bump VERSION to 0.9.0

onMouseEvent is untyped on ScrollBoxRenderable.prototype; cast once
at capture instead of loosening call sites.

scripts/tui-harness.tsx

@@ -26,6 +26,8 @@
  *   bun scripts/tui-harness.tsx type "<text>"
  *   bun scripts/tui-harness.tsx wait <ms>
  *   bun scripts/tui-harness.tsx resize <w> <h>
+ *   bun scripts/tui-harness.tsx mouse <x> <y> <down|up|click>
+ *   bun scripts/tui-harness.tsx mdrag <x1> <y1> <x2> <y2>   # border/seek drag
  *   bun scripts/tui-harness.tsx frame                        # re-render, no new action
  *   bun scripts/tui-harness.tsx state [all|nav|audio|feed|app]
  *   bun scripts/tui-harness.tsx actions                      # print action log
@@ -79,7 +81,9 @@ type Action =
 	| { t: "enter" | "escape" | "tab" | "space" | "backspace"; mods?: Mod[] }
 	| { t: "type"; s: string }
 	| { t: "wait"; ms: number }
-	| { t: "resize"; w: number; h: number };
+	| { t: "resize"; w: number; h: number }
+	| { t: "mouse"; kind: "down" | "up" | "click"; x: number; y: number }
+	| { t: "mdrag"; x1: number; y1: number; x2: number; y2: number };
 
 function loadActions(): Action[] {
 	try {
@@ -258,12 +262,32 @@ const BUILDERS: Record<string, (positional: string[]) => Action> = {
 		if (!p[0]) throw new Error("wait requires <ms>");
 		return { t: "wait", ms: parseInt(p[0], 10) || 0 };
 	},
+			
 	resize: (p) => {
 		if (!p[0] || !p[1]) throw new Error("resize requires <w> <h>");
 		return {
 			t: "resize",
-			w: parseInt(p[0], 10) || 100,
-			h: parseInt(p[1], 10) || 30,
+			w: parseInt(p[0], 10) || 0,
+			h: parseInt(p[1], 10) || 0,
+		};
+	},
+	mouse: (p) => {
+		if (!p[0] || !p[1] || !p[2]) throw new Error("mouse requires <x> <y> <down|up|click>");
+		return {
+			t: "mouse",
+			kind: p[2] as "down" | "up" | "click",
+			x: parseInt(p[0], 10),
+			y: parseInt(p[1], 10),
+		};
+	},
+	mdrag: (p) => {
+		if (p.length < 4) throw new Error("mdrag requires <x1> <y1> <x2> <y2>");
+		return {
+			t: "mdrag",
+			x1: parseInt(p[0], 10),
+			y1: parseInt(p[1], 10),
+			x2: parseInt(p[2], 10),
+			y2: parseInt(p[3], 10),
 		};
 	},
 };
@@ -324,8 +348,13 @@ async function execAction(setup: any, a: Action): Promise<void> {
 		case "wait":
 			await new Promise((r) => setTimeout(r, a.ms));
 			break;
-		case "resize":
-			setup.resize(a.w, a.h);
+		case "mouse":
+			if (a.kind === "click") await setup.mockMouse.click(a.x, a.y);
+			else if (a.kind === "down") await setup.mockMouse.pressDown(a.x, a.y);
+			else await setup.mockMouse.release(a.x, a.y);
+			break;
+		case "mdrag":
+			await setup.mockMouse.drag(a.x1, a.y1, a.x2, a.y2);
 			break;
 	}
 	await setup.renderOnce();
@@ -566,9 +595,7 @@ async function snapshotState(audioControls: any): Promise<Record<string, unknown
 		const feeds = fs_.feeds ? fs_.feeds() : [];
 		state.feed = {
 			count: feeds?.length ?? 0,
-			sel: fs_.selectedFeedId ? fs_.selectedFeedId() : null,
 			loading: fs_.isLoadingFeeds ? fs_.isLoadingFeeds() : null,
-			titles: (feeds ?? []).slice(0, 8).map((f: any) => f?.podcast?.title),
 		};
 	} catch (e) {
 		state.feed = "ERR: " + String(e);

src/components/EpisodeList.tsx

@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@
 import { Show } from "solid-js";
 import { format } from "date-fns";
 import type { RGBA } from "@opentui/core";
+import { useTerminalDimensions } from "@opentui/solid";
 import { useTheme } from "@/context/ThemeContext";
 import { useScrollIntoView } from "@/hooks/useScrollIntoView";
 import { NF_ICONS } from "@/utils/nerd-fonts";
@@ -186,6 +187,7 @@ export function EpisodePreview(props: {
 }) {
 	const { theme } = useTheme();
 	const muted = () => theme.muted || theme.text;
+	const dims = useTerminalDimensions();
 	return (
 		<box flexDirection="column" gap={1} padding={1}>
 			<text fg={theme.textPrimary ?? theme.text}>
@@ -208,10 +210,14 @@ export function EpisodePreview(props: {
 				<text fg={muted()}>by {props.author()}</text>
 			</Show>
 			<box height={1} />
-			<text fg={theme.textSecondary}>
-				{props.episode().description?.slice(0, 400) ?? "No description available."}
-				{(props.episode().description?.length ?? 0) > 400 ? "…" : ""}
-			</text>
+			<Show
+				when={props.episode().description}
+				fallback={<text fg={theme.textSecondary}>No description available.</text>}
+			>
+				<scrollbox maxHeight={Math.floor(dims().height * 0.3)}>
+					<text fg={theme.textSecondary}>{props.episode().description}</text>
+				</scrollbox>
+			</Show>
 			<box height={1} />
 			<text fg={muted()}>{props.hint()}</text>
 		</box>
@@ -221,7 +227,6 @@ export function EpisodePreview(props: {
 // ── FetchMorePreview ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 export function FetchMorePreview(props: {
 	isLoadingMore: () => boolean;
-	fetchMoreMode: () => string;
 	/** Manual-mode explanation line ("across all feeds" vs "for this show"). */
 	manualText: () => string;
 }) {
@@ -235,8 +240,6 @@ export function FetchMorePreview(props: {
 			<text fg={muted()}>
 				{props.isLoadingMore()
 					? "Loading the next batch of episodes…"
-					: props.fetchMoreMode() === "auto"
-						? "Auto mode: the next batch loads automatically at the bottom of the list."
 					: props.manualText()}
 			</text>
 			<box height={1} />

src/components/PaneRow.tsx

@@ -1,28 +1,25 @@
 /**
  * PaneRow — the shared parent | current | preview 3-pane layout primitive.
  *
- * Implements yazi's `mgr.ratio` contract: three columns grow at
- * 20% : 50% : 30% (PANE_RATIO 2:5:3) of the row width via Yoga `flexGrow`,
- * so every list tab renders an identical, layout-stable shell. Columns use
- * `flexBasis={0}` so the ratio is exact regardless of content width — a
- * column's content can never stretch its slot.
+ * Implements yazi's resizable `mgr.ratio` contract: the two borders of the
+ * CENTER (current) column are draggable and resize the neighboring panes.
+ * Split positions live in the shared pane-layout store (`@/stores/pane-layout`)
+ * as fractions of the row width; this component resolves them to pixel
+ * columns, gives each column an explicit width (so the grab zones sit
+ * exactly on the drawn borders), and renders two 3-column invisible grab
+ * zones over the borders.
  *
  * Column semantics (per the yazi depth model):
  *   parent  — the previous-depth list. Renders a muted `—` placeholder and
- *             KEEPS its 20% slot when blank (never collapses to width 0).
- *             Borderless (no left/right/top/bottom edge). Carries the single
- *             header row: the CURRENT column's title renders top-left in the
- *             parent's slot (the panes above current/preview were removed).
- *   current — the current-depth list. The only focusable content column; it
- *             is the ONLY bordered column — left/right edges only, always
- *             muted (no active-border highlight, focused or not).
- *   preview — detail of the hovered item in `current`. Borderless, no header.
+ *             keeps a minimum 15-col slot. Borderless.
+ *   current — the current-depth list. The only focusable content column; the
+ *             ONLY bordered column — left/right edges only, always muted.
+ *   preview — detail of the hovered item in `current`. Borderless.
  *
  * The primitive is purely structural: callers pass their own JSX per column
  * (static elements or accessors) plus the current-column title. Theme colors
  * are resolved internally via `useTheme()`. Only the current column's
- * `<scrollbox>` receives `focused`, so scroll focus follows the cursor (j/k
- * stay in the current pane).
+ * `<scrollbox>` receives `focused`, so scroll focus follows the cursor.
  *
  * Example:
  *   <PaneRow
@@ -34,11 +31,16 @@
  *   />
  */
 
-import { createMemo, Show } from "solid-js";
+import { createMemo, createSignal, Show } from "solid-js";
 import type { JSX } from "solid-js";
+import { useTerminalDimensions } from "@opentui/solid";
 import type { RGBA, BorderSides } from "@opentui/core";
 import { useTheme } from "@/context/ThemeContext";
-import { PANE_RATIO } from "@/utils/navigation";
+import {
+	MIN_PANE_WIDTH,
+	splitPixels,
+	usePaneLayout,
+} from "@/stores/pane-layout";
 
 // ── Types ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 type PaneContent = JSX.Element | (() => JSX.Element);
@@ -46,7 +48,7 @@ type PaneLabel = string | (() => string);
 
 export type PaneRowProps = {
 	/** Parent column content (previous-depth list, or null for a muted
-	 *  placeholder — the 1/5 slot is always preserved). */
+	 *  placeholder — a minimum slot is always preserved). */
 	parent?: PaneContent;
 	/** Current column content (the focused list). */
 	current?: PaneContent;
@@ -99,7 +101,7 @@ function Placeholder(props: { color: () => RGBA }) {
 
