diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 5131642..e594767 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -61,6 +61,18 @@ Or with `uv`:
 uv sync
 ```
 
+## Smoke Test
+
+A smoke test is a quick "does it start and answer basic requests?" check. It does
+not replace full tests, but it catches broken imports, routes, and JSON responses.
+
+```bash
+python scripts/smoke_test.py
+```
+
+The smoke test starts the web server on `127.0.0.1:18080` and disables automatic
+continuous scraping for that process.
+
 ## Running
 
 ### Web UI
@@ -90,6 +102,8 @@ The current web panel includes:
 - scrape/export/media actions
 - shared `scrape_media` toggle
 - local message viewer powered by SQLite + media files
+- API docs at `/swagger` and `/openapi.json`
+- health checks at `/health` and `/health/continuous`
 
 ### CLI
 
diff --git a/app_state.py b/app_state.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e89fc10
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app_state.py
@@ -0,0 +1,84 @@
+import json
+import threading
+from pathlib import Path
+from typing import Any, Callable, Dict
+
+
+DEFAULT_STATE: Dict[str, Any] = {
+    "api_id": None,
+    "api_hash": None,
+    "channels": {},
+    "channel_names": {},
+    "scrape_media": True,
+    "forwarding_rules": [],
+    "continuous_scraping": {
+        "enabled": True,
+        "interval_minutes": 1,
+        "channels": [],
+        "run_all_tracked": True,
+    },
+}
+
+
+class StateStore:
+    def __init__(self, path: Path):
+        self.path = path
+        self.lock = threading.RLock()
+
+    def load(self) -> Dict[str, Any]:
+        with self.lock:
+            if not self.path.exists():
+                return self._default_state()
+            try:
+                with self.path.open("r", encoding="utf-8") as handle:
+                    state = json.load(handle)
+            except (json.JSONDecodeError, OSError):
+                return self._default_state()
+            return self._merge_defaults(state)
+
+    def save(self, state: Dict[str, Any]) -> None:
+        with self.lock:
+            self.path.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+            tmp_path = self.path.with_suffix(self.path.suffix + ".tmp")
+            with tmp_path.open("w", encoding="utf-8") as handle:
+                json.dump(self._merge_defaults(state), handle, ensure_ascii=False, indent=2)
+                handle.write("\n")
+            tmp_path.replace(self.path)
+
+    def update(self, mutator: Callable[[Dict[str, Any]], None]) -> Dict[str, Any]:
+        with self.lock:
+            state = self.load()
+            mutator(state)
+            self.save(state)
+            return state
+
+    def continuous_config(self) -> Dict[str, Any]:
+        state = self.load()
+        return dict(state.get("continuous_scraping") or DEFAULT_STATE["continuous_scraping"])
+
+    def save_continuous_config(self, config: Dict[str, Any]) -> Dict[str, Any]:
+        def mutate(state: Dict[str, Any]) -> None:
+            state["continuous_scraping"] = {
+                "enabled": bool(config.get("enabled", True)),
+                "interval_minutes": max(1, int(config.get("interval_minutes", 1) or 1)),
+                "channels": [
+                    str(item).strip()
+                    for item in config.get("channels", [])
+                    if str(item).strip()
+                ],
+                "run_all_tracked": bool(config.get("run_all_tracked", True)),
+            }
+
+        return self.update(mutate)["continuous_scraping"]
+
+    def _default_state(self) -> Dict[str, Any]:
+        return json.loads(json.dumps(DEFAULT_STATE))
+
+    def _merge_defaults(self, state: Dict[str, Any]) -> Dict[str, Any]:
+        merged = self._default_state()
+        for key, value in state.items():
+            if key == "continuous_scraping" and isinstance(value, dict):
+                merged[key].update(value)
+            else:
+                merged[key] = value
+        return merged
diff --git a/health.py b/health.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f7a1ba8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/health.py
@@ -0,0 +1,73 @@
+import sqlite3
+from pathlib import Path
+from typing import Any, Dict
+
+from app_state import StateStore
+
+
+def health_payload(
+    data_dir: Path,
