diff --git a/async_web_fetcher.py b/async_web_fetcher.py
index 2ab7edd..711e852 100644
--- a/async_web_fetcher.py
+++ b/async_web_fetcher.py
@@ -379,6 +379,8 @@ def get_media_type_from_extension(url: str) -> Optional[str]:
         'image', 'video', 'audio', or None
     """
     parsed = Uri(url)
+    if not parsed.path:
+        return None
     path = parsed.path.lower()
 
     for ext in IMAGE_EXTENSIONS:
diff --git a/database.py b/database.py
index fe10efb..c0e39ab 100644
--- a/database.py
+++ b/database.py
@@ -282,6 +282,17 @@ class Database:
             await session.commit()
             return job.id
 
+    async def update_crawl_job_stats(self, job_id: int, stats: Dict[str, Any]) -> None:
+        """Update stats for a running crawl job (for progress tracking)."""
+        async with self.session() as session:
+            stmt = (
+                update(CrawlJob)
+                .where(CrawlJob.id == job_id)
+                .values(stats=json.dumps(stats))
+            )
+            await session.execute(stmt)
+            await session.commit()
+
     async def complete_crawl_job(self, job_id: int, stats: Dict[str, Any]) -> None:
         """Mark a crawl job as complete."""
         async with self.session() as session:
diff --git a/serp.py b/serp.py
index eacc6a5..a1d3b3e 100644
--- a/serp.py
+++ b/serp.py
@@ -1010,6 +1010,22 @@ CRAWL_HTML = """
             background: #ff6b6b;
             transition: width 0.3s;
         }
+        .progress-bar-fill.running {
+            width: 100%;
+            background: linear-gradient(90deg, #ff6b6b 0%, #4ecdc4 50%, #ff6b6b 100%);
+            background-size: 200% 100%;
+            animation: progress-wave 1.5s ease-in-out infinite;
+        }
+        @keyframes progress-wave {
+            0% { background-position: 200% 0; }
+            100% { background-position: -200% 0; }
+        }
+        .job.running {
+            border-color: #4ecdc4;
+        }
+        .job-stats.live {
+            color: #4ecdc4;
+        }
 
         .no-jobs {
             color: #666;
@@ -1066,12 +1082,12 @@ CRAWL_HTML = """
                 </select>
             </div>
             <div class="form-group">
-                <label>Depth (5 recommended, max 15)</label>
-                <input type="number" id="depth" value="5" min="1" max="15">
+                <label>Depth (9 = full site, max 15)</label>
+                <input type="number" id="depth" value="9" min="1" max="15">
             </div>
             <div class="form-group">
                 <label>Max Pages (-1 = unlimited)</label>
-                <input type="number" id="max_pages" value="500" min="-1">
+                <input type="number" id="max_pages" value="-1" min="-1">
             </div>
         </div>
 
@@ -1161,12 +1177,24 @@ CRAWL_HTML = """
                     return;
                 }
 
+                const hasRunning = jobs.some(j => j.status === 'running');
+
                 container.innerHTML = jobs.map(job => {
                     const stats = job.stats ? JSON.parse(job.stats) : {};
                     const keywords = job.keywords ? JSON.parse(job.keywords) : [];
 
+                    // Show live stats for running jobs
+                    const liveStats = job.status === 'running' ? `
+                        <div class="job-stats live">
+                            <span>📄 ${stats.pages_crawled || 0} pages</span>
+                            <span>🖼️ ${stats.media_found || 0} found</span>
+                            <span>💾 ${stats.media_downloaded || 0} saved</span>
+                            <span>📸 ${stats.screenshots_taken || 0} screenshots</span>
+                        </div>
+                    ` : '';
+
                     return `
-                        <div class="job">
+                        <div class="job ${job.status}">
                             <div class="job-header">
                                 <span class="job-id">Job #${job.id}</span>
                                 <span class="job-status ${job.status}">${job.status}</span>
@@ -1185,14 +1213,20 @@ CRAWL_HTML = """
                                     <span>♻️ ${stats.duplicates_skipped || 0} dupes</span>
                                 </div>
                             ` : ''}
+                            ${liveStats}
                             ${job.status === 'running' ? `
                                 <div class="progress-bar">
-                                    <div class="progress-bar-fill" style="width: 50%"></div>
+                                    <div class="progress-bar-fill running"></div>
                                 </div>
                             ` : ''}
                         </div>
                     `;
                 }).join('');
+
+                // Poll faster while jobs are running
+                if (hasRunning) {
+                    setTimeout(loadJobs, 2000);
+                }
             } catch (err) {
                 document.getElementById('jobs').innerHTML = '<div class="no-jobs">Failed to load jobs</div>';
             }
@@ -2274,14 +2308,33 @@ async def start_crawl(request: CrawlRequest, background_tasks: BackgroundTasks):
                 # Cap depth at 15 (convert -1 or values > 15 to 15)
                 depth = request.depth if 1 <= request.depth <= 15 else 15
 
-                stats = await pig.crawl(
-                    target_uri=uri,
-                    keywords=request.keywords,
-                    mode=mode,
-                    depth=depth,
-                    max_pages=request.max_pages,
-                    download_media=request.download_media,
-                )
+                # Progress updater - runs alongside crawl
+                stop_progress = asyncio.Event()
+
+                async def update_progress():
+                    while not stop_progress.is_set():
+                        await asyncio.sleep(2)  # Update every 2 seconds
+                        if not stop_progress.is_set():
+                            await db.update_crawl_job_stats(jid, pig.stats)
+
+                progress_task = asyncio.create_task(update_progress())
+
+                try:
+                    stats = await pig.crawl(
+                        target_uri=uri,
+                        keywords=request.keywords,
+                        mode=mode,
+                        depth=depth,
+                        max_pages=request.max_pages,
+                        download_media=request.download_media,
+                    )
+                finally:
+                    stop_progress.set()
+                    progress_task.cancel()
+                    try:
+                        await progress_task
+                    except asyncio.CancelledError:
+                        pass
 
                 # Update job as completed
                 await db.complete_crawl_job(jid, stats)
@@ -2290,8 +2343,8 @@ async def start_crawl(request: CrawlRequest, background_tasks: BackgroundTasks):
                 logger.error(f"Crawl job {jid} failed: {e}")
                 await db.complete_crawl_job(jid, {"error": str(e), "status": "failed"})
 
-        # Schedule background task
-        background_tasks.add_task(asyncio.create_task, run_crawl())
+        # Schedule async task on the event loop (not BackgroundTasks which runs in threadpool)
+        asyncio.create_task(run_crawl())
 
     return {"job_ids": job_ids, "status": "running", "count": len(job_ids)}