t.Cleanup(func() { _ = f.Close() })
+
+	chunk := []byte(strings.Repeat("y", 64*1024) + "\n")
+	for range 20 {
+		_, err := w.Write(chunk)
+		require.NoError(t, err)
+	}
+
+	info, err := os.Stat(logPath)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	require.GreaterOrEqual(t, info.Size(), int64(1<<20),
+		"file should exceed MaxSize when rotation is disabled, got %d", info.Size())
+
+	entries, err := os.ReadDir(dir)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	require.Len(t, entries, 1, "no backup files should exist when rotation is disabled, got %v", entries)
+}
+
+// TestIsRotationDisabled_EnvFlag covers the NB_LOG_DISABLE_ROTATION env path.
+// The logrotate-conflict branch is exercised separately on linux.
+func TestIsRotationDisabled_EnvFlag(t *testing.T) {
+	logger := log.New()
+	logger.SetOutput(io.Discard)
+
+	t.Setenv("NB_LOG_DISABLE_ROTATION", "true")
+	require.True(t, isRotationDisabled(logger))
+}
diff --git a/util/logrotate_linux.go b/util/logrotate_linux.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..7d2173ea8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/util/logrotate_linux.go
@@ -0,0 +1,93 @@
+//go:build linux
+
+package util
+
+import (
+	"bufio"
+	"errors"
+	"io/fs"
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"strings"
+
+	log "github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
+)
+
+const (
+	defaultLogrotateConfPath = "/etc/logrotate.conf"
+	defaultLogrotateConfDir  = "/etc/logrotate.d"
+	netbirdString            = "netbird"
+)
+
+// FindLogrotateConflicts scans the standard logrotate locations for
+// indications of conflict with netbird. It returns true and the config file
+// path if a conflict was found.
+func FindFirstLogrotateConflict() (bool, string) {
+	return findFirstLogrotateConflictIn(defaultLogrotateConfPath, defaultLogrotateConfDir)
+}
+
+func findFirstLogrotateConflictIn(confPath, confDir string) (bool, string) {
+	for _, f := range listLogrotateConfigs(confPath, confDir) {
+		present, err := scanLogrotateFile(f, netbirdString)
+		if err != nil {
+			if !errors.Is(err, fs.ErrNotExist) {
+				log.Debugf("scan %s: %v", f, err)
+			}
+			continue
+		}
+		if present {
+			return present, f
+		}
+	}
+	return false, ""
+}
+
+// listLogrotateConfigs returns all config files for logrotate.
+func listLogrotateConfigs(confPath, confDir string) []string {
+	files := []string{confPath}
+	entries, err := os.ReadDir(confDir)
+	if err != nil {
+		return files
+	}
+	for _, e := range entries {
+		if e.IsDir() {
+			continue
+		}
+		files = append(files, filepath.Join(confDir, e.Name()))
+	}
+	return files
+}
+
+// scanLogrotateFile reads a config and reports if a non-comment line
+// contains the given substring.
