diff --git a/go.mod b/go.mod
index 4f3ab9d..5c27bbe 100644
--- a/go.mod
+++ b/go.mod
@@ -269,4 +269,4 @@ require (
 )
 
 retract v1.0.3
-replace git.mleku.dev/mleku/nostr => ./docker-build-context/nostr
+replace git.mleku.dev/mleku/nostr => ../nostr
diff --git a/pkg/spider/spider.go b/pkg/spider/spider.go
index e4e6696..781f0ad 100644
--- a/pkg/spider/spider.go
+++ b/pkg/spider/spider.go
@@ -55,10 +55,10 @@ type Spider struct {
 	mode   string
 
 	// Configuration
-	adminRelays       []string
-	followList        [][]byte
+	adminRelays         []string
+	followList          [][]byte
 	relayIdentityPubkey string          // Our relay's identity pubkey (hex)
-	selfURLs          map[string]bool // URLs discovered to be ourselves (for fast lookups)
+	selfURLs            map[string]bool // URLs discovered to be ourselves (for fast lookups)
 
 	// State management
 	mu          sync.RWMutex
@@ -235,6 +235,10 @@ func (s *Spider) mainLoop() {
 
 	log.I.F("spider: main loop started, checking every %v", MainLoopInterval)
 
+	// Do an immediate check on startup
+	log.I.F("spider: performing initial connection check")
+	s.updateConnections()
+
 	for {
 		select {
 		case <-s.ctx.Done():
@@ -243,7 +247,7 @@ func (s *Spider) mainLoop() {
 			log.I.F("spider: follow list updated, refreshing connections")
 			s.updateConnections()
 		case <-ticker.C:
-			log.D.F("spider: periodic check triggered")
+			log.I.F("spider: periodic check triggered")
 			s.updateConnections()
 		}
 	}
@@ -251,44 +255,105 @@ func (s *Spider) mainLoop() {
 
 // updateConnections updates relay connections based on current admin relays and follow lists
 func (s *Spider) updateConnections() {
-	s.mu.Lock()
-	defer s.mu.Unlock()
+	s.mu.RLock()
+	running := s.running
+	s.mu.RUnlock()
 
-	if !s.running {
+	if !running {
 		return
 	}
 
 	// Get current admin relays and follow list
-	adminRelays := s.getAdminRelays()
-	followList := s.getFollowList()
+	if s.getAdminRelays == nil {
+		log.W.F("spider: getAdminRelays callback is nil")
+		return
+	}
+	if s.getFollowList == nil {
+		log.W.F("spider: getFollowList callback is nil")
+		return
+	}
+
+	// Call callbacks with panic recovery
+	var adminRelays []string
+	var followList [][]byte
+	func() {
+		defer func() {
+			if r := recover(); r != nil {
+				log.E.F("spider: panic in getAdminRelays callback: %v", r)
+				adminRelays = nil
+			}
+		}()
+		adminRelays = s.getAdminRelays()
+	}()
+	func() {
+		defer func() {
+			if r := recover(); r != nil {
+				log.E.F("spider: panic in getFollowList callback: %v", r)
+				followList = nil
+			}
+		}()
+		followList = s.getFollowList()
+	}()
+
+	log.I.F("spider: updateConnections - admin relays: %d, follow list: %d", len(adminRelays), len(followList))
+	if len(adminRelays) > 0 {
+		log.I.F("spider: admin relays: %v", adminRelays)
+	} else {
+		log.I.F("spider: admin relays callback returned empty/nil - checking bootstrap relay configuration")
+	}
+	if len(followList) > 0 {
+		log.D.F("spider: follow list has %d pubkeys", len(followList))
+	} else {
+		log.I.F("spider: follow list callback returned empty/nil - check if admin follow lists have been fetched")
+	}
 
 	if len(adminRelays) == 0 || len(followList) == 0 {
-		log.D.F("spider: no admin relays (%d) or follow list (%d) available",
+		log.I.F("spider: no admin relays (%d) or follow list (%d) available - cannot create connections",
 			len(adminRelays), len(followList))
+		if len(adminRelays) == 0 {
+			log.I.F("spider: admin relays callback returned empty list - check if bootstrap relays are configured")
+		}
+		if len(followList) == 0 {
+			log.I.F("spider: follow list callback returned empty list - check if admin follow lists have been fetched")
+		}
 		return
 	}
 
 	// Update connections for current admin relays (filtering out self)
+	// Note: We release the mutex before the loop because isSelfRelay() needs to acquire it
+	log.I.F("spider: processing %d admin relays (will filter out self-relays)", len(adminRelays))
 	currentRelays := make(map[string]bool)
-	for _, url := range adminRelays {
+	for i, url := range adminRelays {
+		log.I.F("spider: checking relay %d/%d: %s", i+1, len(adminRelays), url)
 		// Check if this relay URL is ourselves
-		if s.isSelfRelay(url) {
-			log.D.F("spider: skipping self-relay: %s", url)
+		isSelf := s.isSelfRelay(url)
+		log.D.F("spider: isSelfRelay(%s) = %v", url, isSelf)
+		if isSelf {
+			log.I.F("spider: skipping self-relay: %s", url)
 			continue
 		}
 
 		currentRelays[url] = true
 
-		if conn, exists := s.connections[url]; exists {
+		// Acquire lock to check and modify connections
+		s.mu.Lock()
+		conn, exists := s.connections[url]
+		s.mu.Unlock()
+
+		if exists {
 			// Update existing connection
+			log.I.F("spider: updating existing connection to %s", url)
 			conn.updateSubscriptions(followList)
 		} else {
 			// Create new connection
+			log.I.F("spider: creating new connection to %s", url)
 			s.createConnection(url, followList)
 		}
 	}
+	log.I.F("spider: processed %d relays, created/updated %d connections", len(adminRelays), len(currentRelays))
 
 	// Remove connections for relays no longer in admin list
+	s.mu.Lock()
 	for url, conn := range s.connections {
 		if !currentRelays[url] {
 			log.I.F("spider: removing connection to %s (no longer in admin relays)", url)
@@ -296,6 +361,7 @@ func (s *Spider) updateConnections() {
 			delete(s.connections, url)
 		}
 	}
+	s.mu.Unlock()
 }
 
 // createConnection creates a new relay connection
@@ -312,7 +378,10 @@ func (s *Spider) createConnection(url string, followList [][]byte) {
 		reconnectDelay: ReconnectDelay,
 	}
 
+	// Acquire lock to add connection
+	s.mu.Lock()
 	s.connections[url] = conn
+	s.mu.Unlock()
 
 	// Start connection in goroutine
 	go conn.manage(followList)