diff --git a/pkg/environments/production/config.go b/pkg/environments/production/config.go
index c5167eb..a2fd99e 100644
--- a/pkg/environments/production/config.go
+++ b/pkg/environments/production/config.go
@@ -106,13 +106,15 @@ func (cg *ConfigGenerator) GenerateNodeConfig(peerAddresses []string, vpsIP stri
 	}
 
 	// Determine advertise addresses - use vpsIP if provided
-	// When HTTPS/SNI is enabled, use domain-based raft address for SNI routing
+	// When HTTPS is enabled, RQLite uses native TLS on port 7002 (not SNI gateway)
+	// This avoids conflicts between SNI gateway TLS termination and RQLite's native TLS
 	var httpAdvAddr, raftAdvAddr string
 	if vpsIP != "" {
 		httpAdvAddr = net.JoinHostPort(vpsIP, "5001")
-		if enableHTTPS && domain != "" {
-			// Use SNI domain for Raft advertisement so other nodes connect via SNI gateway
-			raftAdvAddr = fmt.Sprintf("raft.%s:7001", domain)
+		if enableHTTPS {
+			// Use direct IP:7002 for Raft - RQLite handles TLS natively via -node-cert
+			// This bypasses the SNI gateway which would cause TLS termination conflicts
+			raftAdvAddr = net.JoinHostPort(vpsIP, "7002")
 		} else {
 			raftAdvAddr = net.JoinHostPort(vpsIP, "7001")
 		}
@@ -123,15 +125,26 @@ func (cg *ConfigGenerator) GenerateNodeConfig(peerAddresses []string, vpsIP stri
 	}
 
 	// Determine RQLite join address
+	// When HTTPS is enabled, use port 7002 (direct RQLite TLS) instead of 7001 (SNI gateway)
+	joinPort := "7001"
+	if enableHTTPS {
+		joinPort = "7002"
+	}
+
 	var rqliteJoinAddr string
 	if joinAddress != "" {
 		// Use explicitly provided join address
-		rqliteJoinAddr = joinAddress
+		// If it contains :7001 and HTTPS is enabled, update to :7002
+		if enableHTTPS && strings.Contains(joinAddress, ":7001") {
+			rqliteJoinAddr = strings.Replace(joinAddress, ":7001", ":7002", 1)
+		} else {
+			rqliteJoinAddr = joinAddress
+		}
 	} else if len(peerAddresses) > 0 {
 		// Infer join address from peers
 		peerIP := inferPeerIP(peerAddresses, "")
 		if peerIP != "" {
-			rqliteJoinAddr = net.JoinHostPort(peerIP, "7001")
+			rqliteJoinAddr = net.JoinHostPort(peerIP, joinPort)
 			// Validate that join address doesn't match this node's own raft address (would cause self-join)
 			if rqliteJoinAddr == raftAdvAddr {
 				rqliteJoinAddr = "" // Clear it - this is the first node
@@ -176,14 +189,13 @@ func (cg *ConfigGenerator) GenerateNodeConfig(peerAddresses []string, vpsIP stri
 		HTTPSPort:              httpsPort,
 	}
 
-	// When HTTPS/SNI is enabled, configure RQLite node-to-node TLS encryption
-	// This allows Raft traffic to be routed through the SNI gateway
-	// Uses the same certificates as the SNI gateway (Let's Encrypt or self-signed)
+	// When HTTPS is enabled, configure RQLite node-to-node TLS encryption
+	// RQLite handles TLS natively on port 7002, bypassing the SNI gateway
+	// This avoids TLS termination conflicts between SNI gateway and RQLite
 	if enableHTTPS && domain != "" {
 		data.NodeCert = filepath.Join(tlsCacheDir, domain+".crt")
 		data.NodeKey = filepath.Join(tlsCacheDir, domain+".key")
 		// Skip verification since nodes may have different domain certificates
-		// and we're routing through the SNI gateway which terminates TLS
 		data.NodeNoVerify = true
 	}
 
diff --git a/pkg/environments/templates/node.yaml b/pkg/environments/templates/node.yaml
index bd1cb5a..df8cc10 100644
--- a/pkg/environments/templates/node.yaml
+++ b/pkg/environments/templates/node.yaml
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ database:
   rqlite_port: {{.RQLiteHTTPPort}}
   rqlite_raft_port: {{.RQLiteRaftInternalPort}}
   rqlite_join_address: "{{.RQLiteJoinAddress}}"
-  {{if .NodeCert}}# Node-to-node TLS encryption for Raft communication (required for SNI gateway routing)
+  {{if .NodeCert}}# Node-to-node TLS encryption for Raft communication (direct RQLite TLS on port 7002)
   node_cert: "{{.NodeCert}}"
   node_key: "{{.NodeKey}}"
   {{if .NodeCACert}}node_ca_cert: "{{.NodeCACert}}"
@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ http_gateway:
     cert_file: "{{.TLSCacheDir}}/{{.Domain}}.crt"
     key_file: "{{.TLSCacheDir}}/{{.Domain}}.key"
     routes:
-      raft.{{.Domain}}: "localhost:{{.RQLiteRaftInternalPort}}"
+      # Note: Raft traffic bypasses SNI gateway - RQLite uses native TLS on port 7002
       ipfs.{{.Domain}}: "localhost:4101"
       ipfs-cluster.{{.Domain}}: "localhost:9096"
       olric.{{.Domain}}: "localhost:3322"
diff --git a/pkg/installer/installer.go b/pkg/installer/installer.go
index 50d76da..d659e28 100644
--- a/pkg/installer/installer.go
+++ b/pkg/installer/installer.go
@@ -25,7 +25,8 @@ type InstallerConfig struct {
 	VpsIP          string
 	Domain         string
 	PeerDomain     string   // Domain of existing node to join
-	JoinAddress    string   // Auto-populated: raft.{PeerDomain}:7001
+	PeerIP         string   // Resolved IP of peer domain (for Raft join)
+	JoinAddress    string   // Auto-populated: {PeerIP}:7002 (direct RQLite TLS)
 	Peers          []string // Auto-populated: /dns4/{PeerDomain}/tcp/4001/p2p/{PeerID}
 	ClusterSecret  string
 	SwarmKeyHex    string   // 64-hex IPFS swarm key (for joining private network)
@@ -280,8 +281,28 @@ func (m *Model) handleEnter() (tea.Model, tea.Cmd) {
 		m.config.PeerDomain = peerDomain
 		m.discoveredPeer = discovery.PeerID
 
-		// Auto-populate join address and bootstrap peers
-		m.config.JoinAddress = fmt.Sprintf("raft.%s:7001", peerDomain)
+		// Resolve peer domain to IP for direct RQLite TLS connection
+		// RQLite uses native TLS on port 7002 (not SNI gateway on 7001)
+		peerIPs, err := net.LookupIP(peerDomain)
+		if err != nil || len(peerIPs) == 0 {
+			m.err = fmt.Errorf("failed to resolve peer domain %s to IP: %w", peerDomain, err)
+			return m, nil
+		}
+		// Prefer IPv4
+		var peerIP string
+		for _, ip := range peerIPs {
+			if ip.To4() != nil {
+				peerIP = ip.String()
+				break
+			}
+		}
+		if peerIP == "" {
+			peerIP = peerIPs[0].String()
+		}
+		m.config.PeerIP = peerIP
+
+		// Auto-populate join address (direct RQLite TLS on port 7002) and bootstrap peers
+		m.config.JoinAddress = fmt.Sprintf("%s:7002", peerIP)
 		m.config.Peers = []string{
 			fmt.Sprintf("/dns4/%s/tcp/4001/p2p/%s", peerDomain, discovery.PeerID),
 		}
@@ -836,12 +857,13 @@ func detectPublicIP() string {
 }
 
 // validateSNIDNSRecords checks if the required SNI DNS records exist
-// It tries to resolve the key SNI hostnames for RQLite, IPFS, IPFS Cluster, and Olric
+// It tries to resolve the key SNI hostnames for IPFS, IPFS Cluster, and Olric
+// Note: Raft no longer uses SNI - it uses direct RQLite TLS on port 7002
 // All should resolve to the same IP (the node's public IP or domain)
 func validateSNIDNSRecords(domain string) error {
 	// List of SNI services that need DNS records
+	// Note: raft.domain is NOT included - RQLite uses direct TLS on port 7002
 	sniServices := []string{
-		fmt.Sprintf("raft.%s", domain),
 		fmt.Sprintf("ipfs.%s", domain),
 		fmt.Sprintf("ipfs-cluster.%s", domain),
 		fmt.Sprintf("olric.%s", domain),