diff --git a/api/src/unraid-api/cli/nodemon.service.spec.ts b/api/src/unraid-api/cli/nodemon.service.spec.ts
index 1834d8392..f29803b62 100644
--- a/api/src/unraid-api/cli/nodemon.service.spec.ts
+++ b/api/src/unraid-api/cli/nodemon.service.spec.ts
@@ -48,6 +48,14 @@ describe('NodemonService', () => {
         NodemonService.prototype as unknown as { findMatchingNodemonPids: () => Promise<number[]> },
         'findMatchingNodemonPids'
     );
+    const findDirectMainSpy = vi.spyOn(
+        NodemonService.prototype as unknown as { findDirectMainPids: () => Promise<number[]> },
+        'findDirectMainPids'
+    );
+    const terminateSpy = vi.spyOn(
+        NodemonService.prototype as unknown as { terminatePids: (pids: number[]) => Promise<void> },
+        'terminatePids'
+    );
 
     beforeEach(() => {
         vi.clearAllMocks();
@@ -57,6 +65,8 @@ describe('NodemonService', () => {
         vi.mocked(fileExists).mockResolvedValue(false);
         killSpy.mockReturnValue(true);
         findMatchingSpy.mockResolvedValue([]);
+        findDirectMainSpy.mockResolvedValue([]);
+        terminateSpy.mockResolvedValue();
         stopPm2Spy.mockResolvedValue();
     });
 
@@ -272,6 +282,35 @@ describe('NodemonService', () => {
         expect(execa).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
     });
 
+    it('terminates direct main.js processes before starting nodemon', async () => {
+        const service = new NodemonService(logger);
+        findMatchingSpy.mockResolvedValue([]);
+        findDirectMainSpy.mockResolvedValue([321, 654]);
+
+        const logStream = { pipe: vi.fn(), close: vi.fn() };
+        vi.mocked(createWriteStream).mockReturnValue(
+            logStream as unknown as ReturnType<typeof createWriteStream>
+        );
+        const stdout = { pipe: vi.fn() };
+        const stderr = { pipe: vi.fn() };
+        const unref = vi.fn();
+        vi.mocked(execa).mockReturnValue({
+            pid: 777,
+            stdout,
+            stderr,
+            unref,
+        } as unknown as ReturnType<typeof execa>);
+
+        await service.start();
+
+        expect(terminateSpy).toHaveBeenCalledWith([321, 654]);
+        expect(execa).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+            '/usr/bin/nodemon',
+            ['--config', '/etc/unraid-api/nodemon.json', '--quiet'],
+            expect.objectContaining({ cwd: '/usr/local/unraid-api' })
+        );
+    });
+
     it('returns not running when pid file is missing', async () => {
         const service = new NodemonService(logger);
         vi.mocked(fileExists).mockResolvedValue(false);
diff --git a/api/src/unraid-api/cli/nodemon.service.ts b/api/src/unraid-api/cli/nodemon.service.ts
index 1b5db069b..b6971f3af 100644
--- a/api/src/unraid-api/cli/nodemon.service.ts
+++ b/api/src/unraid-api/cli/nodemon.service.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 import { Injectable } from '@nestjs/common';
 import { createWriteStream } from 'node:fs';
 import { mkdir, readFile, rm, writeFile } from 'node:fs/promises';
-import { homedir } from 'node:os';
 import { dirname, join } from 'node:path';
 
 import { execa } from 'execa';
@@ -51,20 +50,34 @@ export class NodemonService {
                 )
             ).find(Boolean) ?? null;
 
-        if (!pm2Path) return;
-
-        try {
-            const { stdout } = await execa(pm2Path, ['jlist']);
-            const processes = JSON.parse(stdout);
-            const hasUnraid =
-                Array.isArray(processes) && processes.some((proc) => proc?.name === 'unraid-api');
-            if (!hasUnraid) return;
-            await execa(pm2Path, ['delete', 'unraid-api']);
-            this.logger.info('Stopped pm2-managed unraid-api before starting nodemon.');
-        } catch (error) {
-            // PM2 may not be installed or responding; keep this quiet to avoid noisy startup.
-            this.logger.debug?.('Skipping pm2 cleanup (not installed or not running).');
+        if (pm2Path) {
+            try {
+                const { stdout } = await execa(pm2Path, ['jlist']);
+                const processes = JSON.parse(stdout);
+                const hasUnraid =
+                    Array.isArray(processes) && processes.some((proc) => proc?.name === 'unraid-api');
+                if (hasUnraid) {
+                    await execa(pm2Path, ['delete', 'unraid-api']);
+                    this.logger.info('Stopped pm2-managed unraid-api before starting nodemon.');
+                }
+            } catch (error) {
+                // PM2 may not be installed or responding; keep this quiet to avoid noisy startup.
+                this.logger.debug?.('Skipping pm2 cleanup (not installed or not running).');
+            }
         }
+
+        // Fallback: directly kill the pm2 daemon and remove its state, even if pm2 binary is missing.
+        try {
+            const pidText = (await readFile(pm2PidPath, 'utf-8')).trim();
+            const pid = Number.parseInt(pidText, 10);
+            if (!Number.isNaN(pid)) {
+                process.kill(pid, 'SIGTERM');
+                this.logger.debug?.(`Sent SIGTERM to pm2 daemon (pid ${pid}).`);
+            }
+        } catch {
+            // ignore
+        }
+        await rm('/var/log/.pm2', { recursive: true, force: true });
     }
 
     private async getStoredPid(): Promise<number | null> {
@@ -100,6 +113,37 @@ export class NodemonService {
         }
     }
 
+    private async findDirectMainPids(): Promise<number[]> {
+        try {
+            const mainPath = join(UNRAID_API_CWD, 'dist', 'main.js');
+            const { stdout } = await execa('ps', ['-eo', 'pid,args']);
+            return stdout
+                .split('\n')
+                .map((line) => line.trim())
+                .map((line) => line.match(/^(\d+)\s+(.*)$/))
+                .filter((match): match is RegExpMatchArray => Boolean(match))
+                .map(([, pid, cmd]) => ({ pid: Number.parseInt(pid, 10), cmd }))
+                .filter(({ cmd }) => cmd.includes(mainPath))
+                .map(({ pid }) => pid)
+                .filter((pid) => Number.isInteger(pid));
+        } catch {
+            return [];
+        }
+    }
+
+    private async terminatePids(pids: number[]) {
+        for (const pid of pids) {
+            try {
+                process.kill(pid, 'SIGTERM');
+                this.logger.debug?.(`Sent SIGTERM to existing unraid-api process (pid ${pid}).`);
+            } catch (error) {
+                this.logger.debug?.(
+                    `Failed to send SIGTERM to pid ${pid}: ${error instanceof Error ? error.message : error}`
+                );
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
     async start(options: StartOptions = {}) {
         try {
             await this.ensureNodemonDependencies();
@@ -137,6 +181,14 @@ export class NodemonService {
             return;
         }
 
+        const directMainPids = await this.findDirectMainPids();
+        if (directMainPids.length > 0) {
+            this.logger.warn(
+                `Found existing unraid-api process(es) running directly: ${directMainPids.join(', ')}. Stopping them before starting nodemon.`
+            );
+            await this.terminatePids(directMainPids);
+        }
+
         const overrides = Object.fromEntries(
             Object.entries(options.env ?? {}).filter(([, value]) => value !== undefined)
         );