diff --git a/deployments/cli/community/install.sh b/deployments/cli/community/install.sh
index 8b8a92ec1..b80f961a3 100755
--- a/deployments/cli/community/install.sh
+++ b/deployments/cli/community/install.sh
@@ -365,17 +365,49 @@ function startServices() {
     fi
 
     local api_container_id=$(docker container ls -q -f "name=$SERVICE_FOLDER-api")
+
+    # Verify container exists
+    if [ -z "$api_container_id" ]; then
+        echo "   Error: API container not found. Please check if services are running."
+        exit 1
+    fi
+
     local idx2=0
-    while ! docker exec $api_container_id python3 -c "import urllib.request; urllib.request.urlopen('http://localhost:8000/')" > /dev/null 2>&1;
-    do
-        local message=">> Waiting for API Service to Start"
-        local dots=$(printf '%*s' $idx2 | tr ' ' '.')    
+    local api_ready=true        # assume success, flip on timeout
+    local max_wait_time=300  # 5 minutes timeout
+    local start_time=$(date +%s)
+
+    echo "   Waiting for API Service to be ready..."
+    while ! docker exec "$api_container_id" python3 -c "import urllib.request; urllib.request.urlopen('http://localhost:8000/', timeout=3)" > /dev/null 2>&1; do
+        local current_time=$(date +%s)
+        local elapsed_time=$((current_time - start_time))
+
+        if [ $elapsed_time -gt $max_wait_time ]; then
+            echo ""
+            echo "   API Service health check timed out after 5 minutes"
+            echo "   Checking if API container is still running..."
+            if docker ps | grep -q "$SERVICE_FOLDER-api"; then
+                echo "   API container is running but did not pass the health-check. Continuing without marking it ready."
+                api_ready=false
+                break
+            else
+                echo "   API container is not running. Please check logs."
+                exit 1
+            fi
+        fi
+
+        local message=">> Waiting for API Service to Start (${elapsed_time}s)"
+        local dots=$(printf '%*s' $idx2 | tr ' ' '.')
         echo -ne "\r$message$dots"
         ((idx2++))
         sleep 1
     done
     printf "\r\033[K"
-    echo "   API Service started successfully ✅"
+    if [ "$api_ready" = true ]; then
+        echo "   API Service started successfully ✅"
+    else
+        echo "   ⚠️  API Service did not respond to health-check – please verify manually."
+    fi
     source "${DOCKER_ENV_PATH}"
     echo "   Plane Server started successfully ✅"
     echo ""