+    session_dir: Path,
+    state_store: StateStore,
+    continuous_snapshot: Dict[str, Any],
+    job_queue_size: int,
+) -> Dict[str, Any]:
+    checks = {
+        "data_dir": _dir_check(data_dir, writable=True),
+        "session_dir": _dir_check(session_dir, writable=True),
+        "state_file": _state_check(state_store),
+        "sqlite": _sqlite_check(),
+        "continuous": _continuous_check(continuous_snapshot),
+        "job_queue": {"ok": True, "size": job_queue_size},
+    }
+    ok = all(item.get("ok", False) for item in checks.values())
+    return {"ok": ok, "status": "ok" if ok else "degraded", "checks": checks}
+
+
+def _dir_check(path: Path, writable: bool = False) -> Dict[str, Any]:
+    path.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+    ok = path.exists() and path.is_dir()
+    payload: Dict[str, Any] = {"ok": ok, "path": str(path)}
+    if writable:
+        probe = path / ".healthcheck"
+        try:
+            probe.write_text("ok", encoding="utf-8")
+            probe.unlink(missing_ok=True)
+            payload["writable"] = True
+        except OSError as exc:
+            payload.update({"ok": False, "writable": False, "error": str(exc)})
+    return payload
+
+
+def _state_check(state_store: StateStore) -> Dict[str, Any]:
+    try:
+        state = state_store.load()
+        return {
+            "ok": True,
+            "path": str(state_store.path),
+            "has_api_credentials": bool(state.get("api_id") and state.get("api_hash")),
+            "tracked_channels": len(state.get("channels", {})),
+        }
+    except Exception as exc:
+        return {"ok": False, "path": str(state_store.path), "error": str(exc)}
+
+
+def _sqlite_check() -> Dict[str, Any]:
+    try:
+        conn = sqlite3.connect(":memory:")
+        conn.execute("SELECT 1")
+        conn.close()
+        return {"ok": True}
+    except sqlite3.Error as exc:
+        return {"ok": False, "error": str(exc)}
+
+
+def _continuous_check(snapshot: Dict[str, Any]) -> Dict[str, Any]:
+    status = snapshot.get("status", {})
+    config = snapshot.get("config", {})
+    return {
+        "ok": True,
+        "enabled": bool(config.get("enabled")),
+        "running": bool(status.get("running")),
+        "last_error": status.get("last_error"),
+    }
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 2f9d252..55d89ab 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -8,7 +8,6 @@ dependencies = [
     "aiohappyeyeballs==2.6.1",
     "aiohttp==3.12.14",
     "aiosignal==1.4.0",
-    "asyncio==3.4.3",
     "attrs==25.3.0",
     "frozenlist==1.7.0",
     "idna==3.10",
@@ -18,6 +17,6 @@ dependencies = [
     "pyasn1==0.6.1",
     "qrcode==8.0",
     "rsa==4.9.1",
-    "telethon==1.40.0",
+    "Telethon==1.40.0",
     "yarl==1.20.1",
 ]
diff --git a/requirements.txt b/requirements.txt
index ee961d7..c91dc6c 100644
--- a/requirements.txt
+++ b/requirements.txt
@@ -1,8 +1,7 @@
 aiohappyeyeballs==2.6.1
 aiohttp==3.12.14
 aiosignal==1.4.0
-asyncio==3.4.3
-attrs==25.3.0
+attrs==25.3.0
 frozenlist==1.7.0
 idna==3.10
 multidict==6.6.3
diff --git a/scraper_jobs.py b/scraper_jobs.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1ebd546
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scraper_jobs.py
@@ -0,0 +1,70 @@
+import asyncio
+from typing import Any, Dict, List
+
+from app_state import StateStore
+
+
+class ScraperJobService:
+    def __init__(self, state_store: StateStore):
+        self.state_store = state_store
+
+    def run(self, job_type: str, payload: Dict[str, Any]) -> None:
+        if job_type == "set_scrape_media":
+            value = bool(payload["value"])
+
+            def mutate(state: Dict[str, Any]) -> None:
+                state["scrape_media"] = value
+
+            self.state_store.update(mutate)
+            print(f"Media scraping set to {value}")
+            return
+
+        asyncio.run(self._run_async(job_type, payload))
+
+    async def _run_async(self, job_type: str, payload: Dict[str, Any]) -> None:
+        ScraperClass = self._import_scraper_class()
+        scraper = ScraperClass()
+        initialized = await scraper.initialize_client(interactive=False)
+        if not initialized:
+            raise RuntimeError(
+                "Telegram client is not ready. Check credentials, session, and write access to /app/session."
