diff --git a/backend/main.py b/backend/main.py
index 9d047444..09309827 100644
--- a/backend/main.py
+++ b/backend/main.py
@@ -18,6 +18,9 @@ import tempfile
 import io
 from pathlib import Path
 import uuid
+import asyncio
+import signal
+import os
 
 from . import database, models, profiles, history, tts, transcribe, config, export_import, channels, stories, __version__
 from .database import get_db, Generation as DBGeneration, VoiceProfile as DBVoiceProfile
@@ -50,13 +53,24 @@ async def root():
     return {"message": "voicebox API", "version": __version__}
 
 
+@app.post("/shutdown")
+async def shutdown():
+    """Gracefully shutdown the server."""
+    async def shutdown_async():
+        await asyncio.sleep(0.1)  # Give response time to send
+        os.kill(os.getpid(), signal.SIGTERM)
+
+    asyncio.create_task(shutdown_async())
+    return {"message": "Shutting down..."}
+
+
 @app.get("/health", response_model=models.HealthResponse)
 async def health():
     """Health check endpoint."""
     from huggingface_hub import hf_hub_download, constants as hf_constants
     from pathlib import Path
     import os
-    
+
     tts_model = tts.get_tts_model()
 
     # Check for GPU availability (CUDA or MPS)
diff --git a/tauri/src-tauri/Cargo.lock b/tauri/src-tauri/Cargo.lock
index be74fc22..0a982c1a 100644
--- a/tauri/src-tauri/Cargo.lock
+++ b/tauri/src-tauri/Cargo.lock
@@ -406,6 +406,16 @@ dependencies = [
  "version_check",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "core-foundation"
+version = "0.9.4"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "91e195e091a93c46f7102ec7818a2aa394e1e1771c3ab4825963fa03e45afb8f"
+dependencies = [
+ "core-foundation-sys",
+ "libc",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "core-foundation"
 version = "0.10.1"
@@ -429,9 +439,9 @@ source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "fa95a34622365fa5bbf40b20b75dba8dfa8c94c734aea8ac9a5ca38af14316f1"
 dependencies = [
  "bitflags 2.10.0",
- "core-foundation",
+ "core-foundation 0.10.1",
  "core-graphics-types",
- "foreign-types",
+ "foreign-types 0.5.0",
  "libc",
 ]
 
@@ -442,7 +452,7 @@ source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "3d44a101f213f6c4cdc1853d4b78aef6db6bdfa3468798cc1d9912f4735013eb"
 dependencies = [
  "bitflags 2.10.0",
- "core-foundation",
+ "core-foundation 0.10.1",
  "libc",
 ]
 
@@ -889,6 +899,15 @@ version = "1.0.7"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "3f9eec918d3f24069decb9af1554cad7c880e2da24a9afd88aca000531ab82c1"
 
