diff --git a/src/bot/cli-runner.ts b/src/bot/cli-runner.ts
index 95d43ab..5509e1a 100644
--- a/src/bot/cli-runner.ts
+++ b/src/bot/cli-runner.ts
@@ -719,21 +719,16 @@ export async function runSummaryCommand(
  */
 export async function runStatsCommand(
   options: RunnerOptions = {}
-): Promise<any> {
+): Promise<{ raw: string }> {
   const { stdoutIterator, exitPromise } = runCliSubprocess(
     "stats",
-    ["--json"],
+    [],
     options
   );
 
-  let jsonOutput = "";
   const stdoutLines: string[] = [];
-
-  // Collect stdout lines (preserve them in case parsing fails so we can
-  // include the raw output in errors or fallbacks)
   for await (const line of stdoutIterator) {
     stdoutLines.push(line);
-    jsonOutput += line;
   }
 
   const { exitCode, stderr } = await exitPromise;
@@ -746,66 +741,7 @@ export async function runStatsCommand(
     );
   }
 
-  try {
-    // Helper: try parsing JSON from a candidate string. This is liberal
-    // because some CLI versions may emit the JSON on stderr or include
-    // additional logging around the JSON. We try the full string first,
-    // then attempt to extract a JSON object/array by finding matching
-    // braces/brackets.
-    const tryParseJson = (input: string): any | undefined => {
-      if (!input) return undefined;
-      const trimmed = input.trim();
-      if (!trimmed) return undefined;
-      try {
-        return JSON.parse(trimmed);
-      } catch {
-        // Try to find a JSON object substring
-        const firstBrace = trimmed.indexOf("{");
-        const lastBrace = trimmed.lastIndexOf("}");
-        if (firstBrace !== -1 && lastBrace !== -1 && lastBrace > firstBrace) {
-          const candidate = trimmed.slice(firstBrace, lastBrace + 1);
-          try {
-            return JSON.parse(candidate);
-          } catch {
-            // continue
-          }
-        }
-
-        // Try JSON array
-        const firstBracket = trimmed.indexOf("[");
-        const lastBracket = trimmed.lastIndexOf("]");
-        if (firstBracket !== -1 && lastBracket !== -1 && lastBracket > firstBracket) {
-          const candidate = trimmed.slice(firstBracket, lastBracket + 1);
-          try {
-            return JSON.parse(candidate);
-          } catch {
-            // continue
-          }
-        }
-
-        return undefined;
-      }
-    };
-
-    // Prefer stdout, but fall back to parsing stderr if the CLI wrote JSON there.
-    const parsedFromStdout = tryParseJson(jsonOutput);
-    if (parsedFromStdout !== undefined) return parsedFromStdout;
-
-    const parsedFromStderr = tryParseJson(stderr);
-    if (parsedFromStderr !== undefined) return parsedFromStderr;
-
-    // Nothing parseable
-  } catch (parseErr) {
-    // If parsing fails, throw a distinct error so callers (the Discord
-    // handlers) can provide a more helpful message to users rather than
-    // assuming the CLI binary itself is missing/unavailable.
-    const raw = stdoutLines.join("\n");
-    throw new StatsParseError(
-      "Failed to parse stats JSON output",
-      exitCode,
-      `${stderr}\n${raw}`
-    );
-  }
+  return { raw: stdoutLines.join("\n") };
 }
 
 /**
diff --git a/src/discord/client.ts b/src/discord/client.ts
index 2f51eaa..906d1e1 100644
--- a/src/discord/client.ts
+++ b/src/discord/client.ts
@@ -39,15 +39,23 @@ export class DiscordBot {
     return this.client;
   }
 
-  async start(): Promise<void> {
-    this.client.once("ready", async (client) => {
-      this.options.logger.info("Discord bot connected", {
-        userTag: client.user.tag,
-        monitoredChannelId: this.options.monitoredChannelId
-      });
+  private startupDone = false;
+
+  private handleReady(client: any): void {
+    if (this.startupDone) return;
+    this.startupDone = true;
+
+    this.options.logger.info("Discord bot connected", {
+      userTag: client.user.tag,
+      monitoredChannelId: this.options.monitoredChannelId
+    });
+
+    this.registerSlashCommands();
+  }
 
-      // Register slash commands
-      await this.registerSlashCommands();
+  async start(): Promise<void> {
+    this.client.once("clientReady", (client) => {
+      this.handleReady(client);
     });
 
     this.client.on("messageCreate", async (message) => {
diff --git a/src/handlers/StatsCommandHandler.ts b/src/handlers/StatsCommandHandler.ts
index c114988..270685f 100644
--- a/src/handlers/StatsCommandHandler.ts
+++ b/src/handlers/StatsCommandHandler.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import type { ChatInputCommandInteraction } from "discord.js";
-import { runStatsCommand, type StatsResult, CliRunnerError, StatsParseError } from "../bot/cli-runner.js";
+import { runStatsCommand, CliRunnerError } from "../bot/cli-runner.js";
 import type { SlashCommandHandler } from "../interfaces/command-handler.js";
 
 const DEFAULT_ERROR_MESSAGE = "❌ Failed to retrieve OpenBrain statistics. Please try again.";
@@ -26,43 +26,13 @@ export class StatsCommandHandler implements SlashCommandHandler {
     await command.deferReply();
 
     try {
-      const stats = await this.runStats({
+      const { raw } = await this.runStats({
         channelId: command.channelId ?? undefined,
         messageId: command.id,
         authorId: command.user?.id,
       });
 
