diff --git a/actions/setup/js/start_mcp_gateway.cjs b/actions/setup/js/start_mcp_gateway.cjs
index d9fea7dc3e6..ea637a0d28c 100644
--- a/actions/setup/js/start_mcp_gateway.cjs
+++ b/actions/setup/js/start_mcp_gateway.cjs
@@ -83,8 +83,10 @@ async function retryGatewayStartup(probe, retryConfig, deadline, label, shouldRe
         throw err;
       }
       delayMs = Math.min(delayMs * retryConfig.backoffMultiplier, retryConfig.maxDelayMs);
-      const sleepMs = Math.min(delayMs, deadline - nowMs());
-      core.warning(`${label}: retrying after attempt ${attempt} in ${sleepMs}ms`);
+      const sleepMs = Math.min(Math.ceil(delayMs), deadline - nowMs());
+      if (attempt === 1 || (attempt & (attempt - 1)) === 0) {
+        core.warning(`${label}: retrying after attempt ${attempt} in ${sleepMs}ms`);
+      }
       await sleep(sleepMs);
     }
   }
@@ -114,7 +116,7 @@ const MCP_GATEWAY_HEALTH_RETRY_ENV = Object.freeze({
 /** Default MCP backend startup timeout the retry budget must outlast. */
 const MCP_GATEWAY_BACKEND_STARTUP_TIMEOUT_DEFAULT_MS = 120_000;
 
-/** Upper bound on configurable health-check attempts, to keep the wait finite. */
+/** Upper bound on explicit and automatically sized health-check attempts. */
 const MCP_GATEWAY_HEALTH_MAX_ATTEMPTS_LIMIT = 10_000;
 
 /**
@@ -131,24 +133,25 @@ const MCP_GATEWAY_HEALTH_REGISTRATION_MARGIN_MS = 25_000;
  * @param {number} defaultValue
  * @param {NodeJS.ProcessEnv} env
  * @param {{ integer?: boolean }} [options]
- * @returns {number}
+ * @returns {{ value: number, wasExplicit: boolean }}
  */
 function readPositiveEnvNumber(envName, defaultValue, env, options = {}) {
   const raw = env[envName];
   if (raw === undefined || !raw.trim()) {
-    return defaultValue;
+    return { value: defaultValue, wasExplicit: false };
   }
   const parsed = Number(raw.trim());
   const isValid = Number.isFinite(parsed) && parsed > 0 && (!options.integer || Number.isSafeInteger(parsed));
   if (!isValid) {
     core.warning(`Ignoring invalid ${envName}='${raw}': expected a positive ${options.integer ? "integer" : "number"}, using ${defaultValue}`);
-    return defaultValue;
+    return { value: defaultValue, wasExplicit: false };
   }
-  return parsed;
+  return { value: parsed, wasExplicit: true };
 }
 
 /**
- * Computes the cumulative startup retry delay before exhausting its attempts.
+ * Computes a lower bound on the cumulative startup retry delay before exhausting
+ * its attempts. Actual sleeps round up to avoid Node truncating fractional delays.
  * The retry loop applies the backoff multiplier before its first sleep,
  * so the first retry waits initialDelayMs * backoffMultiplier.
  *
@@ -156,13 +159,20 @@ function readPositiveEnvNumber(envName, defaultValue, env, options = {}) {
  * @returns {number}
  */
 function computeHealthRetryBudgetMs(config) {
-  let delayMs = config.initialDelayMs;
-  let budgetMs = 0;
-  for (let retry = 1; retry < config.maxTotalAttempts; retry += 1) {
-    delayMs = Math.min(delayMs * config.backoffMultiplier, config.maxDelayMs);
-    budgetMs += delayMs;
+  const retries = config.maxTotalAttempts - 1;
+  if (retries <= 0) {
+    return 0;
+  }
+  if (config.backoffMultiplier === 1) {
+    return Math.min(config.initialDelayMs, config.maxDelayMs) * retries;
   }
-  return budgetMs;
+
+  // Sum the exponential ramp and capped tail without iterating over potentially
+  // millions of attempts. expm1 preserves precision for multipliers close to 1.
+  const logMultiplier = Math.log(config.backoffMultiplier);
+  const rampRetries = Math.min(retries, Math.max(0, Math.ceil(Math.log(config.maxDelayMs / config.initialDelayMs) / logMultiplier) - 1));
+  const rampBudgetMs = rampRetries === 0 ? 0 : (config.initialDelayMs * config.backoffMultiplier * Math.expm1(rampRetries * logMultiplier)) / (config.backoffMultiplier - 1);
+  return rampBudgetMs + (retries - rampRetries) * config.maxDelayMs;
 }
 
