diff --git a/apps/compiler/includes/functions.sh b/apps/compiler/includes/functions.sh
index 991178d8e..c955f2847 100644
--- a/apps/compiler/includes/functions.sh
+++ b/apps/compiler/includes/functions.sh
@@ -143,6 +143,7 @@ function comp_compile() {
       mkdir -p "$AC_BINPATH_FULL"
       echo "Creating $confDir..."
       mkdir -p "$confDir"
+      mkdir -p "$confDir/modules"
 
       echo "Cmake install..."
       $SUDO cmake --install . --config $CTYPE
@@ -166,6 +167,7 @@ function comp_compile() {
           cp -v --no-clobber "$confDir/authserver.conf.dist" "$confDir/authserver.conf"
       [[ -f "$confDir/dbimport.conf.dist" ]] && \
           cp -v --no-clobber "$confDir/dbimport.conf.dist" "$confDir/dbimport.conf"
+
       for f in "$confDir/modules/"*.dist
       do
           [[ -e $f ]] || break  # handle the case of no *.dist files
diff --git a/apps/startup-scripts/src/service-manager.sh b/apps/startup-scripts/src/service-manager.sh
index 5e0a31d34..4f597fbeb 100755
--- a/apps/startup-scripts/src/service-manager.sh
+++ b/apps/startup-scripts/src/service-manager.sh
@@ -131,7 +131,7 @@ function serialize_exec_definition() {
     done
 
     local args_json
-    args_json=$(printf '%s\0' "${rel_args[@]}" "__AC_SENTINEL__" | jq -R -s 'split("\u0000")[:-1]')
+    args_json=$(printf '%s\0' "${rel_args[@]}" | jq -R -s 'split("\u0000")[:-1]')
 
     jq -n --arg command "$rel_command" --argjson args "$args_json" '{command: $command, args: $args}'
 }
@@ -2291,6 +2291,9 @@ function wait_service_uptime() {
         sleep 1
         waited=$((waited + 1))
     done
+    # show service logs for debugging
+    echo -e "${YELLOW}Service logs for '$service_name':${NC}"
+    service_logs "$service_name" true
     echo -e "${RED}Timeout: $service_name did not reach ${min_seconds}s uptime within ${timeout}s${NC}" >&2
     return 1
 }