diff --git a/daemon/main.ts b/daemon/main.ts
index 3de202b2b..e4427b093 100644
--- a/daemon/main.ts
+++ b/daemon/main.ts
@@ -33,16 +33,21 @@ import {
 } from "./monitor.ts";
 import { downloadCache } from "./cache.ts";
 import { createAIHandlers } from "./ai/handlers.ts";
+import { phaseEnd, phaseStart, phaseSummary } from "./phases.ts";
 import { createSandboxHandlers, type DeployParams } from "./sandbox.ts";
 import { register, type TunnelConnection } from "./tunnel.ts";
 import {
   createWorker,
+  isWorkerEverReady,
   resetWorkerState,
+  waitForFirstReady,
   worker,
   type WorkerOptions,
 } from "./worker.ts";
 import { portPool } from "./workers/portpool.ts";
 
+phaseStart("daemon_boot");
+
 const parsedArgs = parseArgs(Deno.args, {
   string: ["build-cmd"],
 });
@@ -283,6 +288,7 @@ const createDeps = (
       throw new Error("Cannot initialize deps: site name not set");
     }
     let start = performance.now();
+    phaseStart("git_setup");
     try {
       await ensureGit({
         site: siteName,
@@ -291,9 +297,11 @@ const createDeps = (
       });
       readyResolve();
     } catch (err) {
+      phaseEnd("git_setup", "fail");
       readyReject(err);
       throw err;
     }
+    phaseEnd("git_setup");
     logs.push({
       level: "info",
       message: `${colors.bold("[step 1/4]")}: Git setup took ${
@@ -305,9 +313,11 @@ const createDeps = (
 
     if (SANDBOX_MODE) {
       start = performance.now();
+      phaseStart("cache_download");
       await downloadCache(siteName).catch((err) => {
         console.warn(`[cache] Failed to download build cache: ${err.message}`);
       });
+      phaseEnd("cache_download");
       logs.push({
         level: "info",
         message: `${colors.bold("[step 1.5/4]")}: Cache download took ${
@@ -317,7 +327,9 @@ const createDeps = (
     }
 
     start = performance.now();
+    phaseStart("manifest_gen");
     await genManifestTS();
+    phaseEnd("manifest_gen");
     logs.push({
       level: "info",
       message: `${colors.bold("[step 2/4]")}: Manifest generation took ${
@@ -328,7 +340,9 @@ const createDeps = (
     });
 
     start = performance.now();
+    phaseStart("blocks_metadata");
     await genBlocksJSON();
+    phaseEnd("blocks_metadata");
     logs.push({
       level: "info",
       message: `${colors.bold("[step 3/4]")}: Blocks metadata generation took ${
@@ -550,6 +564,54 @@ app.get("/_healthcheck", (c) => {
     },
   });
 });
+
+/**
+ * /_ready waits server-side until the inner worker has actually responded
+ * to traffic (dispatchWorkerState("ready") fires after meta.ts's first
+ * successful /deco/meta fetch). Unlike /_healthcheck — which goes 200 the
+ * moment the daemon's Hono server binds — this is a true readiness signal
+ * for the user-facing Fresh app.
+ *
+ * Returns { ready, version, phases } so the admin can record startup
+ * timings without parsing logs. Honors ?timeout=<ms> (default 30s).
+ */
+const READY_DEFAULT_TIMEOUT_MS = 30_000;
+const READY_MAX_TIMEOUT_MS = 120_000;
+
+app.get("/_ready", async (c) => {
+  const requested = Number(c.req.query("timeout"));
+  const timeoutMs = Number.isFinite(requested) && requested > 0
+    ? Math.min(requested, READY_MAX_TIMEOUT_MS)
+    : READY_DEFAULT_TIMEOUT_MS;
+
+  const headers = {
+    "Access-Control-Allow-Origin": "*",
+    "Access-Control-Allow-Methods": "GET",
+    "Access-Control-Allow-Headers": "Content-Type",
+    "Cache-Control": "no-store",
+    "Content-Type": "application/json",
+  };
+
+  const respond = (ready: boolean) =>
+    new Response(
+      JSON.stringify({
+        ready,
+        version: denoJSON.version,
+        phases: phaseSummary(),
+      }),
+      { status: ready ? 200 : 503, headers },
+    );
+
+  if (isWorkerEverReady()) return respond(true);
+
+  const ready = await Promise.race([
+    waitForFirstReady().then(() => true as const),
+    delay(timeoutMs).then(() => false as const),
+  ]);
+
+  return respond(ready);
+});
+
 // k8s liveness probe
 app.get("/deco/_liveness", () => new Response("OK", { status: 200 }));
 
