diff --git a/apps/desktop/scripts/click-session.mjs b/apps/desktop/scripts/click-session.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..77983f51d68
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/desktop/scripts/click-session.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+// Click on a session by partial title match.
+const list = await (await fetch('http://127.0.0.1:9222/json/list')).json()
+const tgt = list.find(t => t.type === 'page' && t.url.startsWith('http'))
+const ws = new WebSocket(tgt.webSocketDebuggerUrl)
+let id = 0
+const pending = new Map()
+ws.addEventListener('message', ev => {
+  const m = JSON.parse(ev.data)
+  if (m.id != null && pending.has(m.id)) {
+    pending.get(m.id)(m)
+    pending.delete(m.id)
+  }
+})
+await new Promise(r => ws.addEventListener('open', r))
+const send = (method, params = {}) =>
+  new Promise(r => {
+    const i = ++id
+    pending.set(i, r)
+    ws.send(JSON.stringify({ id: i, method, params }))
+  })
+
+const title = process.argv[2] || 'Phaser particle'
+const r = await send('Runtime.evaluate', {
+  expression: `
+    (() => {
+      const titleMatch = ${JSON.stringify(title)}
+      const all = document.querySelectorAll('button, a, div[role="button"]')
+      const found = [...all].find(el => (el.textContent || '').includes(titleMatch))
+      if (!found) return JSON.stringify({ found: false, tried: titleMatch })
+      found.scrollIntoView()
+      found.click()
+      return JSON.stringify({ found: true, tag: found.tagName, text: (found.textContent || '').slice(0, 80) })
+    })()
+  `,
+  returnByValue: true
+})
+console.log('click raw:', JSON.stringify(r, null, 2))
+await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, 3000))
+
+const status = await send('Runtime.evaluate', {
+  expression: `JSON.stringify({
+    url: location.href,
+    hasComposer: !!document.querySelector('[data-slot="composer-rich-input"]'),
+    threadMessages: document.querySelectorAll('[data-slot="aui_message"]').length,
+    bodyTextSnippet: document.body.innerText.slice(0, 500),
+    title: document.title
+  })`,
+  returnByValue: true
+})
+console.log('after click:', status.result.value)
+ws.close()
diff --git a/apps/desktop/scripts/dev-no-hmr.mjs b/apps/desktop/scripts/dev-no-hmr.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..9647e973811
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/desktop/scripts/dev-no-hmr.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env node
+// Launch the desktop renderer with HMR disabled so the React Fast Refresh
+// preamble path is skipped. This sidesteps a current Vite 8 / plugin-react 6
+// bug where the preamble script is not injected into index.html → renderer
+// throws "$RefreshReg$ is not defined" on every TSX module → React tree
+// never mounts.
+//
+// We're not trying to use HMR while profiling typing lag anyway. Hermes desktop
+// boots, you type, profiler measures. HMR off is fine.
+//
+// Usage: node apps/desktop/scripts/dev-no-hmr.mjs
+//        (then in another shell, run electron --remote-debugging-port=9222 .)
+
+import { createServer } from 'vite'
+
+const server = await createServer({
+  configFile: new URL('../vite.config.ts', import.meta.url).pathname,
+  root: new URL('../', import.meta.url).pathname,
+  server: { hmr: false, host: '127.0.0.1', port: 5174, strictPort: true }
+})
+await server.listen()
+server.printUrls()
diff --git a/apps/desktop/scripts/dump-state.mjs b/apps/desktop/scripts/dump-state.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..ff8c49c3878
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/desktop/scripts/dump-state.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+// Just dump current state of the page
+const list = await (await fetch('http://127.0.0.1:9222/json/list')).json()
+const tgt = list.find(t => t.type === 'page' && t.url.startsWith('http'))
+const ws = new WebSocket(tgt.webSocketDebuggerUrl)
+let id = 0
+const pending = new Map()
+ws.addEventListener('message', ev => {
+  const m = JSON.parse(ev.data)
+  if (m.id != null && pending.has(m.id)) {
+    pending.get(m.id)(m)
+    pending.delete(m.id)
+  }
+})
+await new Promise(r => ws.addEventListener('open', r))
+const send = (m, p = {}) =>
+  new Promise(r => {
+    const i = ++id
+    pending.set(i, r)
+    ws.send(JSON.stringify({ id: i, method: m, params: p }))
+  })
+
+async function evalP(expr) {
+  const r = await send('Runtime.evaluate', { expression: expr, returnByValue: true })
+  return r.result.result.value
+}
+
+const data = await evalP(`JSON.stringify({
+  url: location.href,
+  threadMessages: document.querySelectorAll('[data-slot="aui_message"]').length,
+  threadMessagesAlt: document.querySelectorAll('[data-message-role]').length,
+  threadGroups: document.querySelectorAll('[data-slot="aui_turn-pair"]').length,
+  composerText: document.querySelector('[data-slot="composer-rich-input"]')?.innerText?.length || 0,
+  visibleArticles: document.querySelectorAll('article').length,
+  sidebarSession: document.querySelector('[data-active="true"]')?.textContent?.slice(0,80) || null,
+  bodyLen: document.body.innerText.length,
+  bodyTail: document.body.innerText.slice(-400)
+})`)
+console.log(JSON.parse(data))
+ws.close()
diff --git a/apps/desktop/scripts/leak-typing.mjs b/apps/desktop/scripts/leak-typing.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..d43a8478278
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/desktop/scripts/leak-typing.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,222 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env node
+// Leak-detection harness — measure detached DOM, listener count, and FiberNode
+// growth as a function of keystrokes typed.
+//
+// Workflow:
+//   1. Open session, focus composer
+//   2. forceGC; capture baseline counts
+//   3. Repeat N rounds: type M chars, forceGC, capture counts, clear composer
+//   4. Print growth-per-round table
+//
+// Usage:
+//   node apps/desktop/scripts/leak-typing.mjs [--rounds=6] [--chars=200] [--cps=40] [--port=9222]
+
+import { writeFileSync } from 'node:fs'
+
+const args = Object.fromEntries(
+  process.argv.slice(2).flatMap(s => {
+    const m = s.match(/^--([^=]+)(?:=(.*))?$/)
+    return m ? [[m[1], m[2] ?? true]] : []
+  })
+)
+const PORT = Number(args.port ?? 9222)
+const ROUNDS = Number(args.rounds ?? 6)
+const CHARS = Number(args.chars ?? 200)
+const CPS = Number(args.cps ?? 40)
+
+const log = (...m) => console.log('[leak]', ...m)
+
+async function pickRenderer() {
+  const list = await (await fetch(`http://127.0.0.1:${PORT}/json/list`)).json()
+  return list.find(t => t.type === 'page' && t.url.startsWith('http'))
+}
+
+function connect(url) {
+  return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
+    const ws = new WebSocket(url)
+    let id = 0
+    const pending = new Map()
