diff --git a/crates/goose-cli/src/cli.rs b/crates/goose-cli/src/cli.rs
index c642e48dbf7..34d4ec2b3bf 100644
--- a/crates/goose-cli/src/cli.rs
+++ b/crates/goose-cli/src/cli.rs
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ use crate::commands::configure::handle_configure;
 use crate::commands::info::handle_info;
 use crate::commands::project::{handle_project_default, handle_projects_interactive};
 use crate::commands::recipe::{handle_deeplink, handle_list, handle_open, handle_validate};
-// Import the new handlers from commands::schedule
+
 use crate::commands::schedule::{
     handle_schedule_add, handle_schedule_cron_help, handle_schedule_list, handle_schedule_remove,
     handle_schedule_run_now, handle_schedule_services_status, handle_schedule_services_stop,
diff --git a/crates/goose-cli/src/commands/info.rs b/crates/goose-cli/src/commands/info.rs
index de3b8383146..56c9d295b08 100644
--- a/crates/goose-cli/src/commands/info.rs
+++ b/crates/goose-cli/src/commands/info.rs
@@ -2,43 +2,73 @@ use anyhow::Result;
 use console::style;
 use goose::config::paths::Paths;
 use goose::config::Config;
+use goose::session::session_manager::{DB_NAME, SESSIONS_FOLDER};
 use serde_yaml;
 
 fn print_aligned(label: &str, value: &str, width: usize) {
     println!("  {:<width$} {}", label, value, width = width);
 }
 
+use goose::config::base::CONFIG_YAML_NAME;
+use std::fs;
+use std::path::Path;
+
+fn check_path_status(path: &Path) -> String {
+    if path.exists() {
+        "".to_string()
+    } else {
+        let mut current = path.parent();
+        while let Some(parent) = current {
+            if parent.exists() {
+                return match fs::metadata(parent).map(|m| !m.permissions().readonly()) {
+                    Ok(true) => style("missing (can create)").dim().to_string(),
+                    Ok(false) => style("missing (read-only parent)").red().to_string(),
+                    Err(_) => style("missing (cannot check)").red().to_string(),
+                };
+            }
+            current = parent.parent();
+        }
+        style("missing (no writable parent)").red().to_string()
+    }
+}
+
 pub fn handle_info(verbose: bool) -> Result<()> {
     let logs_dir = Paths::in_state_dir("logs");
-    let sessions_dir = Paths::in_data_dir("sessions");
-    let sessions_db = sessions_dir.join("sessions.db");
-
-    // Get paths using a stored reference to the global config
+    let sessions_dir = Paths::in_data_dir(SESSIONS_FOLDER);
+    let sessions_db = sessions_dir.join(DB_NAME);
     let config = Config::global();
-    let config_dir = Paths::config_dir().display().to_string();
+    let config_dir = Paths::config_dir();
+    let config_yaml_file = config_dir.join(CONFIG_YAML_NAME);
 
-    // Define the labels and their corresponding path values once.
     let paths = [
-        ("Config dir:", config_dir),
-        ("Sessions DB (sqlite):", sessions_db.display().to_string()),
-        ("Logs dir:", logs_dir.display().to_string()),
+        ("Config dir:", &config_dir),
+        ("Config yaml:", &config_yaml_file),
+        ("Sessions DB (sqlite):", &sessions_db),
+        ("Logs dir:", &logs_dir),
     ];
 
-    // Calculate padding: use the max length of the label plus extra space.
-    let basic_padding = paths.iter().map(|(l, _)| l.len()).max().unwrap_or(0) + 4;
+    let label_padding = paths.iter().map(|(l, _)| l.len()).max().unwrap_or(0) + 4;
+    let path_padding = paths
+        .iter()
+        .map(|(_, p)| p.display().to_string().len())
+        .max()
+        .unwrap_or(0)
+        + 4;
 
-    // Print version information
     println!("{}", style("goose Version:").cyan().bold());
-    print_aligned("Version:", env!("CARGO_PKG_VERSION"), basic_padding);
+    print_aligned("Version:", env!("CARGO_PKG_VERSION"), label_padding);
     println!();
 
-    // Print location information
-    println!("{}", style("goose Locations:").cyan().bold());
+    println!("{}", style("Paths:").cyan().bold());
     for (label, path) in &paths {
-        print_aligned(label, path, basic_padding);
+        println!(
+            "{:<label_padding$}{:<path_padding$}{}",
+            label,
+            path.display(),
+            check_path_status(path)
+        );
     }
 
