diff --git a/server.cts b/server.cts
index ec697f7..eb64e08 100644
--- a/server.cts
+++ b/server.cts
@@ -281,31 +281,87 @@ app.use((err, req, res, next) => {
   // If a response was already (partially) sent, we can't write a new body/status —
   // delegate to Express's default handler, which closes the connection cleanly.
   if (res.headersSent) return next(err);
-  recordError('Express', err);
-  console.error('[error]', err.message || String(err));
+
+  const status = err.status || 500;
+  // Only server errors (5xx) are logged/recorded; 4xx are expected client errors
+  // (validation, auth, not-found) and must not spam the error tracker.
+  if (status >= 500) {
+    recordError('Express', err);
+    console.error('[error]', err.stack || err.message || String(err));
+  }
 
   if (/^\/api\/imports?\//.test(req.path || '')) {
     const isBodyError = err.type === 'entity.too.large' || err instanceof SyntaxError;
+    const code = isBodyError ? 'IMPORT_REQUEST_ERROR' : 'IMPORT_SERVER_ERROR';
     return res.status(err.status || (isBodyError ? 400 : 500)).json({
-      error: 'Import request failed',
+      error: code,
       message: isBodyError
         ? 'The import request could not be read. Please retry with a smaller or valid file.'
         : 'Unexpected import server error. Please try again.',
-      code: isBodyError ? 'IMPORT_REQUEST_ERROR' : 'IMPORT_SERVER_ERROR',
+      code,
     });
   }
 
-  res.status(err.status || 500).json({
-    error: 'Internal server error',
-    code: 'INTERNAL_ERROR',
-  });
+  // Single canonical error body: { error, message, code, field? } (utils/apiError).
+  const { formatError } = require('./utils/apiError.cts');
+  res.status(status).json(formatError(err));
 });
 
-// ── Safety net: log unhandled promise rejections instead of crashing ─────────
+// ── Safety net: unhandled promise rejections — log + record, don't crash ─────
+// (Most rejections here are non-fatal side effects; a crash would be worse than
+// surfacing them. Truly fatal states are handled by uncaughtException below.)
 process.on('unhandledRejection', (reason) => {
-  console.error('[server] Unhandled promise rejection:', reason?.message || reason);
+  console.error(
+    '[server] Unhandled promise rejection:',
+    reason?.stack || reason?.message || reason,
+  );
+  try {
+    recordError('unhandledRejection', reason instanceof Error ? reason : new Error(String(reason)));
+  } catch {}
 });
 
+// An uncaught exception leaves the process in an undefined state — record it and
+// exit non-zero so the supervisor (Docker `restart: unless-stopped`) restarts clean.
+process.on('uncaughtException', (err) => {
+  console.error('[server] Uncaught exception:', err?.stack || err);
+  try {
+    recordError('uncaughtException', err);
+  } catch {}
+  process.exit(1);
+});
+
+// ── Graceful shutdown ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+// Docker `stop` sends SIGTERM. Stop accepting connections, let in-flight requests
+// finish, then checkpoint the WAL and close the DB so no write is lost. Hard-exit
+// if it stalls.
+let shuttingDown = false;
+function gracefulShutdown(signal, server) {
+  if (shuttingDown) return;
+  shuttingDown = true;
+  console.log(`[server] ${signal} received — shutting down gracefully`);
+
+  const finish = (code) => {
+    try {
+      const { getDb, closeDb } = require('./db/database.cts');
+      try {
+        getDb().pragma('wal_checkpoint(TRUNCATE)');
+      } catch {}
+      closeDb();
+      console.log('[server] database closed cleanly');
+    } catch (e) {
+      console.error('[server] error closing database:', e?.message || e);
+    }
+    process.exit(code);
+  };
+
+  server.close(() => finish(0));
+  // Don't let a hung connection block shutdown forever.
+  setTimeout(() => {
+    console.error('[server] shutdown timed out after 10s — forcing exit');
+    finish(1);
+  }, 10000).unref();
+}
+
 // ── Bootstrap ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 async function main() {
   const db = getDb();
@@ -381,7 +437,7 @@ async function main() {
     createRegularUser();
   }
 
-  app.listen(PORT, HOST, () => {
+  const server = app.listen(PORT, HOST, () => {
     console.log(`Bill Tracker running on ${HOST}:${PORT}`);
     if (userCount > 0) console.log(`Users found: ${userCount}`);
 
@@ -437,6 +493,10 @@ async function main() {
       console.error('[dailyWorker] Failed to start daily worker:', err.message);
     }
   });
+
+  // Wire graceful shutdown once the server handle exists.
+  process.on('SIGTERM', () => gracefulShutdown('SIGTERM', server));
+  process.on('SIGINT', () => gracefulShutdown('SIGINT', server));
 }
 
 main().catch((err) => {
diff --git a/utils/apiError.cts b/utils/apiError.cts
index 979e9f3..7c7e8f3 100644
--- a/utils/apiError.cts
+++ b/utils/apiError.cts
@@ -78,23 +78,28 @@ function RateLimitError(message = 'Too many requests', code = 'RATE_LIMITED'): A
  * Format an error for JSON response
  * This ensures consistent error format across all routes
  */
-function formatError(err: any): { error: string; message: string; field?: string } {
+function formatError(err: any): { error: string; message: string; code: string; field?: string } {
   if (err instanceof ApiError) {
-    const output: { error: string; message: string; field?: string } = {
+    // `error` and `code` are both the machine code (the client reads `code`);
+    // `error` is kept for backward compatibility.
+    const output: { error: string; message: string; code: string; field?: string } = {
       error: err.code,
       message: err.message,
+      code: err.code,
     };
     if (err.field) output.field = err.field;
     return output;
   }
 
-  // Fallback for non-standard errors (log internally, show safe message)
-  const safeMessage =
-    err.status === 500 ? 'Internal server error' : err.message || 'An error occurred';
+  // Non-ApiError: hide internals on any 5xx (missing status is treated as 500).
+  const status = err.status || 500;
+  const code = err.code || 'INTERNAL_ERROR';
+  const safeMessage = status >= 500 ? 'Internal server error' : err.message || 'An error occurred';
 
   return {
-    error: err.code || 'ERROR',
+    error: code,
     message: safeMessage,
+    code,
   };
 }