diff --git a/nextcloud/update_uptime_kuma.yml b/nextcloud/update_uptime_kuma.yml
index 97a1ff4..3183f85 100644
--- a/nextcloud/update_uptime_kuma.yml
+++ b/nextcloud/update_uptime_kuma.yml
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+# nextcloud/update_uptime_kuma.yml
+
 - name: Update Uptime Kuma on VM via Proxmox
   hosts: proxmox
   gather_facts: false
@@ -26,6 +28,10 @@
     # Fixed container name used in your compose (conflicts with previous/Portainer-run container)
     kuma_container_name: "uptime-kuma-dev"
 
+    # Retry policy (to mirror Collabora play): 10x with 2s delay
+    kuma_retries: 10
+    kuma_delay: 2
+
     # Docker command prefix (consistent behavior)
     docker_prefix: "unalias docker 2>/dev/null || true; DOCKER_CLI_HINTS=0; command docker"
 
@@ -33,9 +39,8 @@
     kuma_commands:
       - "{{ docker_prefix }} pull -q {{ kuma_image }} >/dev/null"
       - "{{ docker_prefix }} compose -p {{ kuma_project }} -f {{ kuma_compose_file }} pull {{ kuma_service }} >/dev/null"
-      # --- added: gently remove conflicting container name before compose up ---
+      # remove conflicting container name before compose up (silently)
       - "{{ docker_prefix }} rm -f {{ kuma_container_name }} >/dev/null 2>&1 || true"
-      # ------------------------------------------------------------------------
       - "{{ docker_prefix }} compose -p {{ kuma_project }} -f {{ kuma_compose_file }} up -d --no-deps --force-recreate {{ kuma_service }} >/dev/null"
 
   tasks:
@@ -86,7 +91,7 @@
     # Readiness checks (controller first, then VM fallback)
     # -------------------------
 
-    - name: Kuma | Wait for homepage (controller first)
+    - name: Kuma | Wait for homepage (controller first, with retries)
       ansible.builtin.uri:
         url: "{{ (kuma_url | regex_replace('/$','')) + '/' }}"
         method: GET
@@ -98,13 +103,13 @@
       delegate_to: localhost
       run_once: true
       when: kuma_url is defined and (kuma_url | length) > 0
-      retries: 10
-      delay: 2
+      retries: "{{ kuma_retries }}"
+      delay: "{{ kuma_delay }}"
       until: kuma_controller.status == 200
       failed_when: false
       changed_when: false
 
-    - name: Kuma | VM-side fetch (HTML via Python)
+    - name: Kuma | VM-side fetch (HTML via Python, with retries)
       ansible.builtin.command:
         argv:
           - sshpass
@@ -132,26 +137,33 @@
       changed_when: false
       failed_when: false
       when: kuma_controller.status | default(0) != 200 or kuma_controller.content is not defined
+      retries: "{{ kuma_retries }}"
+      delay: "{{ kuma_delay }}"
+      # Wait until we actually got some HTML that likely belongs to Kuma
+      until: (kuma_vm.stdout | default('') | trim | length) > 0 and ('Uptime Kuma' in (kuma_vm.stdout | default('')))
 
-    - name: Kuma | Choose homepage HTML (controller wins, else VM)
+    - name: Kuma | Choose homepage HTML (controller wins, else VM)  # safe guard against empty result
       ansible.builtin.set_fact:
         kuma_home_html: >-
           {{
-            (kuma_controller.content
-              if (kuma_controller.status|default(0))==200 and (kuma_controller.content is defined)
-              else (
-                (kuma_vm.stdout | default('') | trim | length > 0)
-                | ternary((kuma_vm.stdout | trim), omit)
-              )
+            (
+              kuma_controller.content
+              if (kuma_controller is defined)
+                 and ((kuma_controller.status|default(0))==200)
+                 and (kuma_controller.content is defined)
+              else
+                 (kuma_vm.stdout | default('') | trim)
             )
           }}
-      failed_when: false
+      when:
+        - (kuma_controller is defined and (kuma_controller.status|default(0))==200 and (kuma_controller.content is defined))
+          or ((kuma_vm.stdout | default('') | trim | length) > 0)
 
     - name: Kuma | Print concise summary
       ansible.builtin.debug:
         msg: >-
           Uptime Kuma homepage {{ 'reachable' if (kuma_home_html is defined) else 'NOT reachable' }}.
-          Source={{ 'controller' if ((kuma_controller.status|default(0))==200 and (kuma_controller.content is defined)) else 'vm' if (kuma_vm.stdout|default('')|trim|length>0) else 'n/a' }};
+          Source={{ 'controller' if ((kuma_controller is defined) and (kuma_controller.status|default(0))==200 and (kuma_controller.content is defined)) else 'vm' if (kuma_vm.stdout|default('')|trim|length>0) else 'n/a' }};
           length={{ (kuma_home_html | default('')) | length }};
           contains('Uptime Kuma')={{ (kuma_home_html is defined) and ('Uptime Kuma' in kuma_home_html) }}