diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index b8c7e254f..4b6b9539d 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@ Docs: https://docs.clawd.bot
 - Telegram: use wrapped fetch for long-polling on Node to normalize AbortSignal handling. (#1639)
 - Telegram: set fetch duplex="half" for uploads on Node 22 to avoid sendPhoto failures. (#1684) Thanks @commdata2338.
 - Signal: repair reaction sends (group/UUID targets + CLI author flags). (#1651) Thanks @vilkasdev.
+- Signal: add configurable signal-cli startup timeout + external daemon mode docs. (#1677) https://docs.clawd.bot/channels/signal
 - Exec: keep approvals for elevated ask unless full mode. (#1616) Thanks @ivancasco.
 - Agents: auto-compact on context overflow prompt errors before failing. (#1627) Thanks @rodrigouroz.
 - Agents: use the active auth profile for auto-compaction recovery.
diff --git a/docs/channels/signal.md b/docs/channels/signal.md
index d1d17426b..0ba89385d 100644
--- a/docs/channels/signal.md
+++ b/docs/channels/signal.md
@@ -74,6 +74,22 @@ Example:
 
 Multi-account support: use `channels.signal.accounts` with per-account config and optional `name`. See [`gateway/configuration`](/gateway/configuration#telegramaccounts--discordaccounts--slackaccounts--signalaccounts--imessageaccounts) for the shared pattern.
 
