diff --git a/backend/apps/outputs/app_builder_skill.md b/backend/apps/outputs/app_builder_skill.md
index 63edbcd6..cc18beb3 100644
--- a/backend/apps/outputs/app_builder_skill.md
+++ b/backend/apps/outputs/app_builder_skill.md
@@ -121,6 +121,43 @@ export default function Card() {
 - **Use the `sx` prop** for styles, not separate CSS files.
 - **Don't add Tailwind**, Bootstrap, or any other CSS framework.
 
+### MUI imports — ALWAYS use path imports, NEVER barrel imports
+
+This is non-negotiable. Vite pre-bundles every entry in a barrel import,
+which means a single `import { Button } from '@mui/material'` forces Vite
+to optimize 200+ MUI sub-modules — adding ~10–15 seconds to every cold
+boot of the workspace's preview. MUI's own performance guide
+(<https://mui.com/material-ui/guides/minimizing-bundle-size/>) recommends
+path imports for exactly this reason.
+
+```tsx
+// ✅ DO — path imports, one per component
+import Button from '@mui/material/Button';
+import Box from '@mui/material/Box';
+import Stack from '@mui/material/Stack';
+import Typography from '@mui/material/Typography';
+
+// ❌ DON'T — barrel imports drag in all of @mui/material
+import { Button, Box, Stack, Typography } from '@mui/material';
+```
+
+Same rule for icons — even more important there because
+`@mui/icons-material` re-exports thousands of SVG components:
+
+```tsx
+// ✅ DO
+import AddIcon from '@mui/icons-material/Add';
+import DeleteIcon from '@mui/icons-material/Delete';
+
+// ❌ DON'T
+import { Add, Delete } from '@mui/icons-material';
+```
+
+**Icon discipline:** keep icon imports to the minimum the UI actually
+uses. If a page only needs 4 icons, import 4 — don't pre-import 20 for
+"maybe later." Each icon import is another module Vite has to pre-bundle
+on first boot.
+
 Check `frontend/DESIGN.md` for the complete design system spec.
 
 ---
diff --git a/backend/apps/outputs/outputs.py b/backend/apps/outputs/outputs.py
index 01f34fff..58f92ef7 100644
--- a/backend/apps/outputs/outputs.py
+++ b/backend/apps/outputs/outputs.py
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import logging
 import mimetypes
 import base64
 from datetime import datetime
+from typing import Optional
 from contextlib import asynccontextmanager
 from fastapi import HTTPException, Query
 from fastapi.responses import Response
@@ -217,16 +218,73 @@ def load_output(output_id: str) -> Output | None:
         return Output(**json.load(f))
 
 
+# Build/install/cache directories that the polling endpoint must never
+# descend into. Without this skip-list the workspace endpoint reads
+# `node_modules/` (300 MB of MUI source, when it's a real dir and not a
+# symlink), `.venv/` (10k+ Python files from the hardlinked cache),
+# `__pycache__/`, `dist/`, `.git/`, etc — every 2 seconds while the
+# agent is active. Result: backend CPU pegged on JSON-serializing
+# auto-generated chunks the frontend will then throw away. The frontend
+# already filters these for display; this skip is the real fix.
+_WALK_SKIP_DIRS = frozenset({
+    "node_modules",
+    ".vite",
+    ".vite-cache",
+    ".vite_cache",
+    ".git",
+    "dist",
+    ".next",
+    "__pycache__",
+    ".venv",
+    "venv",
+    ".pytest_cache",
+    ".mypy_cache",
+    ".ruff_cache",
+})
+
+# Cap per-file response size at 256 KB. Hand-written source rarely
+# exceeds this; auto-generated bundles routinely run into the MBs and
+# they're not what the user/agent is editing. Anything over the cap
+# returns a truncated stub the frontend treats as "open the file
+# directly to see full contents."
+_WALK_MAX_FILE_BYTES = 256 * 1024
+
+
 def _walk_directory(folder: str) -> dict[str, str]:
-    """Walk a directory tree and return {relative_path: content} for all text files."""
+    """Walk a directory tree and return {relative_path: content} for all
+    text files the user is actually authoring. Skips build/install
+    directories AND truncates oversize files — both critical for the
+    polling endpoint, which is called every 2 s while the agent is
+    writing code and would otherwise serialize hundreds of MB per poll."""
     files: dict[str, str] = {}
     if not os.path.isdir(folder):
         return files
-    for root, _dirs, filenames in os.walk(folder):
+    for root, dirs, filenames in os.walk(folder):
+        # Mutate `dirs` in place — that's how os.walk skips a subtree.
+        # Doing it here means we never even stat the children, so a
+        # 10k-file `.venv/` costs ~one stat (on the dir itself) instead
+        # of 10k.
+        dirs[:] = [d for d in dirs if d not in _WALK_SKIP_DIRS]
         for fname in filenames:
             full_path = os.path.join(root, fname)
-            rel_path = os.path.relpath(full_path, folder)
+            # Normalize to forward-slash keys so the frontend's
+            # `path.split('/')` and `.startsWith(prefix)` checks work
+            # the same on Windows (where os.sep is '\\') as on macOS.
+            # Without this, every workspace file came back as
+            # `backend\\app.py` on Windows and the file tree silently
+            # mis-parsed.
+            rel_path = os.path.relpath(full_path, folder).replace(os.sep, "/")
             try:
+                # Stat first — cheap, lets us skip giant files without
+                # opening + reading them.
+                size = os.path.getsize(full_path)
+                if size > _WALK_MAX_FILE_BYTES:
+                    files[rel_path] = (
+                        f"// [openswarm] file truncated ({size} bytes > "
+                        f"{_WALK_MAX_FILE_BYTES} byte cap). Open directly "
+                        f"to view full contents."
+                    )
+                    continue
                 with open(full_path) as f:
                     files[rel_path] = f.read()
             except Exception:
@@ -347,19 +405,66 @@ async def seed_workspace(body: WorkspaceSeedRequest):
         effective_mode = "flat"
 