-    // Print verbose info if requested
     if verbose {
         println!("\n{}", style("goose Configuration:").cyan().bold());
         let values = config.all_values()?;
diff --git a/crates/goose-cli/src/main.rs b/crates/goose-cli/src/main.rs
index 5215a3df679..b66f9ac82ab 100644
--- a/crates/goose-cli/src/main.rs
+++ b/crates/goose-cli/src/main.rs
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ use goose_cli::cli::cli;
 #[tokio::main]
 async fn main() -> Result<()> {
     if let Err(e) = goose_cli::logging::setup_logging(None, None) {
-        eprintln!("Warning: Failed to initialize telemetry: {}", e);
+        eprintln!("Warning: Failed to initialize logging: {}", e);
     }
 
     let result = cli().await;
diff --git a/crates/goose-server/src/commands/agent.rs b/crates/goose-server/src/commands/agent.rs
index a1eb422d970..901667855a4 100644
--- a/crates/goose-server/src/commands/agent.rs
+++ b/crates/goose-server/src/commands/agent.rs
@@ -28,13 +28,10 @@ async fn shutdown_signal() {
 }
 
 pub async fn run() -> Result<()> {
-    // Initialize logging and telemetry
     crate::logging::setup_logging(Some("goosed"))?;
 
     let settings = configuration::Settings::new()?;
 
-    // Initialize pricing cache on startup
-    tracing::info!("Initializing pricing cache...");
     if let Err(e) = initialize_pricing_cache().await {
         tracing::warn!(
             "Failed to initialize pricing cache: {}. Pricing data may not be available.",
@@ -61,7 +58,7 @@ pub async fn run() -> Result<()> {
 
     let listener = tokio::net::TcpListener::bind(settings.socket_addr()).await?;
     info!("listening on {}", listener.local_addr()?);
-    // Ensure the listener/socket is properly closed on cancellation by using graceful shutdown
+
     axum::serve(listener, app)
         .with_graceful_shutdown(shutdown_signal())
         .await?;
diff --git a/crates/goose-server/src/logging.rs b/crates/goose-server/src/logging.rs
index 0a5eadc20cf..72c2b50d84b 100644
--- a/crates/goose-server/src/logging.rs
+++ b/crates/goose-server/src/logging.rs
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-use anyhow::{Context, Result};
+use anyhow::Result;
 use tracing_appender::rolling::Rotation;
 use tracing_subscriber::{
     filter::LevelFilter, fmt, layer::SubscriberExt, util::SubscriberInitExt, EnvFilter, Layer,
@@ -20,11 +20,8 @@ pub fn setup_logging(name: Option<&str>) -> Result<()> {
     } else {
         format!("{}.log", timestamp)
     };
-    let file_appender = tracing_appender::rolling::RollingFileAppender::new(
-        Rotation::NEVER, // we do manual rotation via file naming and cleanup_old_logs
-        log_dir,
-        log_filename,
-    );
+    let file_appender =
+        tracing_appender::rolling::RollingFileAppender::new(Rotation::NEVER, log_dir, log_filename);
 
     // Create JSON file logging layer
     let file_layer = fmt::layer()
@@ -34,35 +31,27 @@ pub fn setup_logging(name: Option<&str>) -> Result<()> {
         .with_ansi(false)
         .with_file(true);
 
-    // Create console logging layer for development - INFO and above only
+    let base_env_filter = EnvFilter::try_from_default_env().unwrap_or_else(|_| {
+        EnvFilter::new("")
+            .add_directive("mcp_client=info".parse().unwrap())
+            .add_directive("goose=debug".parse().unwrap())
+            .add_directive("goose_server=info".parse().unwrap())
+            .add_directive("tower_http=info".parse().unwrap())
+            .add_directive(LevelFilter::WARN.into())
+    });
+
     let console_layer = fmt::layer()
         .with_writer(std::io::stderr)
         .with_target(true)
         .with_level(true)
-        .with_ansi(true)
         .with_file(true)
+        .with_ansi(false)
         .with_line_number(true)
         .pretty();
 