+[[package]]
+name = "foreign-types"
+version = "0.3.2"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "f6f339eb8adc052cd2ca78910fda869aefa38d22d5cb648e6485e4d3fc06f3b1"
+dependencies = [
+ "foreign-types-shared 0.1.1",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "foreign-types"
 version = "0.5.0"
@@ -896,7 +915,7 @@ source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "d737d9aa519fb7b749cbc3b962edcf310a8dd1f4b67c91c4f83975dbdd17d965"
 dependencies = [
  "foreign-types-macros",
- "foreign-types-shared",
+ "foreign-types-shared 0.3.1",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -910,6 +929,12 @@ dependencies = [
  "syn 2.0.114",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "foreign-types-shared"
+version = "0.1.1"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "00b0228411908ca8685dba7fc2cdd70ec9990a6e753e89b6ac91a84c40fbaf4b"
+
 [[package]]
 name = "foreign-types-shared"
 version = "0.3.1"
@@ -942,6 +967,7 @@ source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "2dff15bf788c671c1934e366d07e30c1814a8ef514e1af724a602e8a2fbe1b10"
 dependencies = [
  "futures-core",
+ "futures-sink",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -1311,6 +1337,25 @@ dependencies = [
  "syn 2.0.114",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "h2"
+version = "0.4.12"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "f3c0b69cfcb4e1b9f1bf2f53f95f766e4661169728ec61cd3fe5a0166f2d1386"
+dependencies = [
+ "atomic-waker",
+ "bytes",
+ "fnv",
+ "futures-core",
+ "futures-sink",
+ "http",
+ "indexmap 2.13.0",
+ "slab",
+ "tokio",
+ "tokio-util",
+ "tracing",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "hashbrown"
 version = "0.12.3"
@@ -1408,6 +1453,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "bytes",
  "futures-channel",
  "futures-core",
+ "h2",
  "http",
  "http-body",
  "httparse",
@@ -1436,6 +1482,22 @@ dependencies = [
  "webpki-roots",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "hyper-tls"
+version = "0.6.0"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "70206fc6890eaca9fde8a0bf71caa2ddfc9fe045ac9e5c70df101a7dbde866e0"
+dependencies = [
+ "bytes",
+ "http-body-util",
+ "hyper",
+ "hyper-util",
+ "native-tls",
+ "tokio",
+ "tokio-native-tls",
+ "tower-service",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "hyper-util"
 version = "0.1.19"
@@ -1455,9 +1517,11 @@ dependencies = [
  "percent-encoding",
  "pin-project-lite",
  "socket2",
+ "system-configuration",
  "tokio",
  "tower-service",
  "tracing",
+ "windows-registry",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -2024,6 +2088,23 @@ dependencies = [
  "windows-sys 0.60.2",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "native-tls"
+version = "0.2.14"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "87de3442987e9dbec73158d5c715e7ad9072fda936bb03d19d7fa10e00520f0e"
+dependencies = [
+ "libc",
+ "log",
+ "openssl",
+ "openssl-probe",
+ "openssl-sys",
+ "schannel",
+ "security-framework",
+ "security-framework-sys",
+ "tempfile",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "ndk"
 version = "0.8.0"
@@ -2430,6 +2511,50 @@ dependencies = [
  "pathdiff",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "openssl"
+version = "0.10.75"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "08838db121398ad17ab8531ce9de97b244589089e290a384c900cb9ff7434328"
+dependencies = [
+ "bitflags 2.10.0",
+ "cfg-if",
+ "foreign-types 0.3.2",
+ "libc",
+ "once_cell",
+ "openssl-macros",
+ "openssl-sys",
+]
+
+[[package]]
+name = "openssl-macros"
+version = "0.1.1"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "a948666b637a0f465e8564c73e89d4dde00d72d4d473cc972f390fc3dcee7d9c"
+dependencies = [
+ "proc-macro2",
+ "quote",
+ "syn 2.0.114",
+]
+
+[[package]]
+name = "openssl-probe"
+version = "0.1.6"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "d05e27ee213611ffe7d6348b942e8f942b37114c00cc03cec254295a4a17852e"
+
+[[package]]
+name = "openssl-sys"
+version = "0.9.111"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "82cab2d520aa75e3c58898289429321eb788c3106963d0dc886ec7a5f4adc321"
+dependencies = [
+ "cc",
+ "libc",
+ "pkg-config",
+ "vcpkg",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "option-ext"
 version = "0.2.0"
@@ -3077,16 +3202,22 @@ checksum = "eddd3ca559203180a307f12d114c268abf583f59b03cb906fd0b3ff8646c1147"
 dependencies = [
  "base64 0.22.1",
  "bytes",
+ "encoding_rs",
+ "futures-channel",
  "futures-core",
  "futures-util",
+ "h2",
  "http",
  "http-body",
  "http-body-util",
  "hyper",
  "hyper-rustls",
+ "hyper-tls",
  "hyper-util",
  "js-sys",
  "log",
+ "mime",
+ "native-tls",
  "percent-encoding",
  "pin-project-lite",
  "quinn",
@@ -3097,6 +3228,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "serde_urlencoded",
  "sync_wrapper",
  "tokio",
+ "tokio-native-tls",
  "tokio-rustls",
  "tokio-util",
  "tower",
@@ -3232,6 +3364,15 @@ dependencies = [
  "winapi-util",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "schannel"
+version = "0.1.28"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "891d81b926048e76efe18581bf793546b4c0eaf8448d72be8de2bbee5fd166e1"
+dependencies = [
+ "windows-sys 0.61.2",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "schemars"
 version = "0.8.22"
@@ -3295,6 +3436,29 @@ version = "1.5.0"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "6ccf069cb109cf8e01ebdca0d55dfce45dbbf669e8c56ed5c62150b056d3ec9f"
 