 /**
@@ -173,11 +183,13 @@ function computeHealthRetryBudgetMs(config) {
  * @returns {{ maxTotalAttempts: number, initialDelayMs: number, maxDelayMs: number, backoffMultiplier: number, backendStartupTimeoutMs: number, retryBudgetMs: number }}
  */
 function resolveGatewayHealthRetryConfig(env = process.env) {
-  let maxTotalAttempts = readPositiveEnvNumber(MCP_GATEWAY_HEALTH_RETRY_ENV.maxTotalAttempts, MCP_GATEWAY_HEALTH_RETRY_DEFAULTS.maxTotalAttempts, env, { integer: true });
-  const initialDelayMs = readPositiveEnvNumber(MCP_GATEWAY_HEALTH_RETRY_ENV.initialDelayMs, MCP_GATEWAY_HEALTH_RETRY_DEFAULTS.initialDelayMs, env, { integer: true });
-  let maxDelayMs = readPositiveEnvNumber(MCP_GATEWAY_HEALTH_RETRY_ENV.maxDelayMs, MCP_GATEWAY_HEALTH_RETRY_DEFAULTS.maxDelayMs, env, { integer: true });
-  let backoffMultiplier = readPositiveEnvNumber(MCP_GATEWAY_HEALTH_RETRY_ENV.backoffMultiplier, MCP_GATEWAY_HEALTH_RETRY_DEFAULTS.backoffMultiplier, env);
-  const backendStartupTimeoutMs = readPositiveEnvNumber(MCP_GATEWAY_HEALTH_RETRY_ENV.backendStartupTimeoutMs, MCP_GATEWAY_BACKEND_STARTUP_TIMEOUT_DEFAULT_MS, env, { integer: true });
+  const maxAttemptsOverride = readPositiveEnvNumber(MCP_GATEWAY_HEALTH_RETRY_ENV.maxTotalAttempts, MCP_GATEWAY_HEALTH_RETRY_DEFAULTS.maxTotalAttempts, env, { integer: true });
+  let maxTotalAttempts = maxAttemptsOverride.value;
+  const hasExplicitAttempts = maxAttemptsOverride.wasExplicit;
+  const initialDelayMs = readPositiveEnvNumber(MCP_GATEWAY_HEALTH_RETRY_ENV.initialDelayMs, MCP_GATEWAY_HEALTH_RETRY_DEFAULTS.initialDelayMs, env, { integer: true }).value;
+  let maxDelayMs = readPositiveEnvNumber(MCP_GATEWAY_HEALTH_RETRY_ENV.maxDelayMs, MCP_GATEWAY_HEALTH_RETRY_DEFAULTS.maxDelayMs, env, { integer: true }).value;
+  let backoffMultiplier = readPositiveEnvNumber(MCP_GATEWAY_HEALTH_RETRY_ENV.backoffMultiplier, MCP_GATEWAY_HEALTH_RETRY_DEFAULTS.backoffMultiplier, env).value;
+  const backendStartupTimeoutMs = readPositiveEnvNumber(MCP_GATEWAY_HEALTH_RETRY_ENV.backendStartupTimeoutMs, MCP_GATEWAY_BACKEND_STARTUP_TIMEOUT_DEFAULT_MS, env, { integer: true }).value;
 
   if (maxTotalAttempts > MCP_GATEWAY_HEALTH_MAX_ATTEMPTS_LIMIT) {
     core.warning(`${MCP_GATEWAY_HEALTH_RETRY_ENV.maxTotalAttempts}=${maxTotalAttempts} exceeds the supported maximum, using ${MCP_GATEWAY_HEALTH_MAX_ATTEMPTS_LIMIT}`);
@@ -199,9 +211,25 @@ function resolveGatewayHealthRetryConfig(env = process.env) {
   }
 