     if effective_mode == "webapp_template":
-        # Defer to the helper — copytree, env scaffolding, install paths.
-        from backend.apps.outputs.runtime import _find_free_port
-        frontend_port = _find_free_port()
-        seed_webapp_template_workspace(folder, frontend_port)
-        # SKILL.md still goes in workspace root — agent reads it for
-        # context. Live content (user-editable via Skills page) is
-        # injected into the system prompt regardless.
-        with open(os.path.join(folder, "SKILL.md"), "w") as f:
-            f.write(load_app_builder_skill())
-        if body.meta:
+        # Idempotency guard: re-seeding an existing webapp_template
+        # workspace would clobber the agent's edits (the helper uses
+        # dirs_exist_ok=True + copytree). If `run.sh` already exists,
+        # the workspace was seeded on a previous visit — skip the file
+        # copy and only re-derive the frontend port from .env.
+        from backend.apps.outputs.runtime import _find_free_port, _read_env_value
+        already_seeded = os.path.exists(os.path.join(folder, "run.sh"))
+        if already_seeded:
+            fp_raw = _read_env_value(os.path.join(folder, ".env"), "FRONTEND_PORT")
+            try:
+                frontend_port = int(fp_raw) if fp_raw else _find_free_port()
+            except (TypeError, ValueError):
+                frontend_port = _find_free_port()
+        else:
+            frontend_port = _find_free_port()
+            seed_webapp_template_workspace(folder, frontend_port)
+            # SKILL.md still goes in workspace root — agent reads it for
+            # context. Live content (user-editable via Skills page) is
+            # injected into the system prompt regardless.
+            with open(os.path.join(folder, "SKILL.md"), "w") as f:
+                f.write(load_app_builder_skill())
+        meta = body.meta or {}
+        if body.meta and not already_seeded:
             with open(os.path.join(folder, "meta.json"), "w") as f:
                 json.dump(body.meta, f, indent=2)
-        return {"path": os.path.abspath(folder), "template_mode": "webapp_template", "frontend_port": frontend_port}
+        # Create (or look up) the Output record so the app appears in
+        # the Apps sidebar the moment the user kicks off generation.
+        # Previously the record only landed when the editor's autosave
+        # fired, which itself was gated on `files['index.html']` being
+        # non-empty (a flat-template invariant) — meaning React+Vite
+        # apps that navigated-away mid-build had no way back. The record
+        # is a thin pointer (name + workspace_id); the workspace itself
+        # remains the source of truth for the code.
+        output_id: Optional[str] = None
+        try:
+            existing = [o for o in _load_all() if o.workspace_id == body.workspace_id]
+            if existing:
+                output_id = existing[0].id
+            else:
+                now = datetime.now().isoformat()
+                output = Output(
+                    name=str(meta.get("name") or "Untitled App"),
+                    description=str(meta.get("description") or ""),
+                    icon="view_quilt",
+                    files={},
+                    workspace_id=body.workspace_id,
+                    created_at=now,
+                    updated_at=now,
+                )
+                _save(output)
+                output_id = output.id
+        except Exception:
+            logger.exception("seed-time Output create failed for %s", body.workspace_id)
+        return {
+            "path": os.path.abspath(folder),
+            "template_mode": "webapp_template",
+            "frontend_port": frontend_port,
+            "output_id": output_id,
+            "already_seeded": already_seeded,
+        }
 
     # Legacy flat path — unchanged.
     if body.files:
diff --git a/backend/apps/outputs/view_builder_templates.py b/backend/apps/outputs/view_builder_templates.py
index 65ecb8ed..293494b0 100644
--- a/backend/apps/outputs/view_builder_templates.py
+++ b/backend/apps/outputs/view_builder_templates.py
@@ -301,14 +301,23 @@ def _ensure_warm_python_venv() -> str | None:
         try:
             os.makedirs(cache_dir, exist_ok=True)
             # Pick the same python the workspace's run.sh would have
-            # picked, so the venv's binary is compatible.
+            # picked, so the venv's binary is compatible. Includes
+            # bare `python` as the last fallback for Windows, where
+            # there's no `python3` symlink — the installer ships just
+            # `python.exe`. On macOS/Linux the versioned candidates
+            # match first so we don't accidentally pick a system
+            # Python 2.x via the bare name.
             py = None
-            for candidate in ("python3.13", "python3.12", "python3.11", "python3.10", "python3"):
+            candidates = (
+                "python3.13", "python3.12", "python3.11", "python3.10",
+                "python3", "python",
+            )
+            for candidate in candidates:
                 if shutil.which(candidate):
                     py = candidate
                     break
             if py is None:
-                logger.warning("webapp-template warm-venv: no python3 on PATH")
+                logger.warning("webapp-template warm-venv: no python on PATH")
                 return None
 
             # Wipe any half-populated venv from a previous crashed run.
@@ -327,8 +336,13 @@ def _ensure_warm_python_venv() -> str | None:
             # Install the template's dependencies (fastapi[standard],
             # typeguard, transitives) — NOT the workspace's own backend,
             # which gets editable-installed per-workspace by run.sh after
-            # the cache copy.
-            pip = os.path.join(venv_dir, "bin", "pip")
+            # the cache copy. The venv layout differs by platform:
+            # POSIX puts executables in `bin/`, Windows in `Scripts/`,
+            # and the executable name itself gets `.exe`.
+            if os.name == "nt":
+                pip = os.path.join(venv_dir, "Scripts", "pip.exe")
+            else:
+                pip = os.path.join(venv_dir, "bin", "pip")
             deps = ["fastapi[standard]", "typeguard==4.4.2"]
             r = subprocess.run(
                 [pip, "install", "--disable-pip-version-check", *deps],
diff --git a/backend/apps/outputs/webapp_template/backend/run.sh b/backend/apps/outputs/webapp_template/backend/run.sh
index 77f617e1..fff84a3c 100755
--- a/backend/apps/outputs/webapp_template/backend/run.sh
+++ b/backend/apps/outputs/webapp_template/backend/run.sh
@@ -75,6 +75,13 @@ else
 fi
 
 # --- Start the backend server ---
+# No --reload here: this is the user's generated workspace, not an
+# OpenSwarm dev environment. The agent rewrites files whole-file
+# during builds; uvicorn's WatchFiles supervisor would just tear down
+# the running server every keystroke. When the agent explicitly wants
+# the backend to pick up new code it can hit OpenSwarm's
+# /api/outputs/workspace/{ws}/runtime/restart endpoint, which sends a
+# clean SIGTERM and restarts via this same script.
 echo "Starting backend server on http://0.0.0.0:${BACKEND_PORT:-8324} ..."
 cd "$BACKEND_DIR_ABSPATH/.."
-python -m uvicorn backend.main:app --host 0.0.0.0 --port "${BACKEND_PORT:-8324}" --reload
+python -m uvicorn backend.main:app --host 0.0.0.0 --port "${BACKEND_PORT:-8324}"
diff --git a/backend/apps/outputs/webapp_template/frontend/vite.config.ts b/backend/apps/outputs/webapp_template/frontend/vite.config.ts
index 92e68d88..ae0498af 100644
--- a/backend/apps/outputs/webapp_template/frontend/vite.config.ts
+++ b/backend/apps/outputs/webapp_template/frontend/vite.config.ts
@@ -3,23 +3,52 @@ import react from '@vitejs/plugin-react';
 import Pages from 'vite-plugin-pages';
 import terminal from 'vite-plugin-terminal';
 import path from 'path';
+import os from 'os';
+import fs from 'fs';
+
+// Shared, hash-keyed vite optimization cache. Every webapp-template
+// workspace shares its node_modules/ via a symlink to OpenSwarm's warm
+// cache, AND now shares the optimized-deps output via this cache too —
+// keyed on the hash of vite.config.ts + package.json so a real config
+// or dep bump invalidates automatically. First workspace ever opened
+// pays the ~10–15s MUI pre-bundle; every subsequent workspace reuses
+// the same `.vite-cache/deps/` and boots in under a second.
+//
+// Why this is safe (despite the earlier React-duplicate issue):
+//   1. The skill prompt now mandates MUI path-imports — so every
+//      workspace ends up with the SAME, small, deduped optimizeDeps
+//      set. No more "workspace A pre-bundled @mui/material barrel,
+//      workspace B pre-bundled @mui/material/Button — collision."
+//   2. resolve.dedupe pins react/react-dom/emotion to single instances
+//      from the symlinked node_modules root.
+//   3. Vite's own metadata.json swap is atomic, so concurrent boots
+//      don't corrupt the cache.
+function sharedViteCacheDir(): string {
+  const here = __dirname;
+  let digest = 'fallback';
+  try {
+    const crypto = require('crypto') as typeof import('crypto');
+    const hasher = crypto.createHash('sha256');
+    for (const f of ['vite.config.ts', 'package.json']) {
+      const p = path.join(here, f);
+      if (fs.existsSync(p)) hasher.update(fs.readFileSync(p));
+    }
+    digest = hasher.digest('hex').slice(0, 12);
+  } catch {
+    // Fall through — if hashing fails we still get a stable shared
+    // cache, just under one "fallback" key.
+  }
+  const base = process.env.OPENSWARM_VITE_CACHE_DIR
+    || path.join(os.homedir(), '.openswarm', 'cache', 'webapp_template_vite_cache');
+  return path.join(base, digest);
+}
 
