diff --git a/src/app.rs b/src/app.rs
index 04f21d8..2ea8072 100644
--- a/src/app.rs
+++ b/src/app.rs
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@ const TEMPLATE_NAME: &str = "main.html";
 static TEMPLATE_ENV: OnceLock<Environment<'static>> = OnceLock::new();
 const MERMAID_JS: &str = include_str!("../static/js/mermaid.min.js");
 const MERMAID_ETAG: &str = concat!("\"", env!("CARGO_PKG_VERSION"), "\"");
+const MAX_PORT_ATTEMPTS: u16 = 10;
 
 type SharedMarkdownState = Arc<Mutex<MarkdownState>>;
 
@@ -321,6 +322,29 @@ fn new_router(
     Ok(router)
 }
 
+async fn bind_with_retry(hostname: &str, port: u16) -> Result<(TcpListener, u16)> {
+    let mut last_err = None;
+    for offset in 0..MAX_PORT_ATTEMPTS {
+        let try_port = match port.checked_add(offset) {
+            Some(p) => p,
+            None => break,
+        };
+        match TcpListener::bind((hostname, try_port)).await {
+            Ok(listener) => return Ok((listener, try_port)),
+            Err(e) if e.kind() == std::io::ErrorKind::AddrInUse => last_err = Some(e),
+            Err(e) => return Err(e.into()),
+        }
+    }
+    Err(last_err
+        .map(|e| anyhow::anyhow!(e))
+        .unwrap_or_else(|| anyhow::anyhow!("no valid port in range"))
+        .context(format!(
+            "could not bind to ports {}--{}",
+            port,
+            port.saturating_add(MAX_PORT_ATTEMPTS - 1)
+        )))
+}
+
 pub(crate) async fn serve_markdown(
     base_dir: PathBuf,
     tracked_files: Vec<PathBuf>,
@@ -334,9 +358,13 @@ pub(crate) async fn serve_markdown(
     let first_file = tracked_files.first().cloned();
     let router = new_router(base_dir.clone(), tracked_files, is_directory_mode)?;
 
-    let listener = TcpListener::bind((hostname, port)).await?;
+    let (listener, actual_port) = bind_with_retry(hostname, port).await?;
+
+    if actual_port != port {
+        println!("⚠ Port {port} in use, using {actual_port} instead");
+    }
 
-    let listen_addr = format_host(hostname, port);
+    let listen_addr = format_host(hostname, actual_port);
 
     if is_directory_mode {
         println!("📁 Serving markdown files from: {}", base_dir.display());
@@ -349,7 +377,7 @@ pub(crate) async fn serve_markdown(
     println!("\nPress Ctrl+C to stop the server");
 
     if open {
-        let browse_addr = format_host(&browsable_host(hostname), port);
+        let browse_addr = format_host(&browsable_host(hostname), actual_port);
         open_browser(&format!("http://{browse_addr}"))?;
     }
 
@@ -837,6 +865,23 @@ mod tests {
         assert_eq!(browsable_host("example.com"), "example.com");
     }
 
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn test_bind_retries_on_addr_in_use() {
+        let listener = TcpListener::bind("127.0.0.1:0").await.unwrap();
+        let blocked_port = listener.local_addr().unwrap().port();
+
+        let (retry_listener, actual_port) =
+            bind_with_retry("127.0.0.1", blocked_port).await.unwrap();
+
+        assert!(
+            actual_port > blocked_port,
+            "Should bind to a higher port when requested port is in use"
+        );
+
+        drop(retry_listener);
+        drop(listener);
+    }
+
     use axum_test::TestServer;
     use std::time::Duration;
     use tempfile::{Builder, NamedTempFile, TempDir};