   const config = { maxTotalAttempts, initialDelayMs, maxDelayMs, backoffMultiplier, backendStartupTimeoutMs };
-  const retryBudgetMs = computeHealthRetryBudgetMs(config);
-
   const requiredBudgetMs = backendStartupTimeoutMs + MCP_GATEWAY_HEALTH_REGISTRATION_MARGIN_MS;
+  let retryBudgetMs = computeHealthRetryBudgetMs(config);
+  if (!hasExplicitAttempts && retryBudgetMs < requiredBudgetMs) {
+    const firstDelayMs = Math.min(initialDelayMs * backoffMultiplier, maxDelayMs);
+    let lower = maxTotalAttempts;
+    // Bound automatic sizing to prevent very frequent polling from exploding.
+    let upper = MCP_GATEWAY_HEALTH_MAX_ATTEMPTS_LIMIT;
+    while (lower < upper) {
+      const middle = lower + Math.floor((upper - lower) / 2);
+      if (computeHealthRetryBudgetMs({ ...config, maxTotalAttempts: middle }) < requiredBudgetMs) {
+        lower = middle + 1;
+      } else {
+        upper = middle;
+      }
+    }
+    config.maxTotalAttempts = lower;
+    retryBudgetMs = computeHealthRetryBudgetMs(config);
+  }
+
   if (retryBudgetMs < requiredBudgetMs) {
     core.warning(
       `MCP gateway health retry budget is ${Math.round(retryBudgetMs / 1000)}s, which is below the ${Math.round(requiredBudgetMs / 1000)}s needed for the ${Math.round(backendStartupTimeoutMs / 1000)}s backend startup timeout plus cleanup and registration; the health check may give up before the gateway is ready`
@@ -1113,7 +1141,8 @@ async function main() {
       },
       healthRetryConfig,
       startupDeadline,
-      "MCP gateway health check"
+      "MCP gateway health check",
+      () => isProcessAlive(gatewayPid)
     );
     succeeded = true;
   } catch {
diff --git a/actions/setup/js/start_mcp_gateway.test.cjs b/actions/setup/js/start_mcp_gateway.test.cjs
index 40b0c8fd3a4..9414d21b53c 100644
--- a/actions/setup/js/start_mcp_gateway.test.cjs
+++ b/actions/setup/js/start_mcp_gateway.test.cjs
@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@ import {
   httpGet,
 } from "./start_mcp_gateway.cjs";
 import { writeMcpConfiguration } from "./mcp_configuration.cjs";
+import { applyGatewayRuntimeTimeouts } from "./tool_timeouts.cjs";
 
 describe("agenticworkflows backend ownership", () => {
   it.each(["localhost/gh-aw:dev", "alpine:3.24"])("uses the runner identity without widening private artifact modes (%s)", container => {
@@ -136,6 +137,13 @@ describe("start_mcp_gateway logging", () => {
     expect(source).not.toContain("/tmp/gh-aw/mcp-logs/start-gateway.log");
   });
 
+  it("stops health polling when the gateway process exits", () => {
+    const source = fs.readFileSync(new URL("./start_mcp_gateway.cjs", import.meta.url), "utf8");
+    const healthCheckStart = source.indexOf('core.info("=== Health Check Progress ===")');
+    const healthCheckEnd = source.indexOf("succeeded = true;", healthCheckStart);
+    expect(source.slice(healthCheckStart, healthCheckEnd)).toContain("() => isProcessAlive(gatewayPid)");
+  });
+
   it("captures the gateway child process stderr outside the artifact directory", () => {
     const source = fs.readFileSync(new URL("./start_mcp_gateway.cjs", import.meta.url), "utf8");
     expect(source).toContain(`stdio: ["pipe", outputFd, stderrFd]`);
@@ -190,6 +198,11 @@ describe("start_mcp_gateway logging", () => {
 });
 
 describe("start_mcp_gateway health timeout", () => {
+  afterEach(() => {
+    vi.restoreAllMocks();
+    vi.useRealTimers();
+  });
+
   it("allows cleanup and registration time after the backend startup timeout", () => {
     const config = resolveGatewayHealthRetryConfig({});
 
@@ -211,6 +224,166 @@ describe("start_mcp_gateway health timeout", () => {
     expect(config.retryBudgetMs).toBe(computeHealthRetryBudgetMs(config));
   });
 
