diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index 41b113b..4ab2449 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -18,6 +18,11 @@ RUN chmod +x /app/awp-cli
 
 RUN apk add --no-cache cronie
 
+# Install the crontab: runs `./awp-cli check` every 2 minutes,
+# logging output to /app/logs/cron.log (logs/ is mounted at runtime).
+COPY crontab.txt /app/crontab.txt
+RUN crontab /app/crontab.txt
+
 # NOTE: static/, players.json, .env, and logs/ are no longer copied
 # into the image. They're mounted at runtime via docker-compose.yml
 # so they live on the host and persist/update independently of the image.
@@ -26,5 +31,6 @@ RUN apk add --no-cache cronie
 #EXPOSE 8080
 EXPOSE 3000
 
-# Set the default command
-CMD crond & /app/areweplaying
+# crond forks into the background on its own (daemon mode), then
+# areweplaying takes over as PID 1 via exec so it gets signals properly.
+CMD crond && exec /app/areweplaying
diff --git a/crontab.txt b/crontab.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e7b3ec4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crontab.txt
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+*/2 * * * * cd /app && ./awp-cli check >> /app/logs/cron.log 2>&1