diff --git a/spec/bot-startup-spec.js b/spec/bot-startup-spec.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3aa968b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spec/bot-startup-spec.js
@@ -0,0 +1,117 @@
+const { spawn } = require('child_process')
+const path = require('path')
+
+describe('bot startup', () => {
+  // Set a reasonable timeout for bot startup
+  jasmine.DEFAULT_TIMEOUT_INTERVAL = 30000
+
+  it('should start and shutdown successfully', (done) => {
+    // Spawn the bot process using the mock adapter
+    const hubotPath = path.join(__dirname, '..', 'node_modules', '.bin', 'hubot')
+    const bot = spawn(hubotPath, ['--adapter', 'mock-adapter', '--name', 'slackbot', '--disable-httpd'], {
+      cwd: path.join(__dirname, '..'),
+      env: {
+        ...process.env,
+        // Prevent the bot from trying to load environment-specific configs
+        NODE_ENV: 'test',
+        // Provide minimal Firebase config to allow startup
+        FIREBASE_WEB_CONFIG: JSON.stringify({
+          apiKey: 'test-api-key',
+          authDomain: 'test.firebaseapp.com',
+          projectId: 'test-project',
+          storageBucket: 'test.appspot.com',
+          messagingSenderId: '123456789',
+          appId: 'test-app-id'
+        }),
+        // Add PATH to include node_modules/.bin for coffee command
+        PATH: `${path.join(__dirname, '..', 'node_modules', '.bin')}:${process.env.PATH}`,
+        // Disable the Heroku keepalive to avoid warning errors
+        HUBOT_HTTPD: 'false'
+      }
+    })
+
+    let stdout = ''
+    let stderr = ''
+    let hasStarted = false
+    let shutdownTimer = null
+    let safetyTimeout = null
+    let testCompleted = false
+
+    // Helper to complete the test only once
+    const completeTest = () => {
+      if (!testCompleted) {
+        testCompleted = true
+        // Clear all timers to ensure proper cleanup
+        if (shutdownTimer) {
+          clearTimeout(shutdownTimer)
+        }
+        if (safetyTimeout) {
+          clearTimeout(safetyTimeout)
+        }
+        done()
+      }
+    }
+
+    // Safety timeout - if the bot doesn't start within 20 seconds, fail the test
+    safetyTimeout = setTimeout(() => {
+      bot.kill('SIGTERM')
+      fail('Bot did not start within the timeout period')
+      completeTest()
+    }, 20000)
+
+    // Collect stdout
+    bot.stdout.on('data', (data) => {
+      const output = data.toString()
+      stdout += output
+
+      // Check for critical errors in stdout (some logging frameworks output to stdout)
+      if (!hasStarted && (output.includes('Unable to load') || output.includes('is not valid JSON'))) {
+        // Bot has a critical error, terminate it gracefully
+        bot.kill('SIGTERM')
+      }
+    })
+
+    // Collect stderr
+    bot.stderr.on('data', (data) => {
+      const output = data.toString()
+      stderr += output
+
+      // Check if the bot has successfully started
+      // We look for any deprecation warning or the keepalive error,
+      // both of which indicate the bot loaded its scripts successfully
+      if (!hasStarted && (output.includes('DeprecationWarning') || output.includes('hubot-heroku-keepalive'))) {
+        hasStarted = true
+        // Give the bot a moment to fully initialize, then gracefully shutdown
+        shutdownTimer = setTimeout(() => {
+          bot.kill('SIGTERM')
+        }, 2000)
+      }
+    })
+
+    // Handle bot exit
+    bot.on('close', (code) => {
+      // Check that the bot started successfully before exiting
+      expect(hasStarted).toBe(true)
+
+      // Check that there are no critical startup errors in stdout or stderr
+      // We allow the heroku-keepalive warning and deprecation warnings
+      const combinedOutput = stdout + stderr
+      expect(combinedOutput).not.toMatch(/SyntaxError/)
+      expect(combinedOutput).not.toMatch(/Cannot find module/)
+      expect(combinedOutput).not.toMatch(/Unable to load/)
+      expect(combinedOutput).not.toMatch(/is not valid JSON/)
+
+      // Check that the bot exited gracefully (code 0 or null for SIGTERM)
+      // SIGTERM can result in null or 0 depending on the process
+      expect(code === 0 || code === null).toBe(true)
+
+      completeTest()
+    })
+
+    // Handle errors spawning the process
+    bot.on('error', (err) => {
+      fail(`Failed to start bot: ${err.message}`)
+      completeTest()
+    })
+  })
+})