diff --git a/server/index.js b/server/index.js
index 1a3157a..5179275 100644
--- a/server/index.js
+++ b/server/index.js
@@ -86,7 +86,14 @@ export function createApp(dbPath = DEFAULT_DB_PATH) {
 
     try {
       // 1. Health check
-      if (req.method === "GET" && pathname === "/api/health") {
+      if ((req.method === "GET" || req.method === "HEAD") && pathname === "/api/health") {
+        if (req.method === "HEAD") {
+          res.writeHead(200, {
+            "Content-Type": "application/json; charset=utf-8",
+            "Access-Control-Allow-Origin": "*"
+          });
+          return res.end();
+        }
         return sendJson(res, 200, {
           status: "ok",
           app: "spectra",
@@ -278,7 +285,7 @@ export function createApp(dbPath = DEFAULT_DB_PATH) {
       }
 
       // 10. Static files
-      if (req.method === "GET") {
+      if (req.method === "GET" || req.method === "HEAD") {
         let filePath = pathname === "/" ? "/index.html" : pathname;
         const resolvedPath = path.join(PUBLIC_DIR, filePath);
 
@@ -290,23 +297,27 @@ export function createApp(dbPath = DEFAULT_DB_PATH) {
         if (fs.existsSync(resolvedPath) && fs.statSync(resolvedPath).isFile()) {
           const ext = path.extname(resolvedPath).toLowerCase();
           const contentType = MIME_TYPES[ext] || "application/octet-stream";
-          const content = fs.readFileSync(resolvedPath);
+          const stat = fs.statSync(resolvedPath);
           res.writeHead(200, {
             "Content-Type": contentType,
-            "Content-Length": content.length,
+            "Content-Length": stat.size,
             "Cache-Control": ext === ".html" ? "no-cache" : "public, max-age=3600"
           });
+          if (req.method === "HEAD") return res.end();
+          const content = fs.readFileSync(resolvedPath);
           return res.end(content);
         }
 
         // Fallback for SPA routing
         const indexHtmlPath = path.join(PUBLIC_DIR, "index.html");
         if (fs.existsSync(indexHtmlPath)) {
-          const content = fs.readFileSync(indexHtmlPath);
+          const stat = fs.statSync(indexHtmlPath);
           res.writeHead(200, {
             "Content-Type": "text/html; charset=utf-8",
-            "Content-Length": content.length
+            "Content-Length": stat.size
           });
+          if (req.method === "HEAD") return res.end();
+          const content = fs.readFileSync(indexHtmlPath);
           return res.end(content);
         }
 
diff --git a/test/api.test.js b/test/api.test.js
index 6cda489..ec07404 100644
--- a/test/api.test.js
+++ b/test/api.test.js
@@ -41,6 +41,10 @@ describe("Spectra YouTube Suggest Engine - Test Suite", () => {
     assert.equal(data.status, "ok");
     assert.equal(data.database, "healthy");
     assert.equal(data.app, "spectra");
+
+    // Also verify HEAD request for Homepage / uptime monitoring
+    const headRes = await fetch(`${baseUrl}/api/health`, { method: "HEAD" });
+    assert.equal(headRes.status, 200);
   });
 
   it("2. GET /api/topics returns curated starter topics and people", async () => {