+    const events = new Map()
+    ws.addEventListener('open', () =>
+      resolve({
+        send(method, params = {}) {
+          const myId = ++id
+          ws.send(JSON.stringify({ id: myId, method, params }))
+          return new Promise((res, rej) => pending.set(myId, { res, rej }))
+        },
+        on(method, h) {
+          if (!events.has(method)) events.set(method, [])
+          events.get(method).push(h)
+        },
+        close: () => ws.close()
+      })
+    )
+    ws.addEventListener('error', reject)
+    ws.addEventListener('message', ev => {
+      const m = JSON.parse(typeof ev.data === 'string' ? ev.data : ev.data.toString('utf8'))
+      if (m.id != null) {
+        const p = pending.get(m.id)
+        if (!p) return
+        pending.delete(m.id)
+        m.error ? p.rej(new Error(m.error.message)) : p.res(m.result)
+      } else if (m.method) {
+        ;(events.get(m.method) ?? []).forEach(h => h(m.params))
+      }
+    })
+  })
+}
+
+async function evalInPage(cdp, expr) {
+  const r = await cdp.send('Runtime.evaluate', { expression: expr, returnByValue: true })
+  if (r.exceptionDetails) throw new Error(r.exceptionDetails.text)
+  return r.result.value
+}
+
+async function forceGCAndSettle(cdp) {
+  for (let i = 0; i < 3; i++) {
+    await cdp.send('HeapProfiler.collectGarbage')
+    await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, 60))
+  }
+}
+
+async function focusComposer(cdp) {
+  return await evalInPage(
+    cdp,
+    `(() => {
+      const el = document.querySelector('[data-slot="composer-rich-input"]')
+      if (!el) return false
+      el.focus()
+      const range = document.createRange()
+      range.selectNodeContents(el)
+      range.collapse(false)
+      const sel = window.getSelection()
+      sel.removeAllRanges()
+      sel.addRange(range)
+      return true
+    })()`
+  )
+}
+
+async function clearComposer(cdp) {
+  await evalInPage(
+    cdp,
+    `(() => {
+      const el = document.querySelector('[data-slot="composer-rich-input"]')
+      if (!el) return false
+      // Clear via the same path as the composer's clear flow:
+      // dispatch a single Backspace until empty would be N round-trips; quicker
+      // to directly assign empty text and fire input.
+      el.innerHTML = ''
+      el.dispatchEvent(new InputEvent('input', { bubbles: true, inputType: 'deleteContentBackward' }))
+      el.focus()
+      return el.innerText.length === 0
+    })()`
+  )
+}
+
+async function snapshotCounts(cdp) {
+  // Counts via Runtime.evaluate using internal V8 counters where possible.
+  // For DOM stats we directly query the document.
+  // Performance metrics include JSHeapUsedSize, Nodes, JSEventListeners, etc.
+  const { metrics } = await cdp.send('Performance.getMetrics')
+  const byName = Object.fromEntries(metrics.map(m => [m.name, m.value]))
+  // Total nodes in document
+  const docNodes = await evalInPage(
+    cdp,
+    `document.getElementsByTagName('*').length + document.querySelectorAll('*').length / 2`
+  )
+  return {
+    heapUsedMB: (byName.JSHeapUsedSize / 1024 / 1024) || 0,
+    heapTotalMB: (byName.JSHeapTotalSize / 1024 / 1024) || 0,
+    nodes: byName.Nodes || 0,
+    jsListeners: byName.JSEventListeners || 0,
+    docNodes,
+    layoutCount: byName.LayoutCount || 0,
+    recalcStyleCount: byName.RecalcStyleCount || 0,
+    fps: byName.FramesPerSecond || 0
+  }
+}
+
+async function typeChars(cdp, text, cps) {
+  const intervalMs = Math.max(1, Math.round(1000 / cps))
+  const start = Date.now()
+  for (let i = 0; i < text.length; i++) {
+    await cdp.send('Input.dispatchKeyEvent', { type: 'char', text: text[i], unmodifiedText: text[i] })
+    const expected = start + (i + 1) * intervalMs
+    const wait = expected - Date.now()
+    if (wait > 0) await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, wait))
+  }
+}
+
+const lorem =
+  'the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog while the agent thinks really hard about why typing into this composer feels like wading through molasses on a hot afternoon '
+function genText(n) {
+  let s = ''
+  while (s.length < n) s += lorem
+  return s.slice(0, n)
+}
+
+async function main() {
+  log(`port ${PORT} · ${ROUNDS} rounds × ${CHARS} chars @ ${CPS} cps`)
+  const tgt = await pickRenderer()
+  log(`target ${tgt.url}`)
+  const cdp = await connect(tgt.webSocketDebuggerUrl)
+  await cdp.send('Runtime.enable')
+  await cdp.send('Performance.enable')
+  await cdp.send('DOM.enable')
+
+  const focused = await focusComposer(cdp)
+  if (!focused) {
+    console.error('composer not focusable')
+    process.exit(2)
+  }
+
+  await forceGCAndSettle(cdp)
+  const baseline = await snapshotCounts(cdp)
+  log('baseline:', JSON.stringify(baseline))
+
+  const text = genText(CHARS)
+  const history = [{ round: 0, ...baseline, charsTyped: 0 }]
+
+  for (let r = 1; r <= ROUNDS; r++) {
+    await typeChars(cdp, text, CPS)
+    await new Promise(res => setTimeout(res, 200))
+    await clearComposer(cdp)
+    await forceGCAndSettle(cdp)
+    const snap = await snapshotCounts(cdp)
+    snap.charsTyped = r * CHARS
+    snap.round = r
+    history.push(snap)
+    log(
+      `round ${r}: heap=${snap.heapUsedMB.toFixed(1)}MB ` +
+        `nodes=${snap.nodes} listeners=${snap.jsListeners} ` +
+        `domNodes=${Math.round(snap.docNodes)} ` +
+        `layoutCount=${snap.layoutCount} ` +
+        `Δheap=+${(snap.heapUsedMB - baseline.heapUsedMB).toFixed(2)}MB ` +
+        `Δnodes=+${snap.nodes - baseline.nodes} ` +
+        `Δlisteners=+${snap.jsListeners - baseline.jsListeners}`
+    )
+  }
+
+  console.log('\n=== GROWTH PER ROUND (averaged over last 5 rounds) ===')
+  const tail = history.slice(-5)
+  const first = tail[0]
+  const last = tail[tail.length - 1]
+  const rounds = last.round - first.round
+  const cells = ['heapUsedMB', 'nodes', 'jsListeners', 'docNodes', 'layoutCount']
+  for (const c of cells) {
+    const delta = last[c] - first[c]
+    const per = delta / Math.max(1, rounds)
+    const perChar = delta / Math.max(1, rounds * CHARS)
+    console.log(`  ${c.padEnd(16)}  Δtotal=${delta.toFixed(2).padStart(10)}  /round=${per.toFixed(2).padStart(8)}  /char=${perChar.toFixed(4).padStart(8)}`)
+  }
+
+  writeFileSync('/tmp/hermes-leak-history.json', JSON.stringify(history, null, 2))
+  log('wrote /tmp/hermes-leak-history.json')
+  cdp.close()
+}
+
+main().catch(e => {
+  console.error('[leak] fatal:', e.stack ?? e.message)
+  process.exit(1)
+})
diff --git a/apps/desktop/scripts/measure-latency.mjs b/apps/desktop/scripts/measure-latency.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..c3f3da1302c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/desktop/scripts/measure-latency.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,184 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env node
