diff --git a/bridge/tests/test_logging_levels.py b/bridge/tests/test_logging_levels.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fcead3c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/bridge/tests/test_logging_levels.py
@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+"""Regression test for setup_logging() root/handler level gating.
+
+The bug: setup_logging did `logging.basicConfig(level=WARNING)` in non-debug
+mode, which set the ROOT logger level to WARNING. The root level is a hard gate
+applied before any handler's own level, so every INFO record (boot banners and
+operational markers like "Ignoring persisted session_id") was dropped before it
+could reach the INFO-level file handler — bot.log silently lost all INFO output.
+
+These tests pin the invariant: the root passes INFO+, the file handler captures
+INFO, and the console handler stays quiet at WARNING in non-debug mode.
+"""
+
+import logging
+import unittest
+
+pytest = None
+try:  # pydantic-backed config; skip cleanly where deps aren't installed.
+    from telegram_bot.utils.config import setup_logging
+    _HAVE_CONFIG = True
+except Exception:  # pragma: no cover - import guard
+    _HAVE_CONFIG = False
+
+
+@unittest.skipUnless(_HAVE_CONFIG, "config (pydantic) not importable in this env")
+class SetupLoggingLevelTest(unittest.TestCase):
+    def setUp(self):
+        self._root = logging.getLogger()
+        self._saved_handlers = list(self._root.handlers)
+        self._saved_level = self._root.level
+
+    def tearDown(self):
+        for h in list(self._root.handlers):
+            if h not in self._saved_handlers:
+                try:
+                    h.close()
+                except Exception:
+                    pass
+                self._root.removeHandler(h)
+        self._root.setLevel(self._saved_level)
+
+    def _console_handlers(self):
+        return [
+            h
+            for h in self._root.handlers
+            if isinstance(h, logging.StreamHandler)
+            and not isinstance(h, logging.FileHandler)
+        ]
+
+    def test_root_passes_info_and_console_stays_warning(self):
+        setup_logging()
+        # Root must pass INFO+ so the INFO file handler actually receives records.
+        self.assertLessEqual(self._root.level, logging.INFO)
+        # At least one file handler exists and captures INFO.
+        file_handlers = [
+            h for h in self._root.handlers if isinstance(h, logging.FileHandler)
+        ]
+        self.assertTrue(file_handlers)
+        self.assertTrue(any(h.level <= logging.INFO for h in file_handlers))
+        # Console handlers stay quiet (WARNING+) in non-debug mode.
+        for h in self._console_handlers():
+            self.assertGreaterEqual(h.level, logging.WARNING)
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    unittest.main()
diff --git a/bridge/utils/config.py b/bridge/utils/config.py
index 48f5d5c..2860d96 100644
--- a/bridge/utils/config.py
+++ b/bridge/utils/config.py
@@ -689,9 +689,24 @@ def setup_logging() -> None:
 
     is_debug = os.environ.get("BOT_DEBUG")
 
-    # Console handler - WARNING+ in non-debug, full level in debug
+    # Console handler - WARNING+ in non-debug, full level in debug.
     console_level = log_level if is_debug else logging.WARNING
-    logging.basicConfig(level=console_level, format=config.log_format)
+    # The ROOT logger level is a hard gate applied BEFORE any handler's own level:
+    # a record below it is dropped and never reaches the handlers. Setting the root
+    # to console_level (WARNING in non-debug) therefore silently discarded every
+    # INFO record — boot banners AND operational markers like "Ignoring persisted
+    # session_id" — so bot.log only ever captured WARNING+ despite the file handler
+    # being set to INFO. Set the root to the most-verbose handler's level (log_level)
+    # and gate the CONSOLE per-handler instead so the file still receives INFO.
+    logging.basicConfig(level=log_level, format=config.log_format)
+    root_logger = logging.getLogger()
+    # basicConfig is a no-op when a harness (for example pytest) already installed
+    # handlers, so set the root level explicitly as the durable invariant.
+    root_logger.setLevel(log_level)
+    for _h in root_logger.handlers:
+        # basicConfig's console StreamHandler inherits the root level; raise it to
+        # console_level so stdout stays quiet while the file handlers below get INFO.
+        _h.setLevel(console_level)
 
     # File handler - write to project-root scoped runtime logs.
     logs_dir = config.logs_dir