 export default defineConfig(({ mode }) => {
   const backendPort = process.env.BACKEND_PORT;
   const backendEnabled = backendPort && backendPort !== 'NONE';
 
   return {
-    // Per-workspace vite optimization cache. Workspaces share their
-    // `node_modules/` directory via a symlink to the OpenSwarm warm
-    // cache (see view_builder_templates.py::_ensure_warm_cache), which
-    // by default would also share `node_modules/.vite/` — meaning the
-    // optimized-deps bundle from workspace A could be picked up by
-    // workspace B's vite, ending up with two React copies in the same
-    // iframe (`Invalid hook call` / `Cannot read properties of null
-    // (reading 'useState')`). Pointing cacheDir outside node_modules
-    // makes the optimization cache per-workspace while keeping the
-    // package files themselves shared.
-    cacheDir: '.vite-cache',
+    cacheDir: sharedViteCacheDir(),
     plugins: [
       react(),
       Pages({ dirs: 'src/pages', extensions: ['tsx'] }),
diff --git a/backend/run.sh b/backend/run.sh
index 07966df6..b62bdc31 100755
--- a/backend/run.sh
+++ b/backend/run.sh
@@ -82,6 +82,19 @@ for d in \
     fi
 done
 
-python3 -m uvicorn backend.main:app --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8324 --reload \
-    --reload-dir "$BACKEND_DIR_ABSPATH" \
-    "${UVICORN_EXCLUDE_ARGS[@]}"
+# --reload is purely a dev-loop convenience — auto-restart on source
+# edits. Useless for end users running the packaged DMG (no source to
+# edit) and actively harmful: WatchFiles uses real fs handles, the
+# reload supervisor adds a couple hundred MB of resident memory, and
+# every reload tears down running agent WebSockets. Only enable it
+# when the top-level run.sh has set OPENSWARM_DEV=1 (which the dev
+# launcher does). Packaged builds leave it unset → fast, lean,
+# single-process uvicorn.
+if [[ "${OPENSWARM_DEV:-}" == "1" ]]; then
+    echo "OPENSWARM_DEV=1 detected — running uvicorn with --reload."
+    python3 -m uvicorn backend.main:app --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8324 --reload \
+        --reload-dir "$BACKEND_DIR_ABSPATH" \
+        "${UVICORN_EXCLUDE_ARGS[@]}"
+else
+    python3 -m uvicorn backend.main:app --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8324
+fi
diff --git a/frontend/src/app/Main.tsx b/frontend/src/app/Main.tsx
index 6c869a72..4e60abee 100644
--- a/frontend/src/app/Main.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/app/Main.tsx
@@ -32,19 +32,27 @@ const OnboardingRoot = lazy(() =>
 );
 const SignInGate = lazy(() => import('./components/SignInGate'));
 
-// Idle-prefetch the Views chunk (the App Builder page) so a first click
-// on Apps in the sidebar doesn't pay 200-600ms for the webpack chunk
-// download. Views/ViewEditor pulls in CodeMirror + the entire app
-// runtime preview, so it's the largest lazy chunk by a wide margin.
-// requestIdleCallback waits until the main thread is quiet — won't
-// compete with first paint, sign-in, or onboarding boot.
+// Idle-prefetch the lazy page chunks so first-click on any sidebar
+// entry doesn't pay 200-600ms for the webpack chunk download. Each
+// `void import('...')` triggers webpack to stream the chunk in the
+// background; React.lazy returns the cached module instantly when the
+// user finally navigates. We do them sequentially inside one idle
+// callback to avoid all six firing at once and contending for network
+// + parse time during first paint.
 if (typeof window !== 'undefined') {
-  const prefetchViews = () => { void import('./pages/Views/Views'); };
+  const prefetchAll = () => {
+    void import('./pages/Views/Views');
+    void import('./pages/Skills/Skills');
+    void import('./pages/Tools/Tools');
+    void import('./pages/Modes/Modes');
+    void import('./pages/Customization/Customization');
+    void import('./pages/Analytics/Analytics');
+  };
   const ric = (window as any).requestIdleCallback as
     | ((cb: () => void, opts?: { timeout?: number }) => number)
     | undefined;
-  if (ric) ric(prefetchViews, { timeout: 4000 });
-  else window.setTimeout(prefetchViews, 2000);
+  if (ric) ric(prefetchAll, { timeout: 4000 });
+  else window.setTimeout(prefetchAll, 2000);
 }
 import { report, getSessionTraceState, getRecentActions } from '@/shared/serviceClient';
 import { useRouteTracker } from '@/shared/hooks/useRouteTracker';
diff --git a/frontend/src/app/components/Onboarding/OnboardingDirector.ts b/frontend/src/app/components/Onboarding/OnboardingDirector.ts
index 10727da3..880c3c3d 100644
--- a/frontend/src/app/components/Onboarding/OnboardingDirector.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/app/components/Onboarding/OnboardingDirector.ts
@@ -18,7 +18,6 @@ import { runStep } from './ac/acRuntime';
 import type { AgenticCursorHandle } from './ac/AgenticCursor';
 import type { OnboardingStep } from './steps/types';
 import { STEPS, findStepById } from './steps';
-import { API_BASE } from '@/shared/config';
 import { report } from './telemetry';
 
 interface AttachArgs {
@@ -115,28 +114,6 @@ class OnboardingDirector {
     window.addEventListener('hashchange', onRouteChange);
 
     try {
-      // Fire the pre-step hook in the BACKGROUND instead of awaiting it.
-      // For step 6, the hook posts `seed-orchestration-demo` which can
-      // take 15-30s when Anthropic is rate-limiting (the meta-generation
-      // it triggers internally hits 429s and retries). Awaiting it
-      // blocked the entire AC flow — user sees no cursor, no popup,
-      // appears completely frozen.
-      //
-      // Now: hook fires in parallel with AC's intro animation + first
-      // popup + user clicks. By the time AC reaches the drag_select op
-      // that actually needs the stub agent (several user interactions
-      // in), the seed has long since completed. If the seed fails
-      // outright, drag_select's waitForSelector will time out into the
-      // normal recovery path — same as any other "target not found"
-      // case. Never blocks the user-visible startup.
-      this.runPreStepHook(step).catch((err) => {
-        console.warn('[onboarding] preStepHook failed', step.id, err);
-        report('pre_step_hook_failed', {
-          step_id: step.id,
-          error: String(err),
-        });
-      });
-
       await runStep({
         step,
         spawnPoint,
@@ -156,60 +133,10 @@ class OnboardingDirector {
     }
   }
 
-  private async runPreStepHook(step: OnboardingStep): Promise<void> {
-    if (!this.store) return;
-
-    if (step.id === 'agent_control_agents') {
-      await this.ensureStubResearchAgent();
-    }
-  }
-
-  /**
-   * Step 6 needs a pre-existing "research" agent on the canvas so the
-   * spec's "say you already have an agent that did some work for you"
-   * narrative makes sense. We look for any existing session named
-   * "OpenSwarm research" (the seed endpoint uses that name) and only
-   * call seed-orchestration-demo when nothing matches — so re-running
-   * step 6 doesn't keep adding stub agents.
-   *
-   * In-flight dedup: rapid Show me clicks used to fire N parallel
-   * seed calls because Redux state didn't update until the FIRST one
-   * completed (and synced back via websocket). The promise cache
-   * collapses concurrent callers to a single backend POST.
-   */
-  private seedInFlight: Promise<void> | null = null;
-
-  private async ensureStubResearchAgent(): Promise<void> {
-    if (this.seedInFlight) return this.seedInFlight;
-
-    const state = this.store!.getState();
-    const sessions = (state as any).agents?.sessions ?? {};
-    const alreadySeeded = Object.values(sessions).some(
-      (s: any) => s?.name === 'OpenSwarm research',
-    );
-    if (alreadySeeded) return;
-
-    const dashboardId =
-      (state as any).tempState?.lastDashboardId ??
-      Object.keys((state as any).dashboards?.items ?? {})[0] ??
-      null;
-    if (!dashboardId) return;
-
-    this.seedInFlight = (async () => {
-      try {
-        await fetch(
-          `${API_BASE}/dashboards/${dashboardId}/seed-orchestration-demo`,
-          { method: 'POST' },
-        );
-        report('stub_research_agent_seeded', { step_id: 'agent_control_agents' });
-      } catch (err) {
-        console.warn('[onboarding] seed-orchestration-demo failed', err);
-      } finally {
-        this.seedInFlight = null;
-      }
-    })();
-    return this.seedInFlight;
-  }
+  // Step 6 previously triggered seed-orchestration-demo here to drop a
+  // stub "research" agent on the canvas. We removed it — step 6 now
+  // reuses the real chat the user created in step 3 as the "previous
+  // chat" the orchestrator bosses around, so no stub is needed.
 }
 
 export const onboardingDirector = new OnboardingDirector();
diff --git a/frontend/src/app/components/Onboarding/ac/acRuntime.ts b/frontend/src/app/components/Onboarding/ac/acRuntime.ts
index 8485014c..a58055d9 100644
--- a/frontend/src/app/components/Onboarding/ac/acRuntime.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/app/components/Onboarding/ac/acRuntime.ts
@@ -151,7 +151,19 @@ export async function runStep(args: RunStepArgs): Promise<void> {
         if (!depStep) continue;
         if (dep.reopen === 'walk_again') {
           report('dependency_walk', { step_id: step.id, dep_id: dep.stepId });
-          await runOps(depStep.ops, { ...ctx, silent: true, stepId: depStep.id });
+          // Brief framing popup so the user knows why the cursor is
+          // about to walk them through a previous step's flow (e.g.
+          // step 5 asking step 4 to re-open a browser because they
+          // closed the one they spawned originally).
+          ac.showPopup('Quick setup before we continue.');
+          ctx.popupShownAt.current = performance.now();
+          await sleep(700);
+          // Non-silent walk: show popups so the user understands what
+          // each move_to is asking. Previously silent=true meant the
+          // cursor wandered through the dep's ops with no labels —
+          // robust but confusing. Telemetry isn't bumped for op-level
+          // events to avoid double-counting (silent kept for that).
+          await runOps(depStep.ops, { ...ctx, silent: false, stepId: depStep.id });
         }
       }
     }
@@ -498,7 +510,12 @@ async function runOp(op: ACOp, ctx: RunContext): Promise<void> {
       const r = el.getBoundingClientRect();
       await ac.moveTo(Math.min(r.right - 14, r.left + r.width / 2), r.top + r.height / 2);
       ac.startTracking(op.target, { x: 0, y: 0 });
-      await typeInto(el, op.text, { speedMs: op.speedMs });
+      // Resolve text — string-or-function. Function form lets a step
+      // pick its prompt at run-time based on current Redux state (e.g.
+      // step 3's YouTube vs. web-research fallback).
+      const resolvedText =
+        typeof op.text === 'function' ? op.text(ctx.store.getState()) : op.text;
+      await typeInto(el, resolvedText, { speedMs: op.speedMs });
       // Anti-revert guard: some controlled contentEditable libraries
       // re-render on their own schedule and wipe AC's typed text in
       // the next React commit. Re-check the input value after a brief
@@ -512,7 +529,7 @@ async function runOp(op: ACOp, ctx: RunContext): Promise<void> {
           return (e.value ?? '').trim();
         return (e.textContent ?? '').trim();
       };
-      const target = op.text.trim();
+      const target = resolvedText.trim();
       if (target && readText(el).length < Math.floor(target.length * 0.8)) {
         // Single-shot re-insert. Same path the typewriter's own
         // fallback uses for under-load typing drops.
@@ -527,13 +544,13 @@ async function runOp(op: ACOp, ctx: RunContext): Promise<void> {
           }
           try {
             document.execCommand('delete', false);
-            const ok = document.execCommand('insertText', false, op.text);
+            const ok = document.execCommand('insertText', false, resolvedText);
             if (!ok) {
-              el.textContent = op.text;
+              el.textContent = resolvedText;
               el.dispatchEvent(new Event('input', { bubbles: true }));
             }
           } catch {
-            el.textContent = op.text;
+            el.textContent = resolvedText;
             el.dispatchEvent(new Event('input', { bubbles: true }));
           }
         }
@@ -649,7 +666,39 @@ async function runOp(op: ACOp, ctx: RunContext): Promise<void> {
       return;
     }
     case 'wait_user': {
-      await waitForCondition(op.condition, signal, store, op.timeoutMs);
+      const first = await waitForCondition(
+        op.condition,
+        signal,
+        store,
+        op.timeoutMs,
+      );
+      // Retry-on-timeout for event_bus waits only: those fire on real
+      // user actions (browser:spawned, skill:installed, chat:message_sent,
+      // agent:attached_to_browser) — if the event never arrived the
+      // step's actual goal didn't happen, so silently marking the step
+      // done would let the user proceed against a half-broken state.
+      // One retry with a "didn't seem to go through" popup gives the
+      // user a clear chance to redo the action; if it times out a
+      // second time, we soft-succeed (same as before) so the step
+      // doesn't strand them forever.
+      //
+      // click_target + redux_predicate timeouts keep the original
+      // soft-success policy: the user might legitimately have done
+      // the underlying thing without our listener catching it.
+      if (first.timedOut && op.condition.kind === 'event_bus') {
+        report('wait_user_retry_prompted', {
+          step_id: ctx.stepId,
+          event: op.condition.event,
+        });
+        ac.showPopup("Didn't seem to go through — try again?");
+        ctx.popupShownAt.current = performance.now();
+        await waitForCondition(
+          op.condition,
+          signal,
+          store,
+          op.timeoutMs,
+        );
+      }
       ac.hidePopup();
       // The user just did the thing — they don't need a dwell floor on
       // top of having engaged with the popup. Clearing popupShownAt
@@ -681,6 +730,23 @@ async function runOp(op: ACOp, ctx: RunContext): Promise<void> {
       });
       return;
     }
+    case 'wait_for_dom': {
+      const timeoutMs = op.timeoutMs ?? 8000;
+      const POLL_MS = 100;
+      const startedAt = performance.now();
+      while (performance.now() - startedAt < timeoutMs) {
+        if (signal.aborted) {
+          throw new DOMException('aborted', 'AbortError');
+        }
+        if (document.querySelector(op.css)) return;
+        await sleep(POLL_MS);
+      }
+      // Soft-success on timeout — same policy as wait_user's event_bus
+      // path. The next op (usually move_to / type_into) will hit its own
+      // waitForSelector and surface a clearer error if the target is
+      // genuinely missing.
+      return;
+    }
     case 'outro': {
       await ac.fadeOut(ctx.spawnPoint);
       return;
@@ -875,12 +941,16 @@ function maybeBuildExpandCustomizationOps(target: string): ACOp[] | null {
   ];
 }
 
+interface WaitResult {
+  timedOut: boolean;
+}
+
 function waitForCondition(
   cond: AdvanceCondition,
   signal: AbortSignal,
   store: Store<RootState>,
   timeoutMs?: number,
-): Promise<void> {
+): Promise<WaitResult> {
   if (signal.aborted) {
     return Promise.reject(new DOMException('aborted', 'AbortError'));
   }
@@ -889,11 +959,11 @@ function waitForCondition(
     let cleanup: () => void = () => {};
     let timer: number | null = null;
 
-    const finish = () => {
+    const finish = (timedOut: boolean) => {
       cleanup();
       if (timer !== null) window.clearTimeout(timer);
       signal.removeEventListener('abort', onAbort);
-      resolve();
+      resolve({ timedOut });
     };
 
     const onAbort = () => {
@@ -905,12 +975,10 @@ function waitForCondition(
 
     if (timeoutMs && timeoutMs > 0) {
       timer = window.setTimeout(() => {
-        cleanup();
-        signal.removeEventListener('abort', onAbort);
-        // Treat timeout as soft-success — the user may have done the thing
-        // without our condition firing (e.g. they opened the page some other
-        // way). Better than freezing the panel.
-        resolve();
+        // Surface the timeout to the caller so wait_user can decide
+        // whether to soft-succeed (the previous policy) or prompt the
+        // user to retry (the event_bus path — see wait_user handler).
+        finish(true);
       }, timeoutMs);
     }
 
@@ -923,7 +991,7 @@ function waitForCondition(
               `[data-onboarding="${cond.target}"], [data-select-type="${cond.target}"]`,
             )
           ) {
-            finish();
+            finish(false);
           }
         };
         document.addEventListener('click', handler, true);
@@ -939,7 +1007,7 @@ function waitForCondition(
               : cond.truthy
                 ? Boolean(value)
                 : Boolean(value);
-          if (ok) finish();
+          if (ok) finish(false);
         };
         check();
         const unsub = store.subscribe(check);
@@ -948,7 +1016,7 @@ function waitForCondition(
       }
       case 'event_bus': {
         const off = onboardingBus.once(cond.event as OnboardingEvent, () =>
-          finish(),
+          finish(false),
         );
         cleanup = off;
         return;
diff --git a/frontend/src/app/components/Onboarding/steps/skipPredicates.ts b/frontend/src/app/components/Onboarding/steps/skipPredicates.ts
index 4873f7de..4da11b29 100644
--- a/frontend/src/app/components/Onboarding/steps/skipPredicates.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/app/components/Onboarding/steps/skipPredicates.ts
@@ -71,3 +71,27 @@ export function hasAnySkillInstalled(s: RootState): boolean {
   if (Array.isArray(items)) return items.length > 0;
   return Object.keys(items).length > 0;
 }
+
+// True if the PDF-handling skill is installed. Used by step 7 in place
+// of hasAnySkillInstalled so installing any *other* skill doesn't
+// auto-skip the PDF-specific install demo. Matches on id OR name OR
+// command containing 'pdf' (case-insensitive) — the skill might land
+// under any of those depending on how the user installed it.
+export function hasPdfSkillInstalled(s: RootState): boolean {
+  const items = s.skills?.items as any;
+  const list: any[] = Array.isArray(items) ? items : Object.values(items ?? {});
+  return list.some((sk: any) => {
+    const id = (sk?.id ?? '').toString().toLowerCase();
+    const name = (sk?.name ?? '').toString().toLowerCase();
+    const cmd = (sk?.command ?? '').toString().toLowerCase();
+    return id.includes('pdf') || name.includes('pdf') || cmd.includes('pdf');
+  });
+}
+
+// True if any browser card exists on the canvas. Used by step 4 to
+// auto-skip the "open a browser" walkthrough for users who already
+// have one parked on their dashboard.
+export function hasAnyBrowserSpawned(s: RootState): boolean {
+  const cards = (s as any).dashboardLayout?.browserCards ?? {};
+  return Object.keys(cards).length > 0;
+}
diff --git a/frontend/src/app/components/Onboarding/steps/step01_connectModel.ts b/frontend/src/app/components/Onboarding/steps/step01_connectModel.ts
index 445e49fb..b1183d7e 100644
--- a/frontend/src/app/components/Onboarding/steps/step01_connectModel.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/app/components/Onboarding/steps/step01_connectModel.ts
@@ -33,33 +33,24 @@ export const step01: OnboardingStep = {
           id: 'pro',
           label: 'Open Swarm Pro subscription',
           thenOps: [
-            {
-              kind: 'highlight_section',
-              target: S.settingsProSection,
-              popup: 'Pick a tier you like.',
-            },
+            { kind: 'move_to', target: S.settingsProSection },
+            { kind: 'popup', text: 'Pick a tier you like.' },
           ],
         },
         {
           id: 'subscription',
           label: 'I already have an AI subscription',
           thenOps: [
-            {
-              kind: 'highlight_section',
-              target: S.settingsExternalSubs,
-              popup: 'Hook up your subscription here.',
-            },
+            { kind: 'move_to', target: S.settingsExternalSubs },
+            { kind: 'popup', text: 'Hook up your subscription here.' },
           ],
         },
         {
           id: 'api_key',
           label: 'I have an API key',
           thenOps: [
-            {
-              kind: 'highlight_section',
-              target: S.settingsApiKeys,
-              popup: 'Drop your API key in.',
-            },
+            { kind: 'move_to', target: S.settingsApiKeys },
+            { kind: 'popup', text: 'Drop your API key in.' },
           ],
         },
       ],
diff --git a/frontend/src/app/components/Onboarding/steps/step02_enableActions.ts b/frontend/src/app/components/Onboarding/steps/step02_enableActions.ts
index c273af29..ff7fb145 100644
--- a/frontend/src/app/components/Onboarding/steps/step02_enableActions.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/app/components/Onboarding/steps/step02_enableActions.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import type { OnboardingStep } from './types';
 import { S } from '../selectors';
-import { hasAnyToolEnabled, isYoutubeEnabled } from './skipPredicates';
+import { isYoutubeEnabled } from './skipPredicates';
 
 export const step02: OnboardingStep = {
   id: 'enable_actions',
@@ -10,7 +10,11 @@ export const step02: OnboardingStep = {
   description: 'Allow agents to work across your apps.',
   videoSrc: './onboarding-videos/v2/02.mp4',
   videoDurationLabel: '0:24',
-  skipIf: hasAnyToolEnabled,
+  // Narrowed from hasAnyToolEnabled → isYoutubeEnabled so users with
+  // an unrelated tool already on (e.g. Slack, Reddit) still get walked
+  // through enabling YouTube — step 3's hardcoded YouTube-summary
+  // prompt would otherwise hit a disabled MCP and stall.
+  skipIf: isYoutubeEnabled,
   ops: [
     { kind: 'move_to', target: S.sidebarActions },
     { kind: 'popup', text: 'Peek at Actions.' },
diff --git a/frontend/src/app/components/Onboarding/steps/step03_launchAgent.ts b/frontend/src/app/components/Onboarding/steps/step03_launchAgent.ts
index 84098eb6..4b079a35 100644
--- a/frontend/src/app/components/Onboarding/steps/step03_launchAgent.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/app/components/Onboarding/steps/step03_launchAgent.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,18 @@
 import type { OnboardingStep } from './types';
 import { S } from '../selectors';
-import { hasAnyAgentLaunched } from './skipPredicates';
+import { hasAnyAgentLaunched, isYoutubeEnabled } from './skipPredicates';
+
+// Primary demo: summarize a YouTube video — requires the YouTube
+// transcript MCP, which step 2 enables. If a user reaches step 3 with
+// YouTube not enabled (they skipped step 2's flow, dismissed it, or
+// toggled YouTube back off), the agent would hang trying to call a
+// missing MCP. The fallback prompt uses the agent's built-in web tools
+// to do live research — same "agent does real work" demo, no MCP
+// dependency.
+const YOUTUBE_PROMPT =
+  'What is this youtube video about: https://youtu.be/_NKj8KQMY-k?si=rEk4KO2bOpa5Vo0z. Do not use browser agents.';
+const FALLBACK_PROMPT =
+  'Find the latest news about AI from the web and give me a short summary.';
 
 export const step03: OnboardingStep = {
   id: 'launch_agent',
@@ -24,12 +36,12 @@ export const step03: OnboardingStep = {
     {
       kind: 'type_into',
       target: S.chatInput,
-      // Anti-browser-agent directive: the YouTube summary can be
-      // answered entirely from the youtube transcript MCP without
-      // spawning a browser-agent. Browser agents misbehave under
-      // load (ReportProgress violation loops, rate-limit retries)
-      // and tank dashboard responsiveness. The transcript is plenty.
-      text: 'What is this youtube video about: https://youtu.be/_NKj8KQMY-k?si=rEk4KO2bOpa5Vo0z. Do not use browser agents.',
+      // Anti-browser-agent directive on the YouTube path: the summary
+      // can be answered entirely from the youtube transcript MCP, and
+      // browser agents misbehave under load. The fallback path
+      // intentionally USES web tools — that's the whole point of the
+      // fallback (no MCP needed, agent still demonstrates real work).
+      text: (state) => (isYoutubeEnabled(state) ? YOUTUBE_PROMPT : FALLBACK_PROMPT),
       speedMs: 12,
     },
     // Auto-send the prompt — same pattern as steps 5/6/8. Without this,
diff --git a/frontend/src/app/components/Onboarding/steps/step04_useBrowser.ts b/frontend/src/app/components/Onboarding/steps/step04_useBrowser.ts
index afcad6c3..2f7e56e7 100644
--- a/frontend/src/app/components/Onboarding/steps/step04_useBrowser.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/app/components/Onboarding/steps/step04_useBrowser.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import type { OnboardingStep } from './types';
 import { S } from '../selectors';
+import { hasAnyBrowserSpawned } from './skipPredicates';
 
 export const step04: OnboardingStep = {
   id: 'use_browser',
@@ -10,6 +11,10 @@ export const step04: OnboardingStep = {
     'No more jumping between apps. You and your agents work in one place.',
   videoSrc: './onboarding-videos/v2/04.mp4',
   videoDurationLabel: '0:18',
+  // Auto-skip if the user already has a browser on canvas — re-running
+  // "open another browser" is just noise when they've clearly already
+  // discovered the feature.
+  skipIf: hasAnyBrowserSpawned,
   // Runtime auto-prepends a "click into a dashboard" hop when the user
   // isn't already on a #/dashboards/:id route. No need to repeat that in
   // ops — the previous version of this step pointed at the section
diff --git a/frontend/src/app/components/Onboarding/steps/step06_agentControlAgents.ts b/frontend/src/app/components/Onboarding/steps/step06_agentControlAgents.ts
index bb5d0cad..f97f16da 100644
--- a/frontend/src/app/components/Onboarding/steps/step06_agentControlAgents.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/app/components/Onboarding/steps/step06_agentControlAgents.ts
@@ -10,13 +10,17 @@ export const step06: OnboardingStep = {
   videoSrc: './onboarding-videos/v2/06.mp4',
   videoDurationLabel: '0:34',
   requiresDashboard: true,
+  // Reuses the chat the user launched back in step 3 (the YouTube /
+  // web-research agent) as the "previous chat." Step 5's
+  // dependsOn-walk pattern would be appropriate here too, but
+  // pragmatically: by step 6 the user has already created at least one
+  // chat (step 3 marks itself done on chat:message_sent), so we just
+  // frame the existing chat as the helper instead of seeding a stub
+  // via seed-orchestration-demo.
   ops: [
-    // The OnboardingRoot pre-runs `seed-orchestration-demo` before a step-6
-    // start so a stub "research" agent already exists on the canvas. The
-    // popup below tells the user to imagine they made it themselves.
     {
       kind: 'popup',
-      text: "Pretend this chat already did the homework. Now we'll have a fresh one boss it around.",
+      text: "Remember the chat you just made? We'll have a fresh one boss it around.",
     },
     { kind: 'move_to', target: S.newAgentButton },
     { kind: 'popup', text: "Make a new chat. This one's the boss." },
@@ -34,15 +38,15 @@ export const step06: OnboardingStep = {
     },
     // Same auto-fit as step 5: the new orchestrator chat triggers
     // Dashboard's autoFocusSessionId, which often pushes the older
-    // research card off-screen. Click fit-to-view first so both cards
-    // are visible together for the drag-select demo.
+    // chat off-screen. Click fit-to-view first so both cards are
+    // visible together for the drag-select demo.
     { kind: 'move_to', target: S.canvasFitToView },
     { kind: 'click', target: S.canvasFitToView, simulate: true },
     { kind: 'delay', ms: 350 },
     { kind: 'drag_select', target: 'agent-card' },
     {
       kind: 'popup',
-      text: 'Now you try! Drag a box around the chat to make it a helper.',
+      text: 'Now you try! Drag a box around the older chat to make it a helper.',
     },
     {
       kind: 'wait_user',
@@ -55,7 +59,10 @@ export const step06: OnboardingStep = {
     {
       kind: 'type_into',
       target: S.chatInput,
-      text: 'Create a pdf report of the research and save it to my downloads',
+      // Phrased to work against EITHER prompt step 3 sent — the
+      // YouTube summary OR the web-research fallback. "What it dug
+      // up" covers both without naming the source.
+      text: 'Turn what it dug up into a PDF report and save it to my downloads.',
       speedMs: 12,
     },
     { kind: 'move_to', target: S.chatSendButton },
diff --git a/frontend/src/app/components/Onboarding/steps/step07_installSkill.ts b/frontend/src/app/components/Onboarding/steps/step07_installSkill.ts
index 43e8026a..3292642f 100644
--- a/frontend/src/app/components/Onboarding/steps/step07_installSkill.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/app/components/Onboarding/steps/step07_installSkill.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import type { OnboardingStep } from './types';
 import { S } from '../selectors';
-import { hasAnySkillInstalled } from './skipPredicates';
+import { hasPdfSkillInstalled } from './skipPredicates';
 
 export const step07: OnboardingStep = {
   id: 'install_skill',
@@ -10,7 +10,11 @@ export const step07: OnboardingStep = {
   description: 'Teach agents how to handle specific tasks.',
   videoSrc: './onboarding-videos/v2/07.mp4',
   videoDurationLabel: '0:24',
-  skipIf: hasAnySkillInstalled,
+  // Narrowed from hasAnySkillInstalled → hasPdfSkillInstalled so a
+  // user who's installed any *other* skill still gets walked through
+  // the PDF-install demo (which is what the step's targets + popups
+  // are pointed at).
+  skipIf: hasPdfSkillInstalled,
   ops: [
     { kind: 'move_to', target: S.sidebarSkills },
     { kind: 'popup', text: 'Wander into Skills.' },
diff --git a/frontend/src/app/components/Onboarding/steps/step08_makeApp.ts b/frontend/src/app/components/Onboarding/steps/step08_makeApp.ts
index 00567373..b273f5ea 100644
--- a/frontend/src/app/components/Onboarding/steps/step08_makeApp.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/app/components/Onboarding/steps/step08_makeApp.ts
@@ -23,24 +23,26 @@ export const step08: OnboardingStep = {
       condition: { kind: 'click_target', target: S.appsNewButton },
     },
     // After clicking +, the /apps/new route mounts ViewEditor which
-    // asynchronously renders AgentChat in the left pane (model probe
-    // + initial fetch). Without this delay AC tries to type into an
-    // input that's either not yet mounted or mounted-but-not-wired
-    // to the App Builder agent's state machine. Characters land in
-    // the DOM but get discarded on first render commit.
-    //
-    // 1500ms covers the typical mount + model probe round-trip even
-    // under main-thread starvation from concurrent agent streams.
-    // waitForSelector below ALSO retries on its own, so this is a
-    // belt-and-suspenders preflight, not the primary wait.
+    // asynchronously renders AgentChat in the left pane (model probe +
+    // initial fetch). The chat-input data-onboarding marker can land
+    // on a DIFFERENT agent's chat (one of the dashboard cards) before
+    // the App Builder's own scope mounts, so we wait for the scoped
+    // marker specifically. wait_for_dom polls every 100ms up to 8s —
+    // instant on warm starts, patient on cold ones. Replaces the prior
+    // fixed 1500ms delay that under-fit slow boots and added latency
+    // on fast ones.
     {
       kind: 'popup',
       text: 'Loading the App Builder...',
     },
-    { kind: 'delay', ms: 1500 },
-    // The App Builder chat lives in the left pane on /apps/new — a
-    // regular ChatInput instance, so data-onboarding="chat-input"
-    // resolves to it.
+    {
+      kind: 'wait_for_dom',
+      css: '[data-onboarding-scope="app-builder"] [data-onboarding="chat-input"]',
+      timeoutMs: 8000,
+    },
+    // The App Builder chat lives in the left pane on /apps/new — the
+    // chat-input selector resolves to it via the App Builder scope
+    // priority in resolveSelector.
     { kind: 'move_to', target: S.chatInput },
     {
       kind: 'type_into',
diff --git a/frontend/src/app/components/Onboarding/steps/types.ts b/frontend/src/app/components/Onboarding/steps/types.ts
index 93d5e0bc..43a4e252 100644
--- a/frontend/src/app/components/Onboarding/steps/types.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/app/components/Onboarding/steps/types.ts
@@ -23,11 +23,26 @@ export type ACOp =
   | { kind: 'popup'; text: string; cta?: string }
   | { kind: 'multi_choice'; opId: string; question: string; options: ACMultiChoiceOption[] }
   | { kind: 'highlight_section'; target: Selector; popup?: string; durationMs?: number }
-  | { kind: 'type_into'; target: Selector; text: string; speedMs?: number }
+  | {
+      kind: 'type_into';
+      target: Selector;
+      // String for static text; function for runtime branching (e.g. step
+      // 3 picks YouTube prompt if isYoutubeEnabled, else a web-research
+      // fallback). Evaluated once at op-execution time against current
+      // Redux state — not reactive to subsequent state changes.
+      text: string | ((state: RootState) => string);
+      speedMs?: number;
+    }
   | { kind: 'click'; target: Selector; simulate?: boolean }
   | { kind: 'drag_select'; target: Selector }
   | { kind: 'wait_user'; condition: AdvanceCondition; hint?: string; timeoutMs?: number }
   | { kind: 'delay'; ms: number }
+  // Poll a raw CSS selector (not a data-onboarding shorthand) until it
+  // appears in the DOM, up to `timeoutMs`. Used by step 8 to wait for
+  // the App Builder's scoped chat-input to mount before typing into it
+  // (previously a fixed 1500ms delay that under-fit slow cold-starts
+  // and over-fit warm ones).
+  | { kind: 'wait_for_dom'; css: string; timeoutMs?: number }
   | { kind: 'outro' };
 
 export type AdvanceCondition =
diff --git a/frontend/src/app/pages/Views/ViewEditor.tsx b/frontend/src/app/pages/Views/ViewEditor.tsx
index 6752997c..894bdee6 100644
--- a/frontend/src/app/pages/Views/ViewEditor.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/app/pages/Views/ViewEditor.tsx
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import React, { useState, useMemo, useEffect, useRef, useCallback, PointerEvent as ReactPointerEvent } from 'react';
+import { useNavigate } from 'react-router-dom';
 import Box from '@mui/material/Box';
 import Typography from '@mui/material/Typography';
 import CircularProgress from '@mui/material/CircularProgress';
@@ -22,11 +23,13 @@ import InsertDriveFileIcon from '@mui/icons-material/InsertDriveFile';
 import FolderIcon from '@mui/icons-material/Folder';
 import AddIcon from '@mui/icons-material/Add';
 import DeleteOutlineIcon from '@mui/icons-material/DeleteOutline';
+import VisibilityIcon from '@mui/icons-material/Visibility';
+import VisibilityOffIcon from '@mui/icons-material/VisibilityOff';
 import Collapse from '@mui/material/Collapse';
 import ExpandMoreIcon from '@mui/icons-material/ExpandMore';
 import { useAppDispatch, useAppSelector } from '@/shared/hooks';
 import { createDraftSession, removeDraftSession, fetchSession } from '@/shared/state/agentsSlice';
-import { createOutput, updateOutput, Output, SERVE_BASE } from '@/shared/state/outputsSlice';
+import { createOutput, updateOutput, fetchOutputs, Output, SERVE_BASE } from '@/shared/state/outputsSlice';
 import { useClaudeTokens } from '@/shared/styles/ThemeContext';
 import AgentChat from '../AgentChat/AgentChat';
 import RefreshIcon from '@mui/icons-material/Refresh';
@@ -40,6 +43,24 @@ import { API_BASE, getAuthToken } from '@/shared/config';
 import { onboardingBus } from '@/app/components/Onboarding/eventBus';
 
