diff --git a/docker-compose.gpu-amd.yml b/docker-compose.gpu-amd.yml
index 538f0652d..a3db3f2c0 100644
--- a/docker-compose.gpu-amd.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.gpu-amd.yml
@@ -129,7 +129,10 @@ services:
           fi
           sed "s|__SEARXNG_SECRET__|$$secret|g" /tmp/searxng-settings.yml.template > /etc/searxng/settings.yml
         fi
-        /usr/local/searxng/.venv/bin/python /tmp/migrate-searxng-settings.py /etc/searxng/settings.yml
+        # Advisory: a settings file the migration cannot parse or rewrite must
+        # not be what stops searxng from booting. It explains itself on stderr
+        # and we carry on, letting searxng report anything genuinely wrong.
+        /usr/local/searxng/.venv/bin/python /tmp/migrate-searxng-settings.py /etc/searxng/settings.yml || true
         exec /usr/local/searxng/entrypoint.sh
     ports:
       - "127.0.0.1:8080:8080"
diff --git a/docker-compose.gpu-nvidia.yml b/docker-compose.gpu-nvidia.yml
index 82ec157b2..f745b132a 100644
--- a/docker-compose.gpu-nvidia.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.gpu-nvidia.yml
@@ -132,7 +132,10 @@ services:
           fi
           sed "s|__SEARXNG_SECRET__|$$secret|g" /tmp/searxng-settings.yml.template > /etc/searxng/settings.yml
         fi
-        /usr/local/searxng/.venv/bin/python /tmp/migrate-searxng-settings.py /etc/searxng/settings.yml
+        # Advisory: a settings file the migration cannot parse or rewrite must
+        # not be what stops searxng from booting. It explains itself on stderr
+        # and we carry on, letting searxng report anything genuinely wrong.
+        /usr/local/searxng/.venv/bin/python /tmp/migrate-searxng-settings.py /etc/searxng/settings.yml || true
         exec /usr/local/searxng/entrypoint.sh
     ports:
       - "127.0.0.1:8080:8080"
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index 5ef50e640..4b69458ad 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -110,7 +110,10 @@ services:
           fi
           sed "s|__SEARXNG_SECRET__|$$secret|g" /tmp/searxng-settings.yml.template > /etc/searxng/settings.yml
         fi
-        /usr/local/searxng/.venv/bin/python /tmp/migrate-searxng-settings.py /etc/searxng/settings.yml
+        # Advisory: a settings file the migration cannot parse or rewrite must
+        # not be what stops searxng from booting. It explains itself on stderr
+        # and we carry on, letting searxng report anything genuinely wrong.
+        /usr/local/searxng/.venv/bin/python /tmp/migrate-searxng-settings.py /etc/searxng/settings.yml || true
         exec /usr/local/searxng/entrypoint.sh
     ports:
       - "127.0.0.1:8080:8080"
diff --git a/tests/test_searxng_settings_migration.py b/tests/test_searxng_settings_migration.py
index 208b57ba9..75cef7775 100644
--- a/tests/test_searxng_settings_migration.py
+++ b/tests/test_searxng_settings_migration.py
@@ -310,9 +310,12 @@ def test_replace_failure_preserves_original_and_removes_temporary_file(
 def test_compose_runs_migration_for_all_variants(compose_file):
     text = compose_file.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
 
+    # The `|| true` is load-bearing: the entrypoint runs under `set -eu`, so
+    # without it a settings file the migration cannot parse or rewrite stops
+    # searxng from starting at all instead of merely going unmigrated.
     assert (
         "/usr/local/searxng/.venv/bin/python /tmp/migrate-searxng-settings.py "
-        "/etc/searxng/settings.yml" in text
+        "/etc/searxng/settings.yml || true" in text
     )
     assert (
         "./scripts/migrate_searxng_settings.py:"