diff --git a/Runpod_Comfy/core/docker/Dockerfile b/Runpod_Comfy/core/docker/Dockerfile
index 7d70195..9cc76ca 100644
--- a/Runpod_Comfy/core/docker/Dockerfile
+++ b/Runpod_Comfy/core/docker/Dockerfile
@@ -8,7 +8,6 @@ ENV DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive \
     PYTHONUNBUFFERED=1 \
     COMFYUI_PORT=8188 \
     JUPYTER_PORT=8888 \
-    JUPYTER_TOKEN=runpod \
     COMFYUI_WORKDIR=/workspace/ComfyUI \
     RUNPOD_VOLUME_ROOT=/workspace
 
diff --git a/Runpod_Comfy/core/docker/start.sh b/Runpod_Comfy/core/docker/start.sh
index b8adbd6..cf50ad2 100755
--- a/Runpod_Comfy/core/docker/start.sh
+++ b/Runpod_Comfy/core/docker/start.sh
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ ROOT=/opt/bootstrap/Runpod_Comfy
 WORKDIR="${COMFYUI_WORKDIR:-/workspace/ComfyUI}"
 PORT="${COMFYUI_PORT:-8188}"
 JUPYTER_PORT="${JUPYTER_PORT:-8888}"
-JUPYTER_TOKEN="${JUPYTER_TOKEN:-runpod}"
+JUPYTER_TOKEN="${JUPYTER_TOKEN:-}"
 
 "$ROOT/core/scripts/bootstrap.sh"
 
@@ -17,15 +17,30 @@ if [[ -f "$LOCK" ]]; then
 fi
 
 if [[ "$ENABLE_JUPYTER_LOCK" == "true" ]]; then
-  echo "[jupyter] starting on 0.0.0.0:${JUPYTER_PORT}"
-  jupyter lab \
-    --ip=0.0.0.0 \
-    --port "$JUPYTER_PORT" \
-    --no-browser \
-    --allow-root \
-    --IdentityProvider.token="$JUPYTER_TOKEN" \
-    --ServerApp.root_dir="$WORKDIR" \
-    >/tmp/jupyter.log 2>&1 &
+  if ! command -v jupyter >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    echo "[jupyter] WARNING: ENABLE_JUPYTER=true but jupyter binary not found (likely built with ENABLE_JUPYTER=false)"
+  else
+    if [[ -z "$JUPYTER_TOKEN" ]]; then
+      JUPYTER_TOKEN="$(python3 -c 'import secrets; print(secrets.token_hex(16))')"
+      echo "[jupyter] generated token: $JUPYTER_TOKEN"
+    fi
+
+    echo "[jupyter] starting on 0.0.0.0:${JUPYTER_PORT}"
+    jupyter lab \
+      --ip=0.0.0.0 \
+      --port "$JUPYTER_PORT" \
+      --no-browser \
+      --allow-root \
+      --IdentityProvider.token="$JUPYTER_TOKEN" \
+      --ServerApp.root_dir="$WORKDIR" \
+      >/tmp/jupyter.log 2>&1 &
+
+    JUPYTER_PID=$!
+    sleep 2
+    if ! kill -0 "$JUPYTER_PID" 2>/dev/null; then
+      echo "[jupyter] WARNING: failed to start, check /tmp/jupyter.log"
+    fi
+  fi
 fi
 
 cd "$WORKDIR"
diff --git a/Runpod_Comfy/image/DEPLOY_RUNPOD.md b/Runpod_Comfy/image/DEPLOY_RUNPOD.md
index fa0adb4..5d810a9 100644
--- a/Runpod_Comfy/image/DEPLOY_RUNPOD.md
+++ b/Runpod_Comfy/image/DEPLOY_RUNPOD.md
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ docker push ${IMAGE_NAME}:${IMAGE_TAG}
 
 - `COMFYUI_PORT=8188`
 - `JUPYTER_PORT=8888`
-- `JUPYTER_TOKEN=...` (default in image is `runpod`)
+- `JUPYTER_TOKEN=...` (recommended to set explicitly; if unset, container auto-generates and logs a token)
 - `COMFYUI_WORKDIR=/workspace/ComfyUI`
 - `HF_TOKEN=...` (if needed)
 - `CIVITAI_TOKEN=...` (if needed)