diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index 5cd7e5e..acde1cb 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -4,14 +4,14 @@ RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends curl && rm -rf
 
 WORKDIR /app
 
-# Copy application
+# Copy project files
 COPY pyproject.toml .
 COPY api/ api/
 COPY mcp_server/ mcp_server/
 COPY config/ config/
 
-# Install dependencies
-RUN pip install --no-cache-dir fastapi "uvicorn[standard]" httpx pydantic openai pyyaml
+# Install dependencies from pyproject.toml
+RUN pip install --no-cache-dir .
 
 # Create persistent data directories
 RUN mkdir -p /opt/data/skills /opt/data/profiles /opt/data/cases
diff --git a/api/routes/health.py b/api/routes/health.py
index dde4b60..45139cf 100644
--- a/api/routes/health.py
+++ b/api/routes/health.py
@@ -8,12 +8,14 @@ from fastapi import APIRouter
 
 router = APIRouter()
 
+VERSION = "0.2.0"
+
 
 @router.get("/api/health")
 async def health():
     return {
         "status": "ok",
         "service": "shira-hermes",
-        "version": "0.1.0",
+        "version": VERSION,
         "timestamp": datetime.now(timezone.utc).isoformat(),
     }
diff --git a/api/routes/smart_assistant.py b/api/routes/smart_assistant.py
index f65aa3a..3fbb356 100644
--- a/api/routes/smart_assistant.py
+++ b/api/routes/smart_assistant.py
@@ -19,6 +19,9 @@ logger = logging.getLogger("shira.api")
 
 router = APIRouter()
 
+# Hold references to background tasks so they don't get garbage-collected
+_background_tasks: set[asyncio.Task] = set()
+
 
 def _get_api_key() -> str:
     return os.environ.get("API_KEY", "")
@@ -128,7 +131,9 @@ async def smart_assistant_chat(request: Request):
     # Trigger self-learning in the background (non-blocking)
     conversation_messages = runner.get_messages()
     if conversation_messages:
-        asyncio.create_task(_learn_in_background(conversation_messages))
+        task = asyncio.create_task(_learn_in_background(conversation_messages))
+        _background_tasks.add(task)
+        task.add_done_callback(_background_tasks.discard)
 
     return {
         "text": text,
diff --git a/api/services/memory.py b/api/services/memory.py
index 2004bdf..5b31d6d 100644
--- a/api/services/memory.py
+++ b/api/services/memory.py
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ from __future__ import annotations
 import asyncio
 import logging
 import os
+import re
 import tempfile
 from pathlib import Path
 
@@ -18,14 +19,21 @@ PROFILE_MAX_CHARS = 1500
 CASE_MEMORY_MAX_CHARS = 2500
 ENTRY_DELIMITER = "\n§\n"
 
+_SAFE_ID_RE = re.compile(r"^[a-zA-Z0-9_-]+$")
+
 # Per-path locks for thread-safe writes
 _locks: dict[str, asyncio.Lock] = {}
 
 
+def _safe_id(value: str) -> str:
+    """Validate that an ID is safe for use in file paths."""
+    if not value or not _SAFE_ID_RE.match(value):
+        raise ValueError(f"Invalid ID for file path: {value!r}")
+    return value
+
+
 def _get_lock(path: str) -> asyncio.Lock:
-    if path not in _locks:
-        _locks[path] = asyncio.Lock()
-    return _locks[path]
+    return _locks.setdefault(path, asyncio.Lock())
 
 
 def _read_file(path: str) -> str:
@@ -75,17 +83,17 @@ def _truncate(content: str, max_chars: int) -> str:
 
 def load_user_profile(user_id: str) -> str:
     """Load the per-lawyer profile. Returns empty string if none exists."""
-    return _read_file(f"{PROFILES_DIR}/{user_id}.md")
+    return _read_file(f"{PROFILES_DIR}/{_safe_id(user_id)}.md")
 
 
 def load_case_memory(case_id: str) -> str:
     """Load the per-case memory. Returns empty string if none exists."""
-    return _read_file(f"{CASES_DIR}/{case_id}/memory.md")
+    return _read_file(f"{CASES_DIR}/{_safe_id(case_id)}/memory.md")
 
 
 async def update_user_profile(user_id: str, action: str, content: str, match: str = "") -> str:
     """Add, replace, or remove an entry in the lawyer's profile."""
-    path = f"{PROFILES_DIR}/{user_id}.md"
+    path = f"{PROFILES_DIR}/{_safe_id(user_id)}.md"
     async with _get_lock(path):
         current = _read_file(path)
         entries = _entries(current)
@@ -129,7 +137,7 @@ async def update_user_profile(user_id: str, action: str, content: str, match: st
 
 async def update_case_memory(case_id: str, action: str, content: str, match: str = "") -> str:
     """Add, replace, or remove an entry in the case memory."""
-    path = f"{CASES_DIR}/{case_id}/memory.md"
+    path = f"{CASES_DIR}/{_safe_id(case_id)}/memory.md"
     async with _get_lock(path):
         current = _read_file(path)
         entries = _entries(current)
diff --git a/api/services/prompt_builder.py b/api/services/prompt_builder.py
index 03d09f7..bf6fa76 100644
--- a/api/services/prompt_builder.py
+++ b/api/services/prompt_builder.py
@@ -2,7 +2,8 @@
 
 from __future__ import annotations
 
-from datetime import datetime, timezone, timedelta
+from datetime import datetime
+from zoneinfo import ZoneInfo
 
