diff --git a/src/lib/api/lnbits.ts b/src/lib/api/lnbits.ts
index 6782808..700df9a 100644
--- a/src/lib/api/lnbits.ts
+++ b/src/lib/api/lnbits.ts
@@ -116,12 +116,29 @@ export class LnbitsAPI extends BaseService {
 
     if (!response.ok) {
       const errorText = await response.text()
+      // Try to surface FastAPI's `{"detail": "..."}` shape; fall back to raw
+      // body for non-JSON errors. Without this, every backend error renders
+      // as a generic "API request failed: <status>" and you can't distinguish
+      // "wrong endpoint" from "expired token" from "validation failure".
+      let detail: string = errorText
+      try {
+        const parsed = JSON.parse(errorText)
+        if (parsed && typeof parsed.detail === 'string') {
+          detail = parsed.detail
+        } else if (parsed && Array.isArray(parsed.detail)) {
+          // pydantic ValidationError: take the first msg
+          detail = parsed.detail[0]?.msg ?? errorText
+        }
+      } catch {
+        // body wasn't JSON; keep the raw text in `detail`
+      }
       console.error('LNBits API Error:', {
+        endpoint,
         status: response.status,
         statusText: response.statusText,
-        errorText
+        detail,
       })
-      throw new Error(`API request failed: ${response.status} ${response.statusText}`)
+      throw new Error(`LNbits ${endpoint} ${response.status}: ${detail || response.statusText}`)
     }
 
     const data = await response.json()
@@ -192,8 +209,12 @@ export class LnbitsAPI extends BaseService {
   }
 
   async updateProfile(data: Partial<User>): Promise<User> {
-    return this.request<User>('/auth/update', {
-      method: 'PUT',
+    // aiolabs/lnbits PR #26 (gap-fill 869f67c3) wired
+    // _publish_nostr_metadata_event into PATCH /api/v1/auth
+    // (auth_api.py:546). The legacy PUT /auth/update route does not
+    // exist on the post-cascade server.
+    return this.request<User>('/auth', {
+      method: 'PATCH',
       body: JSON.stringify(data),
     })
   }