diff --git a/app/src/main/java/org/hogwarts/android/hogwarts-application.kt b/app/src/main/java/org/hogwarts/android/hogwarts-application.kt
index ba29c5c..a25a40c 100644
--- a/app/src/main/java/org/hogwarts/android/hogwarts-application.kt
+++ b/app/src/main/java/org/hogwarts/android/hogwarts-application.kt
@@ -4,7 +4,6 @@ import android.app.Application
 import android.app.NotificationChannel
 import android.app.NotificationManager
 import android.os.Build
-import android.os.StrictMode
 import androidx.hilt.work.HiltWorkerFactory
 import androidx.lifecycle.ProcessLifecycleOwner
 import androidx.lifecycle.lifecycleScope
@@ -17,7 +16,7 @@ import kotlinx.coroutines.Dispatchers
 import kotlinx.coroutines.flow.first
 import kotlinx.coroutines.launch
 import org.hogwarts.android.core.data.preferences.AppPreferences
-import timber.log.Timber
+import org.hogwarts.android.startup.AppStartupInitializer
 import javax.inject.Inject
 
 /**
@@ -34,6 +33,9 @@ class HogwartsApplication : Application(), Configuration.Provider, ImageLoaderFa
     @Inject
     lateinit var appPreferences: AppPreferences
 
+    @Inject
+    lateinit var appStartupInitializer: AppStartupInitializer
+
     override val workManagerConfiguration: Configuration
         get() = Configuration.Builder()
             .setWorkerFactory(workerFactory)
@@ -49,6 +51,11 @@ class HogwartsApplication : Application(), Configuration.Provider, ImageLoaderFa
     override fun onCreate() {
         super.onCreate()
 
+        // All startup hooks (Timber, StrictMode, WorkManager + Firebase
+        // init confirmation) funnel through AppStartupInitializer so the
+        // boot sequence stays in one place.
+        appStartupInitializer.initialize()
+
         // AppLocalesMetadataHolderService (manifest, autoStoreLocales=true) handles
         // locale persistence on Android <13; the platform LocaleManager handles 13+.
         // We just warm the DataStore cache off-main so settings reads stay snappy.
@@ -57,33 +64,9 @@ class HogwartsApplication : Application(), Configuration.Provider, ImageLoaderFa
             appPreferences.themeMode.first()
         }
 
-        if (BuildConfig.DEBUG) {
-            Timber.plant(Timber.DebugTree())
-            enableStrictMode()
-        }
-
         createNotificationChannels()
     }
 
-    private fun enableStrictMode() {
-        StrictMode.setThreadPolicy(
-            StrictMode.ThreadPolicy.Builder()
-                .detectDiskReads()
-                .detectDiskWrites()
-                .detectNetwork()
-                .penaltyLog()
-                .build()
-        )
-        StrictMode.setVmPolicy(
-            StrictMode.VmPolicy.Builder()
-                .detectLeakedSqlLiteObjects()
-                .detectLeakedClosableObjects()
-                .detectActivityLeaks()
-                .penaltyLog()
-                .build()
-        )
-    }
-
     private fun createNotificationChannels() {
         if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.O) {
             val notificationManager = getSystemService(NotificationManager::class.java)
diff --git a/app/src/main/java/org/hogwarts/android/startup/app-startup-initializer.kt b/app/src/main/java/org/hogwarts/android/startup/app-startup-initializer.kt
index 8504299..d1d0263 100644
--- a/app/src/main/java/org/hogwarts/android/startup/app-startup-initializer.kt
+++ b/app/src/main/java/org/hogwarts/android/startup/app-startup-initializer.kt
@@ -1,28 +1,112 @@
 package org.hogwarts.android.startup
 
 import android.content.Context
+import android.os.StrictMode
+import android.util.Log
+import androidx.work.WorkManager
+import com.google.firebase.FirebaseApp
+import com.google.firebase.crashlytics.FirebaseCrashlytics
+import dagger.hilt.android.qualifiers.ApplicationContext
+import org.hogwarts.android.BuildConfig
 import timber.log.Timber
 import javax.inject.Inject
 import javax.inject.Singleton
 
