diff --git a/docs/QUICKSTART.md b/docs/QUICKSTART.md
index 1a67c41..72f6ac2 100644
--- a/docs/QUICKSTART.md
+++ b/docs/QUICKSTART.md
@@ -96,7 +96,7 @@ Or manually:
 
 ```powershell
 $env:CORS_ORIGINS = "http://localhost:8080,http://localhost:5173,http://localhost:3000"
-uvicorn api.main:app --reload --port 8000
+uvicorn api.main:app --reload --reload-dir api --port 8000
 ```
 
 Verify it's running: open `http://localhost:8000/api/health` — should return
diff --git a/scripts/start-api.ps1 b/scripts/start-api.ps1
index c281502..882740f 100644
--- a/scripts/start-api.ps1
+++ b/scripts/start-api.ps1
@@ -40,4 +40,6 @@ if ($busy) {
 Set-Location (Join-Path $PSScriptRoot "..")
 $host.UI.RawUI.WindowTitle = "API (port 8000)"
 Write-Host "API starting on http://localhost:8000  (docs: /docs)" -ForegroundColor Green
-python -m uvicorn api.main:app --reload --port 8000
+# #118: watch only api/ for code changes. Watching the whole repo meant a OneDrive
+# sync anywhere in the folder could restart (or stop) the API.
+python -m uvicorn api.main:app --reload --reload-dir api --port 8000