diff --git a/internal/cluster/orchestrator.go b/internal/cluster/orchestrator.go
index ff5ba72..faf5840 100644
--- a/internal/cluster/orchestrator.go
+++ b/internal/cluster/orchestrator.go
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ import (
 	"strings"
 	"sync"
 	"time"
+	"unicode"
 
 	"scm.bstein.dev/bstein/ananke/internal/config"
 	"scm.bstein.dev/bstein/ananke/internal/execx"
@@ -2225,12 +2226,12 @@ func (o *Orchestrator) serviceCheckReady(ctx context.Context, check config.Servi
 	}
 
 	bodyContains := strings.TrimSpace(check.BodyContains)
-	if bodyContains != "" && !strings.Contains(strings.ToLower(body), strings.ToLower(bodyContains)) {
+	if bodyContains != "" && !checklistContains(body, bodyContains) {
 		return false, fmt.Sprintf("response missing expected marker %q", bodyContains)
 	}
 
 	bodyNotContains := strings.TrimSpace(check.BodyNotContains)
-	if bodyNotContains != "" && strings.Contains(strings.ToLower(body), strings.ToLower(bodyNotContains)) {
+	if bodyNotContains != "" && checklistContains(body, bodyNotContains) {
 		return false, fmt.Sprintf("response contained forbidden marker %q", bodyNotContains)
 	}
 
@@ -2272,6 +2273,32 @@ func (o *Orchestrator) httpChecklistProbe(ctx context.Context, check config.Serv
 	return resp.StatusCode, string(body), nil
 }
 
+func checklistContains(body, marker string) bool {
+	bodyLower := strings.ToLower(body)
+	markerLower := strings.ToLower(marker)
+	if strings.Contains(bodyLower, markerLower) {
+		return true
+	}
+	bodyCompact := compactLowerNoSpace(bodyLower)
+	markerCompact := compactLowerNoSpace(markerLower)
+	if markerCompact == "" {
+		return true
+	}
+	return strings.Contains(bodyCompact, markerCompact)
+}
+
+func compactLowerNoSpace(s string) string {
+	var b strings.Builder
+	b.Grow(len(s))
+	for _, r := range s {
+		if unicode.IsSpace(r) {
+			continue
+		}
+		b.WriteRune(r)
+	}
+	return b.String()
+}
+
 func (o *Orchestrator) waitForStabilityWindow(ctx context.Context) error {
 	window := time.Duration(o.cfg.Startup.ServiceChecklistStabilitySec) * time.Second
 	if window <= 0 {
diff --git a/internal/cluster/orchestrator_test.go b/internal/cluster/orchestrator_test.go
index 8f35eaf..72a9fca 100644
--- a/internal/cluster/orchestrator_test.go
+++ b/internal/cluster/orchestrator_test.go
@@ -192,3 +192,25 @@ func TestServiceCheckReadyRequiresBodyContains(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatalf("expected service check to pass, detail=%s", detail)
 	}
 }
+
+func TestServiceCheckReadyBodyContainsIgnoresWhitespace(t *testing.T) {
+	srv := httptest.NewServer(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, _ *http.Request) {
+		w.WriteHeader(http.StatusOK)
+		_, _ = w.Write([]byte("{\n  \"database\": \"ok\"\n}\n"))
+	}))
+	defer srv.Close()
+
+	orch := &Orchestrator{
+		log: log.New(os.Stdout, "", 0),
+	}
+	ok, detail := orch.serviceCheckReady(context.Background(), config.ServiceChecklistCheck{
+		Name:             "grafana-api",
+		URL:              srv.URL,
+		AcceptedStatuses: []int{200},
+		BodyContains:     `"database":"ok"`,
+		TimeoutSeconds:   5,
+	})
+	if !ok {
+		t.Fatalf("expected whitespace-tolerant service check to pass, detail=%s", detail)
+	}
+}