diff --git a/cmd/pad/main.go b/cmd/pad/main.go
index e2dc0cd9..4103e323 100644
--- a/cmd/pad/main.go
+++ b/cmd/pad/main.go
@@ -195,7 +195,8 @@ func serveCmd() *cobra.Command {
 			srv.SetSecureCookies(cfg.SecureCookies)
 
 			// Attach event bus for real-time SSE
-			srv.SetEventBus(events.New())
+			eventBus := events.New()
+			srv.SetEventBus(eventBus)
 
 			// Attach webhook dispatcher for outgoing notifications
 			srv.SetWebhookDispatcher(webhooks.NewDispatcher(s))
@@ -225,7 +226,42 @@ func serveCmd() *cobra.Command {
 				}
 			}
 
-			return srv.ListenAndServe(cfg.Addr())
+			// Graceful shutdown: listen for SIGINT/SIGTERM
+			ctx, stop := signal.NotifyContext(context.Background(), os.Interrupt, syscall.SIGTERM)
+			defer stop()
+
+			// Start server in a goroutine
+			errCh := make(chan error, 1)
+			go func() {
+				errCh <- srv.ListenAndServe(cfg.Addr())
+			}()
+
+			// Wait for signal or server error
+			select {
+			case err := <-errCh:
+				// Server failed to start or crashed
+				return err
+			case <-ctx.Done():
+				// Received shutdown signal
+				log.Println("Shutting down server (30s grace period)...")
+				stop() // Reset signal handling so a second signal force-kills
+
+				shutdownCtx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), 30*time.Second)
+				defer cancel()
+
+				if err := srv.Shutdown(shutdownCtx); err != nil {
+					log.Printf("HTTP server shutdown error: %v", err)
+				}
+
+				// Close event bus (terminates SSE connections)
+				if eventBus != nil {
+					eventBus.Close()
+					log.Println("Event bus closed")
+				}
+
+				log.Println("Server stopped")
+				return nil
+			}
 		},
 	}
 
diff --git a/internal/events/bus.go b/internal/events/bus.go
index 8660b5c3..9f6b322c 100644
--- a/internal/events/bus.go
+++ b/internal/events/bus.go
@@ -115,6 +115,18 @@ func (b *Bus) Publish(event Event) {
 	}
 }
 
+// Close shuts down the event bus by closing all subscriber channels.
+// SSE handler goroutines will see the channel close and exit cleanly.
+func (b *Bus) Close() {
+	b.mu.Lock()
+	defer b.mu.Unlock()
+
+	for ch := range b.subscribers {
+		delete(b.subscribers, ch)
+		close(ch)
+	}
+}
+
 // SubscriberCount returns the number of active subscribers (for testing/debugging).
 func (b *Bus) SubscriberCount() int {
 	b.mu.RLock()
diff --git a/internal/server/server.go b/internal/server/server.go
index 71cbb503..f6d86978 100644
--- a/internal/server/server.go
+++ b/internal/server/server.go
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 package server
 
 import (
+	"context"
 	"encoding/json"
 	"fmt"
 	"io/fs"
@@ -8,6 +9,7 @@ import (
 	"net/http"
 	"strings"
 	"sync"
+	"time"
 
 	"github.com/go-chi/chi/v5"
 	chimiddleware "github.com/go-chi/chi/v5/middleware"
@@ -24,6 +26,7 @@ type Server struct {
 	store         *store.Store
 	router        *chi.Mux
 	routerOnce    sync.Once            // ensures setupRouter runs once, after all config
+	httpServer    *http.Server         // underlying HTTP server (set during ListenAndServe)
 	webFS         fs.FS                // embedded web UI static files (optional)
 	events        *events.Bus          // real-time event bus (optional)
 	webhooks      *webhooks.Dispatcher // webhook dispatcher (optional)
@@ -327,6 +330,7 @@ func (s *Server) setupRouter() {
 // SetWebUI sets the embedded web UI filesystem for serving the SPA.
 func (s *Server) SetWebUI(fsys fs.FS) {
 	s.webFS = fsys
+	s.ensureRouter()
 	s.router.Handle("/*", s.spaHandler())
 }
 
@@ -376,8 +380,35 @@ func (s *Server) ServeHTTP(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 
 func (s *Server) ListenAndServe(addr string) error {
 	s.ensureRouter()
+
+	s.httpServer = &http.Server{
+		Addr:              addr,
+		Handler:           s.router,
+		ReadTimeout:       15 * time.Second,
+		ReadHeaderTimeout: 5 * time.Second,
+		IdleTimeout:       120 * time.Second,
+		// WriteTimeout left at 0 — SSE connections are long-lived.
+		// Non-SSE handlers should use per-request context deadlines.
+	}
+
 	log.Printf("Pad server listening on %s", addr)
-	return http.ListenAndServe(addr, s.router)
+	return s.httpServer.ListenAndServe()
+}
+
+// Shutdown gracefully drains in-flight requests and stops the HTTP server.
+// The provided context controls how long to wait for active connections.
+func (s *Server) Shutdown(ctx context.Context) error {
+	if s.httpServer == nil {
+		return nil
+	}
+	return s.httpServer.Shutdown(ctx)
+}
+
+// Handler returns the configured HTTP handler (router).
+// Useful for testing with httptest.NewServer.
+func (s *Server) Handler() http.Handler {
+	s.ensureRouter()
+	return s.router
 }
 
 // --- helpers ---