 VALID_STATUSES = {
     "New": "חדש",
@@ -19,7 +20,7 @@ VALID_STATUSES = {
     "Rejected": "נדחה",
 }
 
-ISR_TZ = timezone(timedelta(hours=3))
+ISR_TZ = ZoneInfo("Asia/Jerusalem")
 
 TOOL_RULES = (
     "TOOL RULES (CRITICAL — you MUST follow these):\n"
diff --git a/api/services/skills.py b/api/services/skills.py
index ce4f3d0..bfdabca 100644
--- a/api/services/skills.py
+++ b/api/services/skills.py
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ from __future__ import annotations
 
 import logging
 import os
+import re
 from pathlib import Path
 
 import yaml
@@ -12,6 +13,16 @@ logger = logging.getLogger("shira.skills")
 
 SKILLS_DIR = os.environ.get("SHIRA_DATA_DIR", "/opt/data") + "/skills"
 
+_SAFE_NAME_RE = re.compile(r"^[a-zA-Z0-9_-]+$")
+
+
+def _safe_skill_name(name: str) -> str:
+    """Validate and normalize a skill name for use in file paths."""
+    name = name.lower().strip()
+    if not name or not _SAFE_NAME_RE.match(name):
+        raise ValueError(f"Invalid skill name: {name!r}")
+    return name
+
 
 def _parse_frontmatter(text: str) -> tuple[dict, str]:
     """Parse YAML frontmatter from a SKILL.md file. Returns (meta, body)."""
@@ -53,7 +64,7 @@ def list_skills() -> list[dict]:
 
 def view_skill(skill_name: str) -> str | None:
     """Load the full SKILL.md content for a given skill name."""
-    skill_file = Path(SKILLS_DIR) / skill_name / "SKILL.md"
+    skill_file = Path(SKILLS_DIR) / _safe_skill_name(skill_name) / "SKILL.md"
     if not skill_file.exists():
         return None
     return skill_file.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
@@ -61,10 +72,11 @@ def view_skill(skill_name: str) -> str | None:
 
 def save_skill(skill_name: str, content: str) -> None:
     """Create or overwrite a skill file."""
-    skill_dir = Path(SKILLS_DIR) / skill_name
+    safe_name = _safe_skill_name(skill_name)
+    skill_dir = Path(SKILLS_DIR) / safe_name
     skill_dir.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
     (skill_dir / "SKILL.md").write_text(content, encoding="utf-8")
-    logger.info("Saved skill: %s", skill_name)
+    logger.info("Saved skill: %s", safe_name)
 
 
 def register_skill_tools(tools: dict) -> None:
diff --git a/mcp_server/espocrm_client.py b/mcp_server/espocrm_client.py
index 22ed447..40df917 100644
--- a/mcp_server/espocrm_client.py
+++ b/mcp_server/espocrm_client.py
@@ -8,6 +8,14 @@ import logging
 logger = logging.getLogger("shira.espocrm")
 
 
+class EspoCrmApiError(RuntimeError):
+    """Raised when the EspoCRM API returns a non-success status code."""
+
+    def __init__(self, status_code: int, text: str):
+        self.status_code = status_code
+        super().__init__(f"EspoCRM API error {status_code}: {text}")
+
+
 class EspoCrmClient:
     """Thin async wrapper around the EspoCRM REST API."""
 
@@ -41,7 +49,7 @@ class EspoCrmClient:
             if not resp.is_success:
                 text = resp.text
                 logger.error("[crm-api] Error %s: %s", resp.status_code, text)
-                raise RuntimeError(f"EspoCRM API error {resp.status_code}: {text}")
+                raise EspoCrmApiError(resp.status_code, text)
             return resp.json()
 
     async def get(self, endpoint: str) -> dict:
diff --git a/mcp_server/tools/crm_tools.py b/mcp_server/tools/crm_tools.py
index 4786e72..04998bf 100644
--- a/mcp_server/tools/crm_tools.py
+++ b/mcp_server/tools/crm_tools.py
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ from typing import TYPE_CHECKING
 if TYPE_CHECKING:
     from mcp_server.espocrm_client import EspoCrmClient
 
+from mcp_server.espocrm_client import EspoCrmApiError
 from mcp_server.tools._helpers import normalize_date, ok, fail
 
 VALID_STATUSES = {
@@ -200,13 +201,15 @@ def register_crm_tools(
                 "isActive": True,
             })
             return ok(f'כלל חדש נשמר: "{name}" (ID: {result["id"]})')
-        except Exception as e:
-            if "404" in str(e) and user_id:
+        except EspoCrmApiError as e:
+            if e.status_code == 404 and user_id:
                 # AssistantRule entity not available — save to user profile instead
                 from api.services.memory import update_user_profile
                 entry = f"כלל [{scope}] {name}: {rule}"
                 return await update_user_profile(user_id, "add", entry)
             return fail(f"שגיאה בשמירת כלל: {e}")
+        except Exception as e:
+            return fail(f"שגיאה בשמירת כלל: {e}")
 
     # Register all tools
     tools["create_task"] = {
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index a15daa9..447637e 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -8,7 +8,6 @@ dependencies = [
     "uvicorn[standard]>=0.32.0",
     "httpx>=0.27.0",
     "pydantic>=2.10.0",
-    "mcp>=1.0.0",
     "openai>=1.50.0",
     "pyyaml>=6.0",
 ]