+## External daemon mode (httpUrl)
+If you want to manage `signal-cli` yourself (slow JVM cold starts, container init, or shared CPUs), run the daemon separately and point Clawdbot at it:
+
+```json5
+{
+  channels: {
+    signal: {
+      httpUrl: "http://127.0.0.1:8080",
+      autoStart: false
+    }
+  }
+}
+```
+
+This skips auto-spawn and the startup wait inside Clawdbot. For slow starts when auto-spawning, set `channels.signal.startupTimeoutMs`.
+
 ## Access control (DMs + groups)
 DMs:
 - Default: `channels.signal.dmPolicy = "pairing"`.
@@ -142,6 +158,7 @@ Provider options:
 - `channels.signal.httpUrl`: full daemon URL (overrides host/port).
 - `channels.signal.httpHost`, `channels.signal.httpPort`: daemon bind (default 127.0.0.1:8080).
 - `channels.signal.autoStart`: auto-spawn daemon (default true if `httpUrl` unset).
+- `channels.signal.startupTimeoutMs`: startup wait timeout in ms (cap 120000).
 - `channels.signal.receiveMode`: `on-start | manual`.
 - `channels.signal.ignoreAttachments`: skip attachment downloads.
 - `channels.signal.ignoreStories`: ignore stories from the daemon.
diff --git a/src/config/types.signal.ts b/src/config/types.signal.ts
index d5614bda3..014f62841 100644
--- a/src/config/types.signal.ts
+++ b/src/config/types.signal.ts
@@ -33,6 +33,8 @@ export type SignalAccountConfig = {
   cliPath?: string;
   /** Auto-start signal-cli daemon (default: true if httpUrl not set). */
   autoStart?: boolean;
+  /** Max time to wait for signal-cli daemon startup (ms, cap 120000). */
+  startupTimeoutMs?: number;
   receiveMode?: "on-start" | "manual";
   ignoreAttachments?: boolean;
   ignoreStories?: boolean;
diff --git a/src/config/zod-schema.providers-core.ts b/src/config/zod-schema.providers-core.ts
index 1f5860f45..2bf1876d7 100644
--- a/src/config/zod-schema.providers-core.ts
+++ b/src/config/zod-schema.providers-core.ts
@@ -486,6 +486,7 @@ export const SignalAccountSchemaBase = z
     httpPort: z.number().int().positive().optional(),
     cliPath: ExecutableTokenSchema.optional(),
     autoStart: z.boolean().optional(),
+    startupTimeoutMs: z.number().int().min(1000).max(120000).optional(),
     receiveMode: z.union([z.literal("on-start"), z.literal("manual")]).optional(),
     ignoreAttachments: z.boolean().optional(),
     ignoreStories: z.boolean().optional(),
diff --git a/src/signal/monitor.tool-result.sends-tool-summaries-responseprefix.test.ts b/src/signal/monitor.tool-result.sends-tool-summaries-responseprefix.test.ts
index eda540b7d..c3709890e 100644
--- a/src/signal/monitor.tool-result.sends-tool-summaries-responseprefix.test.ts
+++ b/src/signal/monitor.tool-result.sends-tool-summaries-responseprefix.test.ts
@@ -126,6 +126,90 @@ describe("monitorSignalProvider tool results", () => {
       }),
     );
   });
+
+  it("uses startupTimeoutMs override when provided", async () => {
+    const runtime = {
+      log: vi.fn(),
+      error: vi.fn(),
+      exit: ((code: number): never => {
+        throw new Error(`exit ${code}`);
+      }) as (code: number) => never,
+    };
+    config = {
+      ...config,
+      channels: {
+        ...config.channels,
+        signal: {
+          autoStart: true,
+          dmPolicy: "open",
+          allowFrom: ["*"],
+          startupTimeoutMs: 60_000,
+        },
+      },
+    };
+    const abortController = new AbortController();
+    streamMock.mockImplementation(async () => {
+      abortController.abort();
+      return;
+    });
+
+    await monitorSignalProvider({
+      autoStart: true,
+      baseUrl: "http://127.0.0.1:8080",
+      abortSignal: abortController.signal,
+      runtime,
+      startupTimeoutMs: 90_000,
+    });
+
+    expect(waitForTransportReadyMock).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    expect(waitForTransportReadyMock).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      expect.objectContaining({
+        timeoutMs: 90_000,
+      }),
+    );
+  });
+
+  it("caps startupTimeoutMs at 2 minutes", async () => {
+    const runtime = {
+      log: vi.fn(),
+      error: vi.fn(),
+      exit: ((code: number): never => {
+        throw new Error(`exit ${code}`);
+      }) as (code: number) => never,
+    };
+    config = {
+      ...config,
+      channels: {
+        ...config.channels,
+        signal: {
+          autoStart: true,
+          dmPolicy: "open",
+          allowFrom: ["*"],
+          startupTimeoutMs: 180_000,
+        },
+      },
+    };
+    const abortController = new AbortController();
+    streamMock.mockImplementation(async () => {
+      abortController.abort();
+      return;
+    });
+
+    await monitorSignalProvider({
+      autoStart: true,
+      baseUrl: "http://127.0.0.1:8080",
+      abortSignal: abortController.signal,
+      runtime,
+    });
+
+    expect(waitForTransportReadyMock).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    expect(waitForTransportReadyMock).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      expect.objectContaining({
+        timeoutMs: 120_000,
+      }),
+    );
+  });
+
   it("sends tool summaries with responsePrefix", async () => {
     const abortController = new AbortController();
     replyMock.mockImplementation(async (_ctx, opts) => {
diff --git a/src/signal/monitor.ts b/src/signal/monitor.ts
index 4215a668f..66b023047 100644
--- a/src/signal/monitor.ts
+++ b/src/signal/monitor.ts
@@ -43,6 +43,7 @@ export type MonitorSignalOpts = {
   config?: ClawdbotConfig;
   baseUrl?: string;
   autoStart?: boolean;
+  startupTimeoutMs?: number;
   cliPath?: string;
   httpHost?: string;
   httpPort?: number;
@@ -285,6 +286,10 @@ export async function monitorSignalProvider(opts: MonitorSignalOpts = {}): Promi
   const sendReadReceipts = Boolean(opts.sendReadReceipts ?? accountInfo.config.sendReadReceipts);
 
   const autoStart = opts.autoStart ?? accountInfo.config.autoStart ?? !accountInfo.config.httpUrl;
+  const startupTimeoutMs = Math.min(
+    120_000,
+    Math.max(1_000, opts.startupTimeoutMs ?? accountInfo.config.startupTimeoutMs ?? 30_000),
+  );
   const readReceiptsViaDaemon = Boolean(autoStart && sendReadReceipts);
   let daemonHandle: ReturnType<typeof spawnSignalDaemon> | null = null;
 
@@ -315,7 +320,7 @@ export async function monitorSignalProvider(opts: MonitorSignalOpts = {}): Promi
       await waitForSignalDaemonReady({
         baseUrl,
         abortSignal: opts.abortSignal,
-        timeoutMs: 30_000,
+        timeoutMs: startupTimeoutMs,
         logAfterMs: 10_000,
         logIntervalMs: 10_000,
         runtime,