diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index e90cd6cd..db2f0138 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -14,7 +14,9 @@ bin/*
 .env.*
 !.env.example
 *.log
-logs/
+# Runtime log output at the repo root only — a bare `logs/` also matched
+# source directories such as src/logs/ and tests/unit/logs/.
+/logs/
 .asar-out/
 tmp/
 .claude/*
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index f79c94ca..0325d0d4 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -8,7 +8,13 @@
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
-> 暂无已记录的变更。
+### Fixed
+
+- 修复 Docker 部署下已有配置卷永远拿不到镜像新增默认文件的问题（#837）:标准版与 Lite 版 entrypoint 此前只在配置目录**完全为空**时从镜像 `/defaults` 复制一次，配置卷一旦被播种过，后续镜像升级新增的配置文件（如 `model-pricing.yaml`）就再也不会进入运行时配置目录——表现为 token 统计正常但估算成本恒为 0，旧版 `models.yaml` 等默认值同样不会更新。现在每次启动都按文件补种:递归 `cp -rn`（no-clobber）只补齐缺失文件，用户改过的文件与旧默认值一概不覆盖，嵌套新增文件（如 `prompts/` 目录内新增的提示词）同样补齐，并输出本次补种文件数;补种失败（目录不可创建或不可写）只告警、不阻断启动。路径可用 `CODEX_ENTRYPOINT_DEFAULTS_DIR` / `CODEX_ENTRYPOINT_CONFIG_DIR` 覆盖。（`docker-entrypoint.sh`、`scripts/docker/lite-entrypoint.sh`、`tests/unit/ci/docker-entrypoint-seed.test.ts`）
+
+- 修复价格表加载失败完全静默、且失败产生的空价格表被进程永久缓存的问题（#837）:`src/logs/metrics.ts` 的 `getCatalog()` 捕获异常后静默把价格表设为 `{}` 并永久缓存，`annotateUsageCost()` 也特意吞掉 ENOENT 警告，用户容易把「价格表没加载」误认为「成本真的是 0」。现在加载失败会带实际文件路径与原因告警（按路径+原因去重、5 分钟冷却，避免每请求刷屏），空表只缓存 60 秒后重试，把缺失文件补进配置卷后无需重启即可恢复计价并输出恢复日志。（`src/auth/usage-pricing.ts`、`src/logs/metrics.ts`、`src/routes/shared/proxy-handler-utils.ts`、`tests/unit/logs/metrics.test.ts`）
+
+> 暂无其他已记录的变更。
 
 ## [v2.1.x](https://github.com/icebear0828/codex-proxy/releases?q=2.1) - 2026-09-01 至 2026-09-07
 
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 0c970c6f..39322e9a 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -798,6 +798,8 @@ for await (const chunk of stream) {
 
 > **重要**：不要直接修改 `config/default.yaml`，该文件会在版本更新时被覆盖。自定义配置请通过 Dashboard 设置面板修改（自动保存到 `data/local.yaml`），或手动创建 `data/local.yaml` 写入需要覆盖的字段。`data/` 目录不受更新影响。
 
+> **Docker 部署的差异**：容器启动时只从镜像内的默认配置**按文件补种**缺失项（`cp -rn`，只补不覆盖）。因此升级镜像后新增的默认配置文件（如 `model-pricing.yaml`）会自动出现在已有配置卷中，而你改过的文件不会被覆盖；反过来说，`config/` 卷里已存在的旧默认值也不会随镜像更新。无论哪种部署方式，自定义配置都请写入 `data/local.yaml`。
+
 ### CORS 允许主机
 
 通过环境变量 `CORS_ALLOWED_HOSTS` 可以配置允许跨域访问的主机列表，对应配置文件中的 `server.cors` 字段。多个主机名用逗号分隔：
diff --git a/docker-entrypoint.sh b/docker-entrypoint.sh
index 9a344e9d..64588929 100644
--- a/docker-entrypoint.sh
+++ b/docker-entrypoint.sh
@@ -15,12 +15,56 @@ if [ -z "${CODEX_ARCH}" ]; then
   export CODEX_ARCH
 fi
 