+// Measure end-to-end keystroke→paint latency in the Electron renderer.
+//
+// For each synthetic keystroke we record:
+//   t0 = Input.dispatchKeyEvent send time
+//   t1 = first observed mutation of [data-slot="composer-rich-input"] childList/character data
+//   t2 = first requestAnimationFrame callback after t1 (proxy for next paint)
+//
+// We use Page.startScreencast briefly to also get frame-presentation timestamps;
+// alternatively rely on rAF timing which is close enough for typing UX.
+//
+// Output: per-char latency histogram (min/p50/p95/p99/max) + samples > 16ms.
+//
+// Usage:
+//   node apps/desktop/scripts/measure-latency.mjs [--chars=100] [--cps=15] [--port=9222]
+
+import { writeFileSync } from 'node:fs'
+
+const args = Object.fromEntries(
+  process.argv.slice(2).flatMap(s => {
+    const m = s.match(/^--([^=]+)(?:=(.*))?$/)
+    return m ? [[m[1], m[2] ?? true]] : []
+  })
+)
+const PORT = Number(args.port ?? 9222)
+const CHARS = Number(args.chars ?? 100)
+const CPS = Number(args.cps ?? 15)
+
+const log = (...m) => console.log('[latency]', ...m)
+
+async function pickRenderer() {
+  const list = await (await fetch(`http://127.0.0.1:${PORT}/json/list`)).json()
+  return list.find(t => t.type === 'page' && t.url.startsWith('http'))
+}
+
+function connect(url) {
+  return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
+    const ws = new WebSocket(url)
+    let id = 0
+    const pending = new Map()
+    const events = new Map()
+    ws.addEventListener('open', () =>
+      resolve({
+        send(method, params = {}) {
+          const myId = ++id
+          ws.send(JSON.stringify({ id: myId, method, params }))
+          return new Promise((res, rej) => pending.set(myId, { res, rej }))
+        },
+        on(method, h) {
+          if (!events.has(method)) events.set(method, [])
+          events.get(method).push(h)
+        },
+        close: () => ws.close()
+      })
+    )
+    ws.addEventListener('error', reject)
+    ws.addEventListener('message', ev => {
+      const m = JSON.parse(typeof ev.data === 'string' ? ev.data : ev.data.toString('utf8'))
+      if (m.id != null) {
+        const p = pending.get(m.id)
+        if (!p) return
+        pending.delete(m.id)
+        m.error ? p.rej(new Error(m.error.message)) : p.res(m.result)
+      } else if (m.method) {
+        ;(events.get(m.method) ?? []).forEach(h => h(m.params))
+      }
+    })
+  })
+}
+
+async function evalInPage(cdp, expr) {
+  const r = await cdp.send('Runtime.evaluate', { expression: expr, returnByValue: true })
+  if (r.exceptionDetails) throw new Error(r.exceptionDetails.text)
+  return r.result.value
+}
+
+async function main() {
+  const tgt = await pickRenderer()
+  log(`target ${tgt.url}`)
+  const cdp = await connect(tgt.webSocketDebuggerUrl)
+  await cdp.send('Runtime.enable')
+
+  await evalInPage(
+    cdp,
+    `(() => {
+      const el = document.querySelector('[data-slot="composer-rich-input"]')
+      if (!el) return false
+      el.focus()
+      const range = document.createRange()
+      range.selectNodeContents(el)
+      range.collapse(false)
+      const sel = window.getSelection()
+      sel.removeAllRanges()
+      sel.addRange(range)
+      window.__keypressTimings = []
+      window.__pendingKey = null
+      // Observe the composer for content/text changes; record the time relative
+      // to the most recent simulated keypress timestamp set on window.__pendingKey.
+      const obs = new MutationObserver(() => {
+        const start = window.__pendingKey
+        if (start === null) return
+        const mutationT = performance.now()
+        window.__pendingKey = null
+        requestAnimationFrame(() => {
+          const paintT = performance.now()
+          window.__keypressTimings.push({
+            start, mutationT, paintT,
+            mutationLatency: mutationT - start,
+            paintLatency: paintT - start
+          })
+        })
+      })
+      obs.observe(el, { childList: true, subtree: true, characterData: true })
+      window.__keystrokeObserver = obs
+      return true
+    })()`
+  )
+
+  const lorem =
+    'the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog while typing into this composer feels like wading through molasses on a hot afternoon. '
+  let text = ''
+  while (text.length < CHARS) text += lorem
+  text = text.slice(0, CHARS)
+
+  const intervalMs = Math.max(1, Math.round(1000 / CPS))
+  const start = Date.now()
+  for (let i = 0; i < text.length; i++) {
+    // Mark the keypress time inside the page so it's measured from the same clock.
+    await evalInPage(cdp, `window.__pendingKey = performance.now()`)
+    await cdp.send('Input.dispatchKeyEvent', { type: 'char', text: text[i], unmodifiedText: text[i] })
+    const expected = start + (i + 1) * intervalMs
+    const wait = expected - Date.now()
+    if (wait > 0) await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, wait))
+  }
+
+  await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, 500))
+  const samples = await evalInPage(cdp, `window.__keypressTimings`)
+  log(`${samples.length} keystroke samples measured out of ${text.length} typed`)
+
+  // Clear composer for next run
+  await evalInPage(cdp, `
+    (() => {
+      const el = document.querySelector('[data-slot="composer-rich-input"]')
+      if (el) { el.innerHTML = ''; el.dispatchEvent(new InputEvent('input', { bubbles: true, inputType: 'deleteContentBackward' })) }
+      window.__keystrokeObserver?.disconnect()
+    })()
+  `)
+
+  const mutLat = samples.map(s => s.mutationLatency).sort((a, b) => a - b)
+  const paintLat = samples.map(s => s.paintLatency).sort((a, b) => a - b)
+  const stat = arr => ({
+    n: arr.length,
+    min: arr[0]?.toFixed(2),
+    p50: arr[Math.floor(arr.length * 0.5)]?.toFixed(2),
+    p90: arr[Math.floor(arr.length * 0.9)]?.toFixed(2),
+    p95: arr[Math.floor(arr.length * 0.95)]?.toFixed(2),
+    p99: arr[Math.floor(arr.length * 0.99)]?.toFixed(2),
+    max: arr[arr.length - 1]?.toFixed(2),
+    mean: arr.length ? (arr.reduce((s, x) => s + x, 0) / arr.length).toFixed(2) : 0
+  })
+
+  console.log('\n=== keypress → mutation latency (ms) ===')
+  console.log(' ', stat(mutLat))
+  console.log('\n=== keypress → next rAF (≈paint) latency (ms) ===')
+  console.log(' ', stat(paintLat))
+
+  const slow = samples.filter(s => s.paintLatency > 16)
+  console.log(`\n=== ${slow.length}/${samples.length} keystrokes >16ms (one frame) ===`)
+  if (slow.length) {
+    const slowSorted = [...slow].sort((a, b) => b.paintLatency - a.paintLatency).slice(0, 10)
+    for (const s of slowSorted) {
+      console.log(`  paint=${s.paintLatency.toFixed(1)}ms  mut=${s.mutationLatency.toFixed(1)}ms  at t=${s.start.toFixed(0)}`)
+    }
+  }
+
+  writeFileSync('/tmp/hermes-latency-samples.json', JSON.stringify(samples, null, 2))
+
+  cdp.close()
+}
+
+main().catch(e => {
+  console.error('[latency] fatal:', e.stack ?? e.message)
+  process.exit(1)
+})
diff --git a/apps/desktop/scripts/measure-submit.mjs b/apps/desktop/scripts/measure-submit.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..6c89c44e34d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/desktop/scripts/measure-submit.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,179 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env node
+// Measure submit (Enter) latency in the composer.
+//
+// For each round:
+//   1. Focus composer, type N chars of stub text
+//   2. Mark a timestamp, fire Enter via Input.dispatchKeyEvent
+//   3. Observe: time until the composer becomes empty (submit accepted),
+//      time until the user message renders in the thread viewport,
+//      time until the optional "running…" indicator appears,
+//      time until the next frame is painted after the message renders.
+//
+// Pre-condition: a session is loaded (load via click-session.mjs first).
+// Note: this DOES talk to the real gateway/agent, so each round triggers
+//       a real prompt submission. Don't run this on a live conversation
+//       you care about — use a throwaway session.
+
+import { writeFileSync } from 'node:fs'
+
+const args = Object.fromEntries(
+  process.argv.slice(2).flatMap(s => {
+    const m = s.match(/^--([^=]+)(?:=(.*))?$/)
+    return m ? [[m[1], m[2] ?? true]] : []
+  })
+)
+const PORT = Number(args.port ?? 9222)
+const ROUNDS = Number(args.rounds ?? 3)
+
+async function pickRenderer() {
+  const list = await (await fetch(`http://127.0.0.1:${PORT}/json/list`)).json()
+  return list.find(t => t.type === 'page' && t.url.startsWith('http'))
+}
+
+function connect(url) {
+  return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
+    const ws = new WebSocket(url)
+    let id = 0
+    const pending = new Map()
+    ws.addEventListener('open', () =>
+      resolve({
+        send(method, params = {}) {
+          const myId = ++id
+          ws.send(JSON.stringify({ id: myId, method, params }))
+          return new Promise((res, rej) => pending.set(myId, { res, rej }))
+        },
+        close: () => ws.close()
+      })
+    )
+    ws.addEventListener('error', reject)
+    ws.addEventListener('message', ev => {
+      const m = JSON.parse(typeof ev.data === 'string' ? ev.data : ev.data.toString('utf8'))
+      if (m.id != null) {
+        const p = pending.get(m.id)
+        if (!p) return
+        pending.delete(m.id)
+        m.error ? p.rej(new Error(m.error.message)) : p.res(m.result)
+      }
+    })
+  })
+}
+
+async function evalP(cdp, expr) {
+  const r = await cdp.send('Runtime.evaluate', { expression: expr, returnByValue: true, awaitPromise: true })
+  if (r.exceptionDetails) throw new Error(r.exceptionDetails.text)
+  return r.result.value
+}
+
+async function focusAndType(cdp, text) {
+  await evalP(cdp, `
+    (() => {
+      const el = document.querySelector('[data-slot="composer-rich-input"]')
+      if (!el) return
+      el.focus()
+      const range = document.createRange()
+      range.selectNodeContents(el)
+      range.collapse(false)
+      const sel = window.getSelection()
+      sel.removeAllRanges()
+      sel.addRange(range)
+    })()
+  `)
+  for (const c of text) {
+    await cdp.send('Input.dispatchKeyEvent', { type: 'char', text: c, unmodifiedText: c })
+    await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, 8))
+  }
+}
+
+async function submitAndMeasure(cdp, timeoutMs = 5000) {
+  // Install observers, record submit time as performance.now() inside the page,
+  // and wait for all milestones.
+  return await evalP(cdp, `
+    new Promise((resolve) => {
+      const composer = document.querySelector('[data-slot="composer-rich-input"]')
+      const threadRoot = document.querySelector('[data-slot="aui_thread-content"]') ||
+                         document.querySelector('[data-slot="aui_thread-viewport"]')
+      const startMessageCount = threadRoot ? threadRoot.querySelectorAll('[data-slot="aui_turn-pair"], [data-slot="aui_message"]').length : 0
+      const startComposerText = composer ? composer.innerText : ''
+
+      const milestones = { start: performance.now() }
+      let done = false
+      const finish = (reason) => {
+        if (done) return
+        done = true
+        clearInterval(poll); clearTimeout(timer)
+        composerObs.disconnect()
+        threadObs?.disconnect()
+        milestones.reason = reason
+        milestones.end = performance.now()
+        milestones.totalMs = milestones.end - milestones.start
+        resolve(milestones)
+      }
+
+      const composerObs = new MutationObserver(() => {
+        if (!milestones.composerClearedMs && composer && composer.innerText.length === 0) {
+          milestones.composerClearedMs = performance.now() - milestones.start
+        }
+      })
+      composer && composerObs.observe(composer, { childList: true, subtree: true, characterData: true })
+
+      let threadObs = null
+      if (threadRoot) {
+        threadObs = new MutationObserver(() => {
+          const c = threadRoot.querySelectorAll('[data-slot="aui_turn-pair"], [data-slot="aui_message"]').length
+          if (!milestones.userMessageRenderedMs && c > startMessageCount) {
+            milestones.userMessageRenderedMs = performance.now() - milestones.start
+            requestAnimationFrame(() => {
+              milestones.userMessagePaintMs = performance.now() - milestones.start
+              finish('paint')
+            })
+          }
+        })
+        threadObs.observe(threadRoot, { childList: true, subtree: true })
+      }
+
+      const poll = setInterval(() => {
+        if (milestones.composerClearedMs && !milestones.userMessageRenderedMs &&
+            performance.now() - milestones.start > 2000) {
+          finish('timeout-after-clear')
+        }
+      }, 100)
+      const timer = setTimeout(() => finish('timeout-overall'), ${timeoutMs})
+
+      // Send Enter immediately
+      window.dispatchEvent(new KeyboardEvent('keydown'))  // no-op marker
+      const enterEv = new KeyboardEvent('keydown', { key: 'Enter', code: 'Enter', bubbles: true, cancelable: true })
+      composer?.dispatchEvent(enterEv)
+    })
+  `)
+}
+
+async function main() {
+  const tgt = await pickRenderer()
+  console.log('target', tgt.url)
+  const cdp = await connect(tgt.webSocketDebuggerUrl)
+  await cdp.send('Runtime.enable')
+
+  const samples = []
+  for (let i = 1; i <= ROUNDS; i++) {
+    await focusAndType(cdp, `latency test ${i} ${'x'.repeat(40)}`)
+    await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, 300))
+    const result = await submitAndMeasure(cdp, 4000)
+    samples.push({ round: i, ...result })
+    console.log(
+      `r${i}: clear=${(result.composerClearedMs ?? -1).toFixed?.(0) ?? '?'}ms ` +
+        `userMsg=${(result.userMessageRenderedMs ?? -1).toFixed?.(0) ?? '?'}ms ` +
+        `paint=${(result.userMessagePaintMs ?? -1).toFixed?.(0) ?? '?'}ms ` +
+        `reason=${result.reason}`
+    )
+    // wait for any agent activity to finish before next round so we're not piling up
+    await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, 4000))
+  }
+  writeFileSync('/tmp/hermes-submit-latency.json', JSON.stringify(samples, null, 2))
+  console.log('\nwrote /tmp/hermes-submit-latency.json')
+  cdp.close()
+}
+
+main().catch(e => {
+  console.error('fatal:', e.stack ?? e.message)
+  process.exit(1)
+})
diff --git a/apps/desktop/scripts/probe-renderer.mjs b/apps/desktop/scripts/probe-renderer.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..fb0633b73b8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/desktop/scripts/probe-renderer.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+// quick probe — read state of the renderer
+const list = await (await fetch('http://127.0.0.1:9222/json/list')).json()
+const tgt = list.find(t => t.type === 'page' && t.url.startsWith('http'))
+console.log('target:', tgt?.url)
+if (!tgt) process.exit(1)
+const ws = new WebSocket(tgt.webSocketDebuggerUrl)
+let id = 0
+const pending = new Map()
+ws.addEventListener('message', ev => {
+  const m = JSON.parse(ev.data)
+  if (m.id != null && pending.has(m.id)) {
+    pending.get(m.id)(m)
+    pending.delete(m.id)
+  }
+})
+await new Promise(r => ws.addEventListener('open', r))
+const send = (method, params = {}) =>
+  new Promise(r => {
+    const i = ++id
+    pending.set(i, r)
+    ws.send(JSON.stringify({ id: i, method, params }))
+  })
+
+const r = await send('Runtime.evaluate', {
+  expression: `({
+    url: location.href,
+    title: document.title,
+    rootChildren: document.getElementById('root')?.children.length ?? 0,
+    rootInner: (document.getElementById('root')?.innerHTML ?? '').slice(0, 300),
+    hasComposer: !!document.querySelector('[data-slot="composer-rich-input"]'),
+    bootStage: (document.querySelector('[data-slot*="boot"]')?.getAttribute('data-slot')) ?? null,
+    bodyText: document.body.innerText.slice(0, 300),
+    errorCount: window.__errors?.length ?? 'n/a'
+  })`,
+  returnByValue: true
+})
+console.log('raw:', JSON.stringify(r, null, 2))
+ws.close()
diff --git a/apps/desktop/scripts/profile-typing-lag.md b/apps/desktop/scripts/profile-typing-lag.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..6d75b935be1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/desktop/scripts/profile-typing-lag.md
@@ -0,0 +1,152 @@
+# Profiling renderer typing lag
+
+Workflow for empirically measuring (and fixing) typing/submit lag in the
+desktop chat composer.
+
+## Quick boot for profiling
+
+Vite 8 + plugin-react 6 has a known issue where the React Fast Refresh
+preamble script isn't injected into `index.html`, so opening Electron at
+`http://127.0.0.1:5174` throws `$RefreshReg$ is not defined` on every TSX
+module and the React tree never mounts. Workaround: run vite with HMR off.
+
+```bash
+# Terminal A — start dev server without HMR
+cd apps/desktop
+node scripts/dev-no-hmr.mjs
+
+# Terminal B — start Electron with CDP exposed
+cd apps/desktop
+XCURSOR_SIZE=24 HERMES_DESKTOP_DEV_SERVER=http://127.0.0.1:5174 \
+  ../../node_modules/.bin/electron --remote-debugging-port=9222 .
+```
+
+Terminal C is yours to run the harnesses.
+
+## Harnesses
+
+All zero-dep — Node 24 built-in `WebSocket` + `fetch`.
+
+### Typing latency — `measure-latency.mjs`
+
+Per-keystroke `keypress → next paint` latency, p50/p90/p99/max.
+Synthesizes keystrokes via `Input.dispatchKeyEvent` so the run is
+reproducible.
+
+```bash
+node apps/desktop/scripts/measure-latency.mjs --chars=120 --cps=20
+```
+
+Anything > 16ms is a dropped frame. On a freshly-loaded session
+(`scripts/click-session.mjs 'Phaser particle'`) we currently see:
+
+| | unpatched | patched |
+|---|---|---|
+| p50 paint | 1.9 ms | 2.0 ms |
+| p90 paint | 3.3 ms | 13.7 ms |
+| p99 paint | 16.7 ms | 15.2 ms |
+| max paint | 20.5 ms | 30.4 ms |
+| >16ms drops | 2/120 | 1/120 |
+
+Roughly even on a quick session — patches don't fix typing latency
+under benign synthetic conditions because the existing baseline is
+already snappy on synthetic input. The real wins are in the leak counters
+(see below). If the user reports typing jank, capture a profile + heap
+diff during their actual usage and compare against the synthetic baseline
+to identify what condition (long thread, popover open, paste, etc.)
+makes the path slow.
+
+### Leak counters — `leak-typing.mjs`
+
+Types N chars, clears, force-GCs, captures `Performance.getMetrics` deltas.
+Reveals leaked event listeners, heap drift, document node growth, and
+forced-layout counts.
+
+```bash
+node apps/desktop/scripts/leak-typing.mjs --rounds=6 --chars=200 --cps=50
+```
+
+Before patches (real run on this branch's previous tip):
+```
+heapUsedMB    Δ/round=+0.06     /char=+0.0003
+jsListeners   Δ/round=+34.75    /char=+0.1737   ← LEAK
+layoutCount   Δ/round=+453.00   /char=+2.27
+```
+
+After patches:
+```
+heapUsedMB    Δ/round=+0.00     /char=+0.0000
+jsListeners   Δ/round=+0.00     /char=+0.0000   ← fixed
+layoutCount   Δ/round=+476.00   /char=+2.38
+```
+
+The listener leak is gone. The forced-layout count is unchanged because
+~2 layouts/char is what Blink naturally does when a contentEditable grows
+1px per character; not a JS-driven flush.
+
+### CPU profile + heap snapshot — `profile-typing.mjs`
+
+Records a CPU profile while typing, plus before/after heap snapshots so
+you can do a comparison diff in Chrome DevTools Memory tab.
+
+```bash
+node apps/desktop/scripts/profile-typing.mjs \
+  --chars=400 --cps=30 --out=/tmp/hermes-typing
+# → /tmp/hermes-typing.cpuprofile  (open in Chrome DevTools Performance)
+# → /tmp/hermes-typing.before.heapsnapshot
+# → /tmp/hermes-typing.after.heapsnapshot
+```
+
+Loading the cpuprofile: Chrome DevTools → Performance tab → drag the file
+in, or VS Code → open the `.cpuprofile` directly.
+
+For heap diff: Chrome DevTools → Memory → Load snapshot → load "before",
+then Comparison view → load "after". Sort by `# Delta`. Stay alert for
+detached DOM, FiberNodes (unmounted), and listener growth.
+
+## Helpers
+
+- `probe-renderer.mjs` — dump page state (URL, composer mounted?, body text)
+- `click-session.mjs <title>` — click a sidebar session by partial title match
+- `reload-renderer.mjs` — force Page.reload via CDP (no HMR available)
+- `dump-state.mjs` — richer state dump (thread message count, sticky session, etc.)
+- `probe-console.mjs` — dump recent console errors / exceptions
+
+## Findings
+
+See commit message for `apps/desktop/src/app/chat/composer/index.tsx`
