diff --git a/frontend/src/SocketContext.jsx b/frontend/src/SocketContext.jsx
index 41514da..2a37cf0 100644
--- a/frontend/src/SocketContext.jsx
+++ b/frontend/src/SocketContext.jsx
@@ -31,9 +31,12 @@ export function SocketProvider({ children }) {
 
     console.log('🔄 Initializing socket connection...');
 
-    // Determine backend URL
-    const backendUrl = import.meta.env.VITE_API_URL || 
+    // Determine backend URL (strip /api if present since socket.io is at root)
+    let backendUrl = import.meta.env.VITE_API_URL || 
       (import.meta.env.DEV ? 'http://localhost:4000' : window.location.origin);
+    
+    // Remove /api suffix if present
+    backendUrl = backendUrl.replace(/\/api$/, '');
 
     console.log('🌐 Connecting to:', backendUrl);