diff --git a/backend/services/zfs_runner.py b/backend/services/zfs_runner.py
index 189e507..7ea7ea9 100644
--- a/backend/services/zfs_runner.py
+++ b/backend/services/zfs_runner.py
@@ -16,8 +16,17 @@ import re
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
 # Detect ZFS availability once at import time — avoids repeated ERROR logs on LXC/non-ZFS systems
-import shutil as _shutil
-ZFS_AVAILABLE = bool(_shutil.which("zpool"))
+# shutil.which is not enough: on privileged LXC containers zpool exists but /dev/zfs is missing
+def _probe_zfs() -> bool:
+    try:
+        r = subprocess.run(["zpool", "list"], capture_output=True, timeout=3)
+        return r.returncode == 0
+    except (FileNotFoundError, subprocess.TimeoutExpired, OSError):
+        return False
+
+ZFS_AVAILABLE = _probe_zfs()
+if not ZFS_AVAILABLE:
+    logger.info("ZFS not available on this system (pools/snapshots disabled)")
 
 # Cache with TTL
 @dataclass