diff --git a/start.sh b/start.sh
index 5553875..53f8a21 100755
--- a/start.sh
+++ b/start.sh
@@ -45,8 +45,11 @@ bridge:
     
 logging:
     handlers:
+        console:
+            format: json
         file:
             filename: /app/data/mautrix-whatsapp.log
+    level: info
 EOF
         cat > "$REGISTRATION_PATH" << 'EOF'
 id: whatsapp
@@ -100,6 +103,18 @@ EOF
     echo "   5. Authenticate with WhatsApp using QR code scanning"
 else
     echo "=> Using existing configuration"
+    # Fix logging configuration in existing config if needed
+    if [ -f "$CONFIG_PATH" ]; then
+        # Check if config has problematic logging path and fix it
+        if grep -q "filename.*logs/" "$CONFIG_PATH" 2>/dev/null || ! grep -q "/app/data/" "$CONFIG_PATH" 2>/dev/null; then
+            echo "=> Fixing logging configuration in existing config"
+            # Ensure logging goes to the writable /app/data directory
+            yq -i ".logging.handlers.file.filename = \"/app/data/mautrix-whatsapp.log\"" "$CONFIG_PATH" 2>/dev/null || true
+            # Add console logging as well for debugging
+            yq -i ".logging.handlers.console.format = \"json\"" "$CONFIG_PATH" 2>/dev/null || true
+            yq -i ".logging.level = \"info\"" "$CONFIG_PATH" 2>/dev/null || true
+        fi
+    fi
 fi
 
 # Final permission fix before starting
@@ -112,6 +127,7 @@ if [ -f "/run/tls/tls.crt" ] && [ -f "/run/tls/tls.key" ]; then
     yq -i ".appservice.tls_key = \"/run/tls/tls.key\"" "$CONFIG_PATH"
 fi
 
-# Start the bridge
+# Start the bridge from the data directory to ensure relative paths work
 echo "=> Starting mautrix-whatsapp bridge"
+cd /app/data
 exec gosu cloudron:cloudron /app/pkg/mautrix-whatsapp -c "$CONFIG_PATH"
\ No newline at end of file