diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 92bf7cc..c9d84e0 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -5,6 +5,12 @@ All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.
 The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.1.0/),
 and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.html).
 
+## [Unreleased]
+
+### Fixed
+
+- **A bootloader that threw made `HttpServer::start()` answer `true` for a server that never accepted a connection.** The pool rejects every worker's submission before its request loop starts, and the parent counted those rejections as workers that had finished their work, so the run read as a clean start followed by a clean stop. `start()` now answers `false` when any worker was rejected, and the parent names the first reason on stderr (`worker did not start: …`). The exception text itself comes from the worker and needs a `true_async` build that reports it.
+
 ## [0.11.2] - 2026-07-15
 
 ### Fixed
diff --git a/src/http_server_class.c b/src/http_server_class.c
index 1c6422d..b97fc27 100644
--- a/src/http_server_class.c
+++ b/src/http_server_class.c
@@ -2214,6 +2214,7 @@ static void http_server_release_worker_shell(zval *transit);
 
 typedef struct {
     int                          pending;     /* workers not yet done */
+    int                          failed;      /* workers whose submission was rejected */
     zend_async_event_t          *all_done;    /* fires when pending == 0 */
     zend_async_event_callback_t  cb;          /* embedded — recovered via offsetof */
 } pool_await_state_t;
@@ -2277,12 +2278,34 @@ static void pool_worker_done_cb(zend_async_event_t *event,
                                 zend_async_event_callback_t *cb,
                                 void *result, zend_object *exception)
 {
-    (void)event; (void)result; (void)exception;
+    (void)event; (void)result;
     /* Callbacks fire on the parent thread (cross-thread wakeup is
      * already serialized by the reactor) — no atomicity needed. */
     pool_await_state_t *st = (pool_await_state_t *)
         ((char *)cb - offsetof(pool_await_state_t, cb));
 
+    /* A rejected submission means pool_worker_handler never ran: the pool failed
+     * the task before any worker could take it (a bootloader that threw, a shell
+     * that would not transfer). The worker-side report in pool_worker_handler
+     * cannot cover this — there is no worker — so the count is what keeps start()
+     * from reporting a server that never accepted a connection as started. */
+    if (UNEXPECTED(exception != NULL)) {
+        st->failed++;
+
+        /* One line per run: N workers of the same pool fail for the same reason,
+         * and the reason itself is already printed by the worker thread. */
+        if (st->failed == 1) {
+            zval *msg_zv = zend_read_property(exception->ce, exception,
+                                              "message", sizeof("message") - 1,
+                                              /*silent=*/1, NULL);
+            fprintf(stderr,
+                "[true-async-server] worker did not start: %s: %s\n",
+                ZSTR_VAL(exception->ce->name),
+                (msg_zv != NULL && Z_TYPE_P(msg_zv) == IS_STRING) ? Z_STRVAL_P(msg_zv) : "");
+            fflush(stderr);
+        }
+    }
+
     if (--st->pending == 0 && st->all_done != NULL) {
         ZEND_ASYNC_CALLBACKS_NOTIFY(st->all_done, NULL, NULL);
     }
@@ -3523,7 +3546,15 @@ static int http_server_start_pool(http_server_object *server,
         }
     }
 
-    rc = (st->pending == 0) ? SUCCESS : FAILURE;
+    /* start() answers "did this server serve": a run where every worker was
+     * rejected before it reached accept() is a failure, however cleanly the
+     * parent's await resolved. */
+    rc = (st->pending == 0 && st->failed == 0) ? SUCCESS : FAILURE;
+
+    if (st->failed > 0) {
+        http_logf_error(&server->log_state, "server.start.failed mode=pool workers=%d",
+                        st->failed);
+    }
 
     /* Workers still serving: the await was cancelled, not resolved
      * (Async\graceful_shutdown()). Nothing in the engine stops a BUSY worker —
diff --git a/tests/phpt/server/core/022-bootloader-failure.phpt b/tests/phpt/server/core/022-bootloader-failure.phpt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..df91455
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/phpt/server/core/022-bootloader-failure.phpt
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+--TEST--
+HttpServer: a bootloader that throws is reported and start() answers false
+--EXTENSIONS--
+true_async_server
+true_async
+--SKIPIF--
+<?php
+if (PHP_OS_FAMILY === 'Windows') die('skip libuv on Windows lacks SO_REUSEPORT');
+?>
+--FILE--
+<?php
+/* A bootloader failure kills every worker before it reaches accept(), so the
+ * server serves nothing: the parent must name the reason and start() must
+ * report failure instead of the success of a run that never happened.
+ *
+ * Reporting the exception itself belongs to the pool and is pinned there
+ * (php-async, tests/thread_pool/080-bootloader_exception_reported.phpt). The
+ * fatal it prints lands in this test's output too, between the lines below,
+ * on any build new enough to carry it. */
+
+use TrueAsync\HttpServer;
+use TrueAsync\HttpServerConfig;
+
+require_once __DIR__ . '/../_free_port.inc';
+
+$config = (new HttpServerConfig())
+    ->addListener('127.0.0.1', tas_free_port())
+    ->setWorkers(2)
+    ->setBootloader(static function (): void {
+        throw new \RuntimeException('boot failed!');
+    });
+
+$server = new HttpServer($config);
+$server->addHttpHandler(function ($req, $res) {
+    $res->setStatusCode(200)->setBody('never served');
+});
+
+var_dump($server->start());
+?>
+--EXPECTF--
+%A[true-async-server] worker did not start: RuntimeException: boot failed!%Abool(false)%A