-# Seed empty config bind mount with defaults from the image
-if [ -d /defaults ] && [ -z "$(ls -A /app/config 2>/dev/null)" ]; then
-  echo "[Init] Config directory is empty — seeding from image defaults"
-  mkdir -p /app/config
-  cp -r /defaults/* /app/config/
+# Seed config defaults from the image into the mounted config volume.
+# Only files the volume is missing are copied, so user edits and previously
+# seeded defaults are never overwritten, while a newer image still delivers
+# the config files it added (e.g. model-pricing.yaml) to an existing volume —
+# the previous "directory is empty" check skipped every volume that had
+# already been seeded once. Implemented as an explicit walk because busybox
+# `cp -rn` skips an existing destination directory whole, which would miss
+# files added inside an existing subdirectory (e.g. prompts/). The path
+# overrides exist so this block can be exercised outside a container.
+# >>> config-seed
+DEFAULTS_DIR="${CODEX_ENTRYPOINT_DEFAULTS_DIR:-/defaults}"
+CONFIG_DIR="${CODEX_ENTRYPOINT_CONFIG_DIR:-/app/config}"
+
+seed_config_defaults() {
+  src_dir="$1"
+  dst_dir="$2"
+  for entry in "$src_dir"/*; do
+    [ -e "$entry" ] || continue
+    name=$(basename "$entry")
+    if [ -d "$entry" ]; then
+      if mkdir -p "$dst_dir/$name" 2>/dev/null; then
+        # Run recursive calls in a subshell: POSIX sh has no portable `local`,
+        # and the child must not overwrite this frame's loop variables.
+        ( seed_config_defaults "$entry" "$dst_dir/$name" )
+      else
+        echo "[Init] WARNING: cannot create $dst_dir/$name — skipping that subtree" >&2
+      fi
+    elif [ ! -e "$dst_dir/$name" ]; then
+      cp "$entry" "$dst_dir/$name" 2>/dev/null || echo "[Init] WARNING: cannot copy $entry to $dst_dir/$name" >&2
+    fi
+  done
+}
+
+if [ -d "$DEFAULTS_DIR" ]; then
+  before=$(find "$CONFIG_DIR" -type f 2>/dev/null | wc -l | tr -d ' ')
+  if mkdir -p "$CONFIG_DIR"; then
+    seed_config_defaults "$DEFAULTS_DIR" "$CONFIG_DIR"
+    after=$(find "$CONFIG_DIR" -type f 2>/dev/null | wc -l | tr -d ' ')
+    seeded=$((after - before))
+    # Stay quiet when there is nothing to do: tooling reads this container's
+    # stdout (e.g. the image smoke test parsing a version), so a no-op start
+    # must not add noise.
+    if [ "$seeded" -gt 0 ]; then
+      echo "[Init] Config defaults: $seeded missing file(s) seeded from the image (existing files preserved)"
+    fi
+  else
+    echo "[Init] WARNING: could not create $CONFIG_DIR — continuing with the existing config volume" >&2
+  fi
 fi
+# <<< config-seed
 
 # Ensure mounted volumes are writable by the node user (UID 1000).
 # When Docker auto-creates bind-mount directories on the host,
diff --git a/scripts/docker/lite-entrypoint.sh b/scripts/docker/lite-entrypoint.sh
index fc5fceb5..27383593 100644
--- a/scripts/docker/lite-entrypoint.sh
+++ b/scripts/docker/lite-entrypoint.sh
@@ -1,13 +1,58 @@
 #!/bin/sh
 set -e
 