+            )
+        try:
+            if job_type == "scrape_channel":
+                await self._scrape_channels(scraper, [payload["channel_id"]])
+            elif job_type == "scrape_all":
+                await self._scrape_channels(
+                    scraper, list(scraper.state.get("channels", {}).keys())
+                )
+            elif job_type == "scrape_selected":
+                await self._scrape_channels(
+                    scraper, [str(channel_id) for channel_id in payload.get("channels", [])]
+                )
+            elif job_type == "export_all":
+                await scraper.export_data()
+            elif job_type == "export_channel":
+                channel_id = payload["channel_id"]
+                scraper.export_to_csv(channel_id)
+                scraper.export_to_json(channel_id)
+            elif job_type == "rescrape_media":
+                await scraper.rescrape_media(payload["channel_id"])
+            elif job_type == "fix_missing_media":
+                await scraper.fix_missing_media(payload["channel_id"])
+            elif job_type == "refresh_dialogs":
+                await scraper.list_channels()
+            else:
+                raise RuntimeError(f"Unsupported job type: {job_type}")
+        finally:
+            scraper.close_db_connections()
+            if scraper.client:
+                await scraper.client.disconnect()
+
+    async def _scrape_channels(self, scraper, channels: List[str]) -> None:
+        for channel_id in channels:
+            offset = int(scraper.state.get("channels", {}).get(channel_id, 0) or 0)
+            await scraper.scrape_channel(channel_id, offset)
+
+    def _import_scraper_class(self):
+        from telegram_scraper_with_forwarding import OptimizedTelegramScraper
+
+        return OptimizedTelegramScraper
diff --git a/scripts/smoke_test.py b/scripts/smoke_test.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..33e2333
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/smoke_test.py
@@ -0,0 +1,81 @@
+import json
+import os
+import subprocess
+import sys
+import time
+import urllib.request
+
+
+PORT = os.environ.get("TELEGRAM_SCRAPER_SMOKE_PORT", "18080")
+BASE_URL = f"http://127.0.0.1:{PORT}"
+ENDPOINTS = [
+    "/",
+    "/viewer",
+    "/swagger",
+    "/openapi.json",
+    "/health",
+    "/health/continuous",
+    "/api/dashboard",
+    "/api/continuous",
+    "/api/channels",
+]
+
+
+def fetch(path: str) -> tuple[int, bytes]:
+    with urllib.request.urlopen(BASE_URL + path, timeout=3) as response:
+        return response.status, response.read()
+
+
+def wait_for_server(process: subprocess.Popen) -> None:
+    deadline = time.time() + 15
+    last_error = None
+    while time.time() < deadline:
+        if process.poll() is not None:
+            raise RuntimeError(f"server exited with code {process.returncode}")
+        try:
+            fetch("/health")
+            return
+        except Exception as exc:
+            last_error = exc
+            time.sleep(0.3)
+    raise RuntimeError(f"server did not become ready: {last_error}")
+
+
+def main() -> int:
+    env = {
+        **os.environ,
+        "TELEGRAM_SCRAPER_PORT": PORT,
+        "TELEGRAM_SCRAPER_START_CONTINUOUS": "0",
+    }
+    process = subprocess.Popen(
+        [sys.executable, "main.py"],
+        env=env,
+        stdout=subprocess.PIPE,
+        stderr=subprocess.STDOUT,
+        text=True,
+    )
+    try:
+        wait_for_server(process)
+        for endpoint in ENDPOINTS:
+            status, body = fetch(endpoint)
+            if status != 200:
+                raise RuntimeError(f"{endpoint} returned HTTP {status}")
+            if endpoint.endswith(".json") or endpoint.startswith("/api") or endpoint.startswith("/health"):
+                json.loads(body.decode("utf-8"))
+            print(f"ok {endpoint}")
+        return 0
+    except Exception as exc:
+        print(f"smoke test failed: {exc}", file=sys.stderr)
+        if process.stdout:
+            print(process.stdout.read(), file=sys.stderr)
+        return 1
+    finally:
+        process.terminate()
+        try:
+            process.wait(timeout=5)
+        except subprocess.TimeoutExpired:
+            process.kill()
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    raise SystemExit(main())
