diff --git a/docs/devops/single_azure_vm/setup.sh b/docs/devops/single_azure_vm/setup.sh
index 48c3aee6..eb46d6ba 100755
--- a/docs/devops/single_azure_vm/setup.sh
+++ b/docs/devops/single_azure_vm/setup.sh
@@ -543,11 +543,19 @@ setup_compose_env() {
 }
 
 # Build a single compose service image, return 0 on success.
+# Full build log saved to STATE_DIR/builds/<svc>.log for debugging.
 build_one_service() {
   local svc="$1"
   local plat_dir="${INSTALL_DIR}/learning_ai_common_plat"
-  docker compose -f "${plat_dir}/${COMPOSE_FILE}" --env-file "${plat_dir}/.env.ecosystem" \
-    build "$svc" 2>&1 | tail -5
+  local log_file="${STATE_DIR}/builds/${svc}.log"
+  if docker compose -f "${plat_dir}/${COMPOSE_FILE}" --env-file "${plat_dir}/.env.ecosystem" \
+    build "$svc" > "$log_file" 2>&1; then
+    tail -3 "$log_file"
+    return 0
+  else
+    tail -5 "$log_file"
+    return 1
+  fi
 }
 
 phase7_deploy() {
@@ -567,13 +575,19 @@ phase7_deploy() {
   log "  Building ${total} service images individually..."
   echo ""
 
+  # Cache compose config JSON once (avoid calling config 30 times)
+  local compose_json
+  compose_json=$(docker compose -f "${plat_dir}/${COMPOSE_FILE}" \
+    --env-file "${plat_dir}/.env.ecosystem" config --format json 2>/dev/null || true)
+
   for svc in "${all_services[@]}"; do
     idx=$((idx + 1))
 
     # Infrastructure services use pre-built images (no build step)
-    local has_build
-    has_build=$(docker compose -f "${plat_dir}/${COMPOSE_FILE}" config --format json 2>/dev/null \
-      | jq -r ".services.\"${svc}\".build // empty" 2>/dev/null || true)
+    local has_build=""
+    if [ -n "$compose_json" ]; then
+      has_build=$(echo "$compose_json" | jq -r ".services.\"${svc}\".build // empty" 2>/dev/null || true)
+    fi
 
     if [ -z "$has_build" ] || [ "$has_build" = "null" ]; then
       build_skip+=("$svc")
@@ -611,15 +625,19 @@ phase7_deploy() {
   fi
 
   log "  Starting ${#start_services[@]} services..."
+  # Use || true so set -e doesn't abort before we print the summary
   docker compose \
     -f "${plat_dir}/${COMPOSE_FILE}" \
     --env-file "${plat_dir}/.env.ecosystem" \
-    up -d "${start_services[@]}" 2>&1 | tail -10
+    up -d "${start_services[@]}" 2>&1 | tail -10 || true
 
   if [ ${#build_fail[@]} -gt 0 ]; then
+    # Signal to run_phase() that phase 7 should NOT be marked done
+    PHASE7_HAD_FAILURES=1
     warn "Phase 7 complete with ${#build_fail[@]} failed builds: ${build_fail[*]}"
     warn "  Fix and re-run:  sudo ./setup.sh --phase=7"
   else
+    PHASE7_HAD_FAILURES=0
     ok "Phase 7 complete. All ${#start_services[@]} services started."
   fi
 }
@@ -711,6 +729,8 @@ HEALTH
 # ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
 # MAIN
 # ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
+PHASE7_HAD_FAILURES=0
+
 run_phase() {
   local phase_num="$1"
   case "$phase_num" in
@@ -724,6 +744,11 @@ run_phase() {
     8) phase8_verify  ;;
     *) fail "Unknown phase: $phase_num" ;;
   esac
+  # Don't mark phase 7 done if there were build failures (--resume should retry it)
+  if [ "$phase_num" -eq 7 ] && [ "$PHASE7_HAD_FAILURES" -eq 1 ]; then
+    warn "Phase 7 NOT marked done (build failures). --resume will retry it."
+    return
+  fi
   mark_phase_done "$phase_num"
 }
 
@@ -811,6 +836,11 @@ main() {
     log "Running ONLY phase ${only_phase}..."
     restore_gitea_token
     run_phase "$only_phase"
+    if [ "$only_phase" -eq 7 ] && [ "$PHASE7_HAD_FAILURES" -eq 1 ]; then
+      warn "Phase 7 finished with failures. Fix and re-run: sudo ./setup.sh --phase=7"
+      warn "Build logs: ${STATE_DIR}/builds/"
+      exit 1
+    fi
     ok "Phase ${only_phase} complete."
     exit 0
   fi