+[[package]]
+name = "security-framework"
+version = "2.11.1"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "897b2245f0b511c87893af39b033e5ca9cce68824c4d7e7630b5a1d339658d02"
+dependencies = [
+ "bitflags 2.10.0",
+ "core-foundation 0.9.4",
+ "core-foundation-sys",
+ "libc",
+ "security-framework-sys",
+]
+
+[[package]]
+name = "security-framework-sys"
+version = "2.15.0"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "cc1f0cbffaac4852523ce30d8bd3c5cdc873501d96ff467ca09b6767bb8cd5c0"
+dependencies = [
+ "core-foundation-sys",
+ "libc",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "selectors"
 version = "0.24.0"
@@ -3931,6 +4095,27 @@ dependencies = [
  "syn 2.0.114",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "system-configuration"
+version = "0.6.1"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "3c879d448e9d986b661742763247d3693ed13609438cf3d006f51f5368a5ba6b"
+dependencies = [
+ "bitflags 2.10.0",
+ "core-foundation 0.9.4",
+ "system-configuration-sys",
+]
+
+[[package]]
+name = "system-configuration-sys"
+version = "0.6.0"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "8e1d1b10ced5ca923a1fcb8d03e96b8d3268065d724548c0211415ff6ac6bac4"
+dependencies = [
+ "core-foundation-sys",
+ "libc",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "system-deps"
 version = "6.2.2"
@@ -3952,7 +4137,7 @@ checksum = "f3a753bdc39c07b192151523a3f77cd0394aa75413802c883a0f6f6a0e5ee2e7"
 dependencies = [
  "bitflags 2.10.0",
  "block2",
- "core-foundation",
+ "core-foundation 0.10.1",
  "core-graphics",
  "crossbeam-channel",
  "dispatch",
@@ -4495,6 +4680,16 @@ dependencies = [
  "syn 2.0.114",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "tokio-native-tls"
+version = "0.3.1"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "bbae76ab933c85776efabc971569dd6119c580d8f5d448769dec1764bf796ef2"
+dependencies = [
+ "native-tls",
+ "tokio",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "tokio-rustls"
 version = "0.26.4"
@@ -4826,6 +5021,12 @@ dependencies = [
  "wasm-bindgen",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "vcpkg"
+version = "0.2.15"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "accd4ea62f7bb7a82fe23066fb0957d48ef677f6eeb8215f372f52e48bb32426"
+
 [[package]]
 name = "version-compare"
 version = "0.2.1"
@@ -4840,7 +5041,7 @@ checksum = "0b928f33d975fc6ad9f86c8f283853ad26bdd5b10b7f1542aa2fa15e2289105a"
 
