diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 23d5c75..dacaefc 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -16,13 +16,25 @@ RESOURCE_DIR   := $(CURDIR)/resources/dev
 GUI_ENV_FILE   ?= $(RESOURCE_DIR)/gui.env.example
 API_ENV_FILE   ?= $(RESOURCE_DIR)/api.env.example
 API_DESI_DATA  ?= $(RESOURCE_DIR)/desi_subset.json
-# The API binds here for local dev (see api/src/config.rs); `make run` passes
-# it through and waits for $(API_HEALTH_URL) to respond before launching the
-# GUI, so the renderer never races the API on startup. A bind host of
-# 0.0.0.0 is probed via 127.0.0.1. Adjust API_WAIT_TIMEOUT (seconds) if the
-# API takes longer than 60s to become healthy on a given machine.
+# The API binds here for local dev (see api/src/config.rs); `make run` waits
+# for $(API_HEALTH_URL) to respond before launching the GUI, so the renderer
+# never races the API on startup. A bind host of 0.0.0.0 is probed via
+# 127.0.0.1. Adjust API_WAIT_TIMEOUT (seconds) if the API takes longer than
+# 60s to become healthy on a given machine.
+#
+# API_BIND_ADDR is only forwarded to the API when the user sets it explicitly
+# (command line / environment). When it is left unset, the API reads it from
+# $(API_ENV_FILE) (dotenvy applies env-file values that aren't already in the
+# process environment), so the Makefile must not inject its own default here
+# or it would shadow the env file. The effective bind address is read back
+# from $(API_ENV_FILE) so the health check always polls the right port.
 API_BIND_ADDR    ?= 127.0.0.1:8080
-API_HEALTH_URL   := http://$(subst 0.0.0.0,127.0.0.1,$(API_BIND_ADDR))/health
+API_BIND_EXPLICIT  := $(filter command line environment,$(origin API_BIND_ADDR))
+API_BIND_FROM_FILE := $(if $(API_BIND_EXPLICIT),,$(shell \
+	grep -E '^[[:space:]]*API_BIND_ADDR[[:space:]]*=' '$(API_ENV_FILE)' 2>/dev/null | \
+	tail -n 1 | sed 's/^[[:space:]]*API_BIND_ADDR[[:space:]]*=[[:space:]]*//; s/[[:space:]]*#.*$$//'))
+API_BIND_EFFECTIVE := $(if $(API_BIND_EXPLICIT),$(API_BIND_ADDR),$(or $(API_BIND_FROM_FILE),$(API_BIND_ADDR)))
+API_HEALTH_URL   := http://$(subst 0.0.0.0,127.0.0.1,$(API_BIND_EFFECTIVE))/health
 API_WAIT_TIMEOUT ?= 60
 
 .PHONY: help setup run run-web build build-debug build-web test clean fmt \
@@ -48,7 +60,7 @@ setup: ## Setup all sub-projects (submodules, gui deps, api deps, infra deps)
 ## ---- Renderer (Odin) -----------------------------------------------------
 
 run: ## Run the native app (gui/); waits for the API to be healthy first
-	@API_ENV_FILE="$(API_ENV_FILE)" API_DESI_DATA="$(API_DESI_DATA)" API_BIND_ADDR="$(API_BIND_ADDR)" $(MAKE) -C $(API) run & api_pid=$$!; \
+	@API_ENV_FILE="$(API_ENV_FILE)" API_DESI_DATA="$(API_DESI_DATA)" $(if $(API_BIND_EXPLICIT),API_BIND_ADDR="$(API_BIND_ADDR)",) $(MAKE) -C $(API) run & api_pid=$$!; \
 	trap 'kill $$api_pid 2>/dev/null' INT TERM EXIT; \
 	$(MAKE) api-wait || { kill $$api_pid 2>/dev/null; exit 1; }; \
 	GUI_ENV_FILE="$(GUI_ENV_FILE)" $(MAKE) -C $(GUI) run; \
@@ -66,7 +78,7 @@ build-web: ## WebAssembly build -> build/web (gui/, needs emscripten)
 	@$(MAKE) -C $(GUI) build-web
 
 run-web: ## Start WASM build + API server for web dev (waits for API health)
-	@API_ENV_FILE="$(API_ENV_FILE)" API_DESI_DATA="$(API_DESI_DATA)" API_BIND_ADDR="$(API_BIND_ADDR)" $(MAKE) -C $(API) run & api_pid=$$!; \
+	@API_ENV_FILE="$(API_ENV_FILE)" API_DESI_DATA="$(API_DESI_DATA)" $(if $(API_BIND_EXPLICIT),API_BIND_ADDR="$(API_BIND_ADDR)",) $(MAKE) -C $(API) run & api_pid=$$!; \
 	trap 'kill $$api_pid 2>/dev/null' INT TERM EXIT; \
 	$(MAKE) api-wait || { kill $$api_pid 2>/dev/null; exit 1; }; \
 	GUI_ENV_FILE="$(GUI_ENV_FILE)" $(MAKE) -C $(GUI) build-web; \
diff --git a/gui/lib/local/http/src/http.odin b/gui/lib/local/http/src/http.odin
index 752da5b..df10d03 100644
--- a/gui/lib/local/http/src/http.odin
+++ b/gui/lib/local/http/src/http.odin
@@ -1,12 +1,14 @@
 package http
 
 import "core:fmt"
+import "core:log"
 import "core:net"
 import "core:strconv"
 import "core:strings"
 import "core:time"
 
 DEFAULT_HTTP_PORT :: 80
+DEFAULT_HTTPS_PORT :: 443
 MAX_REDIRECTS :: 5
 HTTP_TIMEOUT :: 5 * time.Second
 
@@ -33,27 +35,31 @@ Error_Code :: enum int {
 	Too_Many_Redirects,
 }
 
-error_make :: proc(code: Error_Code) -> ^Error {
+error_make :: proc(code: Error_Code, msg: string = "") -> ^Error {
 	err := new(Error)
 	err.code = int(code)
+	err.message = msg
 
-	switch code {
-	case .Invalid_Url:
-		err.message = "invalid url"
-	case .Dial_Failed:
-		err.message = "could not connect to host"
-	case .Send_Failed:
-		err.message = "could not send request"
-	case .Invalid_Response:
-		err.message = "could not parse response"
-	case .Invalid_Redirect:
-		err.message = "invalid redirect"
-	case .Invalid_Chunked:
-		err.message = "invalid chunked response"
-	case .Too_Many_Redirects:
-		err.message = "too many redirects"
+	if msg == "" {
+		switch code {
+		case .Invalid_Url:
+			err.message = "invalid url"
+		case .Dial_Failed:
+			err.message = "could not connect to host"
+		case .Send_Failed:
+			err.message = "could not send request"
+		case .Invalid_Response:
+			err.message = "could not parse response"
+		case .Invalid_Redirect:
+			err.message = "invalid redirect"
+		case .Invalid_Chunked:
+			err.message = "invalid chunked response"
+		case .Too_Many_Redirects:
+			err.message = "too many redirects"
+		}
 	}
 
+
 	return err
 }
 
@@ -83,12 +89,12 @@ http_get :: proc(url: string) -> (resp: Response, err: ^Error) {
 }
 
 perform_request :: proc(url: string) -> (next_url: string, resp: Response, err: ^Error) {
-	host, port, path, parse_ok := parse_http_url(url)
+	_, host, port, path, parse_ok := parse_http_url(url)
 	if !parse_ok {
 		return "", {}, error_make(.Invalid_Url)
 	}
 
-	conn, dial_err := net.dial_tcp_from_hostname_with_port_override(host, port)
+	conn, dial_err := net.dial_tcp_from_host_or_endpoint(net.Host{host, port})
 	if dial_err != nil {
 		return "", {}, error_make(.Dial_Failed)
 	}
@@ -214,12 +220,21 @@ parse_status_code :: proc(status_line: string) -> int {
 	return code if ok else 0
 }
 
-parse_http_url :: proc(url: string) -> (host: string, port: int, path: string, ok: bool) {
-	if strings.has_prefix(url, "https://") || !strings.has_prefix(url, "http://") {
-		return "", 0, "", false
+parse_http_url :: proc(
+	url: string,
+) -> (
+	scheme: string,
+	host: string,
+	port: int,
+	path: string,
+	ok: bool,
+) {
+	if !strings.has_prefix(url, "https://") && !strings.has_prefix(url, "http://") {
+		return "", "", 0, "", false
 	}
 
