diff --git a/updateDNS.sh b/updateDNS.sh
index b2921c5..37665b8 100755
--- a/updateDNS.sh
+++ b/updateDNS.sh
@@ -72,6 +72,8 @@ fi
 
 PORKBUN_API_URL="https://api-ipv4.porkbun.com/api/json/v3"
 NOTES_PREFIX="ddns:"
+# Fail on transient HTTP error bodies so retries cannot append HTML to JSON output.
+CURL_RETRY_ARGS=(--silent --show-error --fail --retry 3 --retry-delay 2)
 
 # Optional dry-run mode. When DRY_RUN=1, destructive or mutating API calls
 # (dns/create, dns/delete) are logged but not executed.
@@ -99,7 +101,7 @@ function get_public_ip() {
     fi
     
     local ping_response
-    ping_response=$(curl -s --max-time 10 --retry 2 -X POST "$PORKBUN_API_URL/ping" \
+    ping_response=$(curl "${CURL_RETRY_ARGS[@]}" --max-time 10 -X POST "$PORKBUN_API_URL/ping" \
         -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
         -d "$auth_json" 2>&1 || echo "")
     
@@ -112,14 +114,14 @@ function get_public_ip() {
     
     # Fallback methods if Porkbun ping fails
     if [ -z "$ip" ]; then
-        ip=$(curl -s --max-time 5 --retry 2 https://api.ipify.org 2>/dev/null || echo "")
+        ip=$(curl "${CURL_RETRY_ARGS[@]}" --max-time 5 https://api.ipify.org 2>/dev/null || echo "")
         if [ -n "$ip" ]; then
             printf '%s [INFO] IP source: api.ipify.org\n' "$(date)" >&2
         fi
     fi
 
     if [ -z "$ip" ]; then
-        ip=$(curl -s --max-time 5 --retry 2 https://icanhazip.com 2>/dev/null || echo "")
+        ip=$(curl "${CURL_RETRY_ARGS[@]}" --max-time 5 https://icanhazip.com 2>/dev/null || echo "")
         if [ -n "$ip" ]; then
             printf '%s [INFO] IP source: icanhazip.com\n' "$(date)" >&2
         fi
@@ -178,7 +180,7 @@ function register_host_dns() {
 
     # Retrieve all DNS records for the domain
     local records
-    if ! records=$(curl -s --max-time 10 --retry 2 -X POST "$PORKBUN_API_URL/dns/retrieve/$domain" \
+    if ! records=$(curl "${CURL_RETRY_ARGS[@]}" --max-time 10 -X POST "$PORKBUN_API_URL/dns/retrieve/$domain" \
         -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
         -d "$auth_json" 2>&1); then
     printf '%s [ERROR] Failed to retrieve DNS records: %s\n' "$(date)" "$records" >&2
@@ -250,7 +252,7 @@ function register_host_dns() {
             if [ "$DRY_RUN" -eq 1 ]; then
                 printf "%s [INFO] DRY RUN: Skipping actual delete for record ID %s\n" "$(date)" "$record_id"
             else
-                if curl -s --max-time 10 --retry 2 -X POST "$PORKBUN_API_URL/dns/delete/$domain/$record_id" \
+                if curl "${CURL_RETRY_ARGS[@]}" --max-time 10 -X POST "$PORKBUN_API_URL/dns/delete/$domain/$record_id" \
                     -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
                     -d "$auth_json" > /dev/null 2>&1; then
                     ((delete_count++)) || true
@@ -267,7 +269,7 @@ function register_host_dns() {
 
     # Verify no duplicates remain before creating new record
     # Re-fetch records to ensure we have latest state
-    if ! records=$(curl -s --max-time 10 --retry 2 -X POST "$PORKBUN_API_URL/dns/retrieve/$domain" \
+    if ! records=$(curl "${CURL_RETRY_ARGS[@]}" --max-time 10 -X POST "$PORKBUN_API_URL/dns/retrieve/$domain" \
         -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
         -d "$auth_json" 2>&1); then
     printf '%s [WARN] Failed to re-verify DNS records after deletion: %s\n' "$(date)" "$records" >&2
@@ -307,7 +309,7 @@ function register_host_dns() {
     fi
 
     local create_response
-    if ! create_response=$(curl -s --max-time 10 --retry 2 -X POST "$PORKBUN_API_URL/dns/create/$domain" \
+    if ! create_response=$(curl "${CURL_RETRY_ARGS[@]}" --max-time 10 -X POST "$PORKBUN_API_URL/dns/create/$domain" \
         -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
         -d "$create_json" 2>&1); then
     printf '%s [ERROR] Failed to create DNS record: %s\n' "$(date)" "$create_response" >&2
@@ -320,7 +322,7 @@ function register_host_dns() {
     printf "%s [INFO] Successfully created A record for %s (machine: %s)\n" "$(date)" "$fqdn" "$MACHINE_ID"
         
         # Final verification: ensure exactly one record exists
-        if records=$(curl -s --max-time 10 --retry 2 -X POST "$PORKBUN_API_URL/dns/retrieve/$domain" \
+        if records=$(curl "${CURL_RETRY_ARGS[@]}" --max-time 10 -X POST "$PORKBUN_API_URL/dns/retrieve/$domain" \
             -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
             -d "$auth_json" 2>&1); then
             local final_count