diff --git a/log.txt b/log.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e69de29
diff --git a/main.go b/main.go
index d1d042d..65b967e 100644
--- a/main.go
+++ b/main.go
@@ -487,8 +487,9 @@ func resumeCrawler(domain string) {
 }
 
 // checkPause is called inside the crawl loop between requests.
-// If a pause signal is pending it blocks until resume arrives.
-func checkPause(domain string, br *Broker) {
+// If a pause signal is pending (or already buffered) it blocks until resume.
+// Returns true if the crawler was paused (and has now resumed).
+func checkPause(domain string, br *Broker) bool {
 	pauseChsMu.RLock()
 	pCh := pauseChs[domain]
 	rCh := resumeChs[domain]
@@ -496,19 +497,53 @@ func checkPause(domain string, br *Broker) {
 
 	select {
 	case <-pCh:
-		setDomainStatus(domain, statusPaused)
-		emit(br, "paused", map[string]string{"domain": domain})
-		log.Printf("[%s] paused", domain)
-		// drain any duplicate pause signals
+		// drain any stacked-up duplicate signals
 		for len(pCh) > 0 {
 			<-pCh
 		}
-		// block until resume
+		setDomainStatus(domain, statusPaused)
+		emit(br, "paused", map[string]string{"domain": domain})
+		log.Printf("[%s] paused", domain)
+		// block until resume signal arrives
 		<-rCh
 		setDomainStatus(domain, statusRunning)
 		emit(br, "resumed", map[string]string{"domain": domain})
 		log.Printf("[%s] resumed", domain)
+		return true
 	default:
+		return false
+	}
+}
+
+// interruptibleSleep sleeps for d but wakes up immediately if a pause signal
+// arrives. Returns true if it was interrupted by a pause (caller should re-queue
+// the current URL and continue the loop so checkPause can block properly).
+func interruptibleSleep(domain string, br *Broker, d time.Duration) bool {
+	pauseChsMu.RLock()
+	pCh := pauseChs[domain]
+	pauseChsMu.RUnlock()
+
+	timer := time.NewTimer(d)
+	defer timer.Stop()
+	select {
+	case <-timer.C:
+		return false
+	case <-pCh:
+		// drain duplicates then block until resumed
+		for len(pCh) > 0 {
+			<-pCh
+		}
+		pauseChsMu.RLock()
+		rCh := resumeChs[domain]
+		pauseChsMu.RUnlock()
+		setDomainStatus(domain, statusPaused)
+		emit(br, "paused", map[string]string{"domain": domain})
+		log.Printf("[%s] paused (during wait)", domain)
+		<-rCh
+		setDomainStatus(domain, statusRunning)
+		emit(br, "resumed", map[string]string{"domain": domain})
+		log.Printf("[%s] resumed", domain)
+		return true
 	}
 }
 
@@ -698,17 +733,18 @@ func crawlDomain(domain string, intervalSec int) {
 			continue
 		}
 
-		// random delay [interval, interval*2]
+		// random delay [interval, interval*2] – interruptible by pause
 		delaySec := intervalSec + rand.Intn(intervalSec+1)
 		emit(br, "waiting", map[string]interface{}{
 			"url":     target,
 			"delay_s": delaySec,
 			"queue":   queueLen(db),
 		})
-		time.Sleep(time.Duration(delaySec) * time.Second)
-
-		// ── pause check after sleep (could have been paused during wait) ──
-		checkPause(domain, br)
+		if paused := interruptibleSleep(domain, br, time.Duration(delaySec)*time.Second); paused {
+			// put the URL back so it is retried after resume
+			enqueueURL(db, target)
+			continue
+		}
 
 		emit(br, "fetching", map[string]string{"url": target})
 		resp, err := httpClient.Get(target)
@@ -1020,16 +1056,22 @@ func main() {
 			if rows.Scan(&d, &iv, &status) != nil {
 				continue
 			}
-			// don't restart completed or paused crawls automatically;
-			// only restart those that were mid-flight (running/pending)
+			// don't restart completed crawls; paused crawls restart but
+			// immediately re-enter pause so the user's choice is preserved.
 			if status == statusDone {
 				continue
 			}
 			crawlersMu.Lock()
 			if !crawlers[d] {
 				crawlers[d] = true
-				// reset status so it shows running
-				setDomainStatus(d, statusPending)
+				if status == statusPaused {
+					// Pre-load a pause signal before the goroutine starts so
+					// the crawler immediately blocks in its pause state.
+					ensurePauseChannels(d)
+					pauseCrawler(d)
+				} else {
+					setDomainStatus(d, statusPending)
+				}
 				go crawlDomain(d, iv)
 			}
 			crawlersMu.Unlock()