+  it("sizes default health retries for tools.startup-timeout", () => {
+    const env = { GH_AW_STARTUP_TIMEOUT: "300" };
+    const gatewayConfig = { gateway: {} };
+    applyGatewayRuntimeTimeouts(gatewayConfig, env);
+    const warning = vi.spyOn(global.core, "warning").mockImplementation(() => {});
+
+    const config = resolveGatewayHealthRetryConfig(env);
+
+    expect(gatewayConfig.gateway.startupTimeout).toBe(300);
+    expect(config.backendStartupTimeoutMs).toBe(300_000);
+    expect(config.maxTotalAttempts).toBe(327);
+    expect(config.retryBudgetMs).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(325_000);
+    expect(computeHealthRetryBudgetMs({ ...config, maxTotalAttempts: config.maxTotalAttempts - 1 })).toBeLessThan(325_000);
+    expect(warning).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
+  it.each([{}, { initialDelayMs: "10", maxDelayMs: "100", backoffMultiplier: "1.5" }, { initialDelayMs: "250", maxDelayMs: "1000", backoffMultiplier: "1" }, { initialDelayMs: "2000", maxDelayMs: "500", backoffMultiplier: "0.5" }])(
+    "covers the startup window with normalized custom retry delays: %j",
+    overrides => {
+      const env = { [MCP_GATEWAY_HEALTH_RETRY_ENV.backendStartupTimeoutMs]: "300000" };
+      for (const [key, value] of Object.entries(overrides)) {
+        env[MCP_GATEWAY_HEALTH_RETRY_ENV[key]] = value;
+      }
+
+      const config = resolveGatewayHealthRetryConfig(env);
+
+      expect(config.retryBudgetMs).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(325_000);
+      expect(config.maxTotalAttempts).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(MCP_GATEWAY_HEALTH_RETRY_DEFAULTS.maxTotalAttempts);
+    }
+  );
+
+  it.each(["", " ", "not-a-number", "0", "-1", "1.5"])("automatically sizes attempts when the override is unusable: %j", override => {
+    const config = resolveGatewayHealthRetryConfig({
+      [MCP_GATEWAY_HEALTH_RETRY_ENV.maxTotalAttempts]: override,
+      [MCP_GATEWAY_HEALTH_RETRY_ENV.backendStartupTimeoutMs]: "300000",
+    });
+
+    expect(config.retryBudgetMs).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(325_000);
+  });
+
+  it.each(["10", "150", "330"])("preserves an explicit attempt limit: %s", attempts => {
+    const warning = vi.spyOn(global.core, "warning").mockImplementation(() => {});
+    const config = resolveGatewayHealthRetryConfig({
+      [MCP_GATEWAY_HEALTH_RETRY_ENV.maxTotalAttempts]: attempts,
+      [MCP_GATEWAY_HEALTH_RETRY_ENV.backendStartupTimeoutMs]: "300000",
+    });
+
+    expect(config.maxTotalAttempts).toBe(Number(attempts));
+    if (Number(attempts) < 327) {
+      expect(warning).toHaveBeenCalledWith(expect.stringContaining("health check may give up"));
+    } else {
+      expect(warning).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    }
+  });
+
+  it("caps automatic attempts when short delays cannot cover the startup window", () => {
+    const warning = vi.spyOn(global.core, "warning").mockImplementation(() => {});
+    const config = resolveGatewayHealthRetryConfig({
+      [MCP_GATEWAY_HEALTH_RETRY_ENV.backendStartupTimeoutMs]: "300000",
+      [MCP_GATEWAY_HEALTH_RETRY_ENV.initialDelayMs]: "1",
+      [MCP_GATEWAY_HEALTH_RETRY_ENV.maxDelayMs]: "1",
+      [MCP_GATEWAY_HEALTH_RETRY_ENV.backoffMultiplier]: "1",
+    });
+
+    expect(config.maxTotalAttempts).toBe(MCP_GATEWAY_HEALTH_MAX_ATTEMPTS_LIMIT);
+    expect(config.retryBudgetMs).toBe(9_999);
+    expect(warning).toHaveBeenCalledWith(expect.stringContaining("health retry budget is"));
+  });
+
+  it.each(["1", "1.0000000000000002", "2"])("bounds automatically sized attempts for large startup windows (%s)", backoffMultiplier => {
+    const warning = vi.spyOn(global.core, "warning").mockImplementation(() => {});
+    const config = resolveGatewayHealthRetryConfig({
+      [MCP_GATEWAY_HEALTH_RETRY_ENV.backendStartupTimeoutMs]: "2147483000",
+      [MCP_GATEWAY_HEALTH_RETRY_ENV.initialDelayMs]: "1",
+      [MCP_GATEWAY_HEALTH_RETRY_ENV.backoffMultiplier]: backoffMultiplier,
+    });
+
+    expect(config.maxTotalAttempts).toBe(MCP_GATEWAY_HEALTH_MAX_ATTEMPTS_LIMIT);
+    expect(config.retryBudgetMs).toBeLessThan(2147483000 + MCP_GATEWAY_HEALTH_REGISTRATION_MARGIN_MS);
+    expect(warning).toHaveBeenCalledWith(expect.stringContaining("health retry budget is"));
+  });
+
+  it("stops retrying when the gateway process is no longer alive", async () => {
+    vi.useFakeTimers();
+    vi.setSystemTime(0);
+    const probe = vi.fn(async () => {
+      throw new Error("connection refused");
+    });
+    const isGatewayAlive = vi.fn(() => false);
+    const config = { maxTotalAttempts: 10, initialDelayMs: 1, maxDelayMs: 1, backoffMultiplier: 1 };
+
+    await expect(retryGatewayStartup(probe, config, 1000, "health", isGatewayAlive)).rejects.toThrow("connection refused");
+
+    expect(probe).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    expect(isGatewayAlive).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    expect(Date.now()).toBe(0);
+  });
+
+  it("limits retry warnings to exponentially spaced progress reports", async () => {
+    vi.useFakeTimers();
+    vi.setSystemTime(0);
+    const warning = vi.spyOn(global.core, "warning").mockImplementation(() => {});
+    const probe = vi.fn(async () => {
+      throw new Error("backend unavailable");
+    });
+    const config = { maxTotalAttempts: 20, initialDelayMs: 1, maxDelayMs: 1, backoffMultiplier: 1 };
+    const wait = retryGatewayStartup(probe, config, 1000, "health");
+    const rejection = expect(wait).rejects.toThrow("backend unavailable");
+
+    await vi.runAllTimersAsync();
+    await rejection;
+
+    expect(probe).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(20);
+    expect(warning).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(5);
+  });
+
+  it.each([
+    { backendStartupTimeoutMs: 300_000, readyMs: 300_000, backoffMultiplier: "2" },
+    { backendStartupTimeoutMs: 1000, readyMs: 25_000, initialDelayMs: "3", backoffMultiplier: "1.00001" },
+  ])("keeps polling through backend startup and registration: %j", async ({ backendStartupTimeoutMs, readyMs, initialDelayMs, backoffMultiplier }) => {
+    vi.useFakeTimers({ loopLimit: 50_000 });
+    vi.setSystemTime(0);
+    vi.spyOn(global.core, "warning").mockImplementation(() => {});
+    const config = resolveGatewayHealthRetryConfig({
+      [MCP_GATEWAY_HEALTH_RETRY_ENV.backendStartupTimeoutMs]: String(backendStartupTimeoutMs),
+      [MCP_GATEWAY_HEALTH_RETRY_ENV.initialDelayMs]: initialDelayMs,
+      [MCP_GATEWAY_HEALTH_RETRY_ENV.backoffMultiplier]: backoffMultiplier,
+    });
+    const deadline = backendStartupTimeoutMs + MCP_GATEWAY_HEALTH_REGISTRATION_MARGIN_MS;
+    const probe = vi.fn(async () => {
+      if (Date.now() < readyMs) throw new Error("backend still starting");
+    });
+    const wait = retryGatewayStartup(probe, config, deadline, "health");
+
+    await vi.runAllTimersAsync();
+    await wait;
+
+    expect(probe.mock.calls.length).toBeGreaterThan(150);
+    expect(Date.now()).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(readyMs);
+    expect(Date.now()).toBeLessThan(deadline);
+  });
+
+  it("stops an unavailable gateway at the shared startup deadline", async () => {
+    vi.useFakeTimers();
+    vi.setSystemTime(0);
+    vi.spyOn(global.core, "warning").mockImplementation(() => {});
+    const config = resolveGatewayHealthRetryConfig({ [MCP_GATEWAY_HEALTH_RETRY_ENV.backendStartupTimeoutMs]: "300000" });
+    const probe = vi.fn(async () => {
+      throw new Error("backend unavailable");
+    });
+    const wait = retryGatewayStartup(probe, config, 325_000, "health");
+    const rejection = expect(wait).rejects.toThrow("startup deadline exceeded");
+
+    await vi.runAllTimersAsync();
+    await rejection;
+
+    expect(probe.mock.calls.length).toBeGreaterThan(150);
+    expect(Date.now()).toBe(325_000);
+  });
+
   it("falls back to defaults for invalid overrides", () => {
     const config = resolveGatewayHealthRetryConfig({
       [MCP_GATEWAY_HEALTH_RETRY_ENV.maxTotalAttempts]: "not-a-number",
@@ -251,6 +424,23 @@ describe("start_mcp_gateway health timeout", () => {
     // The retry loop multiplies before its first sleep: 500ms, then 1000ms capped.
     expect(computeHealthRetryBudgetMs({ maxTotalAttempts: 3, initialDelayMs: 250, maxDelayMs: 1000, backoffMultiplier: 2 })).toBe(1500);
   });
+
+  it.each([
+    { maxTotalAttempts: 1, initialDelayMs: 250, maxDelayMs: 1000, backoffMultiplier: 2 },
+    { maxTotalAttempts: 500, initialDelayMs: 100, maxDelayMs: 400, backoffMultiplier: 1.5 },
+    { maxTotalAttempts: 500, initialDelayMs: 250, maxDelayMs: 1000, backoffMultiplier: 1 },
+    { maxTotalAttempts: 500, initialDelayMs: 1, maxDelayMs: 1000, backoffMultiplier: 1.0000000000000002 },
+    { maxTotalAttempts: 500, initialDelayMs: 250, maxDelayMs: 1000, backoffMultiplier: Number.MAX_VALUE },
+  ])("matches the unrounded backoff schedule: %j", config => {
+    let delayMs = config.initialDelayMs;
+    let budgetMs = 0;
+    for (let attempt = 1; attempt < config.maxTotalAttempts; attempt += 1) {
+      delayMs = Math.min(delayMs * config.backoffMultiplier, config.maxDelayMs);
+      budgetMs += delayMs;
+    }
+
+    expect(computeHealthRetryBudgetMs(config)).toBeCloseTo(budgetMs, 5);
+  });
 });
 
