diff --git a/routes/version.js b/routes/version.js
index 21ee502..cee2fd2 100644
--- a/routes/version.js
+++ b/routes/version.js
@@ -4,16 +4,65 @@ const moment = require("moment-timezone");
 
 const router = express.Router();
 
-let latestCommitCache = null;
-let lastFetchedTime = 0;
 const CACHE_DURATION = 5 * 60 * 1000; // 5 minutes in milliseconds
+const TIMEZONE = "America/New_York";
+
+// Cache is stored in the exact response shape expected by the client.
+let latestCommitCache = null;
+
+// Avoid noisy logs when GitHub isn't configured or is temporarily unavailable.
+let lastLogTime = 0;
+const LOG_THROTTLE_MS = 60 * 60 * 1000; // 1h
+
+function nowFormatted() {
+  return moment(Date.now()).tz(TIMEZONE).format("YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm:ss");
+}
+
+function getGitHubConfig() {
+  const owner = typeof process.env.GITHUB_OWNER === "string" ? process.env.GITHUB_OWNER.trim() : "";
+  const repo = typeof process.env.GITHUB_REPO === "string" ? process.env.GITHUB_REPO.trim() : "";
+  return { owner, repo, configured: !!owner && !!repo };
+}
+
+function getPackageVersion() {
+  try {
+    // routes/version.js -> ../package.json
+    const pkg = require("../package.json");
+    return typeof pkg?.version === "string" && pkg.version.trim() ? pkg.version.trim() : "dev";
+  } catch (_) {
+    return "dev";
+  }
+}
+
+function setFallbackCache(message, { configured } = { configured: false }) {
+  latestCommitCache = {
+    version: getPackageVersion(),
+    message: message || "Version info not available.",
+    author: "",
+    date: nowFormatted(),
+    configured: !!configured,
+    source: "fallback",
+  };
+}
+
+function logThrottled(...args) {
+  const t = Date.now();
+  if (t - lastLogTime < LOG_THROTTLE_MS) return;
+  lastLogTime = t;
+  // eslint-disable-next-line no-console
+  console.error(...args);
+}
 
 async function fetchLatestCommitFromGitHub() {
-  const githubOwner = process.env.GITHUB_OWNER;
-  const githubRepo = process.env.GITHUB_REPO;
+  const { owner, repo, configured } = getGitHubConfig();
+  if (!configured) {
+    // Never attempt GitHub calls if not configured.
+    setFallbackCache("Version endpoint is not configured.", { configured: false });
+    return;
+  }
 
   try {
-    const url = `https://api.github.com/repos/${githubOwner}/${githubRepo}/commits`;
+    const url = `https://api.github.com/repos/${owner}/${repo}/commits`;
     const response = await axios.get(url, {
       headers: {
         "Content-Type": "application/json",
@@ -23,40 +72,44 @@ async function fetchLatestCommitFromGitHub() {
     if (response.data && response.data.length > 0) {
       const latestCommit = response.data[0];
       latestCommitCache = {
-        sha: latestCommit.sha,
-        message: latestCommit.commit.message,
-        author: latestCommit.commit.author.name,
-        date: latestCommit.commit.author.date,
+        version: String(latestCommit.sha || "").substring(0, 5),
+        message: latestCommit?.commit?.message || "",
+        author: latestCommit?.commit?.author?.name || "",
+        date: moment(latestCommit?.commit?.author?.date || Date.now())
+          .tz(TIMEZONE)
+          .format("YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm:ss"),
+        configured: true,
+        source: "github",
       };
-      lastFetchedTime = Date.now();
     } else {
       throw new Error("No commits found.");
     }
   } catch (error) {
-    console.error("Error fetching commit:", error.message);
+    // Keep serving a non-500 response, and don't spam logs.
+    logThrottled("Error fetching commit:", error?.message || error);
+    setFallbackCache("GitHub commit data is not available.", { configured: true });
   }
 }
 
-// Initial fetch to populate cache
-fetchLatestCommitFromGitHub();
-
-// Refresh cache every 5 minutes
-setInterval(fetchLatestCommitFromGitHub, CACHE_DURATION);
+// Initialize cache (without crashing / spamming when not configured).
+const initialCfg = getGitHubConfig();
+if (!initialCfg.configured) {
+  setFallbackCache("Version endpoint is not configured.", { configured: false });
+} else {
+  fetchLatestCommitFromGitHub();
+  const timer = setInterval(fetchLatestCommitFromGitHub, CACHE_DURATION);
+  // Don't keep the process alive just for this polling.
+  if (typeof timer.unref === "function") timer.unref();
+}
 
 // Route to get the latest commit (cached)
 router.get("/", async (req, res) => {
+  // Always return something (client clears footer on non-2xx).
   if (!latestCommitCache) {
-    return res.status(500).json({ message: "Commit data is not available yet." });
+    const cfg = getGitHubConfig();
+    setFallbackCache("Version info not available.", { configured: cfg.configured });
   }
-
-  res.json({
-    version: latestCommitCache.sha.substring(0, 5),
-    message: latestCommitCache.message,
-    author: latestCommitCache.author,
-    date: moment(latestCommitCache.date)
-      .tz("America/New_York")
-      .format("YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm:ss"),
-  });
+  return res.status(200).json(latestCommitCache);
 });
 
 module.exports = router;
\ No newline at end of file