-# Seed an empty config bind mount with the image defaults. docker-compose.yml
-# mounts ./config onto /app/config; on a fresh install that directory is empty
-# and shadows the config files baked into the image — without seeding, the
-# server exits on the missing default.yaml.
-if [ -d /defaults ] && [ -z "$(ls -A /app/config 2>/dev/null)" ]; then
-  echo "[Init] Config directory is empty — seeding from image defaults"
-  cp -r /defaults/* /app/config/
+# Seed config defaults from the image into the mounted config volume.
+# docker-compose.yml mounts ./config onto /app/config; on a fresh install that
+# directory is empty and shadows the config files baked into the image —
+# without seeding, the server exits on the missing default.yaml. Only files
+# the volume is missing are copied, so user edits and previously seeded
+# defaults are never overwritten, while a newer image still delivers config
+# files it added (e.g. model-pricing.yaml) to an existing volume — the
+# previous "directory is empty" check skipped every volume that had already
+# been seeded once. Implemented as an explicit walk because busybox `cp -rn`
+# skips an existing destination directory whole, which would miss files added
+# inside an existing subdirectory (e.g. prompts/). The path overrides exist so
+# this block can be exercised outside a container.
+# >>> config-seed
+DEFAULTS_DIR="${CODEX_ENTRYPOINT_DEFAULTS_DIR:-/defaults}"
+CONFIG_DIR="${CODEX_ENTRYPOINT_CONFIG_DIR:-/app/config}"
+
+seed_config_defaults() {
+  src_dir="$1"
+  dst_dir="$2"
+  for entry in "$src_dir"/*; do
+    [ -e "$entry" ] || continue
+    name=$(basename "$entry")
+    if [ -d "$entry" ]; then
+      if mkdir -p "$dst_dir/$name" 2>/dev/null; then
+        # Run recursive calls in a subshell: POSIX sh has no portable `local`,
+        # and the child must not overwrite this frame's loop variables.
+        ( seed_config_defaults "$entry" "$dst_dir/$name" )
+      else
+        echo "[Init] WARNING: cannot create $dst_dir/$name — skipping that subtree" >&2
+      fi
+    elif [ ! -e "$dst_dir/$name" ]; then
+      cp "$entry" "$dst_dir/$name" 2>/dev/null || echo "[Init] WARNING: cannot copy $entry to $dst_dir/$name" >&2
+    fi
+  done
+}
+
+if [ -d "$DEFAULTS_DIR" ]; then
+  before=$(find "$CONFIG_DIR" -type f 2>/dev/null | wc -l | tr -d ' ')
+  if mkdir -p "$CONFIG_DIR"; then
+    seed_config_defaults "$DEFAULTS_DIR" "$CONFIG_DIR"
+    after=$(find "$CONFIG_DIR" -type f 2>/dev/null | wc -l | tr -d ' ')
+    seeded=$((after - before))
+    # Stay quiet when there is nothing to do: tooling reads this container's
+    # stdout (e.g. the image smoke test parsing a version), so a no-op start
+    # must not add noise.
+    if [ "$seeded" -gt 0 ]; then
+      echo "[Init] Config defaults: $seeded missing file(s) seeded from the image (existing files preserved)"
+    fi
+  else
+    echo "[Init] WARNING: could not create $CONFIG_DIR — continuing with the existing config volume" >&2
+  fi
 fi
+# <<< config-seed
 
 exec "$@"
diff --git a/src/auth/usage-pricing.ts b/src/auth/usage-pricing.ts
index 7c538bbf..aad2e669 100644
--- a/src/auth/usage-pricing.ts
+++ b/src/auth/usage-pricing.ts
@@ -61,6 +61,35 @@ export function loadPricingCatalog(configDir = getConfigDir()): PricingCatalog {
   return createPricingCatalog(entries);
 }
 
