diff --git a/dashcaddy-api/src/utils/async-handler.js b/dashcaddy-api/src/utils/async-handler.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b4960c7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/dashcaddy-api/src/utils/async-handler.js
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+/**
+ * Async handler wrapper - Eliminates try/catch boilerplate
+ */
+const { AppError } = require('../../errors');
+
+/**
+ * Wrap async route handlers - catches errors and logs them
+ */
+function asyncHandler(logError, fn, context) {
+  return async (req, res, next) => {
+    try {
+      await fn(req, res, next);
+    } catch (error) {
+      // Let typed errors propagate to global error handler
+      if (error instanceof AppError) {
+        return next(error);
+      }
+      
+      await logError(context || req.path, error);
+      
+      if (!res.headersSent) {
+        const { errorResponse } = require('./responses');
+        const { safeErrorMessage } = require('./logging');
+        errorResponse(res, 500, safeErrorMessage(error));
+      }
+    }
+  };
+}
+
+module.exports = { asyncHandler };
diff --git a/dashcaddy-api/src/utils/http.js b/dashcaddy-api/src/utils/http.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c489095
--- /dev/null
+++ b/dashcaddy-api/src/utils/http.js
@@ -0,0 +1,80 @@
+/**
+ * HTTP utilities - Fetch helpers and HTTP operations
+ */
+const http = require('http');
+const { TIMEOUTS } = require('../../constants');
+
+/**
+ * Fetch with automatic timeout
+ * Drop-in replacement for fetch() with AbortSignal timeout
+ */
+function fetchT(url, opts = {}, timeoutMs = TIMEOUTS.HTTP_DEFAULT) {
+  // Caddy admin API rejects Node.js undici fetch - use raw http.request
+  if (url.includes(':2019')) {
+    return _httpFetch(url, opts, timeoutMs);
+  }
+  
+  if (!opts.signal) {
+    opts = { ...opts, signal: AbortSignal.timeout(timeoutMs) };
+  }
+  delete opts.timeout;
+  return fetch(url, opts);
+}
+
+/**
+ * Raw http.request wrapper for Caddy admin API
+ */
+function _httpFetch(url, opts = {}, timeoutMs = TIMEOUTS.HTTP_DEFAULT) {
+  return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
+    const parsed = new URL(url);
+    const options = {
+      hostname: parsed.hostname,
+      port: parsed.port || 2019,
+      path: parsed.pathname + parsed.search,
+      method: (opts.method || 'GET').toUpperCase(),
+      headers: { ...opts.headers },
+      timeout: timeoutMs,
+    };
+    
+    if (opts.body) {
+      options.headers['Content-Length'] = Buffer.byteLength(opts.body);
+    }
+    
+    const MAX_RESPONSE_SIZE = 10 * 1024 * 1024; // 10MB
+    const req = http.request(options, (res) => {
+      let data = '';
+      let size = 0;
+      
+      res.on('data', chunk => {
+        size += chunk.length;
+        if (size > MAX_RESPONSE_SIZE) {
+          res.destroy();
+          reject(new Error(`Response from ${url} exceeded ${MAX_RESPONSE_SIZE} bytes`));
+          return;
+        }
+        data += chunk;
+      });
+      
+      res.on('end', () => {
+        resolve({
+          ok: res.statusCode >= 200 && res.statusCode < 300,
+          status: res.statusCode,
+          statusText: res.statusMessage,
+          json: () => Promise.resolve(JSON.parse(data)),
+          text: () => Promise.resolve(data),
+          headers: { get: (k) => res.headers[k.toLowerCase()] },
+        });
+      });
+    });
+    
+    req.on('timeout', () => {
+      req.destroy();
+      reject(new Error(`Request to ${url} timed out after ${timeoutMs}ms`));
+    });
+    req.on('error', reject);
+    if (opts.body) req.write(opts.body);
+    req.end();
+  });
+}
+
+module.exports = { fetchT };
diff --git a/dashcaddy-api/src/utils/index.js b/dashcaddy-api/src/utils/index.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..26010de
--- /dev/null
+++ b/dashcaddy-api/src/utils/index.js
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+/**
+ * Utilities index - Re-export all utility modules
+ */
+const { fetchT } = require('./http');
+const { LOG_LEVELS, createLogger, logError, safeErrorMessage } = require('./logging');
+const { errorResponse, ok } = require('./responses');
+const { asyncHandler } = require('./async-handler');
+
+module.exports = {
+  // HTTP
+  fetchT,
+  
+  // Logging
+  LOG_LEVELS,
+  createLogger,
+  logError,
+  safeErrorMessage,
+  
+  // Responses
+  errorResponse,
+  ok,
+  
+  // Async handling
+  asyncHandler,
+};
diff --git a/dashcaddy-api/src/utils/logging.js b/dashcaddy-api/src/utils/logging.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7b1a880
--- /dev/null
+++ b/dashcaddy-api/src/utils/logging.js
@@ -0,0 +1,119 @@
+/**
+ * Logging utilities - Structured logging and error handling
+ */
+const fsp = require('fs').promises;
+const path = require('path');
+
+const LOG_LEVELS = { debug: 0, info: 1, warn: 2, error: 3 };
+
+/**
+ * Create a structured logger
+ */
+function createLogger(LOG_LEVEL) {
+  function log(level, context, message, data = {}) {
+    if (LOG_LEVELS[level] < LOG_LEVEL) return;
+    
+    const entry = {
+      t: new Date().toISOString(),
+      level,
+      ctx: context,
+      msg: message,
+    };
+    
+    if (Object.keys(data).length) entry.data = data;
+    
+    const fn = level === 'error' ? console.error : level === 'warn' ? console.warn : console.info;
+    fn(JSON.stringify(entry));
+  }
+  
+  log.info = (ctx, msg, data) => log('info', ctx, msg, data);
+  log.warn = (ctx, msg, data) => log('warn', ctx, msg, data);
+  log.error = (ctx, msg, data) => log('error', ctx, msg, data);
+  log.debug = (ctx, msg, data) => log('debug', ctx, msg, data);
+  
+  return log;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Enhanced error logging with context tracking
+ */
+async function logError(ERROR_LOG_FILE, MAX_ERROR_LOG_SIZE, context, error, additionalInfo = {}, log) {
+  const timestamp = new Date().toISOString();
+
+  // Extract request context
+  const requestContext = {};
+  if (additionalInfo.req) {
+    const req = additionalInfo.req;
+    const clientIP = req.ip || req.socket?.remoteAddress || '';
+    requestContext.requestId = req.id;
+    requestContext.ip = clientIP;
+    requestContext.userAgent = req.get('user-agent');
+    requestContext.method = req.method;
+    requestContext.path = req.path;
+    delete additionalInfo.req;
+  }
+
+  const logEntry = {
+    timestamp,
+    context,
+    ...requestContext,
+    error: {
+      message: error.message || error,
+      stack: error.stack,
+      code: error.code
+    },
+    ...additionalInfo
+  };
+
+  const contextInfo = Object.keys(requestContext).length > 0
+    ? `\nRequest Context: ${JSON.stringify(requestContext, null, 2)}`
+    : '';
+  const logLine = `[${timestamp}] ${context}: ${error.message || error}\n${error.stack || ''}${contextInfo}\nAdditional Info: ${JSON.stringify(additionalInfo, null, 2)}\n${'='.repeat(80)}\n`;
+
+  try {
+    // Rotate log if it exceeds max size
+    try {
+      const stats = await fsp.stat(ERROR_LOG_FILE);
+      if (stats.size > MAX_ERROR_LOG_SIZE) {
+        const rotated = ERROR_LOG_FILE + '.1';
+        const exists = await fsp.access(rotated).then(() => true).catch(() => false);
+        if (exists) await fsp.unlink(rotated);
+        await fsp.rename(ERROR_LOG_FILE, rotated);
+      }
+    } catch (_) { /* file may not exist yet */ }
+    
+    await fsp.appendFile(ERROR_LOG_FILE, logLine);
+  } catch (e) {
+    if (log && log.error) {
+      log.error('errorlog', 'Failed to write to error log', { error: e.message });
+    }
+  }
+}
+
+/**
+ * Return a safe error message without leaking internals
+ */
+function safeErrorMessage(error) {
+  const msg = error.message || String(error);
+
+  // Detect port conflict errors
+  const portMatch = msg.match(/exposing port TCP [^:]*:(\d+)/);
+  if (portMatch || msg.includes('port is already allocated') || msg.includes('ports are not available')) {
+    const port = portMatch ? portMatch[1] : 'requested';
+    return `[DC-200] Port ${port} is already in use. Try a different port or stop the service using that port first.`;
+  }
+
+  // Only expose short, user-facing messages
+  if (msg.length < 200 && !msg.includes('/') && !msg.includes('\\') && !msg.includes(' at ')) {
+    return msg;
+  }
+  
+  return 'An internal error occurred';
+}
+
+module.exports = {
+  LOG_LEVELS,
+  createLogger,
+  logError,
+  safeErrorMessage,
+};
diff --git a/dashcaddy-api/src/utils/responses.js b/dashcaddy-api/src/utils/responses.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f454549
--- /dev/null
+++ b/dashcaddy-api/src/utils/responses.js
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+/**
+ * Response helpers - Standard API response formats
+ */
+
+/**
+ * Standard error response
+ */
+function errorResponse(res, statusCode, message, extras = {}) {
+  return res.status(statusCode).json({ success: false, error: message, ...extras });
+}
+
+/**
+ * Standard success response
+ */
+function ok(res, data = {}) {
+  return res.json({ success: true, ...data });
+}
+
+module.exports = {
+  errorResponse,
+  ok,
+};