diff --git a/services/arbiter-3.0/src/routes/admin/system.js b/services/arbiter-3.0/src/routes/admin/system.js
index e633dba..7fbf85b 100644
--- a/services/arbiter-3.0/src/routes/admin/system.js
+++ b/services/arbiter-3.0/src/routes/admin/system.js
@@ -15,25 +15,14 @@ router.post('/deploy', (req, res) => {
     
     console.log(`[DEPLOY] Deployment initiated by ${username}`);
     
-    // Run the deploy script with username for logging
-    // Script handles its own locking to prevent concurrent deploys
-    exec(`sudo /opt/scripts/deploy-arbiter.sh "${username}"`, {
-        timeout: 60000  // 60 second timeout
-    }, (error, stdout, stderr) => {
-        if (error) {
-            console.error(`[DEPLOY] Failed:`, stderr || error.message);
-            return res.status(500).json({ 
-                success: false, 
-                message: 'Deployment failed',
-                log: stderr || error.message 
-            });
-        }
-        
-        console.log(`[DEPLOY] Success:`, stdout);
-        res.json({ 
-            success: true, 
-            message: stdout.trim()
-        });
+    // Use nohup to detach the process so the response returns before Arbiter restarts
+    // Output goes to /tmp/deploy.log for debugging if needed
+    exec(`nohup sudo /opt/scripts/deploy-arbiter.sh "${username}" > /tmp/deploy.log 2>&1 &`);
+    
+    // Return immediately - deploy happens in background
+    res.json({ 
+        success: true, 
+        message: 'Deploy started. Arbiter will restart momentarily.'
     });
 });