+func scanLogrotateFile(path string, substring string) (bool, error) {
+	f, err := os.Open(path)
+	if err != nil {
+		return false, err
+	}
+	defer func() {
+		if err := f.Close(); err != nil {
+			log.Debugf("close %s: %v", path, err)
+		}
+	}()
+
+	scanner := bufio.NewScanner(f)
+	for scanner.Scan() {
+		line := strings.TrimSpace(stripLogrotateComment(scanner.Text()))
+		if line == "" {
+			continue
+		}
+		if strings.Contains(line, substring) {
+			return true, nil
+		}
+	}
+	if err := scanner.Err(); err != nil {
+		return false, err
+	}
+	return false, nil
+}
+
+func stripLogrotateComment(line string) string {
+	before, _, _ := strings.Cut(line, "#")
+	return before
+}
diff --git a/util/logrotate_linux_test.go b/util/logrotate_linux_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..92d7e410b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/util/logrotate_linux_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,95 @@
+//go:build linux
+
+package util
+
+import (
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
+)
+
+func TestFindFirstLogrotateConflict(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Run("conflict in confDir", func(t *testing.T) {
+		confPath, confDir := newLogrotateLayout(t)
+		conflictPath := filepath.Join(confDir, "netbird")
+		writeLogrotateConfig(t, conflictPath, `/var/log/netbird/*.log {
+    daily
+    rotate 7
+}`)
+		writeLogrotateConfig(t, filepath.Join(confDir, "nginx"), `/var/log/nginx/*.log { daily }`)
+
+		got, path := findFirstLogrotateConflictIn(confPath, confDir)
+		require.True(t, got)
+		require.Equal(t, conflictPath, path)
+	})
+
+	t.Run("conflict in main conf file", func(t *testing.T) {
+		confPath, confDir := newLogrotateLayout(t)
+		writeLogrotateConfig(t, confPath, `weekly
+rotate 4
+include /etc/logrotate.d
+/var/log/netbird/client.log { rotate 5 }`)
+
+		got, path := findFirstLogrotateConflictIn(confPath, confDir)
+		require.True(t, got)
+		require.Equal(t, confPath, path)
+	})
+
+	t.Run("no conflict when netbird is absent", func(t *testing.T) {
+		confPath, confDir := newLogrotateLayout(t)
+		writeLogrotateConfig(t, filepath.Join(confDir, "nginx"), `/var/log/nginx/*.log { daily }`)
+		writeLogrotateConfig(t, filepath.Join(confDir, "syslog"), `/var/log/syslog { weekly }`)
+
+		got, path := findFirstLogrotateConflictIn(confPath, confDir)
+		require.False(t, got)
+		require.Empty(t, path)
+	})
+
+	t.Run("commented-out netbird line is ignored", func(t *testing.T) {
+		confPath, confDir := newLogrotateLayout(t)
+		writeLogrotateConfig(t, filepath.Join(confDir, "misc"), `# /var/log/netbird/*.log { daily }
+/var/log/other.log { weekly }`)
+
+		got, path := findFirstLogrotateConflictIn(confPath, confDir)
+		require.False(t, got)
+		require.Empty(t, path)
+	})
+
+	t.Run("subdirectories in confDir are ignored", func(t *testing.T) {
+		confPath, confDir := newLogrotateLayout(t)
+		sub := filepath.Join(confDir, "nested")
+		require.NoError(t, os.MkdirAll(sub, 0o755))
+		writeLogrotateConfig(t, filepath.Join(sub, "netbird"), `/var/log/netbird/*.log { daily }`)
+
+		got, path := findFirstLogrotateConflictIn(confPath, confDir)
+		require.False(t, got)
+		require.Empty(t, path)
+	})
+
+	t.Run("missing paths return no conflict", func(t *testing.T) {
+		dir := t.TempDir()
+		got, path := findFirstLogrotateConflictIn(
+			filepath.Join(dir, "does-not-exist.conf"),
+			filepath.Join(dir, "does-not-exist.d"),
+		)
+		require.False(t, got)
+		require.Empty(t, path)
+	})
+}
+
+// newLogrotateLayout creates a temp logrotate.conf path and logrotate.d dir,
+// returning their paths. The conf file itself is not created.
+func newLogrotateLayout(t *testing.T) (confPath, confDir string) {
+	t.Helper()
+	root := t.TempDir()
+	confDir = filepath.Join(root, "logrotate.d")
+	require.NoError(t, os.MkdirAll(confDir, 0o755))
+	return filepath.Join(root, "logrotate.conf"), confDir
+}
+
+func writeLogrotateConfig(t *testing.T, path, body string) {
+	t.Helper()
+	require.NoError(t, os.WriteFile(path, []byte(body), 0o644))
+}
diff --git a/util/logrotate_nonlinux.go b/util/logrotate_nonlinux.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..0a188b864
--- /dev/null
+++ b/util/logrotate_nonlinux.go
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+//go:build !linux
+
+package util
+
+// FindLogrotateConflicts scans the standard logrotate locations for
+// indications of conflict with netbird. It will always return false for
+// non-linux devices.
+func FindFirstLogrotateConflict() (bool, string) {
+	return false, ""
+}