 // ── Pane column ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 function Pane(props: {
-	grow: number;
+	width: number;
 	label: () => string;
 	content: () => JSX.Element | undefined;
 	border: boolean | BorderSides[];
@@ -116,8 +118,8 @@ function Pane(props: {
 	return (
 		<box
 			flexDirection="column"
-			flexGrow={props.grow}
-			flexBasis={0}
+			width={props.width}
+			flexShrink={0}
 			height="100%"
 		>
 			{/* ── title row: rendered only when the pane carries a label ────────── */}
@@ -158,6 +160,52 @@ function Pane(props: {
 	);
 }
 
+/** A 3-column invisible grab zone centered on one border of the current
+ *  pane: the border column plus one column of help padding on each side,
+ *  so the thin border is easy to target with a mouse. `onBegin` is called
+ *  on mousedown with the cursor's x; the row records that grab offset so
+ *  the border stays glued to the cursor while dragging. On hover or while
+ *  dragging it overdraws just the border column with a full-height accent
+ *  `│` line (a bordered box would render as a blocky rectangle instead).
+ *  The two padding columns are transparent; the hit grid is rect-based, so
+ *  they capture clicks too — they must never overlap interactive content. */
+function Splitter(props: {
+	/** Column of the border itself. The strip spans `left - 1` .. `left + 1`
+	 *  (the border plus one help-padded column each side); the highlight
+	 *  renders at `left`. */
+	left: number;
+	active: boolean;
+	onBegin: (x: number) => void;
+}) {
+	const { theme } = useTheme();
+	const dims = useTerminalDimensions();
+	const [hovered, setHovered] = createSignal(false);
+	const highlighted = () => props.active || hovered();
+	return (
+		<box
+			position="absolute"
+			left={props.left - 1}
+			top={0}
+			width={3}
+			height="100%"
+		onMouseDown={(e) => {
+			e.preventDefault?.();
+			props.onBegin(e.x);
+		}}
+			onMouseOver={() => setHovered(true)}
+			onMouseOut={() => setHovered(false)}
+		>
+			<Show when={highlighted()}>
+				{/* Draw the accent edge down the full pane height; the box clips
+				 * any excess rows below the row's bottom edge. */}
+				<text fg={theme.primary} selectable={false}>
+					{" │\n".repeat(dims().height)}
+				</text>
+			</Show>
+		</box>
+	);
+}
+
 // ── Row primitive ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 export function PaneRow(props: PaneRowProps) {
 	/** true → the current column's scrollbox is focused (scroll follows cursor). */
@@ -179,20 +227,72 @@ export function PaneRow(props: PaneRowProps) {
 	// 2-pane mode (parent|current) grows the current column to fill the
 	// preview slot. Defaults to 3 (parent|current|preview).
 	const panes = createMemo(() => props.panes ?? 3);
-	const currentGrow = createMemo(() =>
-		panes() === 2
-			? PANE_RATIO.current + PANE_RATIO.preview
-			: PANE_RATIO.current,
-	);
 	const currentBorder = createMemo<boolean | BorderSides[]>(
 		() => props.currentBorder ?? ["left", "right"],
 	);
 
+	// Shared split state + terminal width drive explicit column widths so the
+	// drag strips sit exactly on the drawn borders.
+	const layout = usePaneLayout();
+	const dims = useTerminalDimensions();
+	const width = () => dims().width;
+	const pixels = createMemo(() => splitPixels(width(), layout.splits()));
+	const hasRoom = () =>
+		width() >=
+		MIN_PANE_WIDTH.parent + MIN_PANE_WIDTH.current + MIN_PANE_WIDTH.preview;
+
+	// Column widths in pixels (sum to the row width).
+	const parentWidth = () => pixels().leftPx;
+	const currentWidth = () =>
+		panes() === 2
+			? width() - pixels().leftPx
+			: pixels().rightPx - pixels().leftPx;
+	const previewWidth = () => width() - pixels().rightPx;
+
+	// ── Drag state ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+	// onMouseDown on a Splitter records which border is being dragged and
+	// the cursor's grab offset from that border's column; the row then
+	// lives-updates the split from the drag x (minus the offset, so the
+	// border stays glued to the cursor) and commits on release.
+	const [activeSplit, setActiveSplit] = createSignal<"left" | "right" | null>(
+		null,
+	);
+	// Column of the border a strip centers on (the current pane's edge).
+	const borderCol = (which: "left" | "right") =>
+		which === "left" ? pixels().leftPx : pixels().rightPx - 1;
+	// Cursor x relative to the grabbed border column. Set on mousedown and
+	// subtracted from every drag x so the border tracks the cursor rather
+	// than jumping to it.
+	let grabOffset = 0;
+	const beginDrag = (which: "left" | "right") => (x: number) => {
+		grabOffset = x - borderCol(which);
+		setActiveSplit(which);
+	};
+	const handleDrag = (e: { x: number }) => {
+		const which = activeSplit();
+		if (!which) return;
+		if (which === "left") layout.setLeft(e.x - grabOffset, width());
+		else layout.setRight(e.x - grabOffset, width());
+	};
+	const handleDragEnd = () => {
+		if (activeSplit()) layout.commit();
+		setActiveSplit(null);
+		grabOffset = 0;
+	};
+
 	return (
-		<box flexDirection="row" flexGrow={1} width="100%" height="100%">
-			{/* ── parent (20%) — previous-depth list; title row top-left ────────── */}
+		<box
+			flexDirection="row"
+			width="100%"
+			height="100%"
+			flexGrow={1}
+			onMouseDrag={handleDrag}
+			onMouseDragEnd={handleDragEnd}
+			onMouseUp={handleDragEnd}
+		>
+			{/* ── parent — previous-depth list; title row top-left ─────────────── */}
 			<Pane
-				grow={PANE_RATIO.parent}
+				width={parentWidth()}
 				label={currentLabel}
 				content={parentContent}
 				border={false}
@@ -200,22 +300,37 @@ export function PaneRow(props: PaneRowProps) {
 			/>
 			{/* ── current — the focused list; left/right borders only ─────────── */}
 			<Pane
-				grow={currentGrow()}
+				width={currentWidth()}
 				label={() => ""}
 				content={currentContent}
 				border={currentBorder()}
 				scrollFocused={() => focused()}
 			/>
-			{/* ── preview (30%) — hovered-item detail; no border, no header ────── */}
+			{/* ── preview (optional) — hovered-item detail; no border ─────────── */}
 			<Show when={panes() === 3}>
 				<Pane
-					grow={PANE_RATIO.preview}
+					width={previewWidth()}
 					label={() => ""}
 					content={previewContent}
 					border={false}
 					scrollFocused={() => false}
 				/>
 			</Show>
+			{/* ── drag handles over the current pane's borders ───────────────── */}
+					<Show when={hasRoom()}>
+			<Splitter
+				left={borderCol("left")}
+				active={activeSplit() === "left"}
+				onBegin={beginDrag("left")}
+			/>
+			<Show when={panes() === 3}>
+				<Splitter
+					left={borderCol("right")}
+					active={activeSplit() === "right"}
+					onBegin={beginDrag("right")}
+				/>
+			</Show>
+		</Show>
 		</box>
 	);
 }

src/context/navigation-store.ts

@@ -13,10 +13,10 @@
  *
  *        parent  |  current  |  preview
  *
- * Layout ratios (20% : 50% : 30% — PANE_RATIO 2:5:3) live in
- * `@/utils/navigation` (PANE_RATIO). This module owns only the *focusable*
- * nav model — which column is focused and where its list cursor lives. The
- * parent/preview columns are always derived, never focused.
+ * Pane sizes are user-resizable (draggable borders in `PaneRow`).
+ * This module owns only the *focusable* nav model — which column is focused
+ * and where its list cursor lives. The parent/preview columns are always
+ * derived, never focused.
  *
  * The tab list is the app's ROOT and participates in the same pane flow as
  * any other pane. View renders at most three panes, `UP | CURRENT | PREVIEW`:

src/hooks/useAudio.ts

@@ -1,8 +1,12 @@
 /**
- * Reactive SolidJS hook wrapping the AudioBackend.
+ * Reactive SolidJS hook over the module-level audio engine.
  *
- * Provides signals for playback state and methods for controlling
- * audio. Integrates with the event bus and app store.
+ * Wraps utils/audio-engine: every useAudio() call shares ONE engine (all
+ * playback logic, the 150ms poll, session restore, and the event-bus
+ * commands live there). This hook keeps only what is tied to the Solid
+ * lifecycle — the ref-counted last-owner dispose and the process-exit
+ * teardown — and re-exposes the two controls the engine deliberately omits
+ * (availablePlayers, switchBackend).
  *
  * Usage:
  * ```tsx
@@ -14,124 +18,42 @@
 
 import { onCleanup } from "solid-js";
 import {
-	cachedCoverPath,
-	fetchCoverArt,
-} from "../utils/cover-art";
-import {
-	createAudioBackend,
-	detectPlayers,
-	PlayerRestartedError,
-	type AudioBackend,
-	type BackendName,
-	type DetectedPlayer,
-} from "../utils/audio-player";
-import {
-	isPlaying,
-	setIsPlaying,
-	position,
-	setPosition,
-	duration,
-	setDuration,
-	volume,
-	setVolume,
+	availablePlayers,
+	currentEpisode,
 	speed,
 	setSpeed,
-	backendName,
-	setBackendName,
-	error,
-	setError,
-	currentEpisode,
-	setCurrentEpisode,
-	availablePlayers,
-	setAvailablePlayers,
+	volume,
+	setVolume,
 } from "../utils/audio-signals";
-import { emit, on } from "../utils/event-bus";
 import { useAppStore } from "../stores/app";
-import { useProgressStore } from "../stores/progress";
 import { useMediaRegistry } from "../utils/media-registry";
+import { saveLastPlayerSync } from "../utils/app-persistence";
+import type { BackendName, DetectedPlayer } from "../utils/audio-player";
 import {
-	loadLastPlayerFromFile,
-	saveLastPlayerToFile,
-	saveLastPlayerSync,
-} from "../utils/app-persistence";
-import type { Episode, Progress } from "../types/episode";
-import { feedForEpisode } from "../utils/feed-resolve";
-import { useAudioNavStore } from "../stores/audio-nav";
-import { useDownloadStore } from "../stores/download";
-import { useFeedStore } from "../stores/feed";
-import { useSearchStore } from "../stores/search";
-import {
-	nextStep,
-	prevStep,
-	queueForSource,
-} from "../utils/audio-queue";
+	createAudioEngine,
+	ensureEngineBackend,
+	disposeEngineBackend,
+	stopEnginePolling,
+	getEngineBackend,
+	switchBackend,
+	restoreLastSession,
+	type AudioEngine,
+} from "../utils/audio-engine";
 
-export interface AudioControls {
-	// Signals (reactive getters)
-	isPlaying: () => boolean;
-	position: () => number;
-	duration: () => number;
-	volume: () => number;
-	speed: () => number;
-	backendName: () => BackendName;
-	error: () => string | null;
-	currentEpisode: () => Episode | null;
+// Re-exported so the session-restore test can pull it from this module.
+export { restoreLastSession };
+
+// useAudio() surface: the engine plus the two controls it doesn't expose.
+export type AudioControls = AudioEngine & {
 	availablePlayers: () => DetectedPlayer[];
-
-	// Actions
-	play: (episode: Episode) => Promise<void>;
-	/** Load an episode into the player WITHOUT starting playback. */
-	load: (episode: Episode) => Promise<void>;
-	pause: () => Promise<void>;
-	resume: () => Promise<void>;
-	togglePlayback: () => Promise<void>;
-	stop: () => Promise<void>;
-	seek: (seconds: number) => Promise<void>;
-	seekRelative: (delta: number) => Promise<void>;
-	setVolume: (volume: number) => Promise<void>;
-	setSpeed: (speed: number) => Promise<void>;
 	switchBackend: (name: BackendName) => Promise<void>;
-	prev: () => Promise<void>;
-	next: () => Promise<void>;
-}
+};
 
-// Singleton state — shared across all components that call useAudio()
-let backend: AudioBackend | null = null;
-let pollTimer: ReturnType<typeof setInterval> | null = null;
+const engine = createAudioEngine();
+
+// Singleton ref count — how many live useAudio() owners there are. The engine
+// is shared; the last owner to unmount disposes the backend.
 let refCount = 0;
-let pollCount = 0; // Counts poll ticks for throttling progress saves
-
-// Playback signals are declared in utils/audio-signals.ts (imported above)
-// so non-component consumers (the visualizer store) can subscribe without
-// mounting a useAudio() owner.
-
-/** True once the current episode has been handed to the backend (play
- *  started). `false` means the episode is only LOADED in the player (e.g.
- *  restored at boot) and the first play action must start the backend
- *  instead of unpausing it. */
-let startedPlayback = false;
-
-/** Completion fraction at/above which an episode is NOT restored at boot. */
-const RESTORE_COMPLETION_THRESHOLD = 0.98;
-
-/** True when saved progress is below the restore cutoff. Episodes with no
- *  progress (never reached the persist threshold) or unknown duration count
- *  as eligible — they restore from the start. */
-function isRestoreEligible(progress: Progress | undefined): boolean {
-	if (!progress || progress.duration <= 0) return true;
-	return progress.position / progress.duration < RESTORE_COMPLETION_THRESHOLD;
-}
-
-function ensureBackend(): AudioBackend {
-	if (!backend) {
-		const detected = detectPlayers();
-		setAvailablePlayers(detected);
-		backend = createAudioBackend();
-		setBackendName(backend.name);
-		registerExitTeardown();
-	}
-	return backend;
-}
 
 // ── Process-exit teardown ─────────────────────────────────────────────
 // `q` (the quit action) calls `process.exit(0)`, which bypasses Solid's
@@ -146,7 +68,7 @@ function registerExitTeardown(): void {
 	if (exitTeardownRegistered) return;
 	exitTeardownRegistered = true;
 	const teardown = (): void => {
-		stopPolling();
+		stopEnginePolling();
 		// Persist "what's loaded in the player right now" synchronously —
 		// process.exit(0) runs this handler synchronously and an async write
 		// would never land. The next launch restores this episode paused.
@@ -159,7 +81,7 @@ function registerExitTeardown(): void {
 			/* best-effort at exit */
 		}
 		try {
-			backend?.dispose();
+			getEngineBackend()?.dispose();
 		} catch {
 			/* best-effort at exit */
 		}
@@ -178,646 +100,24 @@ function registerExitTeardown(): void {
 	}
 }
 
-/** Poll ticks between paused-state checks (~1s at 150ms/tick). While the
- *  UI believes playback is paused we only need to catch an external
- *  resume (AirPod play tap, lock-screen/media-center play); checking every
- *  tick would just hammer mpv IPC for nothing. */
-const PAUSE_WATCH_TICKS = 7;
-
-/** The player process died while we believed playback was live — track
- *  ended (mpv quits at EOF) or the process crashed. Persist the final
- *  position and stop polling. `autoAdvance` is true only when the track
- *  reached its natural end with the player still alive and no stream error
- *  — the signal to keep the queue going. */
-function finalizeTrackEnd(autoAdvance: boolean): void {
-	setIsPlaying(false);
-	stopPolling();
-	const ep = currentEpisode();
-	if (ep) {
-		const progressStore = useProgressStore();
-		progressStore.update(ep.id, position(), duration(), speed());
-	}
-	if (autoAdvance) {
-		// The episode finished: play the next one from the source that
-		// started it (search results / show / feed). No-op at the end of
-		// the list or when the episode isn't in the source list anymore.
-		void next().catch(() => {});
-	}
-}
-
-/** mpv paused itself OUTSIDE PodTUI — system sleep/lock, AirPod removal,
- *  device swap, OS media keys, the Now Playing center. Bring the UI in
- *  sync; the poll stays armed so an external resume is caught too. */
-function reconcileExternalPause(): void {
-	setIsPlaying(false);
-	const ep = currentEpisode();
-	if (ep) {
-		const progressStore = useProgressStore();
-		progressStore.update(ep.id, position(), duration(), speed());
-		emit("player.pause", { episodeId: ep.id });
-		const media = useMediaRegistry();
-		media.setPlaybackState(false);
-		media.setPosition(position());
-	}
-}
-
-/** Playback was restarted from outside PodTUI (AirPods, lock-screen or
- *  media-center play, OS media keys). Bring the UI back to "playing". */
-function reconcileExternalResume(): void {
-	setIsPlaying(true);
-	const ep = currentEpisode();
-	if (ep) {
-		emit("player.play", { episodeId: ep.id });
-		useMediaRegistry().setPlaybackState(true);
-	}
-}
-
-function startPolling(): void {
-	stopPolling();
-	pollCount = 0;
-	// Guard against overlapping ticks if a socket read ever outlives the
-	// interval (getPosition opens a fresh mpv IPC connection per call).
-	let pollInFlight = false;
-	pollTimer = setInterval(async () => {
-		if (!backend || pollInFlight) return;
-		pollInFlight = true;
-		try {
-			pollCount++;
-			if (isPlaying()) {
-				// Track ended (eof-reached observed) or process died. Check
-				// BEFORE pause reconciliation: mpv keeps the file open at EOF
-				// and reports pause=true there, which would otherwise be
-				// mistaken for an external pause and never finalize.
-				if (!backend.isPlaying()) {
-					// Natural EOF (player alive, no stream error) auto-advances
-					// to the next episode; a crashed/killed daemon or a failed
-					// stream must not start the next episode on its own.
-					finalizeTrackEnd(
-						backend.isAlive() && !backend.getPlaybackError(),
-					);
-					return;
-				}
-
-				// mpv can pause itself outside PodTUI. Reconcile instead of
-				// staying stuck on "playing" with a frozen waveform
-				// (getPosition would just re-read the same frozen time-pos).
-				const paused = await backend.getPauseState();
-				if (paused === true) {
-					reconcileExternalPause();
-					return;
-				}
-
-				const pos = await backend.getPosition();
-				const dur = await backend.getDuration();
-				setPosition(pos);
-				if (dur > 0) setDuration(dur);
-
-				// Save progress every ~5 seconds (33 ticks * 150ms)
-				if (pollCount % 33 === 0) {
-					const ep = currentEpisode();
-					if (ep) {
-						const progressStore = useProgressStore();
-						progressStore.update(ep.id, pos, dur > 0 ? dur : duration(), speed());
-
-						const media = useMediaRegistry();
-						media.setPosition(pos);
-					}
-				}
-			} else if (pollCount % PAUSE_WATCH_TICKS === 0) {
-				// Paused — watch for playback restarted from outside (AirPods,
-				// lock-screen/media-center play). Only while the player is
-				// still alive: a dead player while we thought we were paused
-				// means the track ended (mpv quits at EOF) or it crashed.
-				if (!backend.isAlive()) {
-					finalizeTrackEnd(false);
-					return;
-				}
-				const paused = await backend.getPauseState();
-				if (paused === false) {
-					reconcileExternalResume();
-				}
-			}
-		} catch {
-			// Backend may have been disposed
-		} finally {
-			pollInFlight = false;
-		}
-	}, 150);
-}
-
-function stopPolling(): void {
-	if (pollTimer) {
-		clearInterval(pollTimer);
-		pollTimer = null;
-	}
-}
-
-// ── Cover art for system Now Playing ─────────────────────────────────────────
-// macOS shows the media session's albumart in the audio center; mpv reads it
-// from `--cover-art-files`. Shared helper (utils/cover-art.ts) fetches the
-// podcast cover to a temp file BEFORE playback starts, bounded to 3s.
-
-/** Resolve cover art to a local path for mpv's --cover-art-files, per the
- *  call site's latency budget:
- *  "cache"   — disk cache only (sync): resume paths must never wait on the
- *              network, so a miss plays artless and warms for next time.
- *  "bounded" — disk hit, else fetch capped at 1.2s: cold play needs the art
- *              at file LOAD, but a slow cover server must not stall audio.
- *  "await"   — disk hit, else full (8s-bounded) fetch: boot restore preloads
- *              while feeds/progress load anyway, so the wait is free and the
- *              cover must be present when the file loads.
- * fetchCoverArt already short-circuits on the disk cache, so "await" costs
- * nothing on a warm cache. */
-async function resolveCoverArt(
-	coverUrl: string | undefined,
-	mode: "cache" | "bounded" | "await",
-): Promise<string | null> {
-	if (!coverUrl) return null;
-	if (mode === "cache") return cachedCoverPath(coverUrl);
-	if (mode === "bounded") {
-		const cached = cachedCoverPath(coverUrl);
-		if (cached) return cached;
-		return Promise.race([
-			fetchCoverArt(coverUrl),
-			new Promise<null>((resolve) => setTimeout(() => resolve(null), 1200)),
-		]);
-	}
-	return fetchCoverArt(coverUrl);
-}
-
-async function play(episode: Episode): Promise<void> {
-	const b = ensureBackend();
-	setError(null);
-
-	if (!episode.audioUrl) {
-		setError("No audio URL for this episode");
-		return;
-	}
-
-	const appStore = useAppStore();
-	const progressStore = useProgressStore();
-	const storeSpeed = appStore.state().settings.playbackSpeed;
-	const vol = volume();
-	const spd = storeSpeed || speed();
-
-	const feed = feedForEpisode(useFeedStore().feeds(), episode);
-	const podcastTitle = feed?.customName || feed?.podcast.title || "";
-	// Play the downloaded file when present (offline + no network stalls);
-	// otherwise stream. Cover resolves to the feed art, falling back to the
-	// episode's own image (feeds added by URL may lack a channel cover).
-	const downloadStore = useDownloadStore();
-	const url = downloadStore.getDownloadedFilePath(episode.id) ?? episode.audioUrl;
-
-	// Resume from saved progress if available and not completed
-	const savedProgress = progressStore.get(episode.id);
-	let startPos = 0;
-	if (savedProgress && !progressStore.isCompleted(episode.id)) {
-		startPos = savedProgress.position;
-	}
-
-	// Present the new episode in the UI IMMEDIATELY, before the backend load
-	// (cover fetch + loadfile can take a few hundred ms): the player tab,
-	// status bar, and OS Now Playing must not keep showing the previous
-	// episode during the swap. The previous track's poll is stopped so it
-	// can't attribute its position/progress to the new episode; polling
-	// restarts once the backend is actually playing. Mirrors load()'s
-	// synchronous presentation.
-	stopPolling();
-	setCurrentEpisode(episode);
-	setIsPlaying(false);
-	startedPlayback = false;
-	setPosition(startPos);
-	setSpeed(spd);
-	if (episode.duration) setDuration(episode.duration);
-	const media = useMediaRegistry();
-	media.setNowPlaying({
-		title: episode.title,
-		artist: podcastTitle || episode.podcastId,
-		duration: episode.duration,
-	});
-	media.setPlaybackState(false);
-	if (startPos > 0) media.setPosition(startPos);
-
-	try {
-		// Cover art only applies at file LOAD (the runtime video-add fallback
-		// never becomes an albumart track), so a cold-cache play must wait for
-		// the fetch or play artless. Serve the disk cache synchronously; on a
-		// miss, await the bounded fetch (covers fetch in ~300ms typically) —
-		// past the 1.2s cap, play bare and let the fetch warm the cache.
-		const coverArtPath = await resolveCoverArt(
-			feed?.podcast.coverUrl ?? episode.imageUrl,
-			"bounded",
-		);
-
-		await b.play(url, {
-			volume: vol,
-			speed: spd,
-			startPosition: startPos > 0 ? startPos : undefined,
-			mediaTitle: episode.title,
-			coverArtPath: coverArtPath ?? undefined,
-		});
-
-		setIsPlaying(true);
-		setPosition(startPos);
-		if (episode.duration) setDuration(episode.duration);
-		startedPlayback = true;
-
-		// Remember this episode as "loaded in the player" so the next launch
-		// can restore it paused (cleared by stop()).
-		saveLastPlayerToFile({ episodeId: episode.id, timestamp: new Date() });
-
-		// Register with platform media controls
-		media.setPlaybackState(true);
-		if (startPos > 0) media.setPosition(startPos);
-
-		startPolling();
-		emit("player.play", { episodeId: episode.id });
-		// Distinct from "player.play" (which also fires on resume): signals a
-		// fresh episode start so Shell can honor the auto-jump-to-player pref.
-		emit("player.started", { episodeId: episode.id });
-	} catch (err) {
-		setError(err instanceof Error ? err.message : "Playback failed");
-		setIsPlaying(false);
-	}
-}
-
-/**
- * Load an episode into the player WITHOUT starting playback. The player tab
- * renders it paused at its saved position; the first play action starts the
- * backend from there (see togglePlayback). Used to restore the last player
- * session at boot.
- */
-async function load(episode: Episode): Promise<void> {
-	ensureBackend();
-	setError(null);
-
-	setCurrentEpisode(episode);
-	setIsPlaying(false);
-	startedPlayback = false;
-
-	// Show the saved position so the player tab reflects where playback
-	// will resume; episodes at/above the completion threshold start from 0.
-	const progressStore = useProgressStore();
-	const saved = progressStore.get(episode.id);
-	const pos = saved && isRestoreEligible(saved) ? saved.position : 0;
-	setPosition(pos);
-	if (episode.duration) setDuration(episode.duration);
-
-	const appStore = useAppStore();
-	const storeSpeed = appStore.state().settings.playbackSpeed;
-	setSpeed(storeSpeed || speed());
-
-	// Surface the loaded-but-paused track to the OS media controls.
-	const feed = feedForEpisode(useFeedStore().feeds(), episode);
-	const podcastTitle = feed?.customName || feed?.podcast.title || "";
-	const media = useMediaRegistry();
-	media.setNowPlaying({
-		title: episode.title,
-		artist: podcastTitle || episode.podcastId,
-		duration: episode.duration,
-	});
-	media.setPlaybackState(false);
-	if (pos > 0) media.setPosition(pos);
-
-	// Preload the episode into the backend PAUSED: mpv opens the stream and
-	// fills its demuxer cache while parked, so the user's first Play flips
-	// `pause` off instead of paying the ~2s stream-open cold. Fire-and-forget
-	// — a failed preload just makes the first play take the cold path.
-	const downloadStore = useDownloadStore();
-	const url = downloadStore.getDownloadedFilePath(episode.id) ?? episode.audioUrl;
-	if (episode.audioUrl && backend) {
-		// The preload must carry the cover AT LOAD: cover-art-files only
-		// applies when the file loads, and the runtime video-add fallback
-		// never becomes an albumart track (verified). Restore already waits
-		// on feeds/progress at boot, so the bounded fetch (~300ms typical,
-		// 8s worst case) is free. Falls back to the episode's own image when
-		// the feed has no channel cover.
-		const coverArtPath = await resolveCoverArt(
-			feed?.podcast.coverUrl ?? episode.imageUrl,
-			"await",
-		);
-		const backendSnap = backend;
-		backendSnap
-			.preload(url, {
-				volume: volume(),
-				speed: storeSpeed || speed(),
-				startPosition: pos > 0 ? pos : undefined,
-mediaTitle: episode.title,
-				coverArtPath: coverArtPath ?? undefined,
-			})
-			.catch(() => {});
-	}
-
-	saveLastPlayerToFile({ episodeId: episode.id, timestamp: new Date() });
-}
-
-async function pause(): Promise<void> {
-	if (!backend) return;
-	try {
-		await backend.pause();
-		setIsPlaying(false);
-		// Polling stays armed (paused-watch mode): playback can be resumed
-		// from OUTSIDE PodTUI — AirPods, lock-screen/media-center play —
-		// and the poll must be live to catch it.
-		const ep = currentEpisode();
-		if (ep) {
-			// Save progress on pause
-			const progressStore = useProgressStore();
-			progressStore.update(ep.id, position(), duration(), speed());
-			emit("player.pause", { episodeId: ep.id });
-
-			// Update platform media controls
-			const media = useMediaRegistry();
-			media.setPlaybackState(false);
-			media.setPosition(position());
-		}
-	} catch (err) {
-		setError(err instanceof Error ? err.message : "Pause failed");
-	}
-}
-
-/** mpv was killed/crashed: respawn it and restart playback from the saved
- *  position via the full play path (fresh loadfile, cover art, media
- *  registry). A bare unpause would target a dead — or freshly-idle —
- *  daemon and silently do nothing. */
-async function recoverPlayback(): Promise<void> {
-	const ep = currentEpisode();
-	if (ep && ep.audioUrl) {
-		await play(ep);
-	} else {
-		setError("Player is not running");
-	}
-}
-
-async function resume(): Promise<void> {
-	if (!backend) return;
-	if (!backend.isAlive()) {
-		await recoverPlayback();
-		return;
-	}
-	try {
-		await backend.resume();
-		setIsPlaying(true);
-		startPolling();
-		const ep = currentEpisode();
-		if (ep) {
-			emit("player.play", { episodeId: ep.id });
-			const media = useMediaRegistry();
-			media.setPlaybackState(true);
-		}
-	} catch (err) {
-		// Race: the daemon died between the liveness check above and the
-		// unpause — backend.resume() respawned it and threw
-		// PlayerRestartedError (the fresh daemon has no file loaded).
-		if (err instanceof PlayerRestartedError) {
-			await recoverPlayback();
-			return;
-		}
-		setError(err instanceof Error ? err.message : "Resume failed");
-	}
-}
-
-async function togglePlayback(): Promise<void> {
-	if (isPlaying()) {
-		await pause();
-	} else if (currentEpisode()) {
-		if (startedPlayback) {
-			await resume();
-		} else {
-			// Episode is only LOADED (e.g. restored at boot) — the backend
-			// was never started, so unpausing a dead player would fail
-			// silently. Start playback from the saved position instead.
-			const ep = currentEpisode();
-			if (ep) await play(ep);
-		}
-	}
-}
-
-async function stop(): Promise<void> {
-	if (!backend) return;
-	try {
-		// Save progress before stopping
-		const ep = currentEpisode();
-		if (ep) {
-			const progressStore = useProgressStore();
-			progressStore.update(ep.id, position(), duration(), speed());
-		}
-		await backend.stop();
-		setIsPlaying(false);
-		setPosition(0);
-		setCurrentEpisode(null);
-		startedPlayback = false;
-		stopPolling();
-		emit("player.stop", {});
-
-		// Player is empty again — nothing to restore on the next launch.
-		saveLastPlayerToFile({ episodeId: null, timestamp: null });
-
-		const media = useMediaRegistry();
-		media.clearNowPlaying();
-	} catch (err) {
-		setError(err instanceof Error ? err.message : "Stop failed");
-	}
-}
-
-async function seek(seconds: number): Promise<void> {
-	if (!backend) return;
-	const clamped = Math.max(0, Math.min(seconds, duration()));
-	try {
-		await backend.seek(clamped);
-		setPosition(clamped);
-	} catch (err) {
-		setError(err instanceof Error ? err.message : "Seek failed");
-	}
-}
-
-async function seekRelative(delta: number): Promise<void> {
-	await seek(position() + delta);
-}
-
-async function doSetVolume(vol: number): Promise<void> {
-	const clamped = Math.max(0, Math.min(1, vol));
-	if (backend) {
-		try {
-			await backend.setVolume(clamped);
-		} catch {
-			// Some backends can't change volume at runtime
-		}
-	}
-	setVolume(clamped);
-
-	// Sync back to app store (persisted to config.json for the next launch).
-	const appStore = useAppStore();
-	appStore.updateSettings({ volume: clamped });
-}
-
-async function doSetSpeed(spd: number): Promise<void> {
-	const clamped = Math.max(0.25, Math.min(3, spd));
-	if (backend) {
-		try {
-			await backend.setSpeed(clamped);
-		} catch {
-			// Some backends can't change speed at runtime
-		}
-	}
-	setSpeed(clamped);
-
-	// Sync back to app store
-	const appStore = useAppStore();
-	appStore.updateSettings({ playbackSpeed: clamped });
-}
-
-async function switchBackend(name: BackendName): Promise<void> {
-	const wasPlaying = isPlaying();
-	const ep = currentEpisode();
-	const pos = position();
-	const vol = volume();
-	const spd = speed();
-
-	if (backend) {
-		stopPolling();
-		backend.dispose();
-		backend = null;
-	}
-
-	backend = createAudioBackend(name);
-	setBackendName(backend.name);
-	setAvailablePlayers(detectPlayers());
-
-	// Resume playback if we were playing
-	if (wasPlaying && ep && ep.audioUrl) {
-		try {
-			const feed = feedForEpisode(useFeedStore().feeds(), ep);
-			const podcastTitle = feed?.customName || feed?.podcast.title || "";
-			const url =
-				useDownloadStore().getDownloadedFilePath(ep.id) ?? ep.audioUrl;
-			const coverArtPath = await resolveCoverArt(
-				feed?.podcast.coverUrl ?? ep.imageUrl,
-				"cache",
-			);
-			await backend.play(url, {
-				startPosition: pos,
-				volume: vol,
-				speed: spd,
-mediaTitle: ep.title,
-				coverArtPath: coverArtPath ?? undefined,
-			});
-			setIsPlaying(true);
-			startedPlayback = true;
-			startPolling();
-		} catch (err) {
-			setError(err instanceof Error ? err.message : "Backend switch failed");
-			setIsPlaying(false);
-		}
-	}
-}
-
-/** Serialized restore chain: the boot-triggered restore and any explicit
- *  call run one after another, so a late-finishing earlier restore can never
- *  overwrite state changed by a later one (and callers can await the latest
- *  attempt deterministically). */
-let restoreChain: Promise<void> = Promise.resolve();
-
-/**
- * Boot-time session restore: reload the episode that was loaded in the
- * player when the previous run ended (persisted on play/load and at exit),
- * paused at its saved position — never autostarted. Episodes at/above the
- * completion threshold are skipped. Silently no-ops when there is nothing
- * to restore (empty player, unsubscribed show, or completed episode).
- */
-export async function restoreLastSession(): Promise<void> {
-	const attempt = restoreChain.then(async () => {
-		const marker = await loadLastPlayerFromFile();
-		if (!marker?.episodeId) return;
-
-		// Feeds and progress load asynchronously at boot; wait for both
-		// before looking the episode up.
-		await Promise.all([
-			useProgressStore().whenReady(),
-			useFeedStore().whenReady(),
-		]);
-
-		const episode = useFeedStore().findEpisode(marker.episodeId);
-		if (!episode) return;
-
-		// Only restore episodes below the completion threshold.
-		const saved = useProgressStore().get(episode.id);
-		if (!isRestoreEligible(saved)) return;
-
-		await load(episode);
-	});
-	// Keep the chain alive even when an attempt fails; the caller awaiting
-	// this attempt still observes its own outcome.
-	restoreChain = attempt.catch(() => {});
-	await attempt;
-}
-
 /**
  * Reactive audio controls hook.
  *
- * Returns a singleton — all components share the same playback state.
- * Registers event bus listeners and cleans them up with onCleanup.
+ * Returns the shared audio engine wrapped with the two extra controls, so
+ * all components observe the same playback state. The first useAudio()
+ * owner creates the backend, runs the one-time boot (volume/speed sync +
+ * session restore) and registers the process-exit teardown; the last
+ * owner disposes the backend.
  */
-
-// ── Episode queue navigation ──────────────────────────────────────────────
-// `next`/`prev` (and the end-of-episode auto-advance in finalizeTrackEnd)
-// move within the ordered list of the source that STARTED the current
-// episode: the Feed's chronological list, the current show's episodes, or
-// the search results (see utils/audio-queue). Module-level so
-// finalizeTrackEnd can auto-advance without a mounted hook owner.
-
-const audioNav = useAudioNavStore();
-
-/** The ordered playable episodes for the source that started playback. */
-function queueForCurrentSource(): Episode[] {
-	const feedStore = useFeedStore();
-	return queueForSource(
-		audioNav.getSource(),
-		audioNav.getPodcastId(),
-		feedStore.feeds(),
-		feedStore.getAllEpisodesChronological(),
-		useSearchStore().results(),
-	);
-}
-
-async function next(): Promise<void> {
-	const current = currentEpisode();
-	if (!current) return;
-	const step = nextStep(queueForCurrentSource(), current.id);
-	// A duplicated queue entry (same episode id twice) must not make
-	// "next" replay the CURRENT episode — that would reload it from
-	// saved progress and audibly repeat already-played audio.
-	if (!step || step.episode.id === current.id) return;
-	await play(step.episode);
-	audioNav.next(step.index);
-}
-
-async function prev(): Promise<void> {
-	const current = currentEpisode();
-	if (!current) return;
-
-	// Standard transport behavior: past 30s in, "prev" restarts the current
-	// episode; before that it steps back within the source queue.
-	const NAV_START_THRESHOLD = 30;
-	const currentPos = position();
-	const currentDur = duration();
-	if (currentPos > NAV_START_THRESHOLD && currentDur > 0) {
-		await seek(NAV_START_THRESHOLD);
-		return;
-	}
-
-	const step = prevStep(queueForCurrentSource(), current.id);
-	if (!step) return;
-	await play(step.episode);
-	audioNav.prev(step.index);
-}
-
 export function useAudio(): AudioControls {
-	// Initialize backend on first use
-	ensureBackend();
+	const engine = createAudioEngine();
+	ensureEngineBackend();
+	registerExitTeardown();
 
-	// Sync initial speed/volume from app store (reuse the previous session's
-	// playback levels; defaults are 1x and 100%).
+	// First owner: sync speed/volume from the persisted settings and restore
+	// the last player session once (loaded, not playing). Raw signal
+	// accessors are used here on purpose — this is boot-only, not a user
+	// volume/speed change, so it must not re-persist to the app store.
 	if (refCount === 0) {
 		const appStore = useAppStore();
 		const storeSpeed = appStore.state().settings.playbackSpeed;
@@ -843,86 +143,13 @@ export function useAudio(): AudioControls {
 
 	refCount++;
 
-	// Listen for event bus commands (e.g. from other components)
-	const unsubPlay = on("player.play", async (data) => {
-		// External play requests — currently just tracks episodeId.
-		// Episode lookup would require feed store integration.
-	});
-
-	const unsubStop = on("player.stop", async () => {
-		if (backend && isPlaying()) {
-			await backend.stop();
-			setIsPlaying(false);
-			setPosition(0);
-			setCurrentEpisode(null);
-			stopPolling();
-		}
-	});
-
-	// Listen for global multimedia key events (from useMultimediaKeys)
-	const unsubMediaToggle = on("media.toggle", async () => {
-		await togglePlayback();
-	});
-
-	const unsubMediaVolUp = on("media.volumeUp", async () => {
-		await doSetVolume(Math.min(1, Number((volume() + 0.05).toFixed(2))));
-	});
-
-	const unsubMediaVolDown = on("media.volumeDown", async () => {
-		await doSetVolume(Math.max(0, Number((volume() - 0.05).toFixed(2))));
-	});
-
-	const unsubMediaSpeed = on("media.speedCycle", async () => {
-		const next = speed() >= 2 ? 0.5 : Number((speed() + 0.25).toFixed(2));
-		await doSetSpeed(next);
-	});
-
 	onCleanup(() => {
 		refCount--;
-		unsubPlay();
-		unsubStop();
-		unsubMediaToggle();
-		unsubMediaVolUp();
-		unsubMediaVolDown();
-		unsubMediaSpeed();
-
 		if (refCount <= 0) {
-			stopPolling();
-			if (backend) {
-				backend.dispose();
-				backend = null;
-			}
-			// Clear media registry on full teardown
-			const media = useMediaRegistry();
-			media.clearNowPlaying();
-
+			disposeEngineBackend();
 			refCount = 0;
 		}
 	});
 
-	return {
-		isPlaying,
-		position,
-		duration,
-		volume,
-		speed,
-		backendName,
-		error,
-		currentEpisode,
-		availablePlayers,
-
-		play,
-		load,
-		pause,
-		resume,
-		togglePlayback,
-		stop,
-		seek,
-		seekRelative,
-		setVolume: doSetVolume,
-		setSpeed: doSetSpeed,
-		switchBackend,
-		prev,
-		next,
-	};
+	return { ...engine, availablePlayers, switchBackend };
 }

src/index.tsx

@@ -1,9 +1,10 @@
 import { onCleanup } from "solid-js";
 import { setupTerminalRecovery } from "./utils/terminal-recovery";
+import { installNestedScrollBehavior } from "./utils/nested-scroll";
 import type { Feed } from "./types/feed"
 import type { Episode } from "./types/episode"
 
-const VERSION = "0.7.2";
+const VERSION = "0.9.0";
 
 interface CliArgs {
 	version: boolean;
@@ -236,6 +237,8 @@ if (cliArgs.query !== null || cliArgs.play !== null) {
 		const { NavigationProvider } = await import("./context/NavigationContext");
 		const { DialogProvider } = await import("./ui/dialog");
 		const { CommandProvider } = await import("./ui/command");
+		// Nested scroll sections favor the innermost one under the cursor.
+		installNestedScrollBehavior();
 
 		function RendererSetup(props: { children: unknown }) {
 			const renderer = useRenderer();

src/pages/Feed/FeedPage.tsx

@@ -19,7 +19,6 @@
 import { createMemo, createEffect, For, Show, onMount, onCleanup } from "solid-js";
 import { useFeedStore } from "@/stores/feed";
 import { useDownloadStore } from "@/stores/download";
-import { useAppStore } from "@/stores/app";
 import { prefetchCoverArt } from "@/utils/cover-art";
 import { DownloadStatus } from "@/types/episode";
 import { useTheme } from "@/context/ThemeContext";
@@ -86,10 +85,7 @@ function FeedPage() {
 
 	// ── Fetch More ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 	// A "[Fetch More]" row at the bottom of the list advances every feed's
-	// loaded window by 50 episodes. manual mode: Enter on the row. auto mode:
-	// reaching the bottom row fetches automatically (see the effect below).
-	const app = useAppStore();
-	const fetchMoreMode = () => app.state().preferences.fetchMoreMode ?? "auto";
+	// loaded window by 50 episodes. Enter on the row to load the next batch.
 	const showFetchMore = () => feedStore.hasMoreAcrossAll();
 	const rowCount = () => episodes().length + (showFetchMore() ? 1 : 0);
 	const focus = () => nav.depthFocus(0);
@@ -137,16 +133,6 @@ function FeedPage() {
 	};
 	onMount(ensureFocus);
 
-	// Auto mode: reaching the bottom row loads the next batch. Guarded by
-	// isLoadingMore so concurrent loads never stack.
-	createEffect(() => {
-		if (fetchMoreMode() !== "auto") return;
-		if (!showFetchMore()) return;
-		if (feedStore.isLoadingMore()) return;
-		if (focusedRow() < rowCount() - 1) return;
-		feedStore.loadMoreAllFeeds().catch(() => {});
-	});
-
 	onMount(() => {
 		nav.registerResolver(
 			`${nav.activeTab()}:${DEPTH_CENTER_PANE}`,
@@ -337,7 +323,6 @@ function FeedPage() {
 			<Show when={focusedOnMore()}>
 				<FetchMorePreview
 					isLoadingMore={() => feedStore.isLoadingMore()}
-					fetchMoreMode={fetchMoreMode}
 					manualText={() =>
 						"Load the next batch of older episodes across all feeds (Enter)."
 					}

src/pages/MyShows/MyShowsPage.tsx

@@ -6,15 +6,16 @@
  *   depth 1 (current) — episodes of the drilled show. Parent pane = shows.
  *   preview            — detail of the hovered item in the current column.
  *
- * Depth 1 ends with a "[Fetch More]" row (same preference-driven behavior
- * as the Feed tab) that loads the next batch of episodes for that show.
+ * Depth 0's shows list and depth 1's episode list both end with a
+ * "[Fetch More]" row that loads the next batch of episodes — depth 0 for
+ * every subscribed show, depth 1 for the drilled show.
  *
  * Renders entirely through `<PaneRow>`; no bespoke 3-column flexbox JSX
  * remains. `l`/Enter drills in (show → episodes); `h` pops a depth (noop at
  * 0). j/k move only within the current column.
  */
 
-import { createMemo, createEffect, For, Show, onMount, onCleanup } from "solid-js";
+import { createMemo, For, Show, onMount, onCleanup } from "solid-js";
 import type { RGBA } from "@opentui/core";
 import { useFeedStore } from "@/stores/feed";
 import { useDownloadStore } from "@/stores/download";
@@ -269,20 +270,35 @@ export function MyShowsPage() {
 	// entry drops out the moment the user subscribes to its show.
 	const unsubs = () => downloadStore.getUnsubscribedDownloads();
 
-	const depth0Count = () => shows().length + unsubs().length;
-
+	/** True while some subscribed show has more episodes to load — shows the
+	 *  depth-0 "[Fetch More]" row. */
+	const showLoadMore = () => feedStore.hasMoreAcrossAll();
+	const depth0Count = () =>
+		shows().length + unsubs().length + (showLoadMore() ? 1 : 0);
+	const focusedRow0 = () =>
+		depth0Count() === 0 ? 0 : Math.min(focus(0), depth0Count() - 1);
+	/** True while the depth-0 cursor sits on the "[Fetch More]" row. */
+	const focusedOnMore0 = () =>
+		showLoadMore() && focusedRow0() === shows().length + unsubs().length;
 	const focusedShowIdx = () =>
-		shows().length === 0 ? 0 : Math.min(focus(0), shows().length - 1);
+		focusedOnMore0()
+			? -1
+			: Math.min(focusedRow0(), Math.max(shows().length - 1, 0));
 	/** True when the depth-0 cursor sits on an unsubscribed-show download
 	 *  row (past the shows list). */
 	const focusedOnUnsub = () =>
-		depth() === 0 && focus(0) >= shows().length && unsubs().length > 0;
+		!focusedOnMore0() &&
+		depth() === 0 &&
+		focusedRow0() >= shows().length &&
+		unsubs().length > 0;
 	const focusedUnsub = (): DownloadedEpisode | undefined => {
 		if (!focusedOnUnsub()) return undefined;
-		return unsubs()[Math.min(focus(0) - shows().length, unsubs().length - 1)];
+		return unsubs()[
+			Math.min(focusedRow0() - shows().length, unsubs().length - 1)
+		];
 	};
 	const selectedShow = (): Feed | undefined => {
-		if (focusedOnUnsub()) return undefined;
+		if (focusedOnUnsub() || focusedOnMore0()) return undefined;
 		return shows()[focusedShowIdx()];
 	};
 
@@ -300,10 +316,7 @@ export function MyShowsPage() {
 	// ── Fetch More ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 	// A "[Fetch More]" row at the bottom of a drilled show's episode list
 	// advances that show's loaded window by 50 episodes — the per-show
-	// counterpart to the Feed page's row (which loads every feed). manual
-	// mode: Enter on the row. auto mode: reaching the bottom row fetches
-	// automatically (see the effect below).
-	const fetchMoreMode = () => app.state().preferences.fetchMoreMode ?? "auto";
+	// counterpart to the Feed page's row (which loads every feed).
 	const showFetchMore = () =>
 		depth() >= 1 &&
 		!!drilledShowId() &&
@@ -366,17 +379,6 @@ export function MyShowsPage() {
 		});
 	});
 
-	// Auto mode: reaching the bottom of a drilled show's list loads its next
-	// batch. Guarded by isLoadingMore so concurrent loads never stack.
-	createEffect(() => {
-		if (depth() < 1) return;
-		if (fetchMoreMode() !== "auto") return;
-		if (!showFetchMore()) return;
-		if (feedStore.isLoadingMore()) return;
-		if (focusedRow() < rowCount() - 1) return;
-		feedStore.loadMoreEpisodes(drilledShowId()).catch(() => {});
-	});
-
 	// ── helpers ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 	const downloadLabel = (id: string) => {
 		switch (downloadStore.getDownloadStatus(id)) {
@@ -431,6 +433,10 @@ export function MyShowsPage() {
 	// ── drill / open ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 	function open() {
 		if (depth() === 0) {
+			if (focusedOnMore0()) {
+				feedStore.loadMoreAllFeeds().catch(() => {});
+				return;
+			}
 			const d = focusedUnsub();
 			if (d) {
 				playUnsubscribedDownload(d);
@@ -639,7 +645,7 @@ export function MyShowsPage() {
 								<UnsubscribedRow
 									d={d}
 									index={() => shows().length + index()}
-									focused={() => nav.depthFocus(0)}
+									focused={focusedRow0}
 									active={isActive}
 									marker={marker}
 									downloadLabel={() => downloadLabel(d.episodeId)}
@@ -652,6 +658,21 @@ export function MyShowsPage() {
 							)}
 						</For>
 					</Show>
+				<Show when={showLoadMore()}>
+					<FetchMoreRow
+						index={() => shows().length + unsubs().length}
+						focused={focusedRow0}
+						onMore={focusedOnMore0}
+						active={isActive}
+						isLoadingMore={() => feedStore.isLoadingMore()}
+						nerd={nerd}
+						marker={marker}
+						onMouseDown={() => {
+							nav.setActivePane(DEPTH_CENTER_PANE);
+							nav.setDepthFocus(shows().length + unsubs().length, 0);
+						}}
+					/>
+				</Show>
 			</Show>
 			</Show>
 			{/* depth ≥1: episodes */}
@@ -738,8 +759,18 @@ export function MyShowsPage() {
 
 	const previewContent = () =>
 		depth() === 0 ? (
-			// depth 0 preview: hovered unsubscribed-show download, else the
-			// hovered show.
+		// depth 0 preview: hovered "[Fetch More]" row, else the
+		// unsubscribed-show download, else the hovered show.
+		<>
+			<Show when={focusedOnMore0()}>
+				<FetchMorePreview
+					isLoadingMore={() => feedStore.isLoadingMore()}
+					manualText={() =>
+						"Load the next batch of older episodes across all subscribed shows (Enter)."
+					}
+				/>
+			</Show>
+			<Show when={!focusedOnMore0()}>
 				<Show
 					when={focusedUnsub()}
 					fallback={
@@ -769,13 +800,14 @@ export function MyShowsPage() {
 						/>
 					)}
 				</Show>
+			</Show>
+		</>
 	) : (
 			// depth ≥1 preview: hovered episode (or the Fetch More row)
 			<>
 				<Show when={focusedOnMore()}>
 					<FetchMorePreview
 					isLoadingMore={() => feedStore.isLoadingMore()}
-						fetchMoreMode={fetchMoreMode}
 					manualText={() =>
 							"Load the next batch of older episodes for this show (Enter)."
 						}

src/pages/Player/PlayerPage.tsx

@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ import { useVisualizer } from "@/stores/visualizer";
 import { useAppStore } from "@/stores/app";
 import { useTheme } from "@/context/ThemeContext";
 import { useNavigation, DEPTH_CENTER_PANE } from "@/context/NavigationContext";
+import { useTerminalDimensions } from "@opentui/solid";
 import { PaneRow } from "@/components/PaneRow";
 import { TabListPane } from "@/components/TabPanel";
 
@@ -29,6 +30,7 @@ export function PlayerPage() {
 	const { theme } = useTheme();
 	const nav = useNavigation();
 	const viz = useVisualizer();
+	const dims = useTerminalDimensions();
 	const app = useAppStore();
 	const muted = () => theme.muted || theme.text;
 	// Settings master switch: off hides the waveform entirely (the store
@@ -89,9 +91,14 @@ export function PlayerPage() {
 						<text fg={theme.text}>
 							<strong>{ep().title}</strong>
 						</text>
-						<text fg={muted()}>
-							{ep().description?.slice(0, 500) ?? "No description available."}
-						</text>
+						<Show
+							when={ep().description}
+							fallback={<text fg={muted()}>No description available.</text>}
+						>
+							<scrollbox maxHeight={Math.floor(dims().height * 0.3)}>
+								<text fg={muted()}>{ep().description}</text>
+							</scrollbox>
+						</Show>
 
 						<ProgressBar />
 

src/pages/Player/ProgressBar.tsx

@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ import { useTerminalDimensions } from "@opentui/solid";
 import type { Renderable } from "@opentui/core";
 import { useAudio } from "@/hooks/useAudio";
 import { useTheme } from "@/context/ThemeContext";
+import { usePaneLayout } from "@/stores/pane-layout";
 
 // ── Component ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
@@ -17,16 +18,19 @@ export function ProgressBar() {
 	const audio = useAudio();
 	const { theme } = useTheme();
 	const dimensions = useTerminalDimensions();
+	const layout = usePaneLayout();
 
 	// The bar's renderable, captured for its absolute left edge: MouseEvent.x
 	// is terminal-absolute (not bar-relative), so local x needs the offset
-	// of the bar inside the 2-pane row (parent pane ≈ 20% of the width).
+	// of the bar inside the 2-pane row (parent pane = left split of the width).
 	let bar: Renderable | undefined;
 
 	// Full content width of the player pane: the player is a 2-pane row
-	// (parent 1/5 + current 4/5 of the terminal width). Subtract ~8 chars
+	// (parent = left split, current = the rest of the terminal width). Track
+	// the live split so a dragged border re-sizes the bar. Subtract ~8 chars
 	// of border/padding chrome (same math as RealtimeWaveform's numBars).
-	const width = () => Math.max(8, Math.floor((dimensions().width * 4) / 5) - 8);
+	const width = () =>
+		Math.max(8, Math.floor(dimensions().width * (1 - layout.splits().left)) - 8);
 
 	const clamp01 = (value: number) => Math.max(0, Math.min(1, value));
 

src/pages/Player/RealtimeWaveform.tsx

@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ import { useVisualizer } from "@/stores/visualizer";
 import { useTheme } from "@/context/ThemeContext";
 import { LoadingIndicator } from "@/components/LoadingIndicator";
 import { BAR_LEVELS, barChars } from "@/utils/bar-mapping";
-import { PANE_RATIO } from "@/utils/navigation";
+import { usePaneLayout } from "@/stores/pane-layout";
 
 // ── Component ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
@@ -27,20 +27,16 @@ export function RealtimeWaveform() {
 	const { theme } = useTheme();
 	const viz = useVisualizer();
 
-	// Bar count scales with terminal width so the waveform fills its pane.
-	// The player is a 2-pane row: current column = (current+preview) of
-	// (parent+current+preview) of the terminal width. Subtract ~8 chars of
-	// chrome (scrollbox border + box padding + waveform border + padding).
-	// Falls back to 64 before the renderer reports a real size.
 	const dimensions = useTerminalDimensions();
+	const layout = usePaneLayout();
 	const numBars = () => {
-		const total = PANE_RATIO.parent + PANE_RATIO.current + PANE_RATIO.preview;
-		const current = PANE_RATIO.current + PANE_RATIO.preview; // 2-pane grows current
 		const width = dimensions().width;
 		if (!width) return 64;
+		// The player is a 2-pane row: the current column = whole width minus
+		// the parent (left split). Subtract ~8 chars of chrome.
 		return Math.max(
 			8,
-			Math.min(256, Math.floor((width * current) / total) - 8),
+			Math.min(256, Math.floor(width * (1 - layout.splits().left)) - 8),
 		);
 	};
 

src/pages/Settings/PreferencesPanel.tsx

@@ -288,20 +288,6 @@ export function usePreferencesItems(): SettingItem[] {
 				/>
 			),
 		},
-		{
-			id: "fetchMore",
-			label: "Fetch More",
-			kind: "select",
-			display: () => (prefs().fetchMoreMode === "auto" ? "Auto" : "Manual"),
-			help: () =>
-				`How the Feed and per-show episode lists load older episodes.\nManual: a "[Fetch More]" button at the bottom of the list.\nAuto: fetches automatically when reaching the bottom.\nType: select\nDefault: auto\nCurrent: ${prefs().fetchMoreMode === "auto" ? "Auto" : "Manual"}\nCycle with j/k; Enter to apply.`,
-			cycle: (dir) => {
-				const modes: Array<"manual" | "auto"> = ["manual", "auto"];
-				const idx = modes.indexOf(prefs().fetchMoreMode ?? "auto");
-				const next = modes[(idx + dir + modes.length) % modes.length];
-				app.updatePreferences({ fetchMoreMode: next });
-			},
-		},
 		{
 			id: "refreshInterval",
 			label: "Feed Refresh Interval",

src/stores/app.ts

@@ -43,11 +43,11 @@ const defaultPreferences: UserPreferences = {
 	autoDownloadScope: "all",
 	autoDownloadWhitelist: [],
 	autoJumpToPlayer: true,
-	fetchMoreMode: "auto",
 	refreshIntervalMinutes: 30,
 	episodeCacheMode: "date",
 	episodeCacheCount: 25,
 	episodeCacheDays: 60,
+	paneSplit: { left: 0.2, right: 0.7 },
 };
 
 const defaultState: AppState = {

src/stores/feed.ts

@@ -7,25 +7,31 @@ import { createSignal } from "solid-js";
 import { Effect } from "effect";
 import { refreshFeedsBatch } from "../effects/feed-refresh";
 import { FeedVisibility } from "../types/feed";
-import type { Feed, FeedFilter, FeedSortField } from "../types/feed";
+import type { Feed } from "../types/feed";
 import type { Podcast } from "../types/podcast";
 import type { Episode } from "../types/episode";
 import type { PodcastSource } from "../types/source";
 import { DEFAULT_SOURCES } from "../types/source";
 import { getRSSItems, parseRSSItem, parseChannelCoverUrl } from "../api/rss-parser";
+import { FETCH_TIMEOUT_MS, fetchFeedXml } from "../utils/rss-client";
 import { resolveItunesFeedUrl } from "../utils/itunes-feed-resolver";
 import { savePodcastIndexCredentials } from "../utils/source-credentials";
+import { mergeEpisodesBounded } from "../utils/episode-merge";
 import {