-    // Base filter for all logging
-    let env_filter = EnvFilter::try_from_default_env().unwrap_or_else(|_| {
-        // Set default levels for different modules
-        EnvFilter::new("")
-            // Set mcp-client to DEBUG
-            .add_directive("mcp_client=debug".parse().unwrap())
-            // Set goose module to DEBUG
-            .add_directive("goose=debug".parse().unwrap())
-            // Set goose-server to INFO
-            .add_directive("goose_server=info".parse().unwrap())
-            // Set tower-http to INFO for request logging
-            .add_directive("tower_http=info".parse().unwrap())
-            // Set everything else to WARN
-            .add_directive(LevelFilter::WARN.into())
-    });
-
     let mut layers = vec![
-        file_layer.with_filter(env_filter).boxed(),
-        console_layer.with_filter(LevelFilter::INFO).boxed(),
+        file_layer.with_filter(base_env_filter.clone()).boxed(),
+        console_layer.with_filter(base_env_filter).boxed(),
     ];
 
     if let Ok((otlp_tracing_layer, otlp_metrics_layer, otlp_logs_layer)) = otlp_layer::init_otlp() {
@@ -89,9 +78,7 @@ pub fn setup_logging(name: Option<&str>) -> Result<()> {
 
     let subscriber = Registry::default().with(layers);
 
-    subscriber
-        .try_init()
-        .context("Failed to set global subscriber")?;
+    subscriber.try_init()?;
 
     Ok(())
 }
diff --git a/crates/goose/src/config/base.rs b/crates/goose/src/config/base.rs
index a7938900f01..0f6c14d0758 100644
--- a/crates/goose/src/config/base.rs
+++ b/crates/goose/src/config/base.rs
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ use thiserror::Error;
 
 const KEYRING_SERVICE: &str = "goose";
 const KEYRING_USERNAME: &str = "secrets";
+pub const CONFIG_YAML_NAME: &str = "config.yaml";
 
 #[cfg(test)]
 const TEST_KEYRING_SERVICE: &str = "goose-test";
@@ -119,9 +120,7 @@ impl Default for Config {
     fn default() -> Self {
         let config_dir = Paths::config_dir();
 
-        std::fs::create_dir_all(&config_dir).expect("Failed to create config directory");
-
-        let config_path = config_dir.join("config.yaml");
+        let config_path = config_dir.join(CONFIG_YAML_NAME);
 
         let secrets = match env::var("GOOSE_DISABLE_KEYRING") {
             Ok(_) => SecretStorage::File {
@@ -433,7 +432,6 @@ impl Config {
         // Convert to YAML for storage
         let yaml_value = serde_yaml::to_string(&values)?;
 
-        // Ensure the directory exists
         if let Some(parent) = self.config_path.parent() {
             std::fs::create_dir_all(parent)
                 .map_err(|e| ConfigError::DirectoryError(e.to_string()))?;
diff --git a/crates/goose/src/logging.rs b/crates/goose/src/logging.rs
index 80b96a935d8..380c5dd3952 100644
--- a/crates/goose/src/logging.rs
+++ b/crates/goose/src/logging.rs
@@ -24,7 +24,8 @@ pub fn prepare_log_directory(component: &str, use_date_subdir: bool) -> Result<P
         component_dir
     };
 
-    fs::create_dir_all(&log_dir).context("Failed to create log directory")?;
+    fs::create_dir_all(&log_dir)
+        .with_context(|| format!("Failed to create log directory: {:?}", log_dir))?;
 
     Ok(log_dir)
 }
diff --git a/crates/goose/src/providers/pricing.rs b/crates/goose/src/providers/pricing.rs
index aeb604c0301..50593b43cc8 100644
--- a/crates/goose/src/providers/pricing.rs
+++ b/crates/goose/src/providers/pricing.rs
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-use anyhow::Result;
+use anyhow::{anyhow, Result};
 use reqwest::Client;
 use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};
 use std::collections::HashMap;
@@ -166,7 +166,6 @@ impl PricingCache {
 
         self.save_to_disk(&cached_data).await?;
 
-        // Update memory cache
         {
             let mut cache = self.memory_cache.write().await;
             *cache = Some(cached_data);
@@ -179,15 +178,6 @@ impl PricingCache {
     pub async fn initialize(&self) -> Result<()> {
         // Try loading from disk first
         if let Ok(Some(cached)) = self.load_from_disk().await {
-            // Log how many models we have cached
-            let total_models: usize = cached.pricing.values().map(|models| models.len()).sum();
-            tracing::debug!(
-                "Loaded {} providers with {} total models from disk cache",
-                cached.pricing.len(),
-                total_models
-            );
-
-            // Update memory cache
             {
                 let mut cache = self.memory_cache.write().await;
                 *cache = Some(cached);
@@ -196,8 +186,6 @@ impl PricingCache {
             return Ok(());
         }
 
-        // If no disk cache, fetch from OpenRouter
-        tracing::info!("Fetching pricing data from OpenRouter API");
         self.refresh().await
     }
 }
@@ -213,14 +201,13 @@ lazy_static::lazy_static! {
     static ref PRICING_CACHE: PricingCache = PricingCache::new();
 }
 