-	rest := url[len("http://"):]
+	https := strings.has_prefix(url, "https://")
+	rest := url[https ? len("https://") : len("http://"):]
 	host_and_port := rest
 	if slash := strings.index_byte(rest, '/'); slash >= 0 {
 		host_and_port = rest[:slash]
@@ -229,20 +244,20 @@ parse_http_url :: proc(url: string) -> (host: string, port: int, path: string, o
 	}
 
 	host = host_and_port
-	port = DEFAULT_HTTP_PORT
+	port = https ? DEFAULT_HTTPS_PORT : DEFAULT_HTTP_PORT
 	if colon := strings.last_index_byte(host_and_port, ':'); colon >= 0 {
 		parsed, p_ok := strconv.parse_int(host_and_port[colon + 1:])
 		if !p_ok {
-			return "", 0, "", false
+			return "", "", 0, "", false
 		}
 		host = host_and_port[:colon]
 		port = parsed
 	}
 
 	if host == "" {
-		return "", 0, "", false
+		return "", "", 0, "", false
 	}
-	return host, port, path, true
+	return https ? "https" : "http", host, port, path, true
 }
 
 resolve_redirect :: proc(base_url, location: string) -> string {
@@ -308,4 +323,5 @@ fold_eq :: proc(a, b: string) -> bool {
 		if ca != cb do return false
 	}
 	return true
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+}
+
diff --git a/gui/lib/local/http/test/http_test.odin b/gui/lib/local/http/test/http_test.odin
index 13868ce..46a6959 100644
--- a/gui/lib/local/http/test/http_test.odin
+++ b/gui/lib/local/http/test/http_test.odin
@@ -9,7 +9,8 @@ import "core:thread"
 import http "../src"
 
 SERVER_BODY :: "hello world"
-SERVER_RESPONSE := "HTTP/1.1 200 OK\r\nContent-Type: text/plain\r\n" +
+SERVER_RESPONSE :=
+	"HTTP/1.1 200 OK\r\nContent-Type: text/plain\r\n" +
 	"Content-Length: 11\r\n" +
 	"Connection: close\r\n\r\n" +
 	SERVER_BODY
@@ -57,7 +58,9 @@ test_http_get_request :: proc(t: ^testing.T) {
 		return
 	}
 
-	args: Serve_Args = {listener = listener}
+	args: Serve_Args = {
+		listener = listener,
+	}
 	server_thread := thread.create_and_start_with_data(&args, serve_proc)
 	defer thread.destroy(server_thread)
 
@@ -66,11 +69,81 @@ test_http_get_request :: proc(t: ^testing.T) {
 
 	log.infof("requesting %s", url)
 	resp, req_err := http.http_get(url)
-	if !testing.expect(t, req_err == nil, "http_get returned an error") {
+	if !testing.expectf(t, req_err == nil, "http_get returned an error: %w", req_err) {
 		return
 	}
 	defer delete(resp.body)
 
 	testing.expectf(t, resp.status == 200, "expected status 200, got %d", resp.status)
 	testing.expectf(t, resp.body == SERVER_BODY, "expected %q, got %q", SERVER_BODY, resp.body)
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+}
+
+@(test)
+test_http_parse_url :: proc(t: ^testing.T) {
+	testURL :: struct {
+		url:            string,
+		expectedScheme: string,
+		expectedOK:     bool,
+		expectedHost:   string,
+		expectedPort:   int,
+		expectedPath:   string,
+	}
+
+	testURLs := []testURL {
+		{"http://localhost:8080", "http", true, "localhost", 8080, "/"},
+		{"http://localhost", "http", true, "localhost", 80, "/"},
+		{"https://localhost:443", "https", true, "localhost", 443, "/"},
+		{"https://localhost", "https", true, "localhost", 443, "/"},
+		{"http://test:6969", "http", true, "test", 6969, "/"},
+		{
+			"http://localhost:3000/api/v1/catalogs",
+			"http",
+			true,
+			"localhost",
+			3000,
+			"/api/v1/catalogs",
+		},
+	}
+
+
+	for tu in testURLs {
+		scheme, host, port, path, ok := http.parse_http_url(tu.url)
+
+		testing.expectf(
+			t,
+			ok == tu.expectedOK,
+			"expected ok from parsing to be %v but got %v",
+			tu.expectedOK,
+			ok,
+		)
+		testing.expectf(
+			t,
+			host == tu.expectedHost,
+			"expected host url to be '%s' but got '%s'",
+			tu.expectedHost,
+			host,
+		)
+		testing.expectf(
+			t,
+			scheme == tu.expectedScheme,
+			"expected scheme to be '%s' but got '%s'",
+			tu.expectedScheme,
+			scheme,
+		)
+		testing.expectf(
+			t,
+			port == tu.expectedPort,
+			"expected port to be %d but got %d",
+			tu.expectedPort,
+			port,
+		)
+		testing.expectf(
+			t,
+			path == tu.expectedPath,
+			"expected path to be '%s' but got '%s'",
+			tu.expectedPath,
+			path,
+		)
+	}
+}
+
diff --git a/gui/src/data.odin b/gui/src/data.odin
index da6b62c..258615a 100644
--- a/gui/src/data.odin
+++ b/gui/src/data.odin
@@ -83,7 +83,10 @@ request_json_array :: proc(
 	defer delete(resp.body)
 
