diff --git a/backend/src/build/build.service.ts b/backend/src/build/build.service.ts
index 6c8d056..78527fd 100644
--- a/backend/src/build/build.service.ts
+++ b/backend/src/build/build.service.ts
@@ -385,55 +385,20 @@ export class BuildService {
     fs.writeFileSync(tmpKubeconfig, kcYaml);
 
     try {
-      // 5. Stream the zip into the helper pod via kubectl exec + stdin.
-      //    We use the @kubernetes/client-node Exec API with WebSocket for reliable binary streaming.
+      // 5. Copy the zip into the helper pod via kubectl cp.
+      //    Both k8s.Exec (WebSocket) and kubectl exec -i stdin piping are unreliable
+      //    for binary transfers — data can be lost before the connection is ready.
+      //    kubectl cp uses tar internally and handles connection timing correctly.
       const t2 = Date.now();
 
-      const exec = new k8s.Exec(kc);
-      const { Writable, Readable } = require('stream');
+      await execFileAsync('kubectl', [
+        '--kubeconfig', tmpKubeconfig,
+        'cp', zipPath,
+        `${namespace}/${helperPodName}:/data/source.zip`,
+        '-c', 'helper',
+      ], { timeout: 1200_000 });
 
-      // Null writable to discard stdout/stderr
-      const devNull = new Writable({ write(_c: any, _e: any, cb: any) { cb(); } });
-
-      await new Promise<void>((resolve, reject) => {
-        const fileStream = fs.createReadStream(zipPath, { highWaterMark: 256 * 1024 });
-
-        let resolved = false;
-        const done = (err?: Error) => {
-          if (resolved) return;
-          resolved = true;
-          if (err) reject(err); else resolve();
-        };
-
-        // Safety timeout
-        const timer = setTimeout(() => done(new Error(
-          `K8s exec upload timed out after 20 minutes for ${(zipSize / 1024 / 1024).toFixed(1)} MB`,
-        )), 1200_000);
-
-        exec.exec(
-          namespace,
-          helperPodName,
-          'helper',
-          ['sh', '-c', 'cat > /data/source.zip'],
-          devNull,    // stdout
-          devNull,    // stderr
-          fileStream,  // stdin
-          false,       // tty
-          (status: k8s.V1Status) => {
-            clearTimeout(timer);
-            if (status.status === 'Success') {
-              done();
-            } else {
-              done(new Error(`K8s exec failed: ${status.message || status.reason || 'unknown'}`));
-            }
-          },
-        ).catch((err: Error) => {
-          clearTimeout(timer);
-          done(err);
-        });
-      });
-
-      this.logger.log(`[timing] K8s exec upload completed in ${Date.now() - t2}ms (${(zipSize / 1024 / 1024).toFixed(1)} MB)`);
+      this.logger.log(`[timing] kubectl cp upload completed in ${Date.now() - t2}ms (${(zipSize / 1024 / 1024).toFixed(1)} MB)`);
 
       // 5b. Verify the file was written correctly
       const { stdout: sizeStr } = await execFileAsync('kubectl', [
@@ -1053,7 +1018,7 @@ HEALTHCHECK --interval=30s --timeout=3s --start-period=5s --retries=3 \\
   CMD curl -f http://localhost:${port}/health || exit 1
 
 # Auto-detect: Flask, FastAPI, or plain Python
-CMD ["sh", "-c", "if [ -f main.py ]; then if grep -q 'FastAPI\\|fastapi' main.py; then uvicorn main:app --host 0.0.0.0 --port ${port}; elif grep -q 'Flask\\|flask' main.py; then gunicorn -w 4 -b 0.0.0.0:${port} main:app; else python main.py; fi; elif [ -f app.py ]; then if grep -q 'FastAPI\\|fastapi' app.py; then uvicorn app:app --host 0.0.0.0 --port ${port}; elif grep -q 'Flask\\|flask' app.py; then gunicorn -w 4 -b 0.0.0.0:${port} app:app; else python app.py; fi; else gunicorn -w 4 -b 0.0.0.0:${port} app:app; fi"]
+CMD sh -c "if [ -f main.py ]; then if grep -qi fastapi main.py; then exec uvicorn main:app --host 0.0.0.0 --port ${port}; elif grep -qi flask main.py; then exec gunicorn -w 4 -b 0.0.0.0:${port} main:app; else exec python main.py; fi; elif [ -f app.py ]; then if grep -qi fastapi app.py; then exec uvicorn app:app --host 0.0.0.0 --port ${port}; elif grep -qi flask app.py; then exec gunicorn -w 4 -b 0.0.0.0:${port} app:app; else exec python app.py; fi; else exec gunicorn -w 4 -b 0.0.0.0:${port} app:app; fi"
 `;
   }
 
@@ -1108,14 +1073,14 @@ HEALTHCHECK --interval=30s --timeout=3s --start-period=10s --retries=3 \\
   CMD curl -f http://localhost:${port}/health/ || curl -f http://localhost:${port}/ || exit 1
 
 # Auto-detect project structure and run migrations + collectstatic
-CMD ["sh", "-c", "\\
-  PROJECT_NAME=$(find . -maxdepth 2 -name 'wsgi.py' | head -1 | cut -d'/' -f2) && \\
-  if [ -z \\\"$PROJECT_NAME\\\" ]; then PROJECT_NAME='config'; fi && \\
-  echo \\\"Django project: $PROJECT_NAME\\\" && \\
+CMD sh -c "\\
+  PROJECT_NAME=\\$(find . -maxdepth 2 -name 'wsgi.py' | head -1 | cut -d'/' -f2) && \\
+  if [ -z \\\"\\$PROJECT_NAME\\\" ]; then PROJECT_NAME='config'; fi && \\
+  echo \\\"Django project: \\$PROJECT_NAME\\\" && \\
   python manage.py migrate --noinput 2>/dev/null || true && \\
   python manage.py collectstatic --noinput 2>/dev/null || true && \\
-  gunicorn $PROJECT_NAME.wsgi:application --bind 0.0.0.0:${port} --workers 4 --threads 2 \\
-"]
+  exec gunicorn \\$PROJECT_NAME.wsgi:application --bind 0.0.0.0:${port} --workers 4 --threads 2 \\
+"
 `;
   }
 
@@ -1176,8 +1141,19 @@ CMD ["sh", "-c", "DLL=$(find . -maxdepth 1 -name '*.dll' ! -name '*.deps.dll' !
     let lastLoggedStatus = '';
 
     while (Date.now() - startTime < timeoutMs) {
-      // ── Check Job status ──
-      const job = await batchApi.readNamespacedJob(jobName, namespace);
+      // ── Check Job status (with retry for transient connection errors) ──
+      let job: { body: k8s.V1Job };
+      try {
+        job = await batchApi.readNamespacedJob(jobName, namespace);
+      } catch (pollErr: any) {
+        const code = pollErr?.code || pollErr?.message || '';
+        if (/ECONNRESET|ECONNREFUSED|ETIMEDOUT|socket hang up/i.test(String(code))) {
+          this.logger.warn(`Transient K8s API error polling job ${jobName}: ${code} — retrying in 5s`);
+          await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, 5000));
+          continue;
+        }
+        throw pollErr;
+      }
       const status = job.body.status;
 
       if (status?.succeeded && status.succeeded > 0) {
diff --git a/backend/src/seed.ts b/backend/src/seed.ts
index a124753..1ff3585 100644
--- a/backend/src/seed.ts
+++ b/backend/src/seed.ts
@@ -14,14 +14,14 @@ import { UserRole } from './common/enums';
  *   npm run seed
  * 
  * Environment variables (or defaults):
- *   ADMIN_EMAIL=admin@cloudhost.local
+ *   ADMIN_EMAIL=test@example.com
  *   ADMIN_PASSWORD=Admin123!
  */
 async function bootstrap() {
   const app = await NestFactory.createApplicationContext(AppModule);
   const usersService = app.get(UsersService);
 
-  const email = process.env.ADMIN_EMAIL || 'admin@cloudhost.local';
+  const email = process.env.ADMIN_EMAIL || 'test@example.com';
   const password = process.env.ADMIN_PASSWORD || 'Admin123!';
 
   const existing = await usersService.findByEmail(email);