diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index a7848fdd27..617887ef52 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -11,3 +11,4 @@ filament/docs/html/**
 .vscode
 gltf_baker.ini
 *tmp*.png
+civetweb.txt
diff --git a/filament/src/Engine.cpp b/filament/src/Engine.cpp
index 966e150e9d..baff3f353a 100644
--- a/filament/src/Engine.cpp
+++ b/filament/src/Engine.cpp
@@ -163,7 +163,14 @@ void FEngine::init() {
 #if FILAMENT_ENABLE_MATDBG
     // Disable the web server for regression tests that occur in hermetic environments.
     if (mBackend != backend::Backend::NOOP) {
-        debug.server = new matdbg::DebugServer(matdbg::ENGINE);
+        debug.server = new matdbg::DebugServer(matdbg::ENGINE, 8080);
+
+        // Sometimes the server can fail to spin up (e.g. if the above port is already in use).
+        // When this occurs, carry onward, developers can look at civetweb.txt for details.
+        if (!debug.server->isReady()) {
+            delete debug.server;
+            debug.server = nullptr;
+        }
     }
 #endif
 
diff --git a/libs/matdbg/include/matdbg/DebugServer.h b/libs/matdbg/include/matdbg/DebugServer.h
index 27bd021e84..74fe7ff396 100644
--- a/libs/matdbg/include/matdbg/DebugServer.h
+++ b/libs/matdbg/include/matdbg/DebugServer.h
@@ -54,6 +54,8 @@ public:
      */
     void setEditCallback(EditCallback callback) { mEditCallback = callback; }
 
+    bool isReady() const { return mServer; }
+
 private:
     using MaterialKey = uint32_t;
 
@@ -75,9 +77,9 @@ private:
     utils::CString mCss;
     EditCallback mEditCallback = nullptr;
 
-    class FileRequestHandler* mFileHandler;
-    class RestRequestHandler* mRestHandler;
-    class WebSocketHandler* mWebSocketHandler;
+    class FileRequestHandler* mFileHandler = nullptr;
+    class RestRequestHandler* mRestHandler = nullptr;
+    class WebSocketHandler* mWebSocketHandler = nullptr;
 
     friend class FileRequestHandler;
     friend class RestRequestHandler;
diff --git a/libs/matdbg/src/DebugServer.cpp b/libs/matdbg/src/DebugServer.cpp
index e17ecdde06..6ad297e1db 100644
--- a/libs/matdbg/src/DebugServer.cpp
+++ b/libs/matdbg/src/DebugServer.cpp
@@ -345,11 +345,25 @@ DebugServer::DebugServer(ServerMode mode, int port) : mServerMode(mode) {
     mCss = CString((const char*) MATDBG_RESOURCES_STYLE_DATA, MATDBG_RESOURCES_STYLE_SIZE - 1);
     #endif
 
-    const char* kServerOptions[] = { "listening_ports", "8080", nullptr };
+    // By default the server spawns 50 threads so we override this to 2. This limits the server
+    // to having no more than 2 HTTP clients, which is perfectly fine for debugging purposes.
+    const char* kServerOptions[] = {
+        "listening_ports", "8080",
+        "num_threads", "2",
+        "error_log_file", "civetweb.txt",
+        nullptr
+    };
     std::string portString = std::to_string(port);
     kServerOptions[1] = portString.c_str();
 
     mServer = new CivetServer(kServerOptions);
+    if (!mServer->getContext()) {
+        delete mServer;
+        mServer = nullptr;
+        slog.e << "Unable to start DebugServer, see civetweb.txt for details." << io::endl;
+        return;
+    }
+
     mFileHandler = new FileRequestHandler(this);
     mRestHandler = new RestRequestHandler(this);
     mWebSocketHandler = new WebSocketHandler(this);
diff --git a/third_party/civetweb/src/CivetServer.cpp b/third_party/civetweb/src/CivetServer.cpp
index 5fa4501159..f3d9766cb2 100644
--- a/third_party/civetweb/src/CivetServer.cpp
+++ b/third_party/civetweb/src/CivetServer.cpp
@@ -290,8 +290,6 @@ CivetServer::CivetServer(const char **options,
 	}
 	callbacks.connection_close = closeHandler;
 	context = mg_start(&callbacks, this, options);
-	if (context == NULL)
-		abort();
 }
 
 CivetServer::CivetServer(std::vector<std::string> options,
diff --git a/third_party/civetweb/tnt/README b/third_party/civetweb/tnt/README
index 53d7c86ec9..185dee0320 100644
--- a/third_party/civetweb/tnt/README
+++ b/third_party/civetweb/tnt/README
@@ -2,4 +2,5 @@ This is how third_party/civetweb was created:
 
 1. Downloaded from https://github.com/civetweb/civetweb/tree/3fadd57
 2. `rm -rf Qt VisualStudio ci conan zephyr ci distribution contrib test .git src/third_party`
-3. Replaced "throw" statements in CivetServer.cpp with abort().
+3. Removed "throw" statements from CivetServer::CivetServer.
+4. Replaced all other "throw" statements with abort().