-      // The CLI may return different JSON shapes across versions. Handle
-      // both the legacy shape (totalContents/withEmbeddings/...) and the
-      // newer structured StatsResult shape. Fall back to a best-effort
-      // formatting when fields don't match expectations.
-      if (stats && typeof stats === "object") {
-        // New shape expected by the bot
-        if (
-          typeof (stats as any).totalLinks === "number" ||
-          typeof (stats as any).processedCount === "number"
-        ) {
-          await command.editReply(this.formatStatsMessage(stats as StatsResult));
-        } else if (typeof (stats as any).totalContents === "number") {
-          // Legacy/OpenBrain older schema - map fields
-          const mapped: StatsResult & { timeBased?: any } = {
-            totalLinks: (stats as any).totalContents,
-            processedCount: (stats as any).withEmbeddings ?? 0,
-            pendingCount: ((stats as any).totalContents || 0) - ((stats as any).withEmbeddings || 0),
-            failedCount: 0,
-            timeBased: (stats as any).timeBased ?? (stats as any).time_based,
-          };
-          await command.editReply(this.formatStatsMessage(mapped));
-        } else {
-          // Unknown shape: present raw JSON in a readable form
-          const pretty = JSON.stringify(stats, null, 2);
-          const header = "📊 OpenBrain statistics (raw output)";
-          // Use a fenced code block for readability
-          await command.editReply(`${header}\n\n\`\`\`json\n${pretty}\n\`\`\``);
-        }
-      } else {
-        await command.editReply(this.errorMessage);
-      }
+      await command.editReply(`\`\`\`markdown\n${raw}\n\`\`\`` || "No statistics available.");
     } catch (err) {
       // Always log the error server-side for diagnostics
       try {
@@ -72,24 +42,6 @@ export class StatsCommandHandler implements SlashCommandHandler {
         // ignore logging failures
       }
 
-      // Handle parse-specific errors specially so users see a meaningful
-      // message when the CLI returned human-readable output instead of JSON.
-      if (err instanceof StatsParseError) {
-        const raw = String(err.stderr || "");
-        // Truncate to a reasonable size for Discord messages
-        const maxLen = 1500;
-        const snippet = raw.length > maxLen ? raw.slice(0, maxLen) + "\n...(truncated)" : raw;
-        const msg = [
-          "⚠️ OpenBrain returned unexpected non-JSON output. The bot expected structured JSON from `ob stats --json`.",
-          "This may indicate an incompatible CLI version or that the CLI was invoked with unsupported flags.",
-          "",
-          "Raw CLI output (truncated):",
-          "```\n" + snippet + "\n```",
-        ].join("\n");
-        await command.editReply(msg);
-        return true;
-      }
-
       // If the failure was due to spawn/ENOENT/EACCES etc., surface the
       // availability message. Other errors fall back to the generic one.
       if (err instanceof CliRunnerError) {
@@ -112,59 +64,4 @@ export class StatsCommandHandler implements SlashCommandHandler {
 
