diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 600cd9f..e2e223f 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -7,6 +7,48 @@ ifneq (,$(wildcard ./.env))
     export
 endif
 
+# On non-systemd systems (e.g., Void Linux with runit), podman healthchecks are
+# never triggered automatically because podman relies on systemd timers.
+# Additionally, podman-compose up -d blocks forever waiting for service_healthy
+# conditions that never resolve. This macro:
+#   1. Waits for the DB to accept connections, triggers its healthcheck
+#   2. Starts the app container, waits for it, triggers its healthcheck
+# On systemd systems, the runtime check skips everything.
+# See: https://github.com/containers/podman/pull/27033
+define ensure_healthy
+	@if [ ! -d /run/systemd/system ]; then \
+		echo "Non-systemd: waiting for database..."; \
+		i=0; \
+		until podman exec bookhoard_db pg_isready -U postgres >/dev/null 2>&1; do \
+			i=$$((i+1)); if [ $$i -gt 30 ]; then echo "  Database failed to start"; exit 1; fi; \
+			sleep 2; \
+		done; \
+		podman healthcheck run bookhoard_db >/dev/null 2>&1 || true; \
+		podman start bookhoard 2>/dev/null || true; \
+		echo "Non-systemd: waiting for application..."; \
+		i=0; \
+		until podman exec bookhoard curl -sf http://localhost:8765/health >/dev/null 2>&1; do \
+			i=$$((i+1)); if [ $$i -gt 30 ]; then echo "  Application failed to start"; exit 1; fi; \
+			sleep 2; \
+		done; \
+		podman healthcheck run bookhoard >/dev/null 2>&1 || true; \
+		echo "  Services healthy"; \
+	fi
+endef
+
+# podman-compose up -d blocks forever on non-systemd waiting for service_healthy.
+# This macro runs compose with a timeout on non-systemd to let it create containers
+# without hanging. Pass compose flags via the COMPOSE_UP_ARGS variable.
+# Usage: $(call compose_up,--build --force-recreate)
+# On systemd systems, the timeout is skipped.
+define compose_up
+	@if [ -d /run/systemd/system ]; then \
+		podman compose up $1 -d; \
+	else \
+		timeout 15 podman compose up $1 -d || true; \
+	fi
+endef
+
 # Default target
 help:
 	@echo "Available targets:"
@@ -46,7 +88,8 @@ test-integration:
 	@echo "Building test containers..."
 	podman compose --profile tests build
 	@echo "Starting application containers..."
-	podman compose up -d db app
+	$(call compose_up,db app)
+	$(ensure_healthy)
 	@echo "Waiting for services to be healthy..."
 	@until podman exec bookhoard_db pg_isready -U postgres > /dev/null 2>&1; do \
 		echo "  Database not ready yet..."; \
@@ -71,27 +114,31 @@ test-all: test test-integration
 # Rebuild app container only (preserve DB, with cache)
 rebuild-app:
 	@echo "Rebuilding app container (database stays running)..."
-	podman compose up --build --force-recreate -d app
+	$(call compose_up,--build --force-recreate app)
+	$(ensure_healthy)
 	@echo "✓ App container rebuilt and restarted"
 
 # Rebuild app container only (preserve DB, no cache)
 rebuild-app-force:
 	@echo "Force rebuilding app container (database stays running, no cache)..."
 	podman compose build --no-cache app
-	podman compose up --force-recreate -d app
+	$(call compose_up,--force-recreate app)
+	$(ensure_healthy)
 	@echo "✓ App container rebuilt and restarted"
 
 # Rebuild all containers (preserve DB, with cache)
 rebuild:
 	@echo "Rebuilding all containers (database preserved)..."
-	podman compose up --build --force-recreate -d
+	$(call compose_up,--build --force-recreate)
+	$(ensure_healthy)
 	@echo "✓ All containers rebuilt and restarted"
 
 # Rebuild all containers (preserve DB, no cache)
 rebuild-force:
 	@echo "Force rebuilding all containers (database preserved, no cache)..."
 	podman compose build --no-cache
-	podman compose up --force-recreate -d
+	$(call compose_up,--force-recreate)
+	$(ensure_healthy)
 	@echo "✓ All containers rebuilt and restarted"
 
 # Rebuild all containers (remove DB, no cache)
@@ -99,7 +146,8 @@ rebuild-force-db:
 	@echo "Force rebuilding all containers (database will be DELETED, no cache)..."
 	podman compose down -v
 	podman compose build --no-cache
-	podman compose up --force-recreate -d
+	$(call compose_up,--force-recreate)
+	$(ensure_healthy)
 	@echo "✓ All containers rebuilt and restarted"
 
 # Stop and remove containers
@@ -108,7 +156,8 @@ clean:
 
 # Quick start (if already built)
 up:
-	podman compose up -d
+	$(compose_up)
+	$(ensure_healthy)
 
 # Stop all containers (alias for clean)
 down:
@@ -131,7 +180,12 @@ logs:
 # Start containers with test mode enabled for manual testing
 test-env-up:
 	@echo "Starting containers with test mode enabled..."
-	TEST_MODE=true RATE_LIMIT_ENABLED=false REQUESTS_PER_MINUTE=1000 podman compose up --build --force-recreate -d
+	@if [ -d /run/systemd/system ]; then \
+		TEST_MODE=true RATE_LIMIT_ENABLED=false REQUESTS_PER_MINUTE=1000 podman compose up --build --force-recreate -d; \
+	else \
+		TEST_MODE=true RATE_LIMIT_ENABLED=false REQUESTS_PER_MINUTE=1000 timeout 15 podman compose up --build --force-recreate -d || true; \
+	fi
+	$(ensure_healthy)
 	@echo "Waiting for services to be ready..."
 	@until podman exec bookhoard_db pg_isready -U postgres > /dev/null 2>&1; do sleep 1; done
 	@until podman exec bookhoard curl -sf http://localhost:8765/health > /dev/null 2>&1; do sleep 1; done