+/**
+ * Single entry point for all startup hooks invoked from
+ * `HogwartsApplication.onCreate()`. Adding a new hook here keeps `onCreate`
+ * legible and makes the boot sequence testable.
+ */
 @Singleton
 class AppStartupInitializer @Inject constructor(
-    private val context: Context
+    @ApplicationContext private val context: Context
 ) {
+
     fun initialize() {
-        Timber.d("AppStartupInitializer: Beginning app initialization")
-        initializeTimber()
-        initializeCoil()
-        Timber.d("AppStartupInitializer: App initialization complete")
+        // Why: Timber must plant before any other startup log statements so
+        // both debug console output and release Crashlytics breadcrumbs catch
+        // the boot sequence.
+        plantTimber()
+
+        if (BuildConfig.DEBUG) {
+            // Why: StrictMode surfaces accidental main-thread disk/network IO
+            // and leaked Closeables during development. Release payloads never
+            // include the policy so users don't pay the perf hit.
+            enableStrictMode()
+        }
+
+        // Why: WorkManager is created lazily on the first getInstance() call.
+        // Touching it at boot confirms HiltWorkerFactory wiring and surfaces
+        // any misconfiguration as a startup crash instead of a silent runtime
+        // failure when the first periodic sync would have fired.
+        confirmWorkManager()
+
+        // Why: Firebase auto-inits via FirebaseInitProvider in the manifest.
+        // Verifying the instance exists at boot means a missing
+        // google-services.json (E01.S01) shows up as one loud log line on
+        // every launch instead of as a confusing failure deep inside the FCM
+        // token upload path.
+        confirmFirebase()
+
+        Timber.i("AppStartupInitializer complete")
+    }
+
+    private fun plantTimber() {
+        if (BuildConfig.DEBUG) {
+            Timber.plant(Timber.DebugTree())
+        } else {
+            Timber.plant(CrashlyticsTree())
+        }
+    }
+
+    private fun enableStrictMode() {
+        StrictMode.setThreadPolicy(
+            StrictMode.ThreadPolicy.Builder()
+                .detectDiskReads()
+                .detectDiskWrites()
+                .detectNetwork()
+                .penaltyLog()
+                .build()
+        )
+        StrictMode.setVmPolicy(
+            StrictMode.VmPolicy.Builder()
+                .detectLeakedSqlLiteObjects()
+                .detectLeakedClosableObjects()
+                .detectActivityLeaks()
+                .penaltyLog()
+                .build()
+        )
     }
 
-    private fun initializeTimber() {
-        // Timber is already initialized in HogwartsApp, this is for future enhancements
-        Timber.d("Timber initialized")
+    private fun confirmWorkManager() {
+        val wm = WorkManager.getInstance(context)
+        Timber.i("WorkManager initialized: ${wm.javaClass.simpleName}")
     }
 
-    private fun initializeCoil() {
-        // Coil uses default ImageLoader, customize for disk cache size if needed
-        Timber.d("Coil image loader ready")
+    private fun confirmFirebase() {
+        try {
+            val app = FirebaseApp.getInstance()
+            Timber.i("Firebase initialized: project=${app.options.projectId}")
+        } catch (e: IllegalStateException) {
+            // E01.S01 (commit google-services.json) hasn't landed yet — log
+            // loud so the gap is obvious, but don't crash the app.
+            Timber.w("Firebase not initialized: ${e.message}")
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+/**
+ * Release-build Timber tree that funnels warnings + errors to Crashlytics.
+ * Below WARN is dropped to keep the breadcrumb retention focused on signals
+ * a release user would actually want to debug.
+ */
+private class CrashlyticsTree : Timber.Tree() {
+    override fun log(priority: Int, tag: String?, message: String, t: Throwable?) {
+        if (priority < Log.WARN) return
+        val crashlytics = FirebaseCrashlytics.getInstance()
+        crashlytics.log(if (tag != null) "$tag: $message" else message)
+        if (t != null && priority >= Log.ERROR) {
+            crashlytics.recordException(t)
+        }
     }
 }