diff --git a/crates/database/src/patroni_discovery.rs b/crates/database/src/patroni_discovery.rs
index f88e4ab84..dd9795410 100644
--- a/crates/database/src/patroni_discovery.rs
+++ b/crates/database/src/patroni_discovery.rs
@@ -44,8 +44,43 @@ pub struct ClusterMember {
     pub timeline: Option<i64>,
 }
 
+/// Patroni lists a node as a member as soon as it registers in the DCS — which
+/// happens *before* it publishes its `conn_url`. So a replica mid-creation (or
+/// an uninitialized node) appears without `host`/`port`/`api_url`. Those fields
+/// are required on `ClusterMember`, so a strict `Vec<ClusterMember>` parse fails
+/// the ENTIRE `/cluster` response with `missing field \`host\`` over one
+/// half-registered member — freezing topology discovery for every consumer
+/// (cloud-api + chat-api) whenever a new postgres instance is being added.
+///
+/// Parse each member independently and drop any that don't fully deserialize; a
+/// member with no connection info is not a usable leader/replica target anyway,
+/// and the next refresh picks it up once it finishes registering. Same
+/// resilience philosophy as `deserialize_lag` — one bad member must not poison
+/// the whole cluster view.
+fn deserialize_members<'de, D>(deserializer: D) -> Result<Vec<ClusterMember>, D::Error>
+where
+    D: Deserializer<'de>,
+{
+    let raw = Vec::<serde_json::Value>::deserialize(deserializer)?;
+    let mut members = Vec::with_capacity(raw.len());
+    for value in raw {
+        match serde_json::from_value::<ClusterMember>(value.clone()) {
+            Ok(member) => members.push(member),
+            Err(e) => {
+                let name = value
+                    .get("name")
+                    .and_then(serde_json::Value::as_str)
+                    .unwrap_or("<unknown>");
+                warn!("Skipping not-yet-ready cluster member {name}: {e}");
+            }
+        }
+    }
+    Ok(members)
+}
+
 #[derive(Debug, Clone, Serialize, Deserialize)]
 pub struct ClusterInfo {
+    #[serde(deserialize_with = "deserialize_members")]
     pub members: Vec<ClusterMember>,
     #[serde(default)]
     pub scope: Option<String>,
@@ -369,6 +404,49 @@ mod tests {
         assert!(member.lag.is_none());
     }
 
+    #[test]
+    fn test_initializing_member_does_not_poison_parse() {
+        // Regression: a replica mid-creation is registered in the DCS before it
+        // publishes its conn_url, so Patroni omits host/port/api_url. Previously
+        // this failed the whole parse with `missing field \`host\``, breaking
+        // discovery for cloud-api + chat-api whenever a postgres instance was
+        // added. The not-yet-ready member must be dropped, not poison the rest.
+        let json = r#"{"members": [
+          {"name":"leader1","role":"leader","state":"running","host":"postgres-a.dstack.internal","port":5432,"timeline":3},
+          {"name":"newrep","role":"replica","state":"creating replica","timeline":3}
+        ],"scope":"pg-cluster"}"#;
+        let info: ClusterInfo =
+            serde_json::from_str(json).expect("must parse despite half-registered member");
+        assert_eq!(
+            info.members.len(),
+            1,
+            "the not-yet-ready member should be dropped"
+        );
+        assert_eq!(info.members[0].name, "leader1");
+        assert_eq!(info.members[0].role, "leader");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_full_cluster_with_initializing_replica_parses() {
+        // Real staging /cluster shape with an extra member mid-creation appended
+        // (no host/port/api_url). The 4 ready members must still parse and the
+        // leader must still be discoverable.
+        let json = r#"{"members": [
+          {"name":"a","role":"replica","state":"streaming","api_url":"http://[postgres-staging-5hbt5t4n.dstack.internal:8008]:8008/patroni","host":"postgres-staging-5hbt5t4n.dstack.internal","port":5432,"timeline":3,"lag":0},
+          {"name":"b","role":"replica","state":"streaming","host":"postgres-yr6k7rmo.dstack.internal","port":5432,"timeline":3,"lag":0},
+          {"name":"newrep","role":"replica","state":"creating replica","timeline":3},
+          {"name":"leader","role":"leader","state":"running","host":"postgres-ew3zj5pk.dstack.internal","port":5432,"timeline":3}
+        ],"scope":"pg-cluster"}"#;
+        let info: ClusterInfo = serde_json::from_str(json).expect("must parse");
+        assert_eq!(
+            info.members.len(),
+            3,
+            "only the 3 fully-registered members survive"
+        );
+        assert!(info.members.iter().any(|m| m.role == "leader"));
+        assert!(info.members.iter().all(|m| m.name != "newrep"));
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn test_cluster_with_stopped_member_string_lag() {
         // Regression: a single stopped replica reporting `"lag": "unknown"` must