diff --git a/telegram_scraper_with_forwarding.py b/telegram_scraper_with_forwarding.py
index dbf7240..9754594 100644
--- a/telegram_scraper_with_forwarding.py
+++ b/telegram_scraper_with_forwarding.py
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ from telethon import TelegramClient, events
 from telethon.tl.types import MessageMediaPhoto, MessageMediaDocument, MessageMediaWebPage, User, PeerChannel, Channel, Chat
 from telethon.errors import FloodWaitError, SessionPasswordNeededError
 import qrcode
+from app_state import StateStore
 
 warnings.filterwarnings("ignore", message="Using async sessions support is an experimental feature")
 
@@ -66,6 +67,7 @@ class OptimizedTelegramScraper:
         self.DATA_DIR.mkdir(exist_ok=True)
         self.SESSION_DIR.mkdir(exist_ok=True)
         self.STATE_FILE = str(self.DATA_DIR / 'state.json')
+        self.state_store = StateStore(self.DATA_DIR / 'state.json')
         self.state = self.load_state()
         self.client = None
         self.continuous_scraping_active = False
@@ -77,25 +79,11 @@ class OptimizedTelegramScraper:
         self.forwarding_handler = None
         
     def load_state(self) -> Dict[str, Any]:
-        if os.path.exists(self.STATE_FILE):
-            try:
-                with open(self.STATE_FILE, 'r') as f:
-                    return json.load(f)
-            except:
-                pass
-        return {
-            'api_id': None,
-            'api_hash': None,
-            'channels': {},
-            'channel_names': {},
-            'scrape_media': True,
-            'forwarding_rules': [],
-        }
+        return self.state_store.load()
 
     def save_state(self):
         try:
-            with open(self.STATE_FILE, 'w') as f:
-                json.dump(self.state, f, indent=2)
+            self.state_store.save(self.state)
         except Exception as e:
             print(f"Failed to save state: {e}")
 
diff --git a/webui/app.js b/webui/app.js
index b18f67b..8af9b4d 100644
--- a/webui/app.js
+++ b/webui/app.js
@@ -54,6 +54,10 @@ function setBusy(button, busy) {
   button.disabled = busy;
 }
 
+function confirmAction(message) {
+  return window.confirm(message);
+}
+
 function renderAuth(auth) {
   document.getElementById("auth-status").textContent = auth.status;
   document.getElementById("auth-details").textContent = auth.details || "";
@@ -133,6 +137,7 @@ function renderChannels(channels) {
     });
 
     node.querySelector(".remove-btn").addEventListener("click", async () => {
+      if (!confirmAction(`Remove ${channel.name} from tracked channels?`)) return;
       await api("/api/channels/remove", {
         method: "POST",
         body: JSON.stringify({ channel_id: channel.channel_id }),
@@ -321,6 +326,7 @@ async function main() {
   });
 
   document.getElementById("scrape-all-btn").addEventListener("click", async (event) => {
+    if (!confirmAction("Queue scraping for all tracked channels?")) return;
     setBusy(event.currentTarget, true);
     try {
       await api("/api/jobs/scrape", { method: "POST", body: JSON.stringify({}) });
@@ -331,6 +337,7 @@ async function main() {
   });
 
   document.getElementById("export-all-btn").addEventListener("click", async (event) => {
+    if (!confirmAction("Queue export for all tracked channels?")) return;
     setBusy(event.currentTarget, true);
     try {
       await api("/api/jobs/export", { method: "POST", body: JSON.stringify({}) });
@@ -439,6 +446,9 @@ async function main() {
     const channels = Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(".continuous-channel-checkbox:checked")).map(
       (item) => item.value,
     );
+    if (!runAllTracked && channels.length === 0 && enabled) {
+      if (!confirmAction("Continuous scraping is enabled with no selected channels. Save anyway?")) return;
+    }
     await api("/api/continuous", {
       method: "POST",
       body: JSON.stringify({
diff --git a/webui/index.html b/webui/index.html
index 9385b14..f5a2f49 100644
--- a/webui/index.html
+++ b/webui/index.html
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@
           <a class="nav-link active" href="/">Dashboard</a>
           <a class="nav-link" href="/viewer">Message Viewer</a>
           <a class="nav-link" href="/swagger">API Docs</a>
+          <a class="nav-link" href="/health">Health</a>
         </nav>
 
         <section class="status-card">
diff --git a/webui/swagger.html b/webui/swagger.html
index 558c0fe..9c6c3cd 100644
--- a/webui/swagger.html
+++ b/webui/swagger.html
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
         </div>
         <nav class="nav-links">
           <a class="nav-link" href="/openapi.json">openapi.json</a>
+          <a class="nav-link" href="/health">Health</a>
           <a class="nav-link" href="/viewer">Message Viewer</a>
         </nav>
       </aside>
diff --git a/webui_server.py b/webui_server.py
index 3266148..fae401b 100644
--- a/webui_server.py
+++ b/webui_server.py
@@ -21,6 +21,9 @@ from typing import Any, Dict, List, Optional
 
 import qrcode
 import qrcode.image.svg
+from app_state import StateStore
+from health import health_payload
+from scraper_jobs import ScraperJobService
 from telethon import TelegramClient
 from telethon.errors import SessionPasswordNeededError
 
@@ -31,8 +34,11 @@ WEBUI_DIR = BASE_DIR / "webui"
 STATE_FILE = DATA_DIR / "state.json"
 DEFAULT_HOST = os.environ.get("TELEGRAM_SCRAPER_HOST", "0.0.0.0")
 DEFAULT_PORT = int(os.environ.get("TELEGRAM_SCRAPER_PORT", "8080"))
+START_CONTINUOUS = os.environ.get("TELEGRAM_SCRAPER_START_CONTINUOUS", "1") != "0"
 SESSION_DIR = BASE_DIR / "session"
 SESSION_DIR.mkdir(exist_ok=True)
+STATE_STORE = StateStore(STATE_FILE)
+SCRAPER_JOBS = ScraperJobService(STATE_STORE)
 
 
 def utc_now_iso() -> str:
@@ -40,23 +46,11 @@ def utc_now_iso() -> str:
 
 
 def load_state() -> Dict[str, Any]:
-    if STATE_FILE.exists():
-        with STATE_FILE.open("r", encoding="utf-8") as handle:
-            return json.load(handle)
-    return {
-        "api_id": None,
-        "api_hash": None,
-        "channels": {},
-        "channel_names": {},
-        "scrape_media": True,
-        "forwarding_rules": [],
-    }
+    return STATE_STORE.load()
 
 
 def save_state(state: Dict[str, Any]) -> None:
-    DATA_DIR.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
-    with STATE_FILE.open("w", encoding="utf-8") as handle:
-        json.dump(state, handle, ensure_ascii=False, indent=2)
+    STATE_STORE.save(state)
 
 
 def channel_db_path(channel_id: str) -> Path:
@@ -496,12 +490,7 @@ class ContinuousScrapeManager:
         self.lock = threading.RLock()
         self.thread: Optional[threading.Thread] = None
         self.stop_event = threading.Event()
-        self.config: Dict[str, Any] = {
-            "enabled": True,
-            "interval_minutes": 1,
-            "channels": [],
-            "run_all_tracked": True,
-        }
+        self.config: Dict[str, Any] = STATE_STORE.continuous_config()
         self.status: Dict[str, Any] = {
             "running": False,
             "last_started_at": None,
@@ -546,12 +535,14 @@ class ContinuousScrapeManager:
     ) -> Dict[str, Any]:
         interval_minutes = max(1, int(interval_minutes))
         with self.lock:
-            self.config = {
-                "enabled": bool(enabled),
-                "interval_minutes": interval_minutes,
-                "channels": channels,
-                "run_all_tracked": bool(run_all_tracked),
-            }
+            self.config = STATE_STORE.save_continuous_config(
+                {
+                    "enabled": bool(enabled),
+                    "interval_minutes": interval_minutes,
+                    "channels": channels,
+                    "run_all_tracked": bool(run_all_tracked),
+                }
+            )
         if enabled:
             self.start()
         else:
@@ -641,63 +632,7 @@ def import_scraper_class():
 
 
 def run_job(job_type: str, payload: Dict[str, Any]) -> None:
-    if job_type == "set_scrape_media":
-        state = load_state()
-        state["scrape_media"] = bool(payload["value"])
-        save_state(state)
-        print(f"Media scraping set to {state['scrape_media']}")
-        return
-
-    async def _async_job() -> None:
-        ScraperClass = import_scraper_class()
-        scraper = ScraperClass()
-        initialized = await scraper.initialize_client(interactive=False)
-        if not initialized:
-            raise RuntimeError(
-                "Telegram client is not ready. Check credentials, session, and write access to /app/session."
