diff --git a/demos/acme-commerce-lenders/docs/troubleshooting.md b/demos/acme-commerce-lenders/docs/troubleshooting.md
index 020fa28..d82b5a2 100644
--- a/demos/acme-commerce-lenders/docs/troubleshooting.md
+++ b/demos/acme-commerce-lenders/docs/troubleshooting.md
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ Check first: `make kit APP=acme-commerce-lenders ARGS=ready`. It lists each app
 | `the world is already seeded; reset it first (run: reset)` | `seed` was run twice. It never adds to a world, so the second run stops. | Run `make kit APP=acme-commerce-lenders ARGS=reset`. |
 | Settling fails with `xero PUT /api.xro/2.0/Accounts: HTTP 405: Method Not Allowed` | The Xero app emulator is older than the change that lets it create accounts and bank transactions. The earlier steps work, so funding succeeds and only the booking fails. | Rebuild `twin-xero` from `WonderTwin-AI/wondertwin` `main`, restart it and press **Reset**. |
 | A step failed halfway, with an error and a **Retry** button | A vendor call failed, for example an app emulator stopped during funding. | Fix the cause and press **Retry**. It carries on from that step. Funding and settling are safe to run again, and cannot pay or book twice. |
-| `listen tcp 127.0.0.1:8080: bind: address already in use` | Something else is on port 8080, often an earlier run of the demo. | Stop it, or serve elsewhere: `make kit APP=acme-commerce-lenders ARGS="serve --addr 127.0.0.1:8081"`. |
+| `listen tcp 127.0.0.1:8080: bind: address already in use` | Something else is on port 8080 and you chose it with `--addr`. Without `--addr`, serve moves to the next free port from 8080 to 8089 and prints it. | Stop the other process, or serve elsewhere: `make kit APP=acme-commerce-lenders ARGS="serve --addr 127.0.0.1:8081"`. |
 | The page says "Scaffold only. The web UI has not been built yet." | The binary was built without the UI. | `make web APP=acme-commerce-lenders`, then `make kit APP=acme-commerce-lenders`. |
 | The inspector says "Cannot read the calls" | The demo binary stopped. | Start it again. The inspector reconnects by itself. |
 | The inspector is empty after the demo has run | A reset clears it, or the demo was restarted. | Run the demo again. Seed calls are never shown. |
diff --git a/demos/acme-commerce-lenders/internal/cli/cli.go b/demos/acme-commerce-lenders/internal/cli/cli.go
index 187f7c5..c8dde08 100644
--- a/demos/acme-commerce-lenders/internal/cli/cli.go
+++ b/demos/acme-commerce-lenders/internal/cli/cli.go
@@ -8,10 +8,14 @@ import (
 	"flag"
 	"fmt"
 	"io"
+	"net"
 	"net/http"
 	"os"
+	"os/signal"
 	"path/filepath"
+	"strconv"
 	"strings"
+	"syscall"
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/localstack-samples/localstack-app-emulators/demos/acme-commerce-lenders/core"
@@ -46,7 +50,7 @@ func Run(ctx context.Context, args []string, getenv func(string) string, stdout,
 	fs := flag.NewFlagSet(cmd, flag.ContinueOnError)
 	fs.SetOutput(stderr)
 	fs.StringVar(&app.statePath, "state", defaultStatePath(), "file holding what the lender knows")
-	addr := fs.String("addr", "127.0.0.1:8080", "address the UI listens on (serve only)")
+	addr := fs.String("addr", defaultAddr, "address the UI listens on (serve only); when not given, the next free port is used if 8080 is taken")
 
 	switch cmd {
 	case "serve", "ready", "seed", "reset":
@@ -61,10 +65,13 @@ func Run(ctx context.Context, args []string, getenv func(string) string, stdout,
 		return 2
 	}
 
+	explicit := false
+	fs.Visit(func(f *flag.Flag) { explicit = explicit || f.Name == "addr" })
+
 	var err error
 	switch cmd {
 	case "serve":
-		err = app.serve(*addr)
+		err = app.serve(*addr, explicit)
 	case "ready":
 		err = app.ready()
 	case "seed":
@@ -108,15 +115,55 @@ func (a *app) handler() (http.Handler, error) {
 	return mux, nil
 }
 