@@ -844,6 +906,7 @@ Deno.serve(
   {
     port,
     onListen: async (addr) => {
+      phaseEnd("daemon_boot");
       try {
         const siteName = !SANDBOX_MODE ? getSiteName() : undefined;
         const tunnel = siteName ? await registerTunnel(siteName) : null;
diff --git a/daemon/phases.ts b/daemon/phases.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..cce8c7c28
--- /dev/null
+++ b/daemon/phases.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,95 @@
+/**
+ * Tracks daemon startup phases with millisecond timestamps and emits a single
+ * `[phase] phase=<name> event=start|end ts=<ms> [duration_ms=<n>] [...]`
+ * log line per transition. The same line format is used by the env app
+ * container's startup script in deco-sites/admin, so a single grep across
+ * pod logs reconstructs the full timeline.
+ *
+ * Phase data is also exposed through the daemon's /_ready endpoint so the
+ * admin can record per-startup timings without parsing logs.
+ */
+
+interface PhaseRecord {
+  startMs: number;
+  endMs?: number;
+  durationMs?: number;
+  outcome?: string;
+}
+
+const phases: Record<string, PhaseRecord> = {};
+const bootStartMs = Date.now();
+
+const formatExtra = (extra?: Record<string, unknown>): string => {
+  if (!extra) return "";
+  const parts: string[] = [];
+  for (const [k, v] of Object.entries(extra)) {
+    if (v === undefined || v === null) continue;
+    parts.push(`${k}=${v}`);
+  }
+  return parts.length > 0 ? " " + parts.join(" ") : "";
+};
+
+export const phaseStart = (
+  name: string,
+  extra?: Record<string, unknown>,
+): void => {
+  const ts = Date.now();
+  phases[name] = { startMs: ts };
+  console.log(
+    `[phase] phase=${name} event=start ts=${ts}${formatExtra(extra)}`,
+  );
+};
+
+export const phaseEnd = (
+  name: string,
+  outcome: "ok" | "fail" | "skipped" = "ok",
+  extra?: Record<string, unknown>,
+): void => {
+  const ts = Date.now();
+  const rec = phases[name];
+  if (!rec) {
+    phases[name] = {
+      startMs: ts,
+      endMs: ts,
+      durationMs: 0,
+      outcome,
+    };
+    console.log(
+      `[phase] phase=${name} event=end ts=${ts} duration_ms=0 outcome=${outcome}${
+        formatExtra(extra)
+      }`,
+    );
+    return;
+  }
+  rec.endMs = ts;
+  rec.durationMs = ts - rec.startMs;
+  rec.outcome = outcome;
+  console.log(
+    `[phase] phase=${name} event=end ts=${ts} duration_ms=${rec.durationMs} outcome=${outcome}${
+      formatExtra(extra)
+    }`,
+  );
+};
+
+export interface PhaseSummary {
+  bootStartMs: number;
+  uptimeMs: number;
+  phases: Record<
+    string,
+    { durationMs?: number; outcome?: string; pending?: boolean }
+  >;
+}
+
+export const phaseSummary = (): PhaseSummary => {
+  const out: PhaseSummary["phases"] = {};
+  for (const [name, rec] of Object.entries(phases)) {
+    out[name] = rec.endMs === undefined
+      ? { pending: true }
+      : { durationMs: rec.durationMs, outcome: rec.outcome };
+  }
+  return {
+    bootStartMs,
+    uptimeMs: Date.now() - bootStartMs,
+    phases: out,
+  };
+};
diff --git a/daemon/worker.ts b/daemon/worker.ts
index cd2201ce6..c6f8209be 100644
--- a/daemon/worker.ts
+++ b/daemon/worker.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import { Hono } from "@hono/hono";
+import { phaseEnd } from "./phases.ts";
 import { broadcast } from "./sse/channel.ts";
 import { DenoRun } from "./workers/denoRun.ts";
 
@@ -21,9 +22,29 @@ export type WorkerStatus = { state: "updating" | "ready" };
 
 const workerState: WorkerStatus = { state: "updating" };
 
+const firstReady = Promise.withResolvers<void>();
+// Prevent unhandled rejection if the daemon shuts down before the worker
+// ever becomes ready — callers handle the race against their own timeouts.
+firstReady.promise.catch(() => {});
+let everReady = false;
+
+/**
+ * Resolves the first time the worker is observed serving traffic
+ * (dispatchWorkerState("ready") fired by meta.ts after a successful
+ * /deco/meta fetch). Subsequent transitions don't re-resolve.
+ */
+export const waitForFirstReady = (): Promise<void> => firstReady.promise;
+
+export const isWorkerEverReady = (): boolean => everReady;
+
 export const dispatchWorkerState = (state: "ready" | "updating") => {
   workerState.state = state;
   broadcast({ type: "worker-status", detail: workerState });
+  if (state === "ready" && !everReady) {
+    everReady = true;
+    phaseEnd("worker_ready");
+    firstReady.resolve();
+  }
 };
 
 export const start = (): WorkerStatusEvent => ({