 const WORKSPACE_API = `${API_BASE}/outputs/workspace`;
+
+// File-tree noise defaults. VSCode's equivalent `files.exclude` hides
+// the same set (plus a few more) — we apply by basename anywhere in
+// the path so e.g. `frontend/node_modules` and `frontend/dist` are
+// both filtered out. User can flip `showHidden` to bypass. Anything
+// the agent legitimately writes lives in `src/`, `public/`,
+// `backend/`, `package.json`, `vite.config.ts`, `.env`, `README.md`
+// — none of those collide with this set.
+const HIDDEN_PATH_SEGMENTS = new Set<string>([
+  'node_modules',
+  '.vite-cache',
+  '.vite',
+  '.git',
+  'dist',
+  '.next',
+  '__pycache__',
+  '.venv',
+]);
 // Workspace state poll cadence. While the agent is actively writing
 // files we want a snappy 2s so the file tree / code panes stay in
 // sync. Once the agent goes idle there's no reason to keep hammering
@@ -215,6 +236,7 @@ interface Props {
 const ViewEditor: React.FC<Props> = ({ output }) => {
   const c = useClaudeTokens();
   const dispatch = useAppDispatch();
+  const navigate = useNavigate();
 
   const [createdId, setCreatedId] = useState<string | null>(null);
   const createdIdRef = useRef<string | null>(null);
@@ -240,6 +262,9 @@ const ViewEditor: React.FC<Props> = ({ output }) => {
 
   const [activeTab, setActiveTab] = useState(TAB_PREVIEW);
   const [activeFile, setActiveFile] = useState('index.html');
+  // When false, HIDDEN_PATH_SEGMENTS get filtered out of the file tree.
+  // Persisted to the workspace's localStorage so toggle survives reload.
+  const [showHidden, setShowHidden] = useState(false);
   const autoSaveTimerRef = useRef<ReturnType<typeof setTimeout> | null>(null);
   // Skip preview reloads when nothing the user can SEE changed.
   // The iframe renders index.html; if a save only touched SKILL.md or
@@ -421,6 +446,30 @@ const ViewEditor: React.FC<Props> = ({ output }) => {
         });
         const data = await res.json();
         setWorkspacePath(data.path);
+        // Backend creates an Output record at seed time for
+        // webapp_template workspaces (workspace_id wired up, name
+        // "Untitled App"). Adopt that id NOW so:
+        //  1. The Apps sidebar refresh below shows the in-progress app
+        //     immediately — users who navigate away can find it again.
+        //  2. Later autosaves take the updateOutput branch (using
+        //     `output?.id ?? createdIdRef.current`) instead of trying
+        //     to recreate.
+        // Old flat-mode seeds don't return output_id; that path keeps
+        // its previous behavior (create-on-first-autosave).
+        if (typeof data?.output_id === 'string' && data.output_id) {
+          createdIdRef.current = data.output_id;
+          setCreatedId(data.output_id);
+          // Refresh the Apps list so the new app shows up in the sidebar
+          // before the user navigates away from /apps/new.
+          dispatch(fetchOutputs());
+          // Replace /apps/new in the URL with /apps/{output_id} so a
+          // reload (or back-button return) lands back on the same
+          // workspace instead of spinning up yet another fresh seed.
+          // Use replace so /apps/new doesn't pile up in history.
+          if (window.location.hash.includes('/apps/new')) {
+            navigate(`/apps/${data.output_id}`, { replace: true });
+          }
+        }
         const action = dispatch(createDraftSession({
           mode: 'view-builder',
           setActive: false,
@@ -811,7 +860,31 @@ const ViewEditor: React.FC<Props> = ({ output }) => {
     ? undefined
     : (frontendUrl ?? (workspaceId ? `${SERVE_BASE}/workspace/${workspaceId}/serve/index.html` : undefined));
 
-  const filePaths = useMemo(() => Object.keys(files).filter(p => p !== 'meta.json' && p !== 'SKILL.md').sort(), [files]);
+  // VSCode-style default `files.exclude`: hide build/install noise from
+  // the file tree by default. With the symlinked node_modules + vite's
+  // per-workspace .vite-cache, an unfiltered tree renders hundreds of
+  // MUI/icons chunks the agent + user have no reason to look at. They
+  // can still be opened via the Workspace folder in Finder if needed.
+  // Single-source-of-truth predicate so the file list, tree, and
+  // open-file routing all agree on what counts as visible.
+  const isHiddenPath = useCallback((p: string): boolean => {
+    if (showHidden) return false;
+    // Treat exact basenames + any nested occurrence as hidden.
+    const segments = p.split('/');
+    for (const seg of segments) {
+      if (HIDDEN_PATH_SEGMENTS.has(seg)) return true;
+    }
+    return false;
+  }, [showHidden]);
+
+  const filePaths = useMemo(
+    () =>
+      Object.keys(files)
+        .filter((p) => p !== 'meta.json' && p !== 'SKILL.md')
+        .filter((p) => !isHiddenPath(p))
+        .sort(),
+    [files, isHiddenPath],
+  );
   const fileTree = useMemo(() => buildFileTree(filePaths), [filePaths]);
 
   const updateFile = useCallback((path: string, content: string) => {
@@ -1144,6 +1217,22 @@ const ViewEditor: React.FC<Props> = ({ output }) => {
                   >
                     Files
                   </Typography>
+                  <Tooltip
+                    title={showHidden ? 'Hide build/install dirs' : 'Show hidden (node_modules, .vite-cache, etc.)'}
+                    placement="top"
+                  >
+                    <IconButton
+                      size="small"
+                      onClick={() => setShowHidden((v) => !v)}
+                      sx={{ p: 0.25, color: c.text.ghost, '&:hover': { color: c.accent.primary } }}
+                    >
+                      {showHidden ? (
+                        <VisibilityOffIcon sx={{ fontSize: 14 }} />
+                      ) : (
+                        <VisibilityIcon sx={{ fontSize: 14 }} />
+                      )}
+                    </IconButton>
+                  </Tooltip>
                   <Tooltip title="New file" placement="top">
                     <IconButton
                       size="small"
diff --git a/run.sh b/run.sh
index c0520fc9..341939de 100755
--- a/run.sh
+++ b/run.sh
@@ -85,6 +85,11 @@ if [ ! -f "$UV_BIN_DIR/uvx" ]; then
 fi
 
 # --- Start backend ---
+# Mark this as a dev launch so backend/run.sh enables --reload. Packaged
+# builds never run this top-level script (Electron spawns backend
+# directly), so the env stays unset in production and uvicorn boots in
+# its leaner non-reload mode.
+export OPENSWARM_DEV=1
 echo -e "${BLUE}${BOLD}[backend]${RESET}  Starting backend server..."
 bash "$PROJECT_ROOT/backend/run.sh" > >(
     while IFS= read -r line; do