-/// Create a properly configured HTTP client for the current runtime
-fn create_http_client() -> Client {
+fn create_http_client() -> Result<Client> {
     Client::builder()
         .timeout(Duration::from_secs(30))
         .pool_idle_timeout(Duration::from_secs(90))
         .pool_max_idle_per_host(10)
         .build()
-        .expect("Failed to create HTTP client")
+        .map_err(|e| anyhow!(e))
 }
 
 /// OpenRouter model pricing information
@@ -254,7 +241,7 @@ pub struct OpenRouterModelsResponse {
 
 /// Internal function to fetch pricing data
 async fn fetch_openrouter_pricing_internal() -> Result<HashMap<String, OpenRouterModel>> {
-    let client = create_http_client();
+    let client = create_http_client()?;
     let response = client
         .get("https://openrouter.ai/api/v1/models")
         .send()
diff --git a/crates/goose/src/scheduler.rs b/crates/goose/src/scheduler.rs
index f3cc9a77504..045922074a8 100644
--- a/crates/goose/src/scheduler.rs
+++ b/crates/goose/src/scheduler.rs
@@ -190,13 +190,6 @@ impl Scheduler {
 
         let local_tz = Local::now().timezone();
 
-        tracing::info!(
-            "Creating cron task for job '{}' cron: '{}' in timezone: {:?}",
-            job.id,
-            cron,
-            local_tz
-        );
-
         Job::new_async_tz(&cron, local_tz, move |_uuid, _l| {
             tracing::info!("Cron task triggered for job '{}'", job_for_task.id);
             let task_job_id = job_for_task.id.clone();
@@ -215,7 +208,6 @@ impl Scheduler {
                 };
 
                 if !should_execute {
-                    tracing::info!("Skipping paused job '{}'", task_job_id);
                     return;
                 }
 
@@ -731,15 +723,11 @@ async fn execute_job(
         }
     }
 
-    if let Err(e) = SessionManager::update_session(&session.id)
+    SessionManager::update_session(&session.id)
         .schedule_id(Some(job.id.clone()))
         .recipe(Some(recipe))
         .apply()
-        .await
-    {
-        tracing::error!("Failed to update session: {}", e);
-    }
-
+        .await?;
     Ok(session.id)
 }
 
diff --git a/crates/goose/src/session/session_manager.rs b/crates/goose/src/session/session_manager.rs
index 2f960cd8497..8dfc81e232c 100644
--- a/crates/goose/src/session/session_manager.rs
+++ b/crates/goose/src/session/session_manager.rs
@@ -19,6 +19,8 @@ use tracing::{info, warn};
 use utoipa::ToSchema;
 
 const CURRENT_SCHEMA_VERSION: i32 = 5;
+pub const SESSIONS_FOLDER: &str = "sessions";
+pub const DB_NAME: &str = "sessions.db";
 
 #[derive(Debug, Clone, Copy, Serialize, Deserialize, ToSchema, PartialEq, Eq)]
 #[serde(rename_all = "snake_case")]
@@ -335,7 +337,7 @@ pub struct SessionStorage {
 }
 
 pub fn ensure_session_dir() -> Result<PathBuf> {
-    let session_dir = Paths::data_dir().join("sessions");
+    let session_dir = Paths::data_dir().join(SESSIONS_FOLDER);
 
     if !session_dir.exists() {
         fs::create_dir_all(&session_dir)?;
@@ -439,7 +441,7 @@ impl sqlx::FromRow<'_, sqlx::sqlite::SqliteRow> for Session {
 impl SessionStorage {
     async fn new() -> Result<Self> {
         let session_dir = ensure_session_dir()?;
-        let db_path = session_dir.join("sessions.db");
+        let db_path = session_dir.join(DB_NAME);
 
         let storage = if db_path.exists() {
             Self::open(&db_path).await?
diff --git a/crates/goose/src/tracing/otlp_layer.rs b/crates/goose/src/tracing/otlp_layer.rs
index b8edd745e12..5a357634d7f 100644
--- a/crates/goose/src/tracing/otlp_layer.rs
+++ b/crates/goose/src/tracing/otlp_layer.rs
@@ -34,7 +34,6 @@ impl Default for OtlpConfig {
 
 impl OtlpConfig {
     pub fn from_config() -> Option<Self> {
-        // Try to get from goose config system (which checks env vars first, then config file)
         let config = crate::config::Config::global();
 
