diff --git a/scripts/first-boot-containers.sh b/scripts/first-boot-containers.sh
index 35f260a2..ae50c29f 100644
--- a/scripts/first-boot-containers.sh
+++ b/scripts/first-boot-containers.sh
@@ -988,9 +988,12 @@ for ui in bitcoin-ui lnd-ui; do
     continue
   fi
   case $ui in
-    bitcoin-ui) PORT_ARG="-p 8334:8334"; NET_ARG="" ;;  # internal nginx listens on 8334
-    lnd-ui)     PORT_ARG="-p 8081:80"; NET_ARG="" ;;
-    electrs-ui) PORT_ARG="-p 50002:50002"; NET_ARG="" ;;  # internal nginx listens on 50002
+    # UI containers use --network host so they can proxy to localhost services
+    # (Bitcoin RPC at 127.0.0.1:8332, backend at 127.0.0.1:5678)
+    # Internal nginx ports: bitcoin-ui=8334, electrs-ui=50002, lnd-ui=80 (mapped via nginx to 8081)
+    bitcoin-ui) PORT_ARG=""; NET_ARG="--network host" ;;
+    lnd-ui)     PORT_ARG="-p 8081:80"; NET_ARG="" ;;  # exception: port 80 conflicts with host nginx on host network
+    electrs-ui) PORT_ARG=""; NET_ARG="--network host" ;;
   esac
   CONTAINER_NAME="archy-$ui"
   if $DOCKER images --format '{{.Repository}}:{{.Tag}}' 2>/dev/null | grep -q "$ui"; then