-            )
-        try:
-            if job_type == "scrape_channel":
-                channel_id = payload["channel_id"]
-                state = scraper.load_state()
-                offset = int(state.get("channels", {}).get(channel_id, 0) or 0)
-                await scraper.scrape_channel(channel_id, offset)
-            elif job_type == "scrape_all":
-                channels = list(scraper.state.get("channels", {}).keys())
-                for channel_id in channels:
-                    offset = int(
-                        scraper.state.get("channels", {}).get(channel_id, 0) or 0
-                    )
-                    await scraper.scrape_channel(channel_id, offset)
-            elif job_type == "scrape_selected":
-                channels = [
-                    str(channel_id) for channel_id in payload.get("channels", [])
-                ]
-                for channel_id in channels:
-                    offset = int(
-                        scraper.state.get("channels", {}).get(channel_id, 0) or 0
-                    )
-                    await scraper.scrape_channel(channel_id, offset)
-            elif job_type == "export_all":
-                await scraper.export_data()
-            elif job_type == "export_channel":
-                channel_id = payload["channel_id"]
-                scraper.export_to_csv(channel_id)
-                scraper.export_to_json(channel_id)
-            elif job_type == "rescrape_media":
-                await scraper.rescrape_media(payload["channel_id"])
-            elif job_type == "fix_missing_media":
-                await scraper.fix_missing_media(payload["channel_id"])
-            elif job_type == "refresh_dialogs":
-                await scraper.list_channels()
-            else:
-                raise RuntimeError(f"Unsupported job type: {job_type}")
-        finally:
-            scraper.close_db_connections()
-            if scraper.client:
-                await scraper.client.disconnect()
-
-    asyncio.run(_async_job())
+    SCRAPER_JOBS.run(job_type, payload)
 
 
 def auth_status() -> Dict[str, Any]:
@@ -882,6 +817,13 @@ def openapi_payload() -> Dict[str, Any]:
                     "responses": json_response,
                 }
             },
+            "/health": {
+                "get": {
+                    "summary": "Application health",
+                    "description": "Checks data/session write access, state loading, SQLite, continuous status, and job queue size.",
+                    "responses": json_response,
+                }
+            },
             "/api/channels": {
                 "get": {
                     "summary": "List tracked channels",
@@ -1066,6 +1008,16 @@ class TelegramScraperRequestHandler(BaseHTTPRequestHandler):
             return self.send_json(self.app.continuous_manager.snapshot())
         if path == "/health/continuous":
             return self.send_json(self.app.continuous_manager.snapshot())
+        if path == "/health":
+            return self.send_json(
+                health_payload(
+                    DATA_DIR,
+                    SESSION_DIR,
+                    STATE_STORE,
+                    self.app.continuous_manager.snapshot(),
+                    self.app.job_runner.queue.qsize(),
+                )
+            )
         if path == "/api/jobs":
             return self.send_json(self.app.job_runner.recent_jobs())
         if path.startswith("/api/jobs/"):
@@ -1131,6 +1083,7 @@ class TelegramScraperRequestHandler(BaseHTTPRequestHandler):
                 "/api/continuous",
                 "/api/jobs",
                 "/api/channels",
+                "/health",
                 "/health/continuous",
                 "/openapi.json",
             }
@@ -1397,7 +1350,8 @@ class TelegramScraperWebServer(ThreadingHTTPServer):
         self.job_runner = JobRunner()
         self.auth_manager = TelegramAuthManager()
         self.continuous_manager = ContinuousScrapeManager()
-        self.continuous_manager.start()
+        if START_CONTINUOUS and self.continuous_manager.snapshot()["config"].get("enabled", True):
+            self.continuous_manager.start()
 
 
 def run_server(host: str = DEFAULT_HOST, port: int = DEFAULT_PORT) -> None: