diff --git a/apps/api/src/api/tool_instances.py b/apps/api/src/api/tool_instances.py
index eca5437..7898fe2 100644
--- a/apps/api/src/api/tool_instances.py
+++ b/apps/api/src/api/tool_instances.py
@@ -893,9 +893,25 @@ async def create_instance(
 
         # Generate unique name
         instance_name = f"{tool_type.name}-{repo.name}-{uuid.uuid4().hex[:8]}"
-        instance_display = (
-            data.display_name or f"{tool_type.display_name} - {repo.name}"
-        )
+
+        # Auto-generate display name with numbering when duplicates exist
+        if data.display_name:
+            instance_display = data.display_name
+        else:
+            auto_name = f"{_project.name} / {repo.name} / {tool_type.display_name}"
+            result = await session.execute(
+                select(ToolInstance).where(
+                    ToolInstance.project_id == project_id,
+                    ToolInstance.repository_id == repo_id,
+                    ToolInstance.tool_type_id == tool_type_id,
+                    ToolInstance.owner_id == user_id,
+                )
+            )
+            existing_count = len(result.scalars().all())
+            if existing_count > 0:
+                instance_display = f"{auto_name} #{existing_count + 1}"
+            else:
+                instance_display = auto_name
 
         # Create instance directory
         instance_dir = ensure_instance_directory(instance_name)
diff --git a/apps/api/src/services/tunnel.py b/apps/api/src/services/tunnel.py
index 6a2c468..4c4d907 100644
--- a/apps/api/src/services/tunnel.py
+++ b/apps/api/src/services/tunnel.py
@@ -133,7 +133,9 @@ def start_tunnel(
     logger.debug("Tunnel container started: %s", container_id)
 
     # Wait for URL to appear in logs
-    url_pattern = re.compile(r"https://[a-z0-9-]+\.trycloudflare\.com")
+    # Exclude api.trycloudflare.com which is the Cloudflare API endpoint,
+    # not a tunnel URL. Real tunnel URLs have random subdomains (10+ chars).
+    url_pattern = re.compile(r"https://(?!api\.)[a-z0-9-]{10,}\.trycloudflare\.com")
     start_time = __import__("time").time()
     url: str | None = None
     combined_logs = ""