diff --git a/backend/main.py b/backend/main.py
index 730665f..ec21ad1 100644
--- a/backend/main.py
+++ b/backend/main.py
@@ -43,7 +43,11 @@ AVATAR_COLORS = ['#1D9E75','#378ADD','#D85A30','#EF9F27','#7F77DD','#D4537E','#6
 @app.on_event("startup")
 async def startup_event():
     """Run migrations and initialization on startup."""
-    init_db()
+    try:
+        init_db()
+    except Exception as e:
+        print(f"⚠️  init_db() failed (non-fatal): {e}")
+        # Don't crash on startup - pipeline prompt can be created manually
 
 def init_db():
     """Initialize database - Schema is loaded by startup.sh"""
@@ -51,23 +55,39 @@ def init_db():
     # This function kept for backwards compatibility
 
     # Ensure "pipeline" master prompt exists
-    with get_db() as conn:
-        cur = get_cursor(conn)
-        cur.execute("SELECT COUNT(*) as count FROM ai_prompts WHERE slug='pipeline'")
-        if cur.fetchone()['count'] == 0:
+    try:
+        with get_db() as conn:
+            cur = get_cursor(conn)
+            # Check if table exists first
             cur.execute("""
-                INSERT INTO ai_prompts (slug, name, description, template, active, sort_order)
-                VALUES (
-                    'pipeline',
-                    'Mehrstufige Gesamtanalyse',
-                    'Master-Schalter für die gesamte Pipeline. Deaktiviere diese Analyse, um die Pipeline komplett zu verstecken.',
-                    'PIPELINE_MASTER',
-                    true,
-                    -10
-                )
+                SELECT EXISTS (
+                    SELECT FROM information_schema.tables
+                    WHERE table_schema = 'public'
+                    AND table_name = 'ai_prompts'
+                ) as table_exists
             """)
-            conn.commit()
-            print("✓ Pipeline master prompt created")
+            if not cur.fetchone()['table_exists']:
+                print("⚠️  ai_prompts table doesn't exist yet - skipping pipeline prompt creation")
+                return
+
+            cur.execute("SELECT COUNT(*) as count FROM ai_prompts WHERE slug='pipeline'")
+            if cur.fetchone()['count'] == 0:
+                cur.execute("""
+                    INSERT INTO ai_prompts (slug, name, description, template, active, sort_order)
+                    VALUES (
+                        'pipeline',
+                        'Mehrstufige Gesamtanalyse',
+                        'Master-Schalter für die gesamte Pipeline. Deaktiviere diese Analyse, um die Pipeline komplett zu verstecken.',
+                        'PIPELINE_MASTER',
+                        true,
+                        -10
+                    )
+                """)
+                conn.commit()
+                print("✓ Pipeline master prompt created")
+    except Exception as e:
+        print(f"⚠️  Could not create pipeline prompt: {e}")
+        # Don't fail startup - prompt can be created manually
 
 # ── Helper: get profile_id from header ───────────────────────────────────────
 def get_pid(x_profile_id: Optional[str] = Header(default=None)) -> str: