diff --git a/haproxy_mcp/tools/health.py b/haproxy_mcp/tools/health.py
index fbea193..45c33c5 100644
--- a/haproxy_mcp/tools/health.py
+++ b/haproxy_mcp/tools/health.py
@@ -90,7 +90,11 @@ def register_health_tools(mcp):
         files_ok = True
         file_status: dict[str, str] = {}
         for name, path in [("map_file", MAP_FILE), ("db_file", DB_FILE)]:
-            exists = remote_file_exists(path) if REMOTE_MODE else __import__('os').path.exists(path)
+            # DB file is always local (SQLite runs in MCP container), map_file may be remote
+            if name == "db_file" or not REMOTE_MODE:
+                exists = __import__('os').path.exists(path)
+            else:
+                exists = remote_file_exists(path)
             if exists:
                 file_status[name] = "ok"
             else: