diff --git a/apps/api/src/app.ts b/apps/api/src/app.ts
index 958beb1b..802047ea 100644
--- a/apps/api/src/app.ts
+++ b/apps/api/src/app.ts
@@ -56,6 +56,7 @@ app.use(metricsMiddleware);
 app.use(express.static('frontend/dist'));
 
 // API Routes
+
 app.use('/api', apiRoutes);
 
 // Admin dashboard
diff --git a/apps/api/src/routes/api.test.ts b/apps/api/src/routes/api.test.ts
index 68a2e305..5fb6d5ed 100644
--- a/apps/api/src/routes/api.test.ts
+++ b/apps/api/src/routes/api.test.ts
@@ -61,6 +61,12 @@ describe('API routes', () => {
       expect(res.text).toBe('pong');
     });
 
+    test('GET /api/hello returns ok true', async () => {
+      const res = await request(app).get('/api/hello');
+      expect(res.status).toBe(200);
+      expect(res.body).toEqual({ ok: true });
+    });
+
     test('GET /api/version returns build metadata', async () => {
       const res = await request(app).get('/api/version');
       expect(res.status).toBe(200);
diff --git a/apps/api/src/routes/api.ts b/apps/api/src/routes/api.ts
index ff9f3f27..c857b7f2 100644
--- a/apps/api/src/routes/api.ts
+++ b/apps/api/src/routes/api.ts
@@ -76,6 +76,12 @@ const apiEndpoints = [
     auth: false,
     description: 'Simple health check (returns "pong")',
   },
+  {
+    method: 'GET',
+    path: '/api/hello',
+    auth: false,
+    description: 'Hello world test endpoint to verify bot detection',
+  },
   {
     method: 'GET',
     path: '/api/version',
@@ -273,6 +279,11 @@ router.get('/ping', (_req: Request, res: Response) => {
   return res.send('pong');
 });
 
+// Hello world test endpoint to verify bot detection
+router.get('/hello', (_req: Request, res: Response) => {
+  return res.status(200).json({ ok: true });
+});
+
 // Version and build info endpoint
 router.get('/version', (_req: Request, res: Response) => {
   return res.json({