diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 119579cc..a0986cab 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -37,6 +37,15 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 - **Changed:** Standardized manual stack deletion to use the Two-Stage Teardown (Compose Down -> File Wipe) to prevent ghost networks.
 - **Fixed:** Atomic Rollback failure where non-empty directories caused silent file system errors.
 - **Added:** Two-Stage Teardown mechanism to ensure `docker compose down` sweeps up ghost networks before deployment files are deleted.
+### Deprecated
+- **(Planned)** Port 2375 (TCP) fallback support; future releases may require SSH-only for Node config.
+
+### Fixed
+- **Fixed:** Docker API parsing bug where HTML string responses from misconfigured ports were counted as containers.
+- **Fixed:** Stack list crashing when SFTP connections fail by gracefully catching SSH errors and returning empty arrays.
+
+### Changed
+- **Changed:** Expanded Node Manager UI width and added horizontal scrollbars for better data visibility.
 - **Added:** Smart Error Parser with telemetry-ready rule IDs to translate cryptic Docker output.
 - **Added:** Post-Deploy Health Probe to catch immediate container crashes that slip past Compose.
 - **Changed:** Rollback engine respects a `canSilentlyRollback` flag to protect user-authored configurations.
diff --git a/backend/src/services/DockerController.ts b/backend/src/services/DockerController.ts
index dccac8e4..8c3adcb0 100644
--- a/backend/src/services/DockerController.ts
+++ b/backend/src/services/DockerController.ts
@@ -29,6 +29,14 @@ class DockerController {
     return this.docker;
   }
 
+  private validateApiData<T>(data: any): T {
+    // If the daemon port points to a web server (like Sencho UI), Dockerode receives HTML
+    if (typeof data === 'string') {
+      throw new Error("Invalid response from Docker API. Did you provide a web port instead of the Docker daemon port?");
+    }
+    return data as T;
+  }
+
   public async getDiskUsage() {
     const df = await this.docker.df();
 
@@ -89,16 +97,19 @@ class DockerController {
   }
 
   public async getImages() {
-    return await this.docker.listImages({ all: false });
+    const data = await this.docker.listImages({ all: false });
+    return this.validateApiData<any[]>(data);
   }
 
   public async getVolumes() {
     const data = await this.docker.listVolumes();
-    return data.Volumes || [];
+    const validated = this.validateApiData<any>(data);
+    return validated.Volumes || [];
   }
 
   public async getNetworks() {
-    return await this.docker.listNetworks();
+    const data = await this.docker.listNetworks();
+    return this.validateApiData<any[]>(data);
   }
 
   public async removeImage(id: string) {
@@ -118,12 +129,12 @@ class DockerController {
 
   public async getRunningContainers() {
     const containers = await this.docker.listContainers({ all: false });
-    return containers;
+    return this.validateApiData<any[]>(containers);
   }
 
   public async getAllContainers() {
     const containers = await this.docker.listContainers({ all: true });
-    return containers;
+    return this.validateApiData<any[]>(containers);
   }
 
   public async getContainersByStack(stackName: string) {
diff --git a/backend/src/services/FileSystemService.ts b/backend/src/services/FileSystemService.ts
index 6bfbe781..5733052b 100644
--- a/backend/src/services/FileSystemService.ts
+++ b/backend/src/services/FileSystemService.ts
@@ -86,8 +86,9 @@ export class FileSystemService {
       }
 
       return stackNames;
-    } catch (error) {
-      console.error('Error reading stacks:', error);
+    } catch (error: any) {
+      const nodeName = NodeRegistry.getInstance().getNode(this.nodeId)?.name || 'Unknown';
+      console.warn(`[SFTP] Failed to fetch stacks for Node ${nodeName}: ${error.message || error}`);
       return [];
     }
   }
diff --git a/backend/src/services/NodeRegistry.ts b/backend/src/services/NodeRegistry.ts
index 186ad63d..ba828975 100644
--- a/backend/src/services/NodeRegistry.ts
+++ b/backend/src/services/NodeRegistry.ts
@@ -112,6 +112,12 @@ export class NodeRegistry {
         try {
             const docker = this.createDockerClient(node);
             const info = await docker.info();
+
+            // Validate the payload contains actual Docker daemon info, not arbitrary HTML
+            if (!info || !info.OperatingSystem || typeof info.Containers !== 'number') {
+                throw new Error("Invalid response from Docker API. Did you provide a web port instead of the Docker daemon port?");
+            }
+
             db.updateNodeStatus(nodeId, 'online');
             return {
                 success: true,
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/NodeManager.tsx b/frontend/src/components/NodeManager.tsx
index 2cbebb07..302247dc 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/NodeManager.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/NodeManager.tsx
@@ -212,9 +212,12 @@ export function NodeManager() {
           value={formData.compose_dir}
           onChange={(e) => setFormData({ ...formData, compose_dir: e.target.value })}
         />
-        <p className="text-xs text-muted-foreground">
-          The root directory where compose stack folders live on this node
-        </p>
+        <div className="text-xs text-muted-foreground space-y-1 mt-1">
+          <p>The root directory where compose stack folders live on this node.</p>
+          <p className="text-amber-600 dark:text-amber-400 font-medium">
+            Note: Strategy B requires valid SSH credentials to read and edit compose.yaml files. TCP alone only grants container lifecycle management.
+          </p>
+        </div>
       </div>
     </div>
   );
@@ -238,7 +241,7 @@ export function NodeManager() {
               Add Node
             </Button>
           </DialogTrigger>
-          <DialogContent>
+          <DialogContent className="sm:max-w-4xl">
             <DialogHeader>
               <DialogTitle>Add Remote Node</DialogTitle>
             </DialogHeader>
@@ -256,7 +259,7 @@ export function NodeManager() {
       <Separator />
 
       {/* Nodes Table */}
-      <div className="rounded-md border">
+      <div className="rounded-md border overflow-x-auto w-full">
         <Table>
           <TableHeader>
             <TableRow>
@@ -380,7 +383,7 @@ export function NodeManager() {
 
       {/* Edit Dialog */}
       <Dialog open={editOpen} onOpenChange={setEditOpen}>
-        <DialogContent>
+        <DialogContent className="sm:max-w-4xl">
           <DialogHeader>
             <DialogTitle>Edit Node</DialogTitle>
           </DialogHeader>