+const PRICING_WARN_COOLDOWN_MS = 5 * 60_000;
+const lastPricingWarnAt = new Map<string, number>();
+
+/**
+ * Report a pricing-catalog load failure with the resolved file path.
+ *
+ * Missing or invalid pricing used to degrade every estimated cost to zero with
+ * no trace at all (#837); callers that swallow the load error must call this so
+ * the condition is at least visible to the operator. Warnings are deduplicated
+ * per (path, reason), so a caller that retries on every request stays quiet.
+ */
+export function warnPricingLoadFailure(error: unknown, configDir = getConfigDir()): void {
+  const path = resolve(configDir, PRICE_FILE);
+  const reason = error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error);
+  const signature = `${path}|${reason}`;
+  const now = Date.now();
+  const last = lastPricingWarnAt.get(signature);
+  if (last !== undefined && now - last < PRICING_WARN_COOLDOWN_MS) return;
+  lastPricingWarnAt.set(signature, now);
+  console.warn(
+    `[pricing] cannot load ${path}: ${reason} — usage is still recorded, but estimated costs stay unavailable until the file loads`,
+  );
+}
+
+/** Test hook: clear the pricing-warning dedupe state. */
+export function resetPricingLoadWarnings(): void {
+  lastPricingWarnAt.clear();
+}
+
 export function resolveModelPricing(model: string, catalog: PricingCatalog): ModelPricing | null {
   const normalized = model.trim();
   if (!normalized) return null;
diff --git a/src/logs/metrics.ts b/src/logs/metrics.ts
index c0f96c2c..412bb0d2 100644
--- a/src/logs/metrics.ts
+++ b/src/logs/metrics.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { calculateUsageCostUsd, loadPricingCatalog, type PricingCatalog, type UsageCostInput } from "../auth/usage-pricing.js";
+import { calculateUsageCostUsd, loadPricingCatalog, warnPricingLoadFailure, type PricingCatalog, type UsageCostInput } from "../auth/usage-pricing.js";
 import type { UsageInfo } from "../translation/codex-event-extractor.js";
 
 export interface LogMetrics {
@@ -25,20 +25,37 @@ export interface CalculateLogMetricsOptions {
 }
 
 let cachedCatalog: PricingCatalog | null = null;
+/** Epoch ms before which a previously failed load is not retried. */
+let catalogRetryAfter = 0;
+
+const EMPTY_PRICING_CATALOG: PricingCatalog = {};
+const PRICING_RETRY_MS = 60_000;
 
 function getCatalog(): PricingCatalog {
-  if (!cachedCatalog) {
-    try {
-      cachedCatalog = loadPricingCatalog();
-    } catch {
-      cachedCatalog = {};
+  if (cachedCatalog) return cachedCatalog;
+  if (Date.now() < catalogRetryAfter) return EMPTY_PRICING_CATALOG;
+  try {
+    cachedCatalog = loadPricingCatalog();
+    if (catalogRetryAfter !== 0) {
+      catalogRetryAfter = 0;
+      console.info("[pricing] pricing catalog loaded — estimated costs are available again");
     }
+  } catch (err) {
+    // Surface the failure with the actual file path instead of pricing every
+    // request at zero without a trace, and retry after a cooldown rather than
+    // caching the empty fallback for the lifetime of the process: a user can
+    // drop the missing file into the config volume and costs recover without a
+    // restart (#837).
+    warnPricingLoadFailure(err);
+    catalogRetryAfter = Date.now() + PRICING_RETRY_MS;
+    return EMPTY_PRICING_CATALOG;
   }
   return cachedCatalog;
 }
 
 export function resetPricingCatalogCache(): void {
   cachedCatalog = null;
+  catalogRetryAfter = 0;
 }
 
 export function calculateLogMetrics(options: CalculateLogMetricsOptions): LogMetrics {
diff --git a/src/routes/shared/proxy-handler-utils.ts b/src/routes/shared/proxy-handler-utils.ts
index 909881fc..0a6684ed 100644
--- a/src/routes/shared/proxy-handler-utils.ts
+++ b/src/routes/shared/proxy-handler-utils.ts
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ import type { CookieJar } from "../../proxy/cookie-jar.js";
 import type { CodexFingerprintMode } from "../../auth/types.js";
 import type { ProxyPool } from "../../proxy/proxy-pool.js";
 import type { UsageInfo } from "../../translation/codex-event-extractor.js";
-import { calculateUsageCostUsd, loadPricingCatalog, resolveModelPricing } from "../../auth/usage-pricing.js";
+import { calculateUsageCostUsd, loadPricingCatalog, resolveModelPricing, warnPricingLoadFailure } from "../../auth/usage-pricing.js";
 
 let pricingCatalog: ReturnType<typeof loadPricingCatalog> | null = null;
 