 	if resp.status != 200 {
-		return nil, json.Null(nil), api_error(resp.status, strings.clone(strings.trim_space(resp.body))), false
+		return nil,
+			json.Null(nil),
+			api_error(resp.status, strings.clone(strings.trim_space(resp.body))),
+			false
 	}
 
 	log.debugf("got %s => %s", url, resp.body)
@@ -105,6 +108,8 @@ get_catalogs :: proc(base_url: string) -> ([dynamic]Catalog, ^APIError) {
 	url := endpoint(base_url, "/api/v1/catalogs")
 	defer delete(url)
 
+	log.infof("getting catalogs from url: %s", url)
+
 	arr, val, err, ok := request_json_array(url)
 	if !ok {
 		return nil, err
@@ -157,7 +162,7 @@ catalog_from_json :: proc(v: json.Value) -> (c: Catalog, ok: bool) {
 	if !is_obj {
 		return {}, false
 	}
-	c = Catalog{
+	c = Catalog {
 		name    = json_string(obj, "name"),
 		release = json_string(obj, "release"),
 	}
@@ -177,14 +182,15 @@ catalog_object_from_json :: proc(v: json.Value) -> (o: CatalogObject, ok: bool)
 	if !is_obj {
 		return {}, false
 	}
-	return CatalogObject{
-		id          = json_string(obj, "id"),
-		catalog     = json_string(obj, "catalog"),
-		object_type = json_string(obj, "object_type"),
-		ra          = json_f64(obj, "ra"),
-		dec         = json_f64(obj, "dec"),
-		redshift    = json_f64(obj, "redshift"),
-	}, true
+	return CatalogObject {
+			id = json_string(obj, "id"),
+			catalog = json_string(obj, "catalog"),
+			object_type = json_string(obj, "object_type"),
+			ra = json_f64(obj, "ra"),
+			dec = json_f64(obj, "dec"),
+			redshift = json_f64(obj, "redshift"),
+		},
+		true
 }
 
 json_string :: proc(obj: json.Object, key: string) -> string {
@@ -218,4 +224,5 @@ json_u64 :: proc(obj: json.Object, key: string) -> (u64, bool) {
 		}
 	}
 	return 0, false
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+}
+
diff --git a/gui/src/main.odin b/gui/src/main.odin
index 92d8079..dc8b750 100644
--- a/gui/src/main.odin
+++ b/gui/src/main.odin
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ package main
 
 import "base:runtime"
 import "core:fmt"
+import "core:log"
 import "core:math"
 import "core:math/rand"
 import "core:os"
@@ -51,6 +52,8 @@ main :: proc() {
 	c: ^Config
 	err: ^Error
 
+	context.logger = log.create_console_logger()
+	defer log.destroy_console_logger(context.logger)
 	s := os.get_env("GUI_ENV_FILE", context.temp_allocator)
 
 	if c, err = get_config(&s); err != nil {
@@ -82,7 +85,7 @@ main :: proc() {
 }
 
 make_app :: proc(c: ^Config) -> App {
-	a := App{
+	a := App {
 		screen           = .Start,
 		selected_catalog = -1,
 	}
@@ -90,7 +93,10 @@ make_app :: proc(c: ^Config) -> App {
 	a.region = strings.builder_make()
 	a.status = strings.builder_make()
 	strings.write_string(&a.api_url, c.api_url)
-	strings.write_string(&a.status, "Set the API URL, press Refresh, pick a catalog, then Explore.")
+	strings.write_string(
+		&a.status,
+		"Set the API URL, press Refresh, pick a catalog, then Explore.",
+	)
 	return a
 }
 
@@ -106,10 +112,10 @@ destroy_app :: proc(a: ^App) {
 
 make_camera :: proc() -> rl.Camera3D {
 	return {
-		position   = {0, 220, 220},
-		target     = {0, 0, 0},
-		up         = {0, 1, 0},
-		fovy       = 60,
+		position = {0, 220, 220},
+		target = {0, 0, 0},
+		up = {0, 1, 0},
+		fovy = 60,
 		projection = .PERSPECTIVE,
 	}
 }
@@ -209,4 +215,5 @@ draw :: proc() {
 		16,
 		{120, 120, 140, 255},
 	)
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+}
+