diff --git a/tests/test_e2e.sh b/tests/test_e2e.sh
index 1d133b5..4e3fc3d 100755
--- a/tests/test_e2e.sh
+++ b/tests/test_e2e.sh
@@ -10,6 +10,49 @@ PASSED=0
 FAILED=0
 PORT=19800  # Use high port to avoid conflicts
 BASE="http://127.0.0.1:$PORT"
+TEST_HOME=$(mktemp -d "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/nullhub-e2e.XXXXXX")
+SERVER_LOG="$TEST_HOME/nullhub-server.log"
+SERVER_PID=""
+
+# Cleanup on exit
+cleanup() {
+    if [ -n "${SERVER_PID:-}" ]; then
+        echo "Stopping server..."
+        kill "$SERVER_PID" 2>/dev/null || true
+        wait "$SERVER_PID" 2>/dev/null || true
+    fi
+    rm -rf "$TEST_HOME"
+}
+trap cleanup EXIT
+
+server_is_running() {
+    if [ -z "${SERVER_PID:-}" ]; then
+        return 1
+    fi
+    kill -0 "$SERVER_PID" 2>/dev/null
+}
+
+fail_if_server_exited() {
+    local context="$1"
+
+    if server_is_running; then
+        return 0
+    fi
+
+    local exit_code=0
+    set +e
+    wait "$SERVER_PID"
+    exit_code=$?
+    set -e
+
+    echo -e "${RED}FAIL${NC}: nullhub exited unexpectedly during $context (exit $exit_code)"
+    if [ -f "$SERVER_LOG" ]; then
+        echo "--- nullhub server log ---"
+        cat "$SERVER_LOG"
+        echo "--- end nullhub server log ---"
+    fi
+    exit 1
+}
 
 # Build
 echo "Building nullhub..."
@@ -18,20 +61,13 @@ EXPECTED_VERSION=$(./zig-out/bin/nullhub --version 2>&1 | awk '{print $2}' | sed
 
 # Start server in background
 echo "Starting nullhub on port $PORT..."
-./zig-out/bin/nullhub serve --port $PORT --no-open &
+HOME="$TEST_HOME" ./zig-out/bin/nullhub serve --port "$PORT" --no-open >"$SERVER_LOG" 2>&1 &
 SERVER_PID=$!
 
-# Cleanup on exit
-cleanup() {
-    echo "Stopping server..."
-    kill $SERVER_PID 2>/dev/null || true
-    wait $SERVER_PID 2>/dev/null || true
-}
-trap cleanup EXIT
-
 # Wait for server to be ready (retry loop instead of fixed sleep)
 echo "Waiting for server..."
 for i in $(seq 1 20); do
+    fail_if_server_exited "startup"
     if curl -s -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}" "$BASE/health" 2>/dev/null | grep -q "200"; then
         echo "Server ready after ${i} attempt(s)."
         break
@@ -50,12 +86,25 @@ assert_status() {
     local method="$3"
     local url="$4"
     local body="${5:-}"
+    local actual=""
+    local curl_exit=0
+
+    fail_if_server_exited "$description (before request)"
 
+    set +e
     if [ -n "$body" ]; then
         actual=$(curl -s -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}" -X "$method" -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d "$body" "$url")
     else
         actual=$(curl -s -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}" -X "$method" "$url")
     fi
+    curl_exit=$?
+    set -e
+
+    fail_if_server_exited "$description (after request)"
+
+    if [ "$curl_exit" -ne 0 ]; then
+        actual="CURL_ERROR($curl_exit, HTTP ${actual:-000})"
+    fi
 
     if [ "$actual" = "$expected" ]; then
         echo -e "${GREEN}PASS${NC}: $description (HTTP $actual)"
@@ -71,9 +120,22 @@ assert_json_field() {
     local url="$2"
     local field="$3"
     local expected="$4"
-
-    local response=$(curl -s "$url")
-    local actual=$(echo "$response" | python3 -c "import sys,json; print(json.load(sys.stdin)$field)" 2>/dev/null || echo "PARSE_ERROR")
+    local response=""
+    local curl_exit=0
+    local actual=""
+
+    fail_if_server_exited "$description (before request)"
+    set +e
+    response=$(curl -s "$url")
+    curl_exit=$?
+    set -e
+    fail_if_server_exited "$description (after request)"
+
+    if [ "$curl_exit" -ne 0 ]; then
+        actual="CURL_ERROR($curl_exit)"
+    else
+        actual=$(echo "$response" | python3 -c "import sys,json; print(json.load(sys.stdin)$field)" 2>/dev/null || echo "PARSE_ERROR")
+    fi
 
     if [ "$actual" = "$expected" ]; then
         echo -e "${GREEN}PASS${NC}: $description ($field = $actual)"
@@ -129,6 +191,8 @@ echo "================================"
 echo -e "Results: ${GREEN}$PASSED passed${NC}, ${RED}$FAILED failed${NC}"
 echo "================================"
 
+fail_if_server_exited "final result collection"
+
 if [ $FAILED -gt 0 ]; then
     exit 1
 fi