diff --git a/.github/workflows/backend-metadata.yml b/.github/workflows/backend-metadata.yml
index ab3a1ec..0d3afbf 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/backend-metadata.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/backend-metadata.yml
@@ -15,3 +15,7 @@ jobs:
           python-version: '3.11'
       - run: pip install 'numpy<2' tflite-runtime==2.14.0 fastapi pillow
       - run: python -m unittest discover -s tests -p test_backend_model_info.py -v
+      - name: Install API startup test dependencies
+        run: pip install pydantic-settings uvicorn httpx python-multipart shapely sentry-sdk
+      - name: Verify default readiness and lazy optional engines
+        run: python -m unittest discover -s tests -p test_startup.py -v
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index ba4ebf1..b62da49 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -2,6 +2,13 @@
 
 A lightweight Python API for object detection with pluggable backends. This API allows you to detect objects in images using different detection backends, starting with TensorFlow Lite.
 
+The API initializes `DEFAULT_BACKEND` before accepting requests and fails startup
+if its model or runtime is unavailable. Other backends initialize on demand;
+listing them in `AVAILABLE_BACKENDS` does not require installing every optional
+model, runtime, or accelerator. Requests for an optional backend still require its
+corresponding model and dependencies. For optional TFLite use, provision the model
+with `python scripts/download_model.py` or configure an existing model path.
+
 ## Features
 
 - FastAPI-based REST API for object detection
@@ -33,7 +40,7 @@ A lightweight Python API for object detection with pluggable backends. This API
    pipenv run python scripts/download_model.py
    ```
 
-   If you skip this step, the API will try to download the default model on startup when the `tflite` backend is enabled (requires internet access). Docker builds download the default model by default.
+   If you skip this step, the API will try to download the default model on startup when `DEFAULT_BACKEND=tflite` (requires internet access). Docker builds download the default model by default.
 
 ## Usage
 
diff --git a/main.py b/main.py
index bdb3937..bf97ecd 100644
--- a/main.py
+++ b/main.py
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
 from api.router import router as api_router
 from config import settings
 from backends.factory import get_backend
-from utils.model_download import ensure_tflite_ssd_mobilenet_v1, ModelDownloadError
+from utils.model_download import ensure_tflite_ssd_mobilenet_v1
 
 from observability import init_sentry
 
@@ -35,33 +35,25 @@ async def startup_event():
     logger.info(f"Available backends: {settings.AVAILABLE_BACKENDS}")
     logger.info(f"Default backend: {settings.DEFAULT_BACKEND}")
 
-    # Ensure the default TFLite model is present if TFLite is enabled.
-    # This keeps the out-of-the-box experience working, while still allowing
-    # users to override paths via .env.
-    if "tflite" in settings.AVAILABLE_BACKENDS:
-        try:
-            ensure_result = ensure_tflite_ssd_mobilenet_v1(
-                model_path=settings.TFLITE_MODEL_PATH,
-                labels_path=settings.TFLITE_LABELS_PATH,
-                force=False,
-            )
-            if ensure_result.did_download:
-                logger.info(f"✓ Downloaded default TFLite model: {ensure_result.message}")
-        except ModelDownloadError as e:
-            logger.error(
-                "✗ TFLite model is missing and could not be downloaded. "
-                f"Reason: {e}. "
-                "Fix: run 'python scripts/download_model.py' or set TFLITE_MODEL_PATH to an existing model."
-            )
+    # Optional engines stay lazy: their models, runtimes or hardware may not
+    # exist on this host. The configured default must actually initialize before
+    # the application can start accepting requests (including /health).
+    backend_name = settings.DEFAULT_BACKEND
+    if backend_name not in settings.AVAILABLE_BACKENDS:
+        raise ValueError("DEFAULT_BACKEND must be included in AVAILABLE_BACKENDS")
+    if backend_name == "tflite":
+        ensure_result = ensure_tflite_ssd_mobilenet_v1(
+            model_path=settings.TFLITE_MODEL_PATH,
+            labels_path=settings.TFLITE_LABELS_PATH,
+            force=False,
+        )
+        if ensure_result.did_download:
+            logger.info("Downloaded default TFLite model: %s", ensure_result.message)
 
-    # Test each backend
-    for backend_name in settings.AVAILABLE_BACKENDS:
-        try:
-            detector = get_backend(backend_name)
-            model_info = detector.get_model_info()
-            logger.info(f"✓ {backend_name.upper()} backend: {model_info.get('model_path', 'N/A')}")
-        except Exception as e:
-            logger.error(f"✗ {backend_name.upper()} backend failed: {str(e)}")
+    detector = get_backend(backend_name)
+    model_info = detector.get_model_info()
+    logger.info("Default %s backend ready: %s", backend_name.upper(),
+                model_info.get("model_path", "N/A"))
 
     logger.info("=" * 60)
 
diff --git a/tests/test_startup.py b/tests/test_startup.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..858a232
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_startup.py
@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+"""Startup requires the default engine, without probing unrelated hardware."""
+import unittest
+from unittest.mock import Mock, patch
+
+from fastapi.testclient import TestClient
+import main
+
+
+class StartupTests(unittest.TestCase):
+    def setup_settings(self, default='onnx', available=None):
+        return patch.multiple(main.settings, DEFAULT_BACKEND=default,
+                              AVAILABLE_BACKENDS=available or ['onnx','tflite','opencv','edgetpu','moondream'])
+
+    def test_optional_backends_are_not_loaded_or_downloaded_during_startup(self):
+        detector = Mock()
+        detector.get_model_info.return_value = {'model_path':'fixture.onnx'}
+        with self.setup_settings(), patch.object(main, 'get_backend', return_value=detector) as get, \
+                patch.object(main, 'ensure_tflite_ssd_mobilenet_v1') as download:
+            with TestClient(main.app) as client:
+                self.assertEqual(client.get('/health').status_code, 200)
+            get.assert_called_once_with('onnx')
+            download.assert_not_called()
+
+    def test_missing_default_model_or_driver_prevents_healthy_startup(self):
+        for error in (FileNotFoundError('fixture model'), OSError('fixture driver')):
+            with self.subTest(error=type(error).__name__), self.setup_settings('edgetpu'), \
+                    patch.object(main, 'get_backend', side_effect=error):
+                with self.assertRaises(type(error)):
+                    with TestClient(main.app):pass
+
+    def test_disabled_default_prevents_startup(self):
+        with self.setup_settings('edgetpu', ['onnx']), patch.object(main, 'get_backend') as get:
+            with self.assertRaises(ValueError):
+                with TestClient(main.app):pass
+            get.assert_not_called()
+
+    def test_tflite_default_is_provisioned_before_initialization(self):
+        calls = []
+        def download(**kwargs):
+            calls.append('download');return Mock(did_download=False)
+        def get(name):
+            calls.append(name);return Mock(get_model_info=lambda:{})
+        with self.setup_settings('tflite'), patch.object(main, 'get_backend', side_effect=get), \
+                patch.object(main, 'ensure_tflite_ssd_mobilenet_v1', side_effect=download):
+            with TestClient(main.app) as client:
+                self.assertEqual(client.get('/health').status_code, 200)
+        self.assertEqual(calls, ['download','tflite'])
+
+    def test_default_download_failure_prevents_startup(self):
+        with self.setup_settings('tflite'), patch.object(main, 'get_backend') as get, \
+                patch.object(main, 'ensure_tflite_ssd_mobilenet_v1', side_effect=OSError('fixture download')):
+            with self.assertRaises(OSError):
+                with TestClient(main.app):pass
+            get.assert_not_called()
+
+
+if __name__ == '__main__':unittest.main()