         // Try to get the endpoint from config (checks OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT env var first)
diff --git a/ui/desktop/src/components/settings/chat/ChatSettingsSection.tsx b/ui/desktop/src/components/settings/chat/ChatSettingsSection.tsx
index 68ead2dc269..fbdc4e5edc3 100644
--- a/ui/desktop/src/components/settings/chat/ChatSettingsSection.tsx
+++ b/ui/desktop/src/components/settings/chat/ChatSettingsSection.tsx
@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
 import { ModeSection } from '../mode/ModeSection';
 import { ToolSelectionStrategySection } from '../tool_selection_strategy/ToolSelectionStrategySection';
-import SchedulerSection from '../scheduler/SchedulerSection';
 import DictationSection from '../dictation/DictationSection';
 import { SecurityToggle } from '../security/SecurityToggle';
 import { ResponseStylesSection } from '../response_styles/ResponseStylesSection';
@@ -48,9 +47,6 @@ export default function ChatSettingsSection() {
             Choose which scheduling backend to use for scheduled recipes and tasks
           </CardDescription>
         </CardHeader>
-        <CardContent className="px-2">
-          <SchedulerSection />
-        </CardContent>
       </Card>
       <Card className="pb-2 rounded-lg">
         <CardHeader className="pb-0">
diff --git a/ui/desktop/src/components/settings/scheduler/SchedulerSection.tsx b/ui/desktop/src/components/settings/scheduler/SchedulerSection.tsx
deleted file mode 100644
index 64995da6d8b..00000000000
--- a/ui/desktop/src/components/settings/scheduler/SchedulerSection.tsx
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,113 +0,0 @@
-import { useState, useEffect } from 'react';
-import { SchedulingEngine, Settings } from '../../../utils/settings';
-
-interface SchedulingEngineOption {
-  key: SchedulingEngine;
-  label: string;
-  description: string;
-}
-
-const schedulingEngineOptions: SchedulingEngineOption[] = [
-  {
-    key: 'builtin-cron',
-    label: 'Built-in Cron (Default)',
-    description:
-      "Uses Goose's built-in cron scheduler. Simple and reliable for basic scheduling needs.",
-  },
-  {
-    key: 'temporal',
-    label: 'Temporal',
-    description:
-      'Uses Temporal workflow engine for advanced scheduling features. Requires Temporal CLI to be installed.',
-  },
-];
-
-interface SchedulerSectionProps {
-  onSchedulingEngineChange?: (engine: SchedulingEngine) => void;
-}
-
-export default function SchedulerSection({ onSchedulingEngineChange }: SchedulerSectionProps) {
-  const [schedulingEngine, setSchedulingEngine] = useState<SchedulingEngine>('builtin-cron');
-
-  useEffect(() => {
-    const loadSchedulingEngine = async () => {
-      try {
-        const settings = (await window.electron.getSettings()) as Settings | null;
-        if (settings?.schedulingEngine) {
-          setSchedulingEngine(settings.schedulingEngine);
-        }
-      } catch (error) {
-        console.error('Failed to load scheduling engine setting:', error);
-      }
-    };
-
-    loadSchedulingEngine();
-  }, []);
-
-  const handleEngineChange = async (engine: SchedulingEngine) => {
-    try {
-      setSchedulingEngine(engine);
-
-      await window.electron.setSchedulingEngine(engine);
-
-      if (onSchedulingEngineChange) {
-        onSchedulingEngineChange(engine);
-      }
-    } catch (error) {
-      console.error('Failed to save scheduling engine setting:', error);
-    }
-  };
-
-  return (
-    <div className="space-y-1">
-      {schedulingEngineOptions.map((option) => {
-        const isChecked = schedulingEngine === option.key;
-
-        return (
-          <div key={option.key} className="group hover:cursor-pointer text-sm">
-            <div
-              className={`flex items-center justify-between text-text-default py-2 px-2 ${
-                isChecked
-                  ? 'bg-background-muted'
-                  : 'bg-background-default hover:bg-background-muted'
-              } rounded-lg transition-all`}
-              onClick={() => handleEngineChange(option.key)}
-            >
-              <div className="flex">
-                <div>
-                  <h3 className="text-text-default">{option.label}</h3>
-                  <p className="text-xs text-text-muted mt-[2px]">{option.description}</p>
-                </div>
-              </div>
-
-              <div className="relative flex items-center gap-2">
-                <input
-                  type="radio"
-                  name="schedulingEngine"
-                  value={option.key}
-                  checked={isChecked}
-                  onChange={() => handleEngineChange(option.key)}
-                  className="peer sr-only"
-                />
-                <div
-                  className="h-4 w-4 rounded-full border border-border-default 
-                        peer-checked:border-[6px] peer-checked:border-black dark:peer-checked:border-white
-                        peer-checked:bg-white dark:peer-checked:bg-black
-                        transition-all duration-200 ease-in-out group-hover:border-border-default"
-                ></div>
-              </div>
-            </div>
-          </div>
-        );
-      })}
-
-      <div className="mt-4 p-3 bg-background-subtle rounded-md">
-        <p className="text-xs text-text-muted">
-          <strong>Note:</strong> Changing the scheduling engine will apply to new Goose sessions.
-          You will need to restart Goose for the change to take full effect. <br />
-          The scheduling engines do not share the list of schedules.
-        </p>
-      </div>
-    </div>
-  );
-}
diff --git a/ui/desktop/src/goosed.ts b/ui/desktop/src/goosed.ts
index e8887ac55fc..e6459cc68aa 100644
--- a/ui/desktop/src/goosed.ts
+++ b/ui/desktop/src/goosed.ts
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@ import { spawn, ChildProcess } from 'child_process';
 import { createServer } from 'net';
 import os from 'node:os';
 import path from 'node:path';
-import fs from 'node:fs';
 import { getBinaryPath } from './utils/pathUtils';
 import log from './utils/logger';
 import { App } from 'electron';
@@ -11,7 +10,6 @@ import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';
 import { status } from './api';
 import { Client } from './api/client';
 
-// Find an available port to start goosed on
 export const findAvailablePort = (): Promise<number> => {
   return new Promise((resolve, _reject) => {
     const server = createServer();
@@ -27,11 +25,20 @@ export const findAvailablePort = (): Promise<number> => {
 };
 
 // Check if goosed server is ready by polling the status endpoint
-export const checkServerStatus = async (client: Client): Promise<boolean> => {
+export const checkServerStatus = async (client: Client, errorLog: string[]): Promise<boolean> => {
   const interval = 100; // ms
-  const maxAttempts = 1200; // 120s
+  const maxAttempts = 30; // 3s
+
+  const fatal = (line: string) => {
+    const trimmed = line.trim().toLowerCase();
+    return trimmed.startsWith("thread 'main' panicked at") || trimmed.startsWith('error:');
+  };
 
   for (let attempt = 1; attempt <= maxAttempts; attempt++) {
+    if (errorLog.some(fatal)) {
+      log.error('Detected fatal error in server logs');
+      return false;
+    }
     try {
       await status({ client, throwOnError: true });
       return true;
@@ -48,7 +55,7 @@ export const checkServerStatus = async (client: Client): Promise<boolean> => {
 const connectToExternalBackend = async (
   workingDir: string,
   port: number = 3000
-): Promise<[number, string, ChildProcess]> => {
+): Promise<[number, string, ChildProcess, string[]]> => {
   log.info(`Using external goosed backend on port ${port}`);
 
   const mockProcess = {
@@ -58,7 +65,7 @@ const connectToExternalBackend = async (
     },
   } as ChildProcess;
 
-  return [port, workingDir, mockProcess];
+  return [port, workingDir, mockProcess, []];
 };
 
 interface GooseProcessEnv {
@@ -76,39 +83,23 @@ interface GooseProcessEnv {
 export const startGoosed = async (
   app: App,
   serverSecret: string,
-  dir: string | null = null,
+  dir: string,
   env: Partial<GooseProcessEnv> = {}
-): Promise<[number, string, ChildProcess]> => {
-  const homeDir = os.homedir();
+): Promise<[number, string, ChildProcess, string[]]> => {
   const isWindows = process.platform === 'win32';
-
-  if (!dir) {
-    dir = homeDir;
-  }
-
+  const homeDir = os.homedir();
   dir = path.resolve(path.normalize(dir));
 
   if (process.env.GOOSE_EXTERNAL_BACKEND) {
     return connectToExternalBackend(dir, 3000);
   }
 
-  try {
-    const stats = fs.lstatSync(dir);
-
-    if (!stats.isDirectory()) {
-      log.warn(`Provided path is not a directory, falling back to home directory`);
-      dir = homeDir;
-    }
-  } catch {
-    log.warn(`Directory does not exist, falling back to home directory`);
-    dir = homeDir;
-  }
-
   let goosedPath = getBinaryPath(app, 'goosed');
 
   const resolvedGoosedPath = path.resolve(goosedPath);
 
   const port = await findAvailablePort();
+  const stderrLines: string[] = [];
 
   log.info(`Starting goosed from: ${resolvedGoosedPath} on port ${port} in dir ${dir}`);
 
