diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 6ca618e8..4e629a75 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@
 		"dev": "vite dev",
 		"build": "vite build",
 		"preview": "vite preview",
+		"start": "node start.js",
 		"prepare": "svelte-kit sync || echo ''",
 		"check": "svelte-kit sync && svelte-check --tsconfig ./tsconfig.json",
 		"lint": "eslint src --ext .ts,.svelte",
diff --git a/start.js b/start.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..3c328c17
--- /dev/null
+++ b/start.js
@@ -0,0 +1,164 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env node
+
+/**
+ * This is just a wrapper around the built SvelteKit app,
+ * which can otherwise be started with `node build`
+ * The purpose of this wrapper is to add:
+ * - Automatic restarts with exponential backoff on crashes
+ * - Graceful shutdown on SIGTERM and SIGINT
+ * - Improved logging
+ */
+
+import { spawn } from 'child_process';
+import { existsSync } from 'fs';
+import { join, dirname } from 'path';
+import { fileURLToPath } from 'url';
+
+const __dirname = dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url));
+const BUILD_DIR = join(__dirname, 'build');
+const ENTRY_FILE = join(BUILD_DIR, 'index.js');
+const MAX_RESTARTS = 10;
+const INITIAL_BACKOFF = 1000;
+const MAX_BACKOFF = 30000;
+
+let restartCount = 0;
+let backoffTime = INITIAL_BACKOFF;
+let child = null;
+let isShuttingDown = false;
+
+// Console logging with colors and icons
+const colors = {
+	reset: '\x1b[0m',
+	red: '\x1b[31m',
+	green: '\x1b[32m',
+	yellow: '\x1b[33m',
+	blue: '\x1b[34m',
+	cyan: '\x1b[36m'
+};
+
+const log = (message, type = 'info') => {
+	const styles = {
+		error: { color: colors.red, icon: '❌' },
+		success: { color: colors.green, icon: '✅' },
+		warning: { color: colors.yellow, icon: '⚠️ ' },
+		info: { color: colors.cyan, icon: 'ℹ️ ' },
+		start: { color: colors.blue, icon: '🚀' },
+		stop: { color: colors.yellow, icon: '⏹️ ' },
+		wait: { color: colors.yellow, icon: '⏳' }
+	};
+
+	const { color, icon } = styles[type] || styles.info;
+	console.log(`${color}${icon} ${message}${colors.reset}`);
+};
+
+// Validate build exists and is correct type
+function validateBuild() {
+	if (!existsSync(BUILD_DIR)) {
+		log('Build directory not found.', 'error');
+		log('Run: npm run build:node', 'info');
+		process.exit(1);
+	}
+
+	if (!existsSync(ENTRY_FILE)) {
+		log('Build entry file not found.', 'error');
+		log('The build might not be a Node.js build.', 'warning');
+		log('Run: npm run build:node', 'info');
+		process.exit(1);
+	}
+
+	// Check for handler.js which indicates adapter-node
+	const handlerFile = join(BUILD_DIR, 'handler.js');
+	if (!existsSync(handlerFile)) {
+		log('This appears to be a static build, not a Node.js build.', 'error');
+		log('Run: npm run build:node', 'info');
+		process.exit(1);
+	}
+}
+
+function startServer() {
+	if (isShuttingDown) return;
+
+	log(`Starting server... (attempt ${restartCount + 1})`, 'start');
+
+	child = spawn('node', ['build'], {
+		stdio: 'inherit',
+		env: { ...process.env, NODE_ENV: process.env.NODE_ENV || 'production' }
+	});
+
+	// Reset counters after successful run (30s uptime)
+	const successTimer = setTimeout(() => {
+		restartCount = 0;
+		backoffTime = INITIAL_BACKOFF;
+	}, 30000);
+
+	child.on('error', (err) => {
+		clearTimeout(successTimer);
+		log(`Failed to start server: ${err.message}`, 'error');
+		// Error event is always followed by exit event, so we handle restart there
+	});
+
+	child.on('exit', (code, signal) => {
+		clearTimeout(successTimer);
+		child = null;
+
+		if (isShuttingDown) {
+			log('Server stopped gracefully', 'success');
+			process.exit(0);
+		}
+
+		if (code === 0) {
+			log('Server exited normally', 'success');
+			process.exit(0);
+		}
+
+		restartCount++;
+
+		if (restartCount >= MAX_RESTARTS) {
+			log(`Server crashed ${MAX_RESTARTS} times. Giving up.`, 'error');
+			process.exit(1);
+		}
+
+		log(`Server crashed with ${signal ? `signal ${signal}` : `code ${code}`}`, 'warning');
+		log(`Restarting in ${backoffTime / 1000}s...`, 'wait');
+
+		setTimeout(() => {
+			backoffTime = Math.min(backoffTime * 2, MAX_BACKOFF);
+			startServer();
+		}, backoffTime);
+	});
+}
+
+function shutdown(signal) {
+	if (isShuttingDown) return;
+	isShuttingDown = true;
+
+	log(`Received ${signal}, shutting down gracefully...`, 'stop');
+
+	if (child) {
+		child.kill('SIGTERM');
+
+		// Force kill after 10s if not stopped
+		setTimeout(() => {
+			if (child) {
+				log('Force killing server...', 'warning');
+				child.kill('SIGKILL');
+			}
+		}, 10000);
+	} else {
+		process.exit(0);
+	}
+}
+
+// Handle shutdown signals
+process.on('SIGTERM', () => shutdown('SIGTERM'));
+process.on('SIGINT', () => shutdown('SIGINT'));
+process.on('unhandledRejection', (err) => {
+	log(`Unhandled rejection: ${err.message}`, 'error');
+	shutdown('unhandledRejection');
+});
+
+// Validate and start
+validateBuild();
+log('Node.js build detected', 'success');
+startServer();
+