-func (a *app) serve(addr string) error {
+const defaultAddr = "127.0.0.1:8080"
+
+// listen opens the UI's port. An address the presenter chose must be free or it
+// fails. The default is the first free port from 8080 to 8089, so a stale run
+// of the demo does not stop the next one.
+func listen(addr string, explicit bool) (net.Listener, error) {
+	l, err := net.Listen("tcp", addr)
+	if err == nil || explicit {
+		return l, err
+	}
+	host, portStr, splitErr := net.SplitHostPort(addr)
+	port, convErr := strconv.Atoi(portStr)
+	if splitErr != nil || convErr != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	for p := port + 1; p < port+10; p++ {
+		if l, e := net.Listen("tcp", net.JoinHostPort(host, strconv.Itoa(p))); e == nil {
+			return l, nil
+		}
+	}
+	return nil, fmt.Errorf("%w (ports %d to %d are all taken; stop the earlier run, or choose one with --addr)", err, port, port+9)
+}
+
+func (a *app) serve(addr string, explicit bool) error {
 	h, err := a.handler()
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
-	srv := &http.Server{Addr: addr, Handler: h, ReadHeaderTimeout: 5 * time.Second}
+	l, err := listen(addr, explicit)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	srv := &http.Server{Handler: h, ReadHeaderTimeout: 5 * time.Second}
 	a.printTargets("Calling:")
-	fmt.Fprintf(a.out, "ACME Commerce Lenders on http://%s\n", addr)
-	return srv.ListenAndServe()
+	fmt.Fprintf(a.out, "ACME Commerce Lenders on http://%s\n", l.Addr())
+
+	// Ctrl-C and a plain kill end the run cleanly, so the port is free at once.
+	ctx, stop := signal.NotifyContext(a.ctx, os.Interrupt, syscall.SIGTERM)
+	defer stop()
+	errc := make(chan error, 1)
+	go func() { errc <- srv.Serve(l) }()
+	select {
+	case err := <-errc:
+		return err
+	case <-ctx.Done():
+	}
+	shutdown, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), 5*time.Second)
+	defer cancel()
+	return srv.Shutdown(shutdown)
 }
 
 func (a *app) printTargets(heading string) {
@@ -199,7 +246,10 @@ func dollars(cents int64) string {
 }
 
 func defaultStatePath() string {
-	dir, err := os.UserCacheDir()
+	// The state is the lender's own record of the seeded world. Keep it in the
+	// user's config folder, not a cache folder the system may clear: on a Mac,
+	// ~/Library/Application Support rather than ~/Library/Caches.
+	dir, err := os.UserConfigDir()
 	if err != nil {
 		dir = os.TempDir()
 	}
diff --git a/demos/acme-commerce-lenders/internal/cli/cli_test.go b/demos/acme-commerce-lenders/internal/cli/cli_test.go
index eff89cf..627595f 100644
--- a/demos/acme-commerce-lenders/internal/cli/cli_test.go
+++ b/demos/acme-commerce-lenders/internal/cli/cli_test.go
@@ -4,12 +4,14 @@ import (
 	"bytes"
 	"context"
 	"io"
+	"net"
 	"net/http"
 	"net/http/httptest"
 	"path/filepath"
 	"strings"
 	"sync/atomic"
 	"testing"
+	"time"
 
 	"github.com/localstack-samples/localstack-app-emulators/demos/acme-commerce-lenders/internal/fakevendors"
 	"github.com/localstack-samples/localstack-app-emulators/demos/acme-commerce-lenders/world"
@@ -172,3 +174,53 @@ func TestTheServerServesTheAPIAndTheUI(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatalf("the connect calls should be recorded as events: %d %s", code, body)
 	}
 }
+
+func TestListenFallsBackOnlyWhenTheAddressWasNotChosen(t *testing.T) {
+	busy, err := net.Listen("tcp", "127.0.0.1:0")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	defer busy.Close()
+	addr := busy.Addr().String()
+
+	if _, err := listen(addr, true); err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("an address the presenter chose must fail when taken, not move")
+	}
+	l, err := listen(addr, false)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Skipf("the next ports are taken on this machine: %v", err)
+	}
+	defer l.Close()
+	if l.Addr().String() == addr {
+		t.Fatalf("expected a different port, got %s", l.Addr())
+	}
+}
+
+func TestServeStopsCleanlyAndFreesThePort(t *testing.T) {
+	var resets atomic.Int32
+	env := envFor(fakevendors.New(t, &resets).URL)
+	ctx, cancel := context.WithCancel(context.Background())
+	var o bytes.Buffer
+	a := &app{
+		ctx: ctx, getenv: func(k string) string { return env[k] }, out: &o, err: io.Discard,
+		targets:   world.TargetsFromEnv(func(k string) string { return env[k] }),
+		statePath: filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "state.json"),
+	}
+	done := make(chan error, 1)
+	go func() { done <- a.serve("127.0.0.1:0", true) }()
+	cancel()
+	select {
+	case err := <-done:
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("a clean stop is not an error: %v", err)
+		}
+	case <-time.After(10 * time.Second):
+		t.Fatal("serve did not stop")
+	}
+}
+
+func TestTheDefaultStateIsNotInACacheFolder(t *testing.T) {
+	if p := defaultStatePath(); strings.Contains(p, "Caches") || strings.Contains(p, "/.cache/") {
+		t.Fatalf("state must not live where the system may clear it: %s", p)
+	}
+}