diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 6f2e9d7f..d12908cd 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -8,6 +8,14 @@ Deploy [nanobot](https://github.com/HKUDS/nanobot) — a lightweight, self-hosta
 
 One Render web service running nanobot's `gateway` and its bundled WebUI. You chat with the agent from your browser; it can use tools (web search/fetch, filesystem, shell, MCP servers) and remembers past sessions on a persistent disk. Access is gated by a secret you set.
 
+## Cost expectations
+
+This is not a free deploy. Expect:
+
+- **Render Starter plan** — ~$7/mo for the web service.
+- **1 GB persistent disk** — ~$0.25/mo for sessions and memory.
+- **Anthropic API usage** — billed separately by Anthropic based on your agent's LLM calls.
+
 ## Deploy
 
 1. **Generate a `NANOBOT_WEB_TOKEN`** — this is the access secret for your WebUI. Create a strong random value with one of:
@@ -31,7 +39,7 @@ Render prompts for these on deploy (both are `sync: false`, so no secret is ever
 
 | Variable | What it's for | Where to get it |
 |---|---|---|
-| `ANTHROPIC_API_KEY` | Powers the agent's LLM calls (default model `anthropic/claude-opus-4-5`). | [console.anthropic.com](https://console.anthropic.com/settings/keys) |
+| `ANTHROPIC_API_KEY` | Powers the agent's LLM calls (default model `anthropic/claude-opus-4-8`). | [console.anthropic.com](https://console.anthropic.com/settings/keys) |
 | `NANOBOT_WEB_TOKEN` | The access secret for the WebUI — the only gate on your public agent. | Generate it yourself (see step 1 above): `openssl rand -hex 32` or `python3 -c "import secrets; print(secrets.token_hex(32))"`. |
 
 `PORT` is set for you in the Blueprint. Configuration lives in [`render-config.json`](./render-config.json); the two secrets are referenced there as `${ANTHROPIC_API_KEY}` and `${NANOBOT_WEB_TOKEN}` and resolved at startup.
@@ -50,6 +58,27 @@ Edit [`render-config.json`](./render-config.json) to change the model, provider,
 
 For everything nanobot can do — chat channels (Telegram, Discord, Slack, …), MCP, skills, memory — see the upstream project: **[HKUDS/nanobot](https://github.com/HKUDS/nanobot)** and its [docs](https://nanobot.wiki).
 
+## Troubleshooting
+
+Logs live in the Render dashboard → your service → **Logs**. Start there for any failure.
+
+- **Deploy fails or the service won't go Live.** The most common cause is a missing or mistyped `ANTHROPIC_API_KEY`. Check it under the service's **Environment** tab, then trigger a redeploy. The logs also print `[entrypoint] …` lines showing how the container started.
+- **Can't sign in to the WebUI.** The token prompt expects the exact `NANOBOT_WEB_TOKEN` you set on deploy — paste it verbatim (no surrounding spaces). If you've lost it, set a new value under **Environment**, redeploy, and sign in with the new one.
+- **Chat connects but the agent doesn't respond.** Usually an Anthropic-side issue — an invalid key or exhausted credit. The logs will show the provider error.
+
+## Updating from upstream
+
+This repo is a fork of [HKUDS/nanobot](https://github.com/HKUDS/nanobot). To pull in new nanobot releases:
+
+```bash
+git remote add upstream https://github.com/HKUDS/nanobot.git   # once
+git fetch upstream
+git merge upstream/main
+git push                                                       # your fork
+```
+
+Render auto-deploys the new commit. If you ever re-sync the Blueprint, confirm the service's **Docker Command** still routes through `/usr/local/bin/entrypoint.sh` — it's defined in [`render.yaml`](./render.yaml), so a clean sync preserves it.
+
 ---
 
 Built on [nanobot](https://github.com/HKUDS/nanobot) (MIT). This repo is a Render deploy template — see [`render.yaml`](./render.yaml).
diff --git a/entrypoint.sh b/entrypoint.sh
index d801326e..ef2c2bf1 100755
--- a/entrypoint.sh
+++ b/entrypoint.sh
@@ -6,16 +6,16 @@
 echo "[entrypoint] starting as $(id)"
 
 dir="$HOME/.nanobot"
-mkdir -p "$dir" 2>&1 || echo "[entrypoint] warning: mkdir $dir failed"
+mkdir -p "$dir" || echo "[entrypoint] warning: mkdir $dir failed"
 
 if [ "$(id -u)" != "0" ]; then
     # Already non-root (platform forced a user). Can't chown; just run.
-    echo "[entrypoint] not root — running app as $(id -un 2>/dev/null || id -u)"
+    echo "[entrypoint] not root — running app as $(id -un)"
     exec nanobot "$@"
 fi
 
 # Running as root: make the mounted disk writable by the app user.
-chown -R nanobot:nanobot "$dir" 2>&1 || echo "[entrypoint] warning: chown $dir failed"
+chown -R nanobot:nanobot "$dir" || echo "[entrypoint] warning: chown $dir failed"
 
 # Drop to the non-root user if the runtime grants the capability to do so
 # (setpriv needs CAP_SETUID/CAP_SETGID). Otherwise stay root so the app can
diff --git a/render-config.json b/render-config.json
index 7c53120b..5fdc3510 100644
--- a/render-config.json
+++ b/render-config.json
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {
   "agents": {
     "defaults": {
-      "model": "anthropic/claude-opus-4-5",
+      "model": "anthropic/claude-opus-4-8",
       "provider": "auto"
     }
   },