diff --git a/src/widgets/ServicePickerModal.ts b/src/widgets/ServicePickerModal.ts
index 792f0e4..b63842c 100644
--- a/src/widgets/ServicePickerModal.ts
+++ b/src/widgets/ServicePickerModal.ts
@@ -262,8 +262,10 @@ export class ServicePickerModal {
 
     const service = this.filteredServices[selectedIndex]
 
-    // Only allow starting 'available' services
-    if (service.status !== 'available') {
+    // Allow starting: pending (not started), available (marked as available), failed (retry)
+    // Disallow: starting, running, healthy (already running), skipped
+    const canStart = service.status === 'pending' || service.status === 'available' || service.status === 'failed'
+    if (!canStart) {
       this.updateStatusBar(`Service ${service.id} is ${service.status}, cannot start`)
       return
     }