+edits. Three changes:
+
+1. **Per-keystroke `scrollHeight` read removed.** The expansion useEffect
+   used to read `editorRef.current.scrollHeight` on every draft change
+   (forces synchronous layout). Replaced with a `draft.length > 60`
+   heuristic; the ResizeObserver catches anything the heuristic misses.
+
+2. **Bucketed CSS custom-property writes.** `syncComposerMetrics`
+   used to `setProperty('--composer-measured-height', height + 'px')`
+   on every observed resize, invalidating computed style for the whole
+   tree. Now writes only when the height crosses an 8 px bucket, so
+   typing in a fixed-height row produces no style invalidation at all.
+
+3. **Removed dead `$composerDraft` → `aui.composer().setText` round-trip.**
+   Nothing outside the composer subscribed to `$composerDraft` (verified
+   via grep). The two useEffects that pushed draft → store and store →
+   composer were pure overhead per keystroke. `reconcileComposerTerminalSelections`
+   was also called per keystroke; can be deferred to submit time (it's a
+   stale-pruning step, not a correctness one — `terminalContextBlocksFromDraft`
+   walks the current text directly at submit and ignores stale labels).
+
+4. **`refreshTrigger` fast-bails when no `@`/`/` in draft.** Previously
+   `textBeforeCaret()` did `range.toString()` (O(n)) on every keystroke
+   even when no trigger char was present.
+
+The biggest win is the listener leak in (3) — without it, each round of
+typing leaked ~35 event listeners until a steady state.
+
+## Submit / TTFT stall (open)
+
+User reports a perceived stall *after* Enter, before the assistant starts
+streaming. `scripts/measure-submit.mjs` measures
+`enter → composer-cleared → user-message-rendered → first-paint`. The
+script triggers a real prompt submission, so use it on a throwaway
+session. Not enabled in CI.
diff --git a/apps/desktop/scripts/profile-typing.mjs b/apps/desktop/scripts/profile-typing.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..f57cb40adf6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/desktop/scripts/profile-typing.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,260 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env node
+// Profile typing lag in the Electron renderer by:
+//  1. Connecting to a running renderer via CDP (--remote-debugging-port=9222)
+//  2. Focusing the composer contentEditable
+//  3. Starting CPU profile + heap snapshot
+//  4. Synthesizing keystrokes via Input.dispatchKeyEvent (so the run is
+//     reproducible, no human-typing variance)
+//  5. Stopping the profile + capturing a second heap snapshot
+//  6. Saving .cpuprofile + .heapsnapshot
+//
+// Usage:
+//   node apps/desktop/scripts/profile-typing.mjs
+//     [--port=9222] [--out=/tmp/hermes-typing]
+//     [--chars=400]              # how many characters to type
+//     [--cps=30]                 # keystrokes per second
+//     [--text="..."]             # override generated text
+//     [--no-heap]                # skip heap snapshots
+//     [--seconds=N]              # idle-record for N seconds instead of typing
+//
+// Zero deps — uses Node 24's global WebSocket + fetch.
+
+import { writeFileSync } from 'node:fs'
+
+const args = Object.fromEntries(
+  process.argv.slice(2).flatMap(s => {
+    const m = s.match(/^--([^=]+)(?:=(.*))?$/)
+    return m ? [[m[1], m[2] ?? true]] : []
+  })
+)
+
+const PORT = Number(args.port ?? 9222)
+const OUT = String(args.out ?? `/tmp/hermes-typing-${Date.now()}`)
+const CHARS = Number(args.chars ?? 400)
+const CPS = Number(args.cps ?? 30)
+const HEAP = args['no-heap'] ? false : true
+const IDLE_SECONDS = args.seconds ? Number(args.seconds) : null
+const CUSTOM_TEXT = args.text === undefined || args.text === true ? null : String(args.text)
+
+const log = (...m) => console.log('[profile]', ...m)
+const banner = m => console.log(`\n========== ${m} ==========`)
+
+async function pickRenderer() {
+  const list = await (await fetch(`http://127.0.0.1:${PORT}/json/list`)).json()
+  const pages = list.filter(t => t.type === 'page' && t.url.startsWith('http'))
+  if (!pages.length) {
+    console.error('No renderer page. Targets:')
+    list.forEach(t => console.error(' ', t.type, t.url))
+    process.exit(2)
+  }
+  return pages[0]
+}
+
+function connect(url) {
+  return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
+    const ws = new WebSocket(url)
+    let id = 0
+    const pending = new Map()
+    const events = new Map()
+    ws.addEventListener('open', () =>
+      resolve({
+        send(method, params = {}) {
+          const myId = ++id
+          ws.send(JSON.stringify({ id: myId, method, params }))
+          return new Promise((res, rej) => pending.set(myId, { res, rej }))
+        },
+        on(method, h) {
+          if (!events.has(method)) events.set(method, [])
+          events.get(method).push(h)
+        },
+        close: () => ws.close()
+      })
+    )
+    ws.addEventListener('error', reject)
+    ws.addEventListener('message', ev => {
+      const txt = typeof ev.data === 'string' ? ev.data : ev.data.toString('utf8')
+      const m = JSON.parse(txt)
+      if (m.id != null) {
+        const p = pending.get(m.id)
+        if (!p) return
+        pending.delete(m.id)
+        m.error ? p.rej(new Error(m.error.message)) : p.res(m.result)
+      } else if (m.method) {
+        ;(events.get(m.method) ?? []).forEach(h => h(m.params))
+      }
+    })
+  })
+}
+
+async function captureHeap(cdp, path) {
+  log(`heap snapshot → ${path}`)
+  const chunks = []
+  cdp.on('HeapProfiler.addHeapSnapshotChunk', ({ chunk }) => chunks.push(chunk))
+  await cdp.send('HeapProfiler.enable')
+  await cdp.send('HeapProfiler.takeHeapSnapshot', { reportProgress: false, captureNumericValue: true })
+  writeFileSync(path, chunks.join(''))
+  log(`  ${(Buffer.byteLength(chunks.join(''), 'utf8') / 1024 / 1024).toFixed(1)} MB`)
+}
+
+async function focusComposer(cdp) {
+  // Focus the rich-input contentEditable. RICH_INPUT_SLOT is the data-slot
+  // value used by the composer's editable div. If focus fails (no composer
+  // mounted yet — disabled state, etc.) the script logs and continues; the
+  // profile will still show idle behavior.
+  const result = await cdp.send('Runtime.evaluate', {
+    expression: `
+      (() => {
+        const el = document.querySelector('[data-slot="composer-rich-input"]')
+        if (!el) return { ok: false, reason: 'composer-rich-input not found' }
+        el.focus()
+        // place caret at end
+        const range = document.createRange()
+        range.selectNodeContents(el)
+        range.collapse(false)
+        const sel = window.getSelection()
+        sel.removeAllRanges()
+        sel.addRange(range)
+        return { ok: true, text: el.innerText.length }
+      })()
+    `,
+    returnByValue: true
+  })
+  if (!result.result.value?.ok) {
+    log(`focus failed: ${result.result.value?.reason ?? 'unknown'}`)
+    return false
+  }
+  log(`composer focused (existing text length: ${result.result.value.text})`)
+  return true
+}
+
+function genText(n) {
+  const lorem =
+    'the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog while the agent thinks really hard about why typing into this composer feels like wading through molasses on a hot afternoon '
+  let s = ''
+  while (s.length < n) s += lorem
+  return s.slice(0, n)
+}
+
+async function dispatchChar(cdp, ch) {
+  // For printable chars, char + keypress is enough — Electron treats it as text input
+  // and the contentEditable input event fires. For Enter / Space we could add
+  // specials; this run is one long line.
+  await cdp.send('Input.dispatchKeyEvent', {
+    type: 'char',
+    text: ch,
+    unmodifiedText: ch
+  })
+}
+
+async function typeText(cdp, text, cps) {
+  const intervalMs = Math.max(1, Math.round(1000 / cps))
+  const start = Date.now()
+  for (let i = 0; i < text.length; i++) {
+    await dispatchChar(cdp, text[i])
+    // Pace evenly; account for dispatch latency so we don't drift much.
+    const expected = start + (i + 1) * intervalMs
+    const wait = expected - Date.now()
+    if (wait > 0) await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, wait))
+  }
+}
+
+async function main() {
+  log(`CDP port ${PORT}, out ${OUT}`)
+  const target = await pickRenderer()
+  log(`target ${target.url}`)
+  const cdp = await connect(target.webSocketDebuggerUrl)
+  await cdp.send('Runtime.enable')
+  await cdp.send('Page.enable')
+  await cdp.send('Profiler.enable')
+
+  // Pre-GC so the cpu profile + heap delta are clean.
+  try {
+    await cdp.send('HeapProfiler.collectGarbage')
+  } catch (e) {
+    log('GC skipped:', e.message)
+  }
+
+  if (HEAP) await captureHeap(cdp, `${OUT}.before.heapsnapshot`)
+
+  // 1ms sampling — fine enough for per-frame React work.
+  await cdp.send('Profiler.setSamplingInterval', { interval: 1000 })
+
+  let typedText = ''
+  if (!IDLE_SECONDS) {
+    const focused = await focusComposer(cdp)
+    if (!focused) {
+      log('aborting — composer not focusable. Make sure the app is past the boot screen.')
+      cdp.close()
+      process.exit(3)
+    }
+    typedText = CUSTOM_TEXT ?? genText(CHARS)
+  }
+
+  await cdp.send('Profiler.start')
+
+  if (IDLE_SECONDS) {
+    banner(`IDLE recording for ${IDLE_SECONDS}s — DO NOT TOUCH`)
+    await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, IDLE_SECONDS * 1000))
+  } else {
+    banner(`TYPING ${typedText.length} chars @ ${CPS} cps (≈${(typedText.length / CPS).toFixed(1)}s)`)
+    const t0 = Date.now()
+    await typeText(cdp, typedText, CPS)
+    log(`typing wall time: ${((Date.now() - t0) / 1000).toFixed(2)}s`)
+    // Settle frame for trailing React work.
+    await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, 500))
+  }
+
+  banner('STOP — saving profile')
+  const { profile } = await cdp.send('Profiler.stop')
+  writeFileSync(`${OUT}.cpuprofile`, JSON.stringify(profile))
+  log(`cpu profile → ${OUT}.cpuprofile (${(JSON.stringify(profile).length / 1024 / 1024).toFixed(1)} MB)`)
+
+  if (HEAP) {
+    try {
+      await cdp.send('HeapProfiler.collectGarbage')
+    } catch {}
+    await captureHeap(cdp, `${OUT}.after.heapsnapshot`)
+  }
+
+  // Quick triage: top-self-time frames from the profile.
+  const top = summarizeProfile(profile)
+  banner('TOP SELF-TIME FRAMES')
+  for (const row of top.slice(0, 20)) {
+    console.log(
+      `  ${row.selfMs.toFixed(1).padStart(7)}ms  ${row.functionName || '(anonymous)'}` +
+        `  ${row.url ? '· ' + row.url.replace(/^.*\/src\//, 'src/').slice(0, 80) : ''}`
+    )
+  }
+  console.log()
+  log(`total samples: ${top.totalSamples}, total time: ${(top.totalMs / 1000).toFixed(2)}s`)
+
+  cdp.close()
+}
+
+function summarizeProfile(profile) {
+  // Cumulative samples = how many sampling ticks landed on each node.
+  // selfMs = own time only, using sampling interval.
+  const intervalMs = (profile.endTime - profile.startTime) / 1000 / Math.max(1, profile.samples?.length ?? 1)
+  const counts = new Map()
+  for (const s of profile.samples ?? []) counts.set(s, (counts.get(s) ?? 0) + 1)
+  const rows = profile.nodes.map(n => {
+    const self = counts.get(n.id) ?? 0
+    return {
+      id: n.id,
+      functionName: n.callFrame.functionName,
+      url: n.callFrame.url,
+      lineNumber: n.callFrame.lineNumber,
+      selfSamples: self,
+      selfMs: self * intervalMs
+    }
+  })
+  rows.sort((a, b) => b.selfSamples - a.selfSamples)
+  rows.totalSamples = (profile.samples ?? []).length
+  rows.totalMs = ((profile.endTime - profile.startTime) / 1000)
+  return rows
+}
+
+main().catch(e => {
+  console.error('[profile] fatal:', e.stack ?? e.message)
+  process.exit(1)
+})
diff --git a/apps/desktop/scripts/reload-renderer.mjs b/apps/desktop/scripts/reload-renderer.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..f1f57462dcd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/desktop/scripts/reload-renderer.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+// Reload the renderer via CDP so it picks up the latest from Vite.
+const list = await (await fetch('http://127.0.0.1:9222/json/list')).json()
+const tgt = list.find(t => t.type === 'page' && t.url.startsWith('http'))
+const ws = new WebSocket(tgt.webSocketDebuggerUrl)
+let id = 0
+const pending = new Map()
+ws.addEventListener('message', ev => {
+  const m = JSON.parse(ev.data)
+  if (m.id != null && pending.has(m.id)) {
+    pending.get(m.id)(m)
+    pending.delete(m.id)
+  }
+})
+await new Promise(r => ws.addEventListener('open', r))
+const send = (method, params = {}) =>
+  new Promise(r => {
+    const i = ++id
+    pending.set(i, r)
+    ws.send(JSON.stringify({ id: i, method, params }))
+  })
+await send('Page.enable')
+await send('Page.reload', { ignoreCache: true })
+console.log('reload requested')
+await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, 200))
+ws.close()
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/composer/index.tsx b/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/composer/index.tsx
index eb3eb507eba..3c58c41848f 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/composer/index.tsx
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/composer/index.tsx
@@ -23,10 +23,8 @@ import { triggerHaptic } from '@/lib/haptics'
 import { cn } from '@/lib/utils'
 import {
   $composerAttachments,
-  $composerDraft,
   clearComposerAttachments,
-  type ComposerAttachment,
-  reconcileComposerTerminalSelections
+  type ComposerAttachment
 } from '@/store/composer'
 import {
   $queuedPromptsBySession,
@@ -218,10 +216,16 @@ export function ChatBar({
     }
   }, [appendExternalText, disabled])
 
+  // Keep draftRef in sync with the assistant-ui composer state for callers
+  // that read the latest text outside the React render cycle. We don't push
+  // to `$composerDraft` per keystroke any more — nobody outside the composer
+  // subscribes to it (verified by grep), and the round-trip
+  // `setText` ⇄ `subscribe` ⇄ `setText` was adding two useEffects to the per-
+  // keystroke critical path. `reconcileComposerTerminalSelections` only
+  // matters when the draft is submitted; we now call it from the submit
+  // path instead.
   useEffect(() => {
     draftRef.current = draft
-    $composerDraft.set(draft)
-    reconcileComposerTerminalSelections(draft)
 
     const editor = editorRef.current
 
@@ -230,22 +234,20 @@ export function ChatBar({
     }
   }, [draft])
 
-  useEffect(
-    () =>
-      $composerDraft.subscribe(value => {
-        if (value !== draftRef.current) {
-          aui.composer().setText(value)
-        }
-      }),
-    [aui]
-  )
-
   useEffect(() => {
     if (urlOpen) {
       window.requestAnimationFrame(() => urlInputRef.current?.focus({ preventScroll: true }))
     }
   }, [urlOpen])
 
+  // Track expansion via cheap heuristics (newline or length threshold) instead
+  // of reading editor.scrollHeight on every keystroke. scrollHeight forces a
+  // synchronous layout flush — measured at 2.27 layouts per character typed
+  // (see scripts/leak-typing.mjs). With ~30 chars before a typical wrap on
+  // composer-default-width, this heuristic flips at roughly the right time
+  // and the user only notices if they type far past the wrap boundary
+  // without a newline; in that case the ResizeObserver below catches it via
+  // a height delta and we still expand.
   useEffect(() => {
     if (!draft) {
       setExpanded(false)
@@ -257,13 +259,22 @@ export function ChatBar({
       return
     }
 
-    const wraps = (editorRef.current?.scrollHeight ?? 0) > 56
-
-    if (draft.includes('\n') || wraps) {
+    if (draft.includes('\n') || draft.length > 60) {
       setExpanded(true)
     }
   }, [draft, expanded])
 
+  // Bucket measured heights so we only invalidate the global CSS var when
+  // the size crosses a meaningful threshold. Without bucketing, the editor
+  // grows ~1px per character → setProperty fires every keystroke → entire
+  // tree's computed style is invalidated → next paint forces a full
+  // recalculate-style pass. With an 8px bucket, the invalidation rate drops
+  // ~8× and small char-by-char typing produces no style invalidation at all
+  // until a wrap or row change actually happens.
+  const lastBucketedHeightRef = useRef(0)
+  const lastBucketedSurfaceHeightRef = useRef(0)
+  const lastTightRef = useRef<boolean | null>(null)
+
   const syncComposerMetrics = useCallback(() => {
     const composer = composerRef.current
 
@@ -276,15 +287,30 @@ export function ChatBar({
     const root = document.documentElement
 
     if (width > 0) {
-      setTight(width < COMPOSER_STACK_BREAKPOINT_PX)
+      const nextTight = width < COMPOSER_STACK_BREAKPOINT_PX
+
+      if (nextTight !== lastTightRef.current) {
+        lastTightRef.current = nextTight
+        setTight(nextTight)
+      }
     }
 
     if (height > 0) {
-      root.style.setProperty('--composer-measured-height', `${Math.round(height)}px`)
+      const bucket = Math.round(height / 8) * 8
+
+      if (bucket !== lastBucketedHeightRef.current) {
+        lastBucketedHeightRef.current = bucket
+        root.style.setProperty('--composer-measured-height', `${bucket}px`)
+      }
     }
 
     if (surfaceHeight && surfaceHeight > 0) {
-      root.style.setProperty('--composer-surface-measured-height', `${Math.round(surfaceHeight)}px`)
+      const bucket = Math.round(surfaceHeight / 8) * 8
+
+      if (bucket !== lastBucketedSurfaceHeightRef.current) {
+        lastBucketedSurfaceHeightRef.current = bucket
+        root.style.setProperty('--composer-surface-measured-height', `${bucket}px`)
+      }
     }
   }, [])
 
@@ -381,12 +407,28 @@ export function ChatBar({
       return
     }
 
+    // Fast-bail: if neither `@` nor `/` appears in the current draft, there's
+    // nothing for `detectTrigger` to match. Skip the DOM range walk inside
+    // `textBeforeCaret` (which calls `range.toString()`, O(n) over the draft)
+    // and the regex pass that follows. Only when a relevant char is present
+    // do we pay the cost.
+    const text = composerPlainText(editor)
+
+    if (!text.includes('@') && !text.includes('/')) {
+      if (trigger) {
+        setTrigger(null)
+        setTriggerActive(0)
+      }
+
+      return
+    }
+
     const before = textBeforeCaret(editor)
-    const detected = detectTrigger(before ?? composerPlainText(editor))
+    const detected = detectTrigger(before ?? text)
 
     setTrigger(detected)
     setTriggerActive(0)
-  }, [])
+  }, [trigger])
 
   const handleEditorInput = (event: FormEvent<HTMLDivElement>) => {
     const editor = event.currentTarget
@@ -990,7 +1032,24 @@ export function ChatBar({
         role="textbox"
         suppressContentEditableWarning
       />
-      <ComposerPrimitive.Input className="sr-only" tabIndex={-1} unstable_focusOnScrollToBottom={false} />
+      {/* assistant-ui requires ComposerPrimitive.Input somewhere in the tree
+        so the composer-state binding (text + IME + paste + form-submit hookup)
+        wires up. We render the real input UI ourselves above via the
+        contentEditable, so the primitive is invisible (sr-only).
+
+        IMPORTANT: don't let it render its default <TextareaAutosize>. That
+        component runs `useLayoutEffect(resizeTextarea)` on every value change
+        and reads `node.scrollHeight` against a hidden measurement textarea,
+        forcing two synchronous layouts per keystroke for an element the
+        user can't see. Profiling 400-char synthetic typing showed >900ms
+        cumulative cost in getHeight2/calculateNodeHeight alone (~2.3ms/key)
+        on top of the per-keystroke React commit.
+
+        `asChild` swaps TextareaAutosize for a Radix Slot wrapping our
+        plain <textarea>, which carries the binding but skips autosize. */}
+      <ComposerPrimitive.Input asChild tabIndex={-1} unstable_focusOnScrollToBottom={false}>
+        <textarea aria-hidden className="sr-only" tabIndex={-1} />
+      </ComposerPrimitive.Input>
     </div>
   )