diff --git a/scripts/deploy.sh b/scripts/deploy.sh
index 639924b..77c0fd2 100755
--- a/scripts/deploy.sh
+++ b/scripts/deploy.sh
@@ -213,7 +213,9 @@ if [ '${COMPOSE_UP[$TARGET]}' = '1' ]; then
       podman build --no-cache --label cfhash=\$cfhash -t \$img:latest -f dankclaw/\$dir/Containerfile .
     fi
   done
-  podman-compose -f '${COMPOSE[$TARGET]}' up -d
+  if ! podman-compose -f '${COMPOSE[$TARGET]}' up -d; then
+    echo '  WARN: compose restart failed; continuing with LLM deployment.' >&2
+  fi
 
   # A Caddyfile render is a bind-mount content change, not a container
   # config change: the caddy container often survives 'up -d' and keeps