 describe("start_mcp_gateway startup diagnostics", () => {
diff --git a/docs/src/content/docs/reference/environment-variables.md b/docs/src/content/docs/reference/environment-variables.md
index 7f2f5933aae..7f97d14a7fd 100644
--- a/docs/src/content/docs/reference/environment-variables.md
+++ b/docs/src/content/docs/reference/environment-variables.md
@@ -221,7 +221,7 @@ The MCP gateway startup step polls the gateway `/health` endpoint with exponenti
 
 | Variable | Default | Applies to |
 | --- | --- | --- |
-| `GH_AW_MCP_GATEWAY_HEALTH_MAX_ATTEMPTS` | `150` | Total health-check attempts, including the first one. |
+| `GH_AW_MCP_GATEWAY_HEALTH_MAX_ATTEMPTS` | At least `150`, automatically sized up to `10000` | Total health-check attempts, including the first one. |
 | `GH_AW_MCP_GATEWAY_HEALTH_INITIAL_DELAY_MS` | `250` | Delay the backoff starts from. |
 | `GH_AW_MCP_GATEWAY_HEALTH_MAX_DELAY_MS` | `1000` | Cap applied to every retry delay. |
 | `GH_AW_MCP_GATEWAY_HEALTH_BACKOFF_MULTIPLIER` | `2` | Multiplier applied to the delay before every retry. |
@@ -231,7 +231,7 @@ These values are cross-validated at startup:
 
 - A backoff multiplier below `1` is raised to `1` (constant delay).
 - A delay cap below the initial delay is raised to the initial delay.
-- The cumulative retry delay must cover the backend startup timeout plus 25 seconds for backend cleanup and final server registration; otherwise a warning is emitted that the health check may give up before the gateway is ready.
+- Unless a valid attempt count is explicitly configured, the attempt count increases so the cumulative retry delay covers the backend startup timeout (including `tools.startup-timeout`) plus 25 seconds for backend cleanup and final server registration. Explicit and automatically sized attempt counts are capped at `10000`; an insufficient retry budget emits a warning. Health and readiness probes share the startup deadline, so increasing attempts does not extend that deadline.
 
 ## CLI Configuration Variables