 [[package]]
 name = "voicebox"
-version = "0.1.7"
+version = "0.1.8"
 dependencies = [
  "base64 0.22.1",
  "core-foundation-sys",
@@ -4848,6 +5049,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "cpal",
  "hound",
  "objc",
+ "reqwest",
  "scopeguard",
  "screencapturekit",
  "serde",
@@ -5330,6 +5532,17 @@ dependencies = [
  "windows-link 0.2.1",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "windows-registry"
+version = "0.6.1"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "02752bf7fbdcce7f2a27a742f798510f3e5ad88dbe84871e5168e2120c3d5720"
+dependencies = [
+ "windows-link 0.2.1",
+ "windows-result 0.4.1",
+ "windows-strings 0.5.1",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "windows-result"
 version = "0.1.2"
diff --git a/tauri/src-tauri/Cargo.toml b/tauri/src-tauri/Cargo.toml
index 8b08fadb..3bcac6ae 100644
--- a/tauri/src-tauri/Cargo.toml
+++ b/tauri/src-tauri/Cargo.toml
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ tauri-plugin-shell = "2.0"
 serde = { version = "1.0", features = ["derive"] }
 serde_json = "1.0"
 tokio = { version = "1", features = ["full"] }
+reqwest = { version = "0.12", features = ["blocking", "json"] }
 hound = "3.5"
 base64 = "0.22"
 cpal = "0.15"
diff --git a/tauri/src-tauri/gen/schemas/windows-schema.json b/tauri/src-tauri/gen/schemas/windows-schema.json
index e668911d..8ee87b4b 100644
--- a/tauri/src-tauri/gen/schemas/windows-schema.json
+++ b/tauri/src-tauri/gen/schemas/windows-schema.json
@@ -5948,6 +5948,36 @@
           "const": "fs:write-files",
           "markdownDescription": "This enables all file write related commands without any pre-configured accessible paths."
         },
+        {
+          "description": "This permission set configures which\nprocess features are by default exposed.\n\n#### Granted Permissions\n\nThis enables to quit via `allow-exit` and restart via `allow-restart`\nthe application.\n\n#### This default permission set includes:\n\n- `allow-exit`\n- `allow-restart`",
+          "type": "string",
+          "const": "process:default",
+          "markdownDescription": "This permission set configures which\nprocess features are by default exposed.\n\n#### Granted Permissions\n\nThis enables to quit via `allow-exit` and restart via `allow-restart`\nthe application.\n\n#### This default permission set includes:\n\n- `allow-exit`\n- `allow-restart`"
+        },
+        {
+          "description": "Enables the exit command without any pre-configured scope.",
+          "type": "string",
+          "const": "process:allow-exit",
+          "markdownDescription": "Enables the exit command without any pre-configured scope."
+        },
+        {
+          "description": "Enables the restart command without any pre-configured scope.",
+          "type": "string",
+          "const": "process:allow-restart",
+          "markdownDescription": "Enables the restart command without any pre-configured scope."
+        },
+        {
+          "description": "Denies the exit command without any pre-configured scope.",
+          "type": "string",
+          "const": "process:deny-exit",
+          "markdownDescription": "Denies the exit command without any pre-configured scope."
+        },
+        {
+          "description": "Denies the restart command without any pre-configured scope.",
+          "type": "string",
+          "const": "process:deny-restart",
+          "markdownDescription": "Denies the restart command without any pre-configured scope."
+        },
         {
           "description": "This permission set configures which\nshell functionality is exposed by default.\n\n#### Granted Permissions\n\nIt allows to use the `open` functionality with a reasonable\nscope pre-configured. It will allow opening `http(s)://`,\n`tel:` and `mailto:` links.\n\n#### This default permission set includes:\n\n- `allow-open`",
           "type": "string",
diff --git a/tauri/src-tauri/src/main.rs b/tauri/src-tauri/src/main.rs
index c93cae79..0b4de0ac 100644
--- a/tauri/src-tauri/src/main.rs
+++ b/tauri/src-tauri/src/main.rs
@@ -303,6 +303,60 @@ async fn start_server(
     Ok(format!("http://127.0.0.1:{}", SERVER_PORT))
 }
 
+/// Check if a Windows process is still running
+#[cfg(windows)]
+fn is_process_running(pid: u32) -> bool {
+    use std::process::Command;
+    if let Ok(output) = Command::new("tasklist")
+        .args(["/FI", &format!("PID eq {}", pid), "/FO", "CSV", "/NH"])
+        .output()
+    {
+        // If process exists, tasklist returns it in output
+        let output_str = String::from_utf8_lossy(&output.stdout);
+        return !output_str.trim().is_empty() && output_str.contains(&pid.to_string());
+    }
+    false
+}
+
+/// Kill entire Windows process tree by enumerating children
+#[cfg(windows)]
+fn kill_windows_process_tree(parent_pid: u32) -> Result<(), String> {
+    use std::process::Command;
+
+    // Find all child processes using WMIC
+    let output = Command::new("wmic")
+        .args([
+            "process",
+            "where",
+            &format!("ParentProcessId={}", parent_pid),
+            "get",
+            "ProcessId"
+        ])
+        .output();
+
+    if let Ok(output) = output {
+        let output_str = String::from_utf8_lossy(&output.stdout);
+        for line in output_str.lines().skip(1) { // Skip header
+            if let Ok(child_pid) = line.trim().parse::<u32>() {
+                println!("Found child process: {}", child_pid);
+                // Recursively kill child's children
+                let _ = kill_windows_process_tree(child_pid);
+                // Kill the child
+                let _ = Command::new("taskkill")
+                    .args(["/PID", &child_pid.to_string(), "/F"])
+                    .output();
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    // Kill the parent process
+    let _ = Command::new("taskkill")
+        .args(["/PID", &parent_pid.to_string(), "/F"])
+        .output();
+
+    Ok(())
+}
+
 #[command]
 async fn stop_server(state: State<'_, ServerState>) -> Result<(), String> {
     let pid = state.server_pid.lock().unwrap().take();
@@ -332,13 +386,59 @@ async fn stop_server(state: State<'_, ServerState>) -> Result<(), String> {
         
