diff --git a/delphi-backend/UMainForm.pas b/delphi-backend/UMainForm.pas
index cabb1f5..e46a6b0 100644
--- a/delphi-backend/UMainForm.pas
+++ b/delphi-backend/UMainForm.pas
@@ -342,7 +342,18 @@ begin
       FreeAndNil(configList);
     end;
   end;
-  btnStartClick(Nil);
+  // Starting the server (DB open + Indy bind + WebView2 navigation) is what
+  // makes FormCreate run for ~1 s. The FMX taskbar proxy is created somewhere
+  // inside that second, and since the thread never pumps a message while it
+  // runs, nothing can hide the proxy until it is over — that is the taskbar
+  // button sitting there during the Windows logon.
+  //
+  // On a --tray launch, do it AFTER the tray hide instead: FormCreate then
+  // returns in milliseconds, MinimizeToTray runs immediately, and the proxy is
+  // gone before it can be drawn. A normal launch is unchanged (the window is
+  // meant to be on screen anyway, so ordering does not matter there).
+  if not FindCmdLineSwitch('tray', True) then
+    btnStartClick(Nil);
   btnToggleLogClick(nil);
 
   // CLI flag --tray (set by the "Start with Windows" registry entry):
@@ -361,6 +372,8 @@ begin
       procedure
       begin
         FBridge.MinimizeToTray;
+        // Hidden now — safe to pay the startup cost.
+        btnStartClick(Nil);
         GTrayStartupPending := False;
         if FShowEventHook <> 0 then
         begin