diff --git a/scripts/ha/cluster-init.sh b/scripts/ha/cluster-init.sh
index f222b8f..b61e593 100755
--- a/scripts/ha/cluster-init.sh
+++ b/scripts/ha/cluster-init.sh
@@ -240,25 +240,42 @@ log "Forcing $NODE1 to DRBD Primary for initial sync..."
 drbdadm primary ha-data --force
 
 log "Waiting for DRBD initial sync to complete (32 GB may take 10–20 min)..."
-_sync_spin=0
+log "  (monitor with: watch -n3 cat /proc/drbd)"
 _sync_chars=('|' '/' '-' $'\\')
+_sync_last_pct=""
+_sync_iter=0
+_is_tty=false; [[ -t 1 ]] && _is_tty=true
 while true; do
   _dstate=$(drbdadm dstate ha-data 2>/dev/null || echo "unknown")
   if echo "$_dstate" | grep -q "UpToDate/UpToDate"; then
-    printf "\r%-80s\r" ""  # clear progress line
+    $_is_tty && printf "\r%-80s\r" ""
     log "DRBD initial sync complete (dstate: $_dstate)"
     break
   fi
-  _pct=$(grep -oE "sync'ed: [0-9.]+%" /proc/drbd 2>/dev/null | grep -oE "[0-9.]+" | head -1 || echo "")
-  _eta=$(grep -oE "finish: [0-9:]+" /proc/drbd 2>/dev/null | sed 's/finish: //' | head -1 || echo "")
-  _spd=$(grep -oE "speed: [0-9,]+" /proc/drbd 2>/dev/null | sed 's/speed: //' | head -1 || echo "")
-  _sc="${_sync_chars[$_sync_spin]}"
-  _sync_spin=$(( (_sync_spin + 1) % 4 ))
+  # /proc/drbd uses variable whitespace: "sync'ed:  5.2%" (two spaces).
+  # Use [[:space:]]+ to tolerate any amount of whitespace after the colon.
+  _pct=$(grep -oE "sync'ed:[[:space:]]+[0-9.]+" /proc/drbd 2>/dev/null | grep -oE "[0-9.]+" | head -1 || echo "")
+  _eta=$(grep -oE "finish:[[:space:]]+[0-9:]+" /proc/drbd 2>/dev/null | grep -oE "[0-9:]+$" | head -1 || echo "")
+  _spd=$(grep -oE "speed:[[:space:]]+[0-9,]+" /proc/drbd 2>/dev/null | grep -oE "[0-9,]+$" | head -1 || echo "")
+  _sync_iter=$(( _sync_iter + 1 ))
+  _sc="${_sync_chars[$_sync_iter % 4]}"
+
   if [[ -n "$_pct" ]]; then
-    printf "\r  [%s] syncing: %s%% done — ETA %s @ %s K/s     " \
-      "$_sc" "$_pct" "${_eta:-??:??:??}" "${_spd:-?}"
+    _msg="  [${_sc}] syncing: ${_pct}% done — ETA ${_eta:-??:??:??} @ ${_spd:-?} K/s"
+    if $_is_tty; then
+      printf "\r%-80s" "$_msg"
+    elif [[ "$_pct" != "$_sync_last_pct" ]]; then
+      log "$_msg"
+      _sync_last_pct="$_pct"
+    fi
   else
-    printf "\r  [%s] waiting for sync to start (dstate: %s)     " "$_sc" "$_dstate"
+    # /proc/drbd shows cs:SyncSource but no percent line yet — or something unexpected.
+    _msg="  [${_sc}] dstate: ${_dstate} — waiting for sync progress in /proc/drbd"
+    if $_is_tty; then
+      printf "\r%-80s" "$_msg"
+    elif (( _sync_iter % 5 == 1 )); then
+      log "$_msg"
+    fi
   fi
   sleep 3
 done