@@ -183,7 +174,14 @@ export const startGoosed = async (
   });
 
   goosedProcess.stderr?.on('data', (data: Buffer) => {
-    log.error(`goosed stderr for port ${port} and dir ${dir}: ${data.toString()}`);
+    const lines = data
+      .toString()
+      .split('\n')
+      .filter((l) => l.trim());
+    lines.forEach((line) => {
+      log.error(`goosed stderr for port ${port} and dir ${dir}: ${line}`);
+      stderrLines.push(line);
+    });
   });
 
   goosedProcess.on('close', (code: number | null) => {
@@ -215,5 +213,5 @@ export const startGoosed = async (
   });
 
   log.info(`Goosed server successfully started on port ${port}`);
-  return [port, dir, goosedProcess];
+  return [port, dir, goosedProcess, stderrLines];
 };
diff --git a/ui/desktop/src/main.ts b/ui/desktop/src/main.ts
index 9431af3fde5..bf9456bede8 100644
--- a/ui/desktop/src/main.ts
+++ b/ui/desktop/src/main.ts
@@ -33,9 +33,7 @@ import {
   EnvToggles,
   loadSettings,
   saveSettings,
-  SchedulingEngine,
   updateEnvironmentVariables,
-  updateSchedulingEngineEnvironment,
 } from './utils/settings';
 import * as crypto from 'crypto';
 // import electron from "electron";
@@ -502,38 +500,20 @@ const createChat = async (
   scheduledJobId?: string, // Scheduled job ID if applicable
   recipeId?: string
 ) => {
-  // Initialize variables for process and configuration
-  let port = 0;
-  let workingDir = '';
-  let goosedProcess: import('child_process').ChildProcess | null = null;
+  updateEnvironmentVariables(envToggles);
 
-  {
-    // Apply current environment settings before creating chat
-    updateEnvironmentVariables(envToggles);
-
-    // Apply scheduling engine setting
-    const settings = loadSettings();
-    updateSchedulingEngineEnvironment(settings.schedulingEngine);
-
-    const envVars = {
-      GOOSE_SCHEDULER_TYPE: process.env.GOOSE_SCHEDULER_TYPE,
-      GOOSE_PATH_ROOT: process.env.GOOSE_PATH_ROOT,
-    };
-    const [newPort, newWorkingDir, newGoosedProcess] = await startGoosed(
-      app,
-      SERVER_SECRET,
-      dir,
-      envVars
-    );
-    port = newPort;
-    workingDir = newWorkingDir;
-    goosedProcess = newGoosedProcess;
-  }
+  const envVars = {
+    GOOSE_PATH_ROOT: process.env.GOOSE_PATH_ROOT,
+  };
+  const [port, workingDir, goosedProcess, errorLog] = await startGoosed(
+    app,
+    SERVER_SECRET,
+    dir || os.homedir(),
+    envVars
+  );
 
-  // Create window config with loading state for recipe deeplinks
-  // Load and manage window state
   const mainWindowState = windowStateKeeper({
-    defaultWidth: 940, // large enough to show the sidebar on launch
+    defaultWidth: 940,
     defaultHeight: 800,
   });
 
@@ -594,23 +574,21 @@ const createChat = async (
   );
   goosedClients.set(mainWindow.id, goosedClient);
 
-  console.log('[Main] Waiting for backend server to be ready...');
-  const serverReady = await checkServerStatus(goosedClient);
+  const serverReady = await checkServerStatus(goosedClient, errorLog);
   if (!serverReady) {
-    throw new Error('Backend server failed to start in time');
+    dialog.showMessageBoxSync({
+      type: 'error',
+      title: 'Goose Failed to Start',
+      message: 'The backend server failed to start.',
+      detail: errorLog.join('\n'),
+      buttons: ['OK'],
+    });
+    app.quit();
   }
 
   // Let windowStateKeeper manage the window
   mainWindowState.manage(mainWindow);
 
-  // Enable spellcheck / right and ctrl + click on mispelled word
-  //
-  // NOTE: We could use webContents.session.availableSpellCheckerLanguages to include
-  // all languages in the list of spell checked words, but it diminishes the times you
-  // get red squigglies back for mispelled english words. Given the rest of Goose only
-  // renders in english right now, this feels like the correct set of language codes
-  // for the moment.
-  //
   mainWindow.webContents.session.setSpellCheckerLanguages(['en-US', 'en-GB']);
   mainWindow.webContents.on('context-menu', (_event, params) => {
     const menu = new Menu();
@@ -1167,22 +1145,6 @@ ipcMain.handle('get-goosed-host-port', async (event) => {
   return client.getConfig().baseUrl || null;
 });
 