@@ -22,11 +22,11 @@ export function annotateUsageCost(model: string | undefined, usage: UsageInfo |
     if (!resolveModelPricing(model, catalog)) return usage;
     estimatedCost = calculateUsageCostUsd(model, usage, catalog);
   } catch (err) {
-    // Test fixtures and minimal deployments may not ship the optional catalog.
-    // Preserve the legacy release payload until pricing data is available.
-    if (err instanceof Error && !err.message.includes("ENOENT")) {
-      console.warn(`[UsagePricing] Failed to calculate cost for model ${model}:`, err.message);
-    }
+    // A missing or invalid catalog is a deployment problem worth surfacing —
+    // it silently turned every estimated cost into zero before (#837). The
+    // warning is deduplicated inside usage-pricing, so the per-request retry
+    // stays quiet while the file is absent.
+    warnPricingLoadFailure(err);
     return usage;
   }
   return { ...usage, model, estimated_cost_usd: estimatedCost };
diff --git a/tests/unit/ci/docker-entrypoint-seed.test.ts b/tests/unit/ci/docker-entrypoint-seed.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..62b42214
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/unit/ci/docker-entrypoint-seed.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,229 @@
+/**
+ * Tests for the config-seed block shared by docker-entrypoint.sh and
+ * scripts/docker/lite-entrypoint.sh (#837).
+ *
+ * Strategy: extract the block between the `config-seed` markers from each real
+ * entrypoint and run it under `sh` with the path overrides pointed at temp
+ * directories — no Docker, /defaults, chown or gosu needed. Running the same
+ * cases against both entrypoints also catches drift between them.
+ */
+
+import { describe, it, expect, afterAll } from "vitest";
+import { execFileSync, spawnSync } from "child_process";
+import { existsSync, mkdtempSync, mkdirSync, writeFileSync, readFileSync, rmSync } from "fs";
+import { dirname, join } from "path";
+import { tmpdir } from "os";
+
+const ENTRYPOINTS = [
+  "docker-entrypoint.sh",
+  "scripts/docker/lite-entrypoint.sh",
+];
+
+const tmpBase = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "entrypoint-seed-"));
+
+/**
+ * A shell that can actually run a script file. The plain `sh -c exit 0` probe
+ * used by other entrypoint tests is not enough on Windows, where `sh` may be
+ * resolvable but unusable — these tests need real script execution.
+ */
+function findShell(): string | null {
+  const probe = join(tmpBase, "probe.sh");
+  writeFileSync(probe, "#!/bin/sh\necho ok\n");
+  for (const candidate of ["/bin/sh", "/usr/bin/sh", "sh"]) {
+    if (candidate.includes("/") && !existsSync(candidate)) continue;
+    try {
+      const out = execFileSync(candidate, [probe], { encoding: "utf-8", timeout: 5000 }).trim();
+      if (out === "ok") return candidate;
+    } catch {
+      // try next candidate
+    }
+  }
+  return null;
+}
+
+const shell = findShell();
+const describeIfShell = shell ? describe : describe.skip;
+
+function extractSeedBlock(file: string): string {
+  const source = readFileSync(file, "utf8");
+  const match = source.match(/# >>> config-seed\r?\n([\s\S]*?)# <<< config-seed/);
+  if (!match) throw new Error(`config-seed block not found in ${file}`);
+  return match[1];
+}
+
+interface SeedFixture {
+  defaultsDir: string;
+  configDir: string;
+}
+
+function makeFixture(options: {
+  defaults: Record<string, string>;
+  config: Record<string, string>;
+  configDirExists?: boolean;
+}): SeedFixture {
+  const root = mkdtempSync(join(tmpBase, "case-"));
+  const defaultsDir = join(root, "defaults");
+  const configDir = join(root, "config");
+  mkdirSync(defaultsDir, { recursive: true });
