diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 98c1df7..6a1bc91 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -69,6 +69,13 @@ The API will be available at `http://localhost:3000`.
 
 Push to `main` → GitHub Actions builds the Docker image, pushes to GHCR, then triggers Render to pull and deploy.
 
+### Live Demo
+
+- **API**: [taskforge-api-9i9h.onrender.com](https://taskforge-api-9i9h.onrender.com)
+- **Swagger Docs**: [taskforge-api-9i9h.onrender.com/docs](https://taskforge-api-9i9h.onrender.com/docs)
+
+> **Note:** Hosted on Render's free tier — the service sleeps after 15 minutes of inactivity. If the first request hangs, it's waking up (~30 seconds). Just wait and retry.
+
 ## API documentation
 
 Swagger UI is available at `/docs` once the server is running.
diff --git a/src/app.controller.ts b/src/app.controller.ts
index 6a35fa2..ad65348 100644
--- a/src/app.controller.ts
+++ b/src/app.controller.ts
@@ -1,10 +1,12 @@
 import { Controller, Get } from "@nestjs/common";
 import { AllowAnonymous } from "@thallesp/nestjs-better-auth";
+import { SkipArcjet } from "./common/guards/arcjet-optional.guard.js";
 
 @Controller()
 export class AppController {
   @Get()
   @AllowAnonymous()
+  @SkipArcjet()
   getRoot() {
     return {
       message: "Welcome to the Taskforge API",
diff --git a/src/common/guards/arcjet-optional.guard.ts b/src/common/guards/arcjet-optional.guard.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6482135
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/common/guards/arcjet-optional.guard.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+import type { ArcjetNest } from "@arcjet/nest";
+import { ARCJET, ArcjetGuard } from "@arcjet/nest";
+import {
+  type ExecutionContext,
+  Inject,
+  Injectable,
+  SetMetadata,
+} from "@nestjs/common";
+import { Reflector } from "@nestjs/core";
+
+export const SKIP_ARCJET = "skip_arcjet";
+export const SkipArcjet = () => SetMetadata(SKIP_ARCJET, true);
+
+@Injectable()
+export class ArcjetOptionalGuard extends ArcjetGuard {
+  constructor(
+    @Inject(ARCJET) aj: ArcjetNest,
+    private readonly reflector: Reflector,
+  ) {
+    super(aj);
+  }
+
+  override async canActivate(context: ExecutionContext): Promise<boolean> {
+    const skipArcjet = this.reflector.getAllAndOverride<boolean>(SKIP_ARCJET, [
+      context.getHandler(),
+      context.getClass(),
+    ]);
+
+    if (skipArcjet) {
+      return true;
+    }
+
+    return super.canActivate(context);
+  }
+}
diff --git a/src/lib/security/arcjet.module.ts b/src/lib/security/arcjet.module.ts
index 88c1766..8246b43 100644
--- a/src/lib/security/arcjet.module.ts
+++ b/src/lib/security/arcjet.module.ts
@@ -1,13 +1,16 @@
+import type { ArcjetNest } from "@arcjet/nest";
 import {
-  ArcjetGuard,
+  ARCJET,
   ArcjetModule,
+  cloudflare,
   detectBot,
   shield,
   slidingWindow,
 } from "@arcjet/nest";
 import { Module } from "@nestjs/common";
 import { ConfigService } from "@nestjs/config";
-import { APP_GUARD } from "@nestjs/core";
+import { APP_GUARD, Reflector } from "@nestjs/core";
+import { ArcjetOptionalGuard } from "../../common/guards/arcjet-optional.guard.js";
 
 @Module({
   imports: [
@@ -15,6 +18,7 @@ import { APP_GUARD } from "@nestjs/core";
       isGlobal: true,
       useFactory: (configService: ConfigService) => ({
         key: configService.getOrThrow("ARCJET_KEY"),
+        proxies: [cloudflare()],
         rules: [
           detectBot({
             mode: "LIVE",
@@ -31,6 +35,13 @@ import { APP_GUARD } from "@nestjs/core";
       inject: [ConfigService],
     }),
   ],
-  providers: [{ provide: APP_GUARD, useClass: ArcjetGuard }],
+  providers: [
+    {
+      provide: APP_GUARD,
+      useFactory: (aj: ArcjetNest, reflector: Reflector) =>
+        new ArcjetOptionalGuard(aj, reflector),
+      inject: [ARCJET, Reflector],
+    },
+  ],
 })
 export class ArcjetSecurityModule {}
diff --git a/src/main.ts b/src/main.ts
index 0ac75a2..abbb16e 100644
--- a/src/main.ts
+++ b/src/main.ts
@@ -1,13 +1,17 @@
 import { BadRequestException, ValidationPipe } from "@nestjs/common";
 import { ConfigService } from "@nestjs/config";
 import { NestFactory, Reflector } from "@nestjs/core";
+import type { NestExpressApplication } from "@nestjs/platform-express";
 import { DocumentBuilder, SwaggerModule } from "@nestjs/swagger";
 import { AppModule } from "./app.module.js";
 import { AllExceptionsFilter } from "./common/filters/all-exceptions.filter.js";
 import { TransformInterceptor } from "./common/interceptors/transform.interceptor.js";
 
 async function bootstrap() {
-  const app = await NestFactory.create(AppModule, { bodyParser: false });
+  const app = await NestFactory.create<NestExpressApplication>(AppModule, {
+    bodyParser: false,
+  });
+  app.set("trust proxy", true);
 
   const configService = app.get(ConfigService);