-ipcMain.handle('set-scheduling-engine', async (_event, engine: string) => {
-  try {
-    const settings = loadSettings();
-    settings.schedulingEngine = engine as SchedulingEngine;
-    saveSettings(settings);
-
-    // Update the environment variable immediately
-    updateSchedulingEngineEnvironment(settings.schedulingEngine);
-
-    return true;
-  } catch (error) {
-    console.error('Error setting scheduling engine:', error);
-    return false;
-  }
-});
-
 // Handle menu bar icon visibility
 ipcMain.handle('set-menu-bar-icon', async (_event, show: boolean) => {
   try {
diff --git a/ui/desktop/src/preload.ts b/ui/desktop/src/preload.ts
index 654c558412f..070e8a0afeb 100644
--- a/ui/desktop/src/preload.ts
+++ b/ui/desktop/src/preload.ts
@@ -80,7 +80,6 @@ type ElectronAPI = {
   getSettings: () => Promise<unknown | null>;
   getSecretKey: () => Promise<string>;
   getGoosedHostPort: () => Promise<string | null>;
-  setSchedulingEngine: (engine: string) => Promise<boolean>;
   setWakelock: (enable: boolean) => Promise<boolean>;
   getWakelockState: () => Promise<boolean>;
   openNotificationsSettings: () => Promise<boolean>;
@@ -186,7 +185,6 @@ const electronAPI: ElectronAPI = {
   getSettings: () => ipcRenderer.invoke('get-settings'),
   getSecretKey: () => ipcRenderer.invoke('get-secret-key'),
   getGoosedHostPort: () => ipcRenderer.invoke('get-goosed-host-port'),
-  setSchedulingEngine: (engine: string) => ipcRenderer.invoke('set-scheduling-engine', engine),
   setWakelock: (enable: boolean) => ipcRenderer.invoke('set-wakelock', enable),
   getWakelockState: () => ipcRenderer.invoke('get-wakelock-state'),
   openNotificationsSettings: () => ipcRenderer.invoke('open-notifications-settings'),
diff --git a/ui/desktop/src/utils/settings.ts b/ui/desktop/src/utils/settings.ts
index 84e0a127cd9..d85267ff681 100644
--- a/ui/desktop/src/utils/settings.ts
+++ b/ui/desktop/src/utils/settings.ts
@@ -2,23 +2,18 @@ import { app } from 'electron';
 import fs from 'fs';
 import path from 'path';
 
-// Types
 export interface EnvToggles {
   GOOSE_SERVER__MEMORY: boolean;
   GOOSE_SERVER__COMPUTER_CONTROLLER: boolean;
 }
 
-export type SchedulingEngine = 'builtin-cron' | 'temporal';
-
 export interface Settings {
   envToggles: EnvToggles;
   showMenuBarIcon: boolean;
   showDockIcon: boolean;
-  schedulingEngine: SchedulingEngine;
   enableWakelock: boolean;
 }
 
-// Constants
 const SETTINGS_FILE = path.join(app.getPath('userData'), 'settings.json');
 
 const defaultSettings: Settings = {
@@ -28,7 +23,6 @@ const defaultSettings: Settings = {
   },
   showMenuBarIcon: true,
   showDockIcon: true,
-  schedulingEngine: 'builtin-cron',
   enableWakelock: false,
 };
 
@@ -53,7 +47,6 @@ export function saveSettings(settings: Settings): void {
   }
 }
 
-// Environment management
 export function updateEnvironmentVariables(envToggles: EnvToggles): void {
   if (envToggles.GOOSE_SERVER__MEMORY) {
     process.env.GOOSE_SERVER__MEMORY = 'true';
@@ -67,12 +60,3 @@ export function updateEnvironmentVariables(envToggles: EnvToggles): void {
     delete process.env.GOOSE_SERVER__COMPUTER_CONTROLLER;
   }
 }
-
-export function updateSchedulingEngineEnvironment(schedulingEngine: SchedulingEngine): void {
-  // Set GOOSE_SCHEDULER_TYPE based on the scheduling engine setting
-  if (schedulingEngine === 'temporal') {
-    process.env.GOOSE_SCHEDULER_TYPE = 'temporal';
-  } else {
-    process.env.GOOSE_SCHEDULER_TYPE = 'legacy';
-  }
-}