+  if (options.configDirExists !== false) mkdirSync(configDir, { recursive: true });
+  for (const [rel, content] of Object.entries(options.defaults)) {
+    const target = join(defaultsDir, rel);
+    mkdirSync(dirname(target), { recursive: true });
+    writeFileSync(target, content);
+  }
+  for (const [rel, content] of Object.entries(options.config)) {
+    const target = join(configDir, rel);
+    mkdirSync(dirname(target), { recursive: true });
+    writeFileSync(target, content);
+  }
+  return { defaultsDir, configDir };
+}
+
+function runSeedBlock(entrypoint: string, fixture: SeedFixture): string {
+  if (!shell) throw new Error("sh is not available");
+  const scriptPath = join(tmpBase, `seed-block-${entrypoint.replace(/[\\/]/g, "_")}.sh`);
+  // `set -e` mirrors the entrypoints' own shell options, so a block that would
+  // abort the real entrypoint on a no-op or a failure also fails here.
+  writeFileSync(scriptPath, `#!/bin/sh\nset -e\n${extractSeedBlock(entrypoint)}\n`);
+  const result = spawnSync(shell, [scriptPath], {
+    env: {
+      ...process.env,
+      CODEX_ENTRYPOINT_DEFAULTS_DIR: fixture.defaultsDir,
+      CODEX_ENTRYPOINT_CONFIG_DIR: fixture.configDir,
+    },
+    encoding: "utf-8",
+    timeout: 5000,
+  });
+  if (result.error) throw result.error;
+  if (result.status !== 0) {
+    throw new Error(`seed block exited ${result.status}: ${result.stderr ?? ""}`);
+  }
+  // Warnings go to stderr; return both streams so assertions can see them.
+  return `${result.stdout ?? ""}${result.stderr ?? ""}`;
+}
+
+afterAll(() => {
+  rmSync(tmpBase, { recursive: true, force: true });
+});
+
+describeIfShell.each(ENTRYPOINTS)("config seeding in %s", (entrypoint) => {
+  it("seeds files missing from an existing volume and preserves user-edited files", () => {
+    const fixture = makeFixture({
+      defaults: {
+        "default.yaml": "image: default\n",
+        "model-pricing.yaml": "models: {}\n",
+        "prompts/p.md": "new prompt\n",
+      },
+      config: {
+        "default.yaml": "user-edited: true\n",
+        "prompts/old.md": "old prompt\n",
+      },
+    });
+
+    const out = runSeedBlock(entrypoint, fixture);
+
+    // A file the newer image added reaches the existing volume...
+    expect(readFileSync(join(fixture.configDir, "model-pricing.yaml"), "utf8")).toBe("models: {}\n");
+    // ...nested new files are picked up as well...
+    expect(readFileSync(join(fixture.configDir, "prompts", "p.md"), "utf8")).toBe("new prompt\n");
+    // ...while existing files stay untouched, whether user-edited or an older default.
+    expect(readFileSync(join(fixture.configDir, "default.yaml"), "utf8")).toBe("user-edited: true\n");
+    expect(readFileSync(join(fixture.configDir, "prompts", "old.md"), "utf8")).toBe("old prompt\n");
+    expect(out).toContain("2 missing file(s) seeded");
+  });
+
+  it("keeps root-level files in the config root after a nested directory", () => {
+    const fixture = makeFixture({
+      // The sorted directory is visited before the root-level file.
+      defaults: {
+        "a-prompts/p.md": "nested prompt\n",
+        "z-default.yaml": "root default\n",
+      },
+      config: {},
+    });
+
+    runSeedBlock(entrypoint, fixture);
+
+    expect(readFileSync(join(fixture.configDir, "z-default.yaml"), "utf8")).toBe("root default\n");
+    expect(readFileSync(join(fixture.configDir, "a-prompts", "p.md"), "utf8")).toBe("nested prompt\n");
+    expect(existsSync(join(fixture.configDir, "a-prompts", "z-default.yaml"))).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it("seeds a fully empty volume", () => {
+    const fixture = makeFixture({
