diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index d99fb3b..861c8e5 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "claude-auto-retry",
-  "version": "0.2.1",
+  "version": "0.2.2",
   "description": "Automatically retry Claude Code sessions when hitting Anthropic subscription rate limits",
   "type": "module",
   "bin": {
diff --git a/src/config.js b/src/config.js
index 054056a..ec1542c 100644
--- a/src/config.js
+++ b/src/config.js
@@ -27,6 +27,11 @@ function validate(cfg) {
   }
   if (!Array.isArray(cfg.customPatterns)) {
     cfg.customPatterns = DEFAULT_CONFIG.customPatterns;
+  } else {
+    cfg.customPatterns = cfg.customPatterns.filter(p => {
+      if (typeof p !== 'string') return false;
+      try { new RegExp(p); return true; } catch { return false; }
+    });
   }
   if (cfg.foregroundCommands !== undefined) {
     if (!Array.isArray(cfg.foregroundCommands) || cfg.foregroundCommands.length === 0) {
diff --git a/src/launcher.js b/src/launcher.js
index 59109e5..bb802bb 100644
--- a/src/launcher.js
+++ b/src/launcher.js
@@ -113,7 +113,7 @@ async function launchPrintMode(args) {
 
     // Rate limited — discard buffer, wait and retry
     retries++;
-    if (retries >= config.maxRetries) {
+    if (retries > config.maxRetries) {
       process.stderr.write(`[claude-auto-retry] Max retries (${config.maxRetries}) reached.\n`);
       return 1;
     }
diff --git a/src/monitor.js b/src/monitor.js
index 72e54b1..3ee6cf1 100644
--- a/src/monitor.js
+++ b/src/monitor.js
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import { stripAnsi, isRateLimited, findRateLimitMessage } from './patterns.js';
 import { parseResetTime, calculateWaitMs } from './time-parser.js';
-import { capturePane, sendKeys, getPaneCommand } from './tmux.js';
+import { capturePane, sendKeys, getPaneCommand, isProcessForeground } from './tmux.js';
 import { loadConfig } from './config.js';
 import { createLogger } from './logger.js';
 
@@ -34,22 +34,27 @@ export async function processOneTick(state, tmuxAdapter, pane, config, isAlive)
       return 'max-retries';
     }
 
-    const fg = await tmuxAdapter.getPaneCommand(pane);
-    const fgCommands = config.foregroundCommands || DEFAULT_FOREGROUND_COMMANDS;
-    if (!fgCommands.some(c => fg.toLowerCase().includes(c))) {
-      // Push waitUntil forward to avoid tight-loop polling every tick
-      state.waitUntil = Date.now() + (config.pollIntervalSeconds * 1000 * 6);
-      state._lastForeground = fg;
-      return 'skipped-not-claude';
+    // Primary check: is the Claude process in the foreground process group?
+    // On macOS, pane_current_command reports "zsh" instead of the child process,
+    // so we use `ps -o stat=` to check the '+' (foreground) flag directly.
+    // `true` short-circuits past pane_current_command (fixes macOS).
+    // `false`/`null` falls back to pane_current_command for safety.
+    const isFg = await tmuxAdapter.isClaudeForeground();
+    if (isFg !== true) {
+      const fg = await tmuxAdapter.getPaneCommand(pane);
+      const fgCommands = config.foregroundCommands || DEFAULT_FOREGROUND_COMMANDS;
+      if (!fgCommands.some(c => fg.toLowerCase().includes(c))) {
+        state.waitUntil = Date.now() + (config.pollIntervalSeconds * 1000 * 6);
+        state._lastForeground = fg;
+        return 'skipped-not-claude';
+      }
     }
 
-    await tmuxAdapter.sendKeys(pane, config.retryMessage);
+    // Increment attempts and set cooldown BEFORE sendKeys so that a failure
+    // (e.g. pane destroyed) still consumes a retry and avoids tight-loop errors.
     state.attempts++;
-    // Stay in 'waiting' with a 30s cooldown instead of going to 'monitoring'.
-    // This gives Claude time to process the retry and produce enough output
-    // to push the stale rate-limit message out of the recent-lines window.
-    // Without this, the next tick re-detects the old message and waits 24h.
     state.waitUntil = Date.now() + 30_000;
+    await tmuxAdapter.sendKeys(pane, config.retryMessage);
     return 'retried';
   }
 
@@ -74,7 +79,7 @@ export async function startMonitor(pane, pid) {
 
   await logger.info(`Monitor started for pane ${pane} (claude PID: ${pid})`);
 
-  const tmuxAdapter = { capturePane, sendKeys, getPaneCommand };
+  const tmuxAdapter = { capturePane, sendKeys, getPaneCommand, isClaudeForeground: () => isProcessForeground(pid) };
   const isAlive = () => { try { process.kill(pid, 0); return true; } catch { return false; } };
 
   const loop = async () => {
diff --git a/src/time-parser.js b/src/time-parser.js
index 4a49e0a..cec577b 100644
--- a/src/time-parser.js
+++ b/src/time-parser.js
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 const RESET_TIME_REGEX = /resets?\s+(?:at\s+)?(\d{1,2})(?::(\d{2}))?\s*(am|pm)?\s*(?:\(([^)]+)\))?/i;
-const RELATIVE_TIME_REGEX = /(?:try again|wait)\s+(?:for\s+)?(?:in\s+)?(\d+)\s*(hours?|minutes?|mins?|h|m)\b/i;
+const RELATIVE_TIME_REGEX = /(?:try again|wait|resets?\s+in)[:\s]\s*(?:for\s+)?(?:in\s+)?(\d+)\s*(hours?|minutes?|mins?|h|m)\b/i;
 
 export function parseResetTime(text) {
   // Try absolute time first: "resets at 3pm (UTC)"
diff --git a/src/tmux.js b/src/tmux.js
index a745306..7fc0fc2 100644
--- a/src/tmux.js
+++ b/src/tmux.js
@@ -40,5 +40,14 @@ export async function getPaneCommand(pane) {
   return stdout.trim();
 }
 
+export async function isProcessForeground(pid) {
+  try {
+    const { stdout } = await execFileAsync('ps', ['-o', 'stat=', '-p', String(pid)]);
+    return stdout.trim().includes('+');
+  } catch {
+    return null;
+  }
+}
+
 export function isInsideTmux() { return !!process.env.TMUX; }
 export function getCurrentPane() { return process.env.TMUX_PANE || null; }
diff --git a/test/config.test.js b/test/config.test.js
index 9990eed..4dd4fdc 100644
--- a/test/config.test.js
+++ b/test/config.test.js
@@ -53,6 +53,17 @@ describe('loadConfig', () => {
       assert.equal(config.pollIntervalSeconds, 5);
     } finally { await unlink(f); }
   });
+  it('filters invalid customPatterns entries', async () => {
+    const { writeFile, unlink } = await import('node:fs/promises');
+    const { tmpdir } = await import('node:os');
+    const { join } = await import('node:path');
+    const f = join(tmpdir(), `car-test-${Date.now()}.json`);
+    await writeFile(f, JSON.stringify({ customPatterns: ["valid", 42, null, "[invalid"] }));
+    try {
+      const config = await loadConfig(f);
+      assert.deepEqual(config.customPatterns, ["valid"]);
+    } finally { await unlink(f); }
+  });
   it('rejects negative numbers and falls back to defaults', async () => {
     const { writeFile, unlink } = await import('node:fs/promises');
     const { tmpdir } = await import('node:os');
diff --git a/test/monitor.test.js b/test/monitor.test.js
index 900db25..48c84e4 100644
--- a/test/monitor.test.js
+++ b/test/monitor.test.js
@@ -3,12 +3,13 @@ import assert from 'node:assert/strict';
 import { createMonitorState, processOneTick } from '../src/monitor.js';
 import { DEFAULT_CONFIG } from '../src/config.js';
 
-function mockTmux(paneContent = '', paneCommand = 'node') {
+function mockTmux(paneContent = '', paneCommand = 'node', claudeForeground = true) {
   const t = {
     _sent: [],
     capturePane: async () => paneContent,
     getPaneCommand: async () => paneCommand,
     sendKeys: async (_p, text) => { t._sent.push(text); },
+    isClaudeForeground: async () => claudeForeground,
   };
   return t;
 }
@@ -49,24 +50,39 @@ describe('processOneTick', () => {
     assert.equal(await processOneTick(s, t, '%0', DEFAULT_CONFIG, () => true), 'waiting');
     assert.ok(s.waitUntil > Date.now());
   });
-  it('skips when foreground is not claude', async () => {
-    const t = mockTmux('5-hour limit reached - resets 3pm (UTC)', 'vim');
+  it('retries when Claude process is in foreground (fixes macOS zsh issue)', async () => {
+    const t = mockTmux('5-hour limit reached - resets 3pm (UTC)', 'zsh', true);
+    const s = createMonitorState();
+    s.waitUntil = Date.now() - 1000; s.status = 'waiting';
+    assert.equal(await processOneTick(s, t, '%0', DEFAULT_CONFIG, () => true), 'retried');
+    assert.equal(t._sent.length, 1);
+  });
+  it('falls back to pane_current_command when process state is false', async () => {
+    const t = mockTmux('5-hour limit reached - resets 3pm (UTC)', 'vim', false);
     const s = createMonitorState();
     s.waitUntil = Date.now() - 1000; s.status = 'waiting';
     assert.equal(await processOneTick(s, t, '%0', DEFAULT_CONFIG, () => true), 'skipped-not-claude');
     assert.equal(t._sent.length, 0);
     assert.equal(s._lastForeground, 'vim');
   });
-  it('accepts custom foregroundCommands from config', async () => {
-    const t = mockTmux('5-hour limit reached - resets 3pm (UTC)', 'my-claude-wrapper');
+  it('falls back to pane_current_command when process state is null', async () => {
+    const t = mockTmux('5-hour limit reached - resets 3pm (UTC)', 'vim', null);
+    const s = createMonitorState();
+    s.waitUntil = Date.now() - 1000; s.status = 'waiting';
+    assert.equal(await processOneTick(s, t, '%0', DEFAULT_CONFIG, () => true), 'skipped-not-claude');
+    assert.equal(t._sent.length, 0);
+    assert.equal(s._lastForeground, 'vim');
+  });
+  it('accepts custom foregroundCommands in fallback path', async () => {
+    const t = mockTmux('5-hour limit reached - resets 3pm (UTC)', 'my-claude-wrapper', null);
     const s = createMonitorState();
     s.waitUntil = Date.now() - 1000; s.status = 'waiting';
     const config = { ...DEFAULT_CONFIG, foregroundCommands: ['my-claude-wrapper'] };
     assert.equal(await processOneTick(s, t, '%0', config, () => true), 'retried');
     assert.equal(t._sent.length, 1);
   });
-  it('matches npx as default foreground command', async () => {
-    const t = mockTmux('5-hour limit reached - resets 3pm (UTC)', 'npx');
+  it('matches npx in fallback path', async () => {
+    const t = mockTmux('5-hour limit reached - resets 3pm (UTC)', 'npx', null);
     const s = createMonitorState();
     s.waitUntil = Date.now() - 1000; s.status = 'waiting';
     assert.equal(await processOneTick(s, t, '%0', DEFAULT_CONFIG, () => true), 'retried');
diff --git a/test/time-parser.test.js b/test/time-parser.test.js
index 74d903b..ce92006 100644
--- a/test/time-parser.test.js
+++ b/test/time-parser.test.js
@@ -46,6 +46,16 @@ describe('parseResetTime', () => {
     assert.ok(r.relative);
     assert.equal(r.waitMs, 30 * 60_000);
   });
+  it('parses "resets in: 3 hours" as relative time', () => {
+    const r = parseResetTime('usage limit · resets in: 3 hours');
+    assert.ok(r.relative);
+    assert.equal(r.waitMs, 3 * 3_600_000);
+  });
+  it('parses "resets in 2 hours" as relative time', () => {
+    const r = parseResetTime('resets in 2 hours');
+    assert.ok(r.relative);
+    assert.equal(r.waitMs, 2 * 3_600_000);
+  });
 });
 
 describe('calculateWaitMs', () => {