diff --git a/src-tauri/src/wsl_bridge.rs b/src-tauri/src/wsl_bridge.rs
index d8cf153..29bf73e 100644
--- a/src-tauri/src/wsl_bridge.rs
+++ b/src-tauri/src/wsl_bridge.rs
@@ -603,12 +603,13 @@ impl WslBridge {
         );
 
         // Watchdog: if system:init never arrives the process is truly hung (e.g. a silent crash
-        // after spawning).  After 5 minutes we kill it so the user isn't stuck forever.
-        // handle_stdout will surface the error when stdout closes after the kill.
+        // after spawning). After 30 seconds we kill it so the user is not stuck forever.
+        // The CLI v2.1.79 stdin-hang fix means startup is reliably fast; 30 s is a generous
+        // safety net rather than a workaround for a known hang.
         let process_watchdog = self.process.clone();
         let received_init_watchdog = self.received_init.clone();
         thread::spawn(move || {
-            thread::sleep(Duration::from_secs(60));
+            thread::sleep(Duration::from_secs(30));
             if !received_init_watchdog.load(Ordering::SeqCst) {
                 if let Some(mut proc) = process_watchdog.lock().take() {
                     let _ = proc.kill();