+      defaults: { "default.yaml": "d\n", "model-pricing.yaml": "p\n" },
+      config: {},
+    });
+
+    const out = runSeedBlock(entrypoint, fixture);
+
+    expect(readFileSync(join(fixture.configDir, "default.yaml"), "utf8")).toBe("d\n");
+    expect(readFileSync(join(fixture.configDir, "model-pricing.yaml"), "utf8")).toBe("p\n");
+    expect(out).toContain("2 missing file(s) seeded");
+  });
+
+  it("creates the config directory when the mount target does not exist", () => {
+    const fixture = makeFixture({
+      defaults: { "default.yaml": "d\n" },
+      config: {},
+      configDirExists: false,
+    });
+
+    runSeedBlock(entrypoint, fixture);
+
+    expect(readFileSync(join(fixture.configDir, "default.yaml"), "utf8")).toBe("d\n");
+  });
+
+  it("is a no-op when the image defaults are absent", () => {
+    const fixture = makeFixture({
+      defaults: {},
+      config: { "default.yaml": "user\n" },
+    });
+    rmSync(fixture.defaultsDir, { recursive: true, force: true });
+
+    const out = runSeedBlock(entrypoint, fixture);
+
+    expect(out).toBe("");
+    expect(readFileSync(join(fixture.configDir, "default.yaml"), "utf8")).toBe("user\n");
+  });
+
+  it("stays quiet when the volume already has every default file", () => {
+    const fixture = makeFixture({
+      defaults: {
+        "default.yaml": "image: default\n",
+        "model-pricing.yaml": "models: {}\n",
+        "prompts/p.md": "new prompt\n",
+      },
+      config: {
+        "default.yaml": "user-edited: true\n",
+        "model-pricing.yaml": "models: {}\n",
+        "prompts/p.md": "new prompt\n",
+      },
+    });
+
+    const out = runSeedBlock(entrypoint, fixture);
+
+    // Tooling reads this container's stdout (the image smoke test parses a
+    // version out of it), so a no-op start must not print anything.
+    expect(out).toBe("");
+    expect(readFileSync(join(fixture.configDir, "default.yaml"), "utf8")).toBe("user-edited: true\n");
+  });
+
+  it("warns instead of failing when the config volume cannot be created", () => {
+    const fixture = makeFixture({
+      defaults: { "default.yaml": "d\n" },
+      config: {},
+    });
+    // A regular file where the config directory should be: `mkdir -p` fails the
+    // same way on every platform, unlike directory permissions.
+    const blockedRoot = mkdtempSync(join(tmpBase, "blocked-"));
+    const blockerFile = join(blockedRoot, "config-as-a-file");
+    writeFileSync(blockerFile, "file\n");
+    fixture.configDir = blockerFile;
+
+    const out = runSeedBlock(entrypoint, fixture);
+
+    expect(out).toContain("WARNING");
+    expect(readFileSync(blockerFile, "utf8")).toBe("file\n");
+  });
+});
diff --git a/tests/unit/logs/metrics.test.ts b/tests/unit/logs/metrics.test.ts
index d874cf42..3d57fc4d 100644
--- a/tests/unit/logs/metrics.test.ts
+++ b/tests/unit/logs/metrics.test.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,15 @@
-import { describe, it, expect } from "vitest";
-import { calculateLogMetrics } from "../../../src/logs/metrics.js";
-import { createPricingCatalog } from "../../../src/auth/usage-pricing.js";
+import { describe, it, expect, vi, beforeEach, afterEach, type MockInstance } from "vitest";
+import { calculateLogMetrics, resetPricingCatalogCache } from "../../../src/logs/metrics.js";
+import {
+  createPricingCatalog,
+  loadPricingCatalog,
+  resetPricingLoadWarnings,
+} from "../../../src/auth/usage-pricing.js";
+
+vi.mock("../../../src/auth/usage-pricing.js", async (importOriginal) => {
+  const actual = await importOriginal<typeof import("../../../src/auth/usage-pricing.js")>();
+  return { ...actual, loadPricingCatalog: vi.fn(actual.loadPricingCatalog) };
+});
 