         #[cfg(windows)]
         {
-            use std::process::Command;
-            let _ = Command::new("taskkill")
-                .args(["/PID", &pid.to_string(), "/T", "/F"])
-                .output();
+            // Layer 1: Try graceful HTTP shutdown first
+            println!("Attempting graceful shutdown via HTTP...");
+            let client = reqwest::blocking::Client::builder()
+                .timeout(std::time::Duration::from_secs(2))
+                .build()
+                .unwrap();
+
+            let shutdown_result = client
+                .post(&format!("http://127.0.0.1:{}/shutdown", SERVER_PORT))
+                .send();
+
+            if shutdown_result.is_ok() {
+                println!("HTTP shutdown sent, waiting for graceful exit...");
+                // Wait up to 3 seconds for graceful shutdown
+                for i in 0..30 {
+                    std::thread::sleep(std::time::Duration::from_millis(100));
+                    if !is_process_running(pid) {
+                        println!("Process exited gracefully after {}ms", i * 100);
+                        return Ok(());
+                    }
+                }
+                println!("Graceful shutdown timed out, forcing kill...");
+            } else {
+                println!("HTTP shutdown failed, forcing kill...");
+            }
+
+            // Layer 2: Kill process tree with enumeration
+            println!("Killing process tree for wrapper PID {}...", pid);
+            kill_windows_process_tree(pid)?;
+
+            // Layer 3: Verify and kill by name if still running
+            std::thread::sleep(std::time::Duration::from_millis(200));
+            if is_process_running(pid) {
+                println!("Process tree kill failed, killing by name...");
+                use std::process::Command;
+                let _ = Command::new("taskkill")
+                    .args(["/IM", "voicebox-server.exe", "/T", "/F"])
+                    .output();
+            }
+
+            // Layer 4: Final verification
+            std::thread::sleep(std::time::Duration::from_millis(200));
+            if is_process_running(pid) {
+                eprintln!("WARNING: Failed to kill server after all attempts");
+            } else {
+                println!("Server killed successfully");
+            }
+        }
+
+        #[cfg(unix)]
+        {
+            println!("stop_server: Process group kill completed");
         }
-        
-        println!("stop_server: Process group kill completed");
     }
     
     Ok(())
@@ -560,11 +660,54 @@ pub fn run() {
                             
                             #[cfg(windows)]
                             {
-                                // On Windows, use taskkill with /T to kill child processes
-                                use std::process::Command;
-                                let _ = Command::new("taskkill")
-                                    .args(["/PID", &pid.to_string(), "/T", "/F"])
-                                    .output();
+                                // Layer 1: Try graceful HTTP shutdown first
+                                println!("Attempting graceful shutdown via HTTP...");
+                                let client = reqwest::blocking::Client::builder()
+                                    .timeout(std::time::Duration::from_secs(2))
+                                    .build()
+                                    .unwrap();
+
+                                let shutdown_result = client
+                                    .post(&format!("http://127.0.0.1:{}/shutdown", SERVER_PORT))
+                                    .send();
+
+                                if shutdown_result.is_ok() {
+                                    println!("HTTP shutdown sent, waiting for graceful exit...");
+                                    // Wait up to 3 seconds for graceful shutdown
+                                    for i in 0..30 {
+                                        std::thread::sleep(std::time::Duration::from_millis(100));
+                                        if !is_process_running(pid) {
+                                            println!("Process exited gracefully after {}ms", i * 100);
+                                            println!("Server process tree kill completed");
+                                            return;
+                                        }
+                                    }
+                                    println!("Graceful shutdown timed out, forcing kill...");
+                                } else {
+                                    println!("HTTP shutdown failed, forcing kill...");
+                                }
+
+                                // Layer 2: Kill process tree with enumeration
+                                println!("Killing process tree for wrapper PID {}...", pid);
+                                let _ = kill_windows_process_tree(pid);
+
+                                // Layer 3: Verify and kill by name if still running
+                                std::thread::sleep(std::time::Duration::from_millis(200));
+                                if is_process_running(pid) {
+                                    println!("Process tree kill failed, killing by name...");
+                                    use std::process::Command;
+                                    let _ = Command::new("taskkill")
+                                        .args(["/IM", "voicebox-server.exe", "/T", "/F"])
+                                        .output();
+                                }
+
+                                // Layer 4: Final verification
+                                std::thread::sleep(std::time::Duration::from_millis(200));
+                                if is_process_running(pid) {
+                                    eprintln!("WARNING: Failed to kill server after all attempts");
+                                } else {
+                                    println!("Server killed successfully");
+                                }
                                 println!("Server process tree kill completed");
                             }
                         } else {