diff --git a/CLAUDE.md b/CLAUDE.md
index 5e33c16..46ac35d 100644
--- a/CLAUDE.md
+++ b/CLAUDE.md
@@ -55,6 +55,7 @@ The application uses `services/config.ts` for centralized configuration manageme
 - `ADMIN_PORT`: Admin panel port (default: 3001)
 - `ADMIN_USERNAME`: Admin panel username (optional, for basic auth)
 - `ADMIN_PASSWORD`: Admin panel password (optional, for basic auth)
+- `DISABLE_INITIAL_BATCH`: Disable initial batch process on startup (default: false)
 - Podcast metadata and other optional settings
 
 Configuration is validated on startup. See README.md for complete list.
diff --git a/services/batch-scheduler.ts b/services/batch-scheduler.ts
index ea5d1d0..81de6ae 100644
--- a/services/batch-scheduler.ts
+++ b/services/batch-scheduler.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import { batchProcess } from "../scripts/fetch_and_generate.js";
+import { config } from "./config.js";
 
 interface BatchSchedulerState {
   enabled: boolean;
@@ -21,8 +22,15 @@ class BatchScheduler {
   private readonly SIX_HOURS_MS = 6 * 60 * 60 * 1000; // 6 hours in milliseconds
 
   constructor() {
-    // Start with initial delay and then schedule regular runs
-    this.scheduleInitialRun();
+    // Check if initial run is disabled via environment variable
+    if (config.batch.disableInitialRun) {
+      console.log("⏸️  Initial batch run disabled by configuration");
+      // Still schedule regular runs, just skip the initial one
+      this.scheduleRegularRuns();
+    } else {
+      // Start with initial delay and then schedule regular runs
+      this.scheduleInitialRun();
+    }
   }
 
   private scheduleInitialRun() {
diff --git a/services/config.ts b/services/config.ts
index 21b4a40..1ed822a 100644
--- a/services/config.ts
+++ b/services/config.ts
@@ -33,6 +33,11 @@ interface Config {
     password?: string;
   };
   
+  // Batch Processing Configuration
+  batch: {
+    disableInitialRun: boolean;
+  };
+  
   // File paths
   paths: {
     projectRoot: string;
@@ -92,6 +97,10 @@ function createConfig(): Config {
       password: import.meta.env["ADMIN_PASSWORD"],
     },
     
+    batch: {
+      disableInitialRun: getOptionalEnv("DISABLE_INITIAL_BATCH", "false") === "true",
+    },
+    
     paths: {
       projectRoot,
       dataDir,