 describe("calculateLogMetrics", () => {
   const catalog = createPricingCatalog({
@@ -91,3 +100,81 @@ describe("calculateLogMetrics", () => {
     expect(metrics.costUsd).toBe(0);
   });
 });
+
+describe("pricing catalog diagnostics (#837)", () => {
+  const usage = { input_tokens: 1000, output_tokens: 10 };
+  const realCatalog = createPricingCatalog({
+    "gpt-5.5": {
+      input_usd_per_million: 3.0,
+      cached_input_usd_per_million: 0.75,
+      output_usd_per_million: 15.0,
+    },
+  });
+  const mockedLoad = vi.mocked(loadPricingCatalog);
+  let warnSpy: MockInstance;
+  let infoSpy: MockInstance;
+
+  const missingPricingError = () =>
+    new Error("ENOENT: no such file or directory, open '/app/config/model-pricing.yaml'");
+
+  function pricingWarnings(): string[] {
+    return warnSpy.mock.calls
+      .map(([message]) => String(message))
+      .filter((message) => message.includes("[pricing]"));
+  }
+
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    vi.useFakeTimers();
+    resetPricingCatalogCache();
+    resetPricingLoadWarnings();
+    mockedLoad.mockReset();
+    warnSpy = vi.spyOn(console, "warn").mockImplementation(() => {});
+    infoSpy = vi.spyOn(console, "info").mockImplementation(() => {});
+  });
+
+  afterEach(() => {
+    vi.useRealTimers();
+    warnSpy.mockRestore();
+    infoSpy.mockRestore();
+  });
+
+  it("warns once with the file path when the catalog is missing, and still reports zero cost", () => {
+    mockedLoad.mockImplementation(() => {
+      throw missingPricingError();
+    });
+
+    const metrics = calculateLogMetrics({ startMs: 0, endMs: 1000, model: "gpt-5.5", usage });
+
+    expect(metrics.costUsd).toBe(0);
+    expect(pricingWarnings()).toHaveLength(1);
+    expect(pricingWarnings()[0]).toContain("model-pricing.yaml");
+  });
+
+  it("does not re-read within the retry cooldown, then retries and recovers without a restart", () => {
+    mockedLoad.mockImplementation(() => {
+      throw missingPricingError();
+    });
+
+    calculateLogMetrics({ startMs: 0, endMs: 1000, model: "gpt-5.5", usage });
+    expect(mockedLoad).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+
+    // Still failing and still inside the cooldown: no new read, no new warning.
+    calculateLogMetrics({ startMs: 0, endMs: 1000, model: "gpt-5.5", usage });
+    expect(mockedLoad).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    expect(pricingWarnings()).toHaveLength(1);
+
+    // The operator drops the missing file into the config volume; the first
+    // attempt after the cooldown picks it up without a process restart.
+    vi.setSystemTime(Date.now() + 61_000);
+    mockedLoad.mockImplementation(() => realCatalog);
+    const recovered = calculateLogMetrics({ startMs: 0, endMs: 1000, model: "gpt-5.5", usage });
+
+    expect(mockedLoad).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2);
+    expect(recovered.costUsd).toBeGreaterThan(0);
+    expect(infoSpy.mock.calls.map(([message]) => String(message)).join("\n")).toContain("[pricing]");
+
+    // Once loaded, the catalog is cached again — no further reads.
+    calculateLogMetrics({ startMs: 0, endMs: 1000, model: "gpt-5.5", usage });
+    expect(mockedLoad).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2);
+  });
+});