     return true;
   }
-
-  private formatStatsMessage(stats: StatsResult): string {
-    const totalLinks = stats.totalLinks;
-    const processedCount = stats.processedCount;
-    const pendingCount = stats.pendingCount;
-    const failedCount = stats.failedCount;
-    const successRate = totalLinks > 0 ? ((processedCount / totalLinks) * 100) : 0;
-    const failureRate = totalLinks > 0 ? ((failedCount / totalLinks) * 100) : 0;
-
-    const lines: string[] = [];
-    lines.push("📊 OpenBrain statistics");
-    lines.push("");
-    lines.push(`**Totals**`);
-    lines.push(`- Total links: ${totalLinks.toLocaleString()}`);
-    lines.push(`- Processed: ${processedCount.toLocaleString()} (${successRate.toFixed(1)}%)`);
-    lines.push(`- Pending: ${pendingCount.toLocaleString()}`);
-    lines.push(`- Failed: ${failedCount.toLocaleString()} (${failureRate.toFixed(1)}%)`);
-
-    // Attempt to render time-based breakdown if available. Support multiple
-    // possible field namings (timeBased, time_based, timebased).
-    const tb = (stats as any).timeBased ?? (stats as any).time_based ?? (stats as any).timebased ?? (stats as any).time ?? null;
-    const asNumber = (v: unknown): number | undefined => {
-      if (typeof v === "number" && Number.isFinite(v)) return v;
-      if (typeof v === "string" && v.trim() !== "") {
-        const n = Number(v);
-        if (Number.isFinite(n)) return n;
-      }
-      return undefined;
-    };
-
-    if (tb && typeof tb === "object") {
-      const last24 = asNumber(tb.last24Hours ?? tb.last_24_hours ?? tb.last24 ?? tb.last_24h ?? tb.last_24) ?? asNumber(tb["24h"]) ?? undefined;
-      const last7 = asNumber(tb.last7Days ?? tb.last_7_days ?? tb.last7 ?? tb.last_7d ?? tb.last_7) ?? undefined;
-      const last30 = asNumber(tb.last30Days ?? tb.last_30_days ?? tb.last30 ?? tb.last_30d ?? tb.last_30) ?? undefined;
-
-      if (last24 !== undefined || last7 !== undefined || last30 !== undefined) {
-        lines.push("");
-        lines.push(`**By time**`);
-        if (last24 !== undefined) {
-          const pct = totalLinks > 0 ? ((last24 / totalLinks) * 100).toFixed(1) : "0.0";
-          lines.push(`- Last 24 hours: ${last24.toLocaleString()} (${pct}%)`);
-        }
-        if (last7 !== undefined) {
-          const pct = totalLinks > 0 ? ((last7 / totalLinks) * 100).toFixed(1) : "0.0";
-          lines.push(`- Last 7 days: ${last7.toLocaleString()} (${pct}%)`);
-        }
-        if (last30 !== undefined) {
-          const pct = totalLinks > 0 ? ((last30 / totalLinks) * 100).toFixed(1) : "0.0";
-          lines.push(`- Last 30 days: ${last30.toLocaleString()} (${pct}%)`);
-        }
-      }
-    }
-
-    return lines.join("\n");
-  }
 }
diff --git a/tests/discord/interaction.test.ts b/tests/discord/interaction.test.ts
index 9ea213a..718cfe7 100644
--- a/tests/discord/interaction.test.ts
+++ b/tests/discord/interaction.test.ts
@@ -108,10 +108,15 @@ describe("slash interaction handlers", () => {
 
   it("routes /stats through StatsCommandHandler", async () => {
     const runStatsCommandMock = vi.fn(async () => ({
-      totalLinks: 100,
-      processedCount: 80,
-      pendingCount: 15,
-      failedCount: 5,
+      raw: [
+        "📊 OpenBrain statistics",
+        "",
+        "**Totals**",
+        "- Total links: 100",
+        "- Processed: 80 (80.0%)",
+        "- Pending: 15",
+        "- Failed: 5 (5.0%)",
+      ].join("\n"),
     }));
 
     const handler = await loadInteractionHandler(async () => {
@@ -153,6 +158,7 @@ describe("slash interaction handlers", () => {
       authorId: "user-1",
     });
     expect(edits).toContain(
+      "```markdown\n" +
       [
         "📊 OpenBrain statistics",
         "",
@@ -161,7 +167,8 @@ describe("slash interaction handlers", () => {
         "- Processed: 80 (80.0%)",
         "- Pending: 15",
         "- Failed: 5 (5.0%)",
-      ].join("\n")
+      ].join("\n") +
+      "\n```"
     );
   });
 
diff --git a/tests/unit/StatsCommandHandler.spec.ts b/tests/unit/StatsCommandHandler.spec.ts
index 12c75a3..f990a40 100644
--- a/tests/unit/StatsCommandHandler.spec.ts
+++ b/tests/unit/StatsCommandHandler.spec.ts
@@ -4,10 +4,7 @@ import { StatsCommandHandler } from "../../src/handlers/StatsCommandHandler.js";
 describe("StatsCommandHandler", () => {
   it("handles /stats by querying stats and editing the deferred reply", async () => {
     const runStatsMock = vi.fn(async () => ({
-      totalLinks: 100,
-      processedCount: 80,
-      pendingCount: 15,
-      failedCount: 5,
+      raw: "Total links: 100\nProcessed: 80 (80.0%)\nPending: 15\nFailed: 5 (5.0%)",
     }));
 
     const handler = new StatsCommandHandler({
@@ -33,15 +30,7 @@ describe("StatsCommandHandler", () => {
       authorId: "user-1",
     });
     expect(interaction.editReply).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
-      [
-        "📊 OpenBrain statistics",
-        "",
-        "**Totals**",
-        "- Total links: 100",
-        "- Processed: 80 (80.0%)",
-        "- Pending: 15",
-        "- Failed: 5 (5.0%)",
-      ].join("\n")
+      "```markdown\nTotal links: 100\nProcessed: 80 (80.0%)\nPending: 15\nFailed: 5 (5.0%)\n```"
     );
   });
 
@@ -74,10 +63,7 @@ describe("StatsCommandHandler", () => {
 
   it("returns false for non-stats command", async () => {
     const runStatsMock = vi.fn(async () => ({
-      totalLinks: 1,
-      processedCount: 1,
-      pendingCount: 0,
-      failedCount: 0,
+      raw: "Total links: 1\nProcessed: 1 (100.0%)\nPending: 0\nFailed: 0",
     }));
 
     const handler = new StatsCommandHandler({