diff --git a/tools/JournalBot.Tray/App.xaml.cs b/tools/JournalBot.Tray/App.xaml.cs
index e4bda34..174eba8 100644
--- a/tools/JournalBot.Tray/App.xaml.cs
+++ b/tools/JournalBot.Tray/App.xaml.cs
@@ -33,12 +33,18 @@ public partial class App : Application
         _tray = new TaskbarIcon { ToolTipText = "JournalBot" };
         try
         {
-            _tray.Icon = new System.Drawing.Icon(
-                Path.Combine(AppContext.BaseDirectory, "icon.ico"));
+            // icon.ico is embedded as a WPF Resource (see .csproj), so load it
+            // from the resource stream — not the filesystem, which would fail
+            // because no icon.ico is copied next to the EXE.
+            var uri = new Uri("pack://application:,,,/icon.ico", UriKind.Absolute);
+            using var stream = Application.GetResourceStream(uri).Stream;
+            _tray.Icon = new System.Drawing.Icon(stream);
         }
-        catch
+        catch (Exception ex)
         {
             // Missing/corrupt icon must not prevent startup; tray still works.
+            // Don't swallow silently — a blank tray icon is otherwise a mystery.
+            System.Diagnostics.Debug.WriteLine($"Tray icon load failed: {ex}");
         }
         _tray.TrayLeftMouseUp += (_, _) => ToggleWindow();
         _tray.ContextMenu = BuildMenu();