diff --git a/down.sh b/down.sh
index ef4590d..0f0d532 100755
--- a/down.sh
+++ b/down.sh
@@ -7,20 +7,21 @@ set -euo pipefail
 #
 # Usage: ./down.sh
 
-PROVIDER_PLATFORM_PATH="${PROVIDER_PLATFORM_PATH:-$HOME/repos/provider-platform}"
+BASE_DIR="${BASE_DIR:-$HOME/repos}"
+PROVIDER_PLATFORM_PATH="${PROVIDER_PLATFORM_PATH:-$BASE_DIR/provider-platform}"
 SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")" && pwd)"
 
 export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$HOME/.cargo/bin:$PATH"
 
-# Ports & names (must match up.sh)
-PROVIDER_PORT=3010
-PROVIDER_CONSOLE_PORT=3020
-COUNCIL_CONSOLE_PORT=3030
-NETWORK_DASHBOARD_PORT=3040
-PG_CONTAINER="provider-platform-db"
-ACCT_ADMIN="admin"
-ACCT_PROVIDER="provider"
-ACCT_TREASURY="treasury"
+# Ports & names — must match the values used in up.sh
+PROVIDER_PORT="${PROVIDER_PORT:-3010}"
+PROVIDER_CONSOLE_PORT="${PROVIDER_CONSOLE_PORT:-3020}"
+COUNCIL_CONSOLE_PORT="${COUNCIL_CONSOLE_PORT:-3030}"
+NETWORK_DASHBOARD_PORT="${NETWORK_DASHBOARD_PORT:-3040}"
+PG_CONTAINER="${PG_CONTAINER:-provider-platform-db}"
+ACCT_ADMIN="${ACCT_ADMIN:-admin}"
+ACCT_PROVIDER="${ACCT_PROVIDER:-provider}"
+ACCT_TREASURY="${ACCT_TREASURY:-treasury}"
 
 # Colors
 GREEN='\033[0;32m'
diff --git a/up.sh b/up.sh
index b3297c2..5ca6d09 100755
--- a/up.sh
+++ b/up.sh
@@ -18,20 +18,20 @@ COUNCIL_CONSOLE_PATH="${COUNCIL_CONSOLE_PATH:-$BASE_DIR/council-console}"
 NETWORK_DASHBOARD_PATH="${NETWORK_DASHBOARD_PATH:-$BASE_DIR/network-dashboard}"
 SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")" && pwd)"
 
-# Ports (offset from local-dev defaults to prevent collisions)
-STELLAR_RPC_PORT=8000       # shared with local-dev
-JAEGER_OTLP_PORT=4318       # shared with local-dev
-PG_PORT=5442
-PROVIDER_PORT=3010
-PROVIDER_CONSOLE_PORT=3020
-COUNCIL_CONSOLE_PORT=3030
-NETWORK_DASHBOARD_PORT=3040
-
-# Container / account names
-PG_CONTAINER="provider-platform-db"
-ACCT_ADMIN="admin"
-ACCT_PROVIDER="provider"
-ACCT_TREASURY="treasury"
+# Ports — override via env to run multiple stacks in parallel
+STELLAR_RPC_PORT="${STELLAR_RPC_PORT:-8000}"       # shared
+JAEGER_OTLP_PORT="${JAEGER_OTLP_PORT:-4318}"       # shared
+PG_PORT="${PG_PORT:-5442}"
+PROVIDER_PORT="${PROVIDER_PORT:-3010}"
+PROVIDER_CONSOLE_PORT="${PROVIDER_CONSOLE_PORT:-3020}"
+COUNCIL_CONSOLE_PORT="${COUNCIL_CONSOLE_PORT:-3030}"
+NETWORK_DASHBOARD_PORT="${NETWORK_DASHBOARD_PORT:-3040}"
+
+# Container / account names — override to avoid collisions
+PG_CONTAINER="${PG_CONTAINER:-provider-platform-db}"
+ACCT_ADMIN="${ACCT_ADMIN:-admin}"
+ACCT_PROVIDER="${ACCT_PROVIDER:-provider}"
+ACCT_TREASURY="${ACCT_TREASURY:-treasury}"
 
 # Colors
 RED='\033[0;31m'
@@ -110,6 +110,20 @@ else
   done
 fi
 
+# Wait for Friendbot (takes longer than RPC to initialize)
+info "Waiting for Friendbot to be ready..."
+for i in $(seq 1 30); do
+  fb_code=$(curl -s -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}" "http://localhost:${STELLAR_RPC_PORT}/friendbot?addr=GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWHF" 2>/dev/null || echo "000")
+  if [ "$fb_code" = "200" ] || [ "$fb_code" = "400" ]; then
+    info "Friendbot is ready."
+    break
+  fi
+  if [ "$i" -eq 30 ]; then
+    error "Friendbot did not become ready after 30s."
+  fi
+  sleep 1
+done
+
 # ============================================================
 section "3/9  Accounts"
 # ============================================================