diff --git a/scripts/api.py b/scripts/api.py
index 9af2251..a903fc4 100644
--- a/scripts/api.py
+++ b/scripts/api.py
@@ -420,11 +420,12 @@ async def get_status():
     watcher_running = False
     last_indexed = "Unknown"
     try:
-        result = subprocess.run(
-            ["systemctl", "is-active", "aaronai-watcher"],
-            capture_output=True, text=True
-        )
-        watcher_running = result.stdout.strip() == "active"
+        import time as _time, json as _json
+        _sp = Path("/home/aaron/aaronai/watcher_status.json")
+        if _sp.exists():
+            _s = _json.loads(_sp.read_text())
+            _age = _time.time() - _s.get("timestamp", 0)
+            watcher_running = _s.get("running", False) and _age < 30
     except:
         pass
 
@@ -446,6 +447,12 @@ async def get_status():
         if state_path.exists():
             state = json.loads(state_path.read_text())
             file_count = len(state)
+        else:
+            # Count files in Nextcloud directly
+            nc_path = Path(NEXTCLOUD_PATH)
+            if nc_path.exists():
+                file_count = sum(1 for f in nc_path.rglob("*") 
+                    if f.is_file() and f.suffix.lower() in {'.pdf','.docx','.pptx','.txt','.md'})
     except:
         pass
 
diff --git a/scripts/watcher.py b/scripts/watcher.py
index 7a5afd2..4121b2b 100644
--- a/scripts/watcher.py
+++ b/scripts/watcher.py
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ STATE_FILE = "/home/aaron/aaronai/watcher_state.json"
 
 SUPPORTED = {'.pdf', '.docx', '.pptx', '.txt', '.md'}
 DEBOUNCE_SECONDS = 120
+STATUS_FILE = "/home/aaron/aaronai/watcher_status.json"
 
 logging.basicConfig(
     level=logging.INFO,
@@ -109,6 +110,13 @@ def main():
 
     try:
         while True:
+            import json as _json
+            _json.dump({
+                "running": True,
+                "timestamp": time.time(),
+                "pending": handler.pending,
+                "last_event": handler.last_event
+            }, open(STATUS_FILE, 'w'))
             if handler.pending:
                 elapsed = time.time() - handler.last_event
                 if elapsed >= DEBOUNCE_SECONDS: