diff --git a/iii-config.docker.yaml b/iii-config.docker.yaml
index aa6c3b99..291fb742 100644
--- a/iii-config.docker.yaml
+++ b/iii-config.docker.yaml
@@ -46,7 +46,8 @@ workers:
       logs_console_output: true
   - name: iii-exec
     config:
+      # See iii-config.yaml: watch the shipped artifact, not the source.
       watch:
-        - src/**/*.ts
+        - dist/**/*.mjs
       exec:
         - node dist/index.mjs
diff --git a/iii-config.yaml b/iii-config.yaml
index f7e0f188..c329e025 100644
--- a/iii-config.yaml
+++ b/iii-config.yaml
@@ -46,7 +46,11 @@ workers:
       logs_console_output: true
   - name: iii-exec
     config:
+      # Watch the shipped artifact, not the source tree. The npm package
+      # ships only `dist/` — `src/**/*.ts` resolves to nothing for end
+      # users, and on some platforms an empty watch glob causes iii-exec
+      # to abort startup before it ever spawns the node child.
       watch:
-        - src/**/*.ts
+        - dist/**/*.mjs
       exec:
         - node dist/index.mjs
diff --git a/src/cli.ts b/src/cli.ts
index e1ea9757..fc171def 100644
--- a/src/cli.ts
+++ b/src/cli.ts
@@ -74,6 +74,21 @@ const IS_RESET = args.includes("--reset");
 const IIPINNED_VERSION =
   process.env["AGENTMEMORY_III_VERSION"] || "0.11.2";
 
+// How long the wrapper waits for iii-engine's REST API to start responding
+// before giving up and printing the "REST API never responded" error.
+// The default 15s is too tight on Windows: iii spawns the `iii-exec` worker
+// (`node dist/index.mjs`), which has to reconnect over WebSocket and
+// register HTTP triggers before the REST surface answers — and Windows cold
+// node startup + native deps regularly push that past 15s. Bumping to 60s
+// makes Windows installs work out of the box; AGENTMEMORY_READY_TIMEOUT_MS
+// lets users tune it further (e.g. CI containers, slow disks).
+const READY_TIMEOUT_MS = (() => {
+  const raw = process.env["AGENTMEMORY_READY_TIMEOUT_MS"];
+  if (!raw) return 60000;
+  const parsed = Number.parseInt(raw, 10);
+  return Number.isFinite(parsed) && parsed > 0 ? parsed : 60000;
+})();
+
 // Map Node platform/arch → the asset name iii-hq/iii ships under
 // https://github.com/iii-hq/iii/releases/download/iii/v<version>/<asset>
 function iiiReleaseAsset(): string | null {
@@ -153,6 +168,10 @@ Environment:
   AGENTMEMORY_USE_DOCKER=1     Prefer the bundled docker-compose path over the
                                native iii-engine binary on first run.
   AGENTMEMORY_III_VERSION      Override pinned iii-engine version (default ${IIPINNED_VERSION}).
+  AGENTMEMORY_READY_TIMEOUT_MS How long to wait for iii-engine's REST API to
+                               come up before giving up (default 60000).
+                               Raise on slow disks / CI; lower for fast-fail
+                               smoke tests.
 
 Quick start:
   npx @agentmemory/agentmemory          # start with local iii-engine or Docker
@@ -1037,10 +1056,10 @@ async function main() {
   const s = p.spinner();
   s.start("Waiting for iii-engine to be ready...");
 
-  const ready = await waitForEngine(15000);
+  const ready = await waitForEngine(READY_TIMEOUT_MS);
   if (!ready) {
     const port = getRestPort();
-    s.stop("iii-engine did not become ready within 15s");
+    s.stop(`iii-engine did not become ready within ${Math.round(READY_TIMEOUT_MS / 1000)}s`);
 
     if (startupFailure?.kind === "engine-crashed" || startupFailure?.kind === "docker-crashed") {
       p.log.error("The iii-engine process crashed on startup.");
@@ -1384,10 +1403,12 @@ function buildDoctorEffects(): DoctorEffects {
       try {
         const started = await startEngine();
         if (!started) return { ok: false, message: "startEngine() returned false" };
-        const ready = await waitForEngine(15000);
+        const ready = await waitForEngine(READY_TIMEOUT_MS);
         return {
           ok: ready,
-          message: ready ? "Engine ready" : "Engine did not become ready within 15s",
+          message: ready
+            ? "Engine ready"
+            : `Engine did not become ready within ${Math.round(READY_TIMEOUT_MS / 1000)}s`,
         };
       } catch (err) {
         return {
diff --git a/src/config.ts b/src/config.ts
index eed5725e..74d5e396 100644
--- a/src/config.ts
+++ b/src/config.ts
@@ -137,7 +137,11 @@ export function loadConfig(): AgentMemoryConfig {
   const provider = detectProvider(env);
 
   return {
-    engineUrl: env["III_ENGINE_URL"] || "ws://localhost:49134",
+    // Use 127.0.0.1 (not "localhost") so we force IPv4. On Windows,
+    // `localhost` prefers IPv6 (::1) but iii-engine binds IPv4 only, so
+    // resolving via "localhost" leads to an ECONNREFUSED reconnect loop
+    // and the iii-exec worker never registers its HTTP triggers.
+    engineUrl: env["III_ENGINE_URL"] || "ws://127.0.0.1:49134",
     restPort: parseInt(env["III_REST_PORT"] || "3111", 10) || 3111,
     streamsPort: parseInt(env["III_STREAMS_PORT"] || "3112", 10) || 3112,
     provider,