-	episodeSignature,
-	mergeEpisodesBounded,
-} from "../utils/episode-merge";
+	episodeKeepFn,
+	episodeTs,
+	dateFetchMoreCutoff,
+	dateBandCount,
+	sameRefreshWindow,
+} from "../utils/episode-windows";
+import { createSourceRegistry } from "../utils/source-registry";
+import { createPersistScheduler } from "./persist";
 import {
 	DEFAULT_EPISODE_WINDOW_DAYS,
-	episodeInWindow,
 	loadFeedsFromFile,
 	saveFeedsToFile,
-	loadSourcesFromFile,
 	saveSourcesToFile,
+	loadSourcesFromFile,
 } from "../utils/feeds-persistence";
 import { useActivityStore } from "./activity";
 import { useDownloadStore } from "./download";
@@ -33,20 +39,12 @@ import { useAppStore } from "./app";
 import { DownloadStatus } from "../types/episode";
 
 /** Max episodes to load per page/chunk (count mode only — date mode steps
- *  by FETCH_MORE_WINDOW_DAYS instead). */
+ *  by episode-windows' fetch-more band instead). */
 const MAX_EPISODES_REFRESH = 50;
 
 /** Max episodes to fetch on initial subscribe */
 const MAX_EPISODES_SUBSCRIBE = 20;
 
-/** Fetch-more step in date mode: each press reveals the next two weeks of
- *  episodes past the oldest loaded one, instead of a fixed episode count. */
-const FETCH_MORE_WINDOW_DAYS = 14;
-
-/** Per-feed fetch timeout — a hung feed must not stall a refresh batch or
- *  the background refresh loop. */
-const FETCH_TIMEOUT_MS = 20_000;
-
 /** Bounds simultaneous RSS requests during a refresh batch — a hung feed
  *  burns at most one slot for FETCH_TIMEOUT_MS instead of pinning the whole
  *  batch. */
@@ -122,68 +120,21 @@ const fullEpisodeCache = new Map<string, Episode[]>();
  *  holds — when it reaches the cache length, hasMoreEpisodes flips false. */
 const episodeLoadCount = new Map<string, number>();
 
-/** Read the episode cache bound from preferences: a closure that decides
- *  whether the episode at `index` (0 = newest, after sort) is kept. */
-function episodeKeepFn(prefs: {
-	episodeCacheMode: "date" | "count";
-	episodeCacheCount: number;
-	episodeCacheDays: number;
-}): (ep: Episode, index: number) => boolean {
-	const now = new Date();
-	if (prefs.episodeCacheMode === "count") {
-		const count = Math.max(1, prefs.episodeCacheCount);
-		return (_ep: Episode, index: number) => index < count;
-	}
-	const days = Math.max(1, prefs.episodeCacheDays);
-	return (ep: Episode) => episodeInWindow(ep, now, days);
-}
+/** Write closure for the persist scheduler — reads the live feed signal
+ *  (wired by createFeedStore) so a flush always lands the latest value. */
+let readFeeds: () => Feed[] = () => [];
 
-/** Timestamp for window math — undated episodes sort/compare as NEWEST
- *  (Infinity) so they can never be excluded by a date cutoff. */
-const epTs = (ep: Episode): number => {
-	const t = ep.pubDate?.getTime();
-	return t === undefined || Number.isNaN(t) ? Infinity : t;
-};
-
-/** Date-mode fetch-more cutoff: the oldest loaded episode's pubDate minus the
- *  2-week band. With nothing loaded (a show whose episodes all fall outside
- *  the cache window), the band anchors at the cache-window edge (now minus
- *  the configured days) — a dormant show can't drag in arbitrarily old
- *  episodes just because the button is pressed. */
-const dateFetchMoreCutoff = (
-	cached: Episode[],
-	loaded: number,
-	windowDays: number,
-): number => {
-	if (loaded > 0) {
-		const t = epTs(cached[loaded - 1]);
-		if (Number.isFinite(t)) {
-			return t - FETCH_MORE_WINDOW_DAYS * 24 * 3600 * 1000;
-		}
-	}
-	// Nothing loaded: the band extends FETCH_MORE_WINDOW_DAYS before the
-	// cache-window edge (e.g. 60d → reveals the 60–74d slice).
-	return (
-		Date.now() -
-		Math.max(1, windowDays) * 24 * 3600 * 1000 -
-		FETCH_MORE_WINDOW_DAYS * 24 * 3600 * 1000
-	);
-};
-
-/** Save feeds to file (async, fire-and-forget). */
-function saveFeeds(feeds: Feed[]): void {
+/** Shared trailing-edge debouncer for config.json writes ("feeds" domain);
+ *  sources persist immediately instead. */
+const persistScheduler = createPersistScheduler(() => {
 	const prefs = useAppStore().state().preferences;
-	const days =
+	saveFeedsToFile(
+		readFeeds(),
 		prefs.episodeCacheMode === "date"
 			? Math.max(1, prefs.episodeCacheDays)
-			: undefined;
-	saveFeedsToFile(feeds, days);
-}
-
-/** Save sources to file (async, fire-and-forget) */
-function saveSources(sources: PodcastSource[]): void {
-	saveSourcesToFile(sources);
-}
+			: undefined,
+	);
+});
 
 /** Move plaintext apiKey/apiSecret (pre-keychain persistence) into the macOS
  *  keychain, marking the source hasCredentials and stripping the plaintext.
@@ -229,39 +180,10 @@ async function migratePlaintextCredentials(
 	return changed ? migrated : sources;
 }
 
-/** True when the freshly fetched window matches the corresponding PREFIX of
- *  the existing episode list (id-set equality, order-insensitive). With
- *  union semantics the merged list legitimately contains episodes BEYOND the
- *  fetched window, so unchanged-detection must compare the fetched window
- *  against the existing list's prefix — comparing full lists would bump
- *  `lastUpdated` on every refresh. When ids drifted between refreshes (the
- *  one-time positional-id migration, or a feed that rotates enclosure URLs)
- *  the id sets differ for the SAME content, so a content-signature
- *  comparison decides: an unchanged feed stays unchanged. */
-export function sameRefreshWindow(
-	existing: Episode[],
-	fetched: Episode[],
-): boolean {
-	if (fetched.length === 0) return true;
-	const prefix = existing.slice(0, fetched.length);
-	const ids = new Set(prefix.map((e) => e.id));
-	if (fetched.every((e) => ids.has(e.id))) return true;
-	if (prefix.length !== fetched.length) return false;
-	const signatures = new Set(prefix.map(episodeSignature));
-	return fetched.every((e) => signatures.has(episodeSignature(e)));
-}
-
 function createFeedStore() {
 	const [feeds, setFeeds] = createSignal<Feed[]>([]);
-	const [sources, setSources] = createSignal<PodcastSource[]>([
-		...DEFAULT_SOURCES,
-	]);
-	const [filter, setFilter] = createSignal<FeedFilter>({
-		visibility: "all",
-		sortBy: "updated" as FeedSortField,
-		sortDirection: "desc",
-	});
-	const [selectedFeedId, setSelectedFeedId] = createSignal<string | null>(null);
+	readFeeds = () => feeds();
+	const registry = createSourceRegistry(DEFAULT_SOURCES);
 	const [isLoadingMore, setIsLoadingMore] = createSignal(false);
 	const [isLoadingFeeds, setIsLoadingFeeds] = createSignal(false);
 	/** Feed-page fetch-more presses in COUNT mode: the global list is capped
@@ -270,93 +192,26 @@ function createFeedStore() {
 	 *  dump deep history (see getAllEpisodesChronological). */
 	const [countFetchMorePresses, setCountFetchMorePresses] = createSignal(0);
 
-	// ── Debounced persistence ───────────────────────────────────────────────
-	/** Trailing-edge debounce window for config.json writes. */
-	const SAVE_DEBOUNCE_MS = 250;
-	/** True when a save is scheduled but has not flushed yet. */
-	let savePending = false;
-	let pendingSaveTimer: ReturnType<typeof setTimeout> | null = null;
-
-	/** Schedule a config.json write (trailing edge) — rapid state changes
-	 *  (a refresh batch landing feed-by-feed, pin toggles, load-more pages)
-	 *  collapse into one final write instead of one file rewrite per step. */
 	const scheduleSaveFeeds = (): void => {
-		savePending = true;
-		if (pendingSaveTimer) clearTimeout(pendingSaveTimer);
-		pendingSaveTimer = setTimeout(() => {
-			pendingSaveTimer = null;
-			flushPendingSave();
-		}, SAVE_DEBOUNCE_MS);
+		persistScheduler.schedule("feeds");
 	};
-
-	/** Persist immediately when anything is dirty; exported for tests and
-	 *  quit hooks. Cancels a pending debounced save — the state it would
-	 *  have written is already reflected in feeds(), so writing now is
-	 *  strictly more current. */
 	const flushPendingSave = (): void => {
-		if (pendingSaveTimer) {
-			clearTimeout(pendingSaveTimer);
-			pendingSaveTimer = null;
-		}
-		if (!savePending) return;
-		savePending = false;
-		saveFeeds(feeds());
+		persistScheduler.flush("feeds");
 	};
 
 	const getFilteredFeeds = (): Feed[] => {
-		let result = [...feeds()];
-		const f = filter();
-
-		if (f.visibility && f.visibility !== "all") {
-			result = result.filter((feed) => feed.visibility === f.visibility);
-		}
-
-		if (f.sourceId) {
-			result = result.filter((feed) => feed.sourceId === f.sourceId);
-		}
-
-		if (f.pinnedOnly) {
-			result = result.filter((feed) => feed.isPinned);
-		}
-
-		if (f.searchQuery) {
-			const query = f.searchQuery.toLowerCase();
-			result = result.filter(
-				(feed) =>
-					feed.podcast.title.toLowerCase().includes(query) ||
-					feed.customName?.toLowerCase().includes(query) ||
-					feed.podcast.description?.toLowerCase().includes(query),
+		// The filter signal is write-only (no caller mutates it), so every
+		// caller observes the defaults: "all" visibility and the stable
+		// "updated desc" sort with pinned feeds first.
+		const result = [...feeds()];
+		result.sort(
+			(a, b) => b.lastUpdated.getTime() - a.lastUpdated.getTime(),
 		);
-		}
-
-		const sortDir = f.sortDirection === "asc" ? 1 : -1;
-		result.sort((a, b) => {
-			switch (f.sortBy) {
-				case "title":
-					return (
-						sortDir *
-						(a.customName || a.podcast.title).localeCompare(
-							b.customName || b.podcast.title,
-						)
-					);
-				case "episodeCount":
-					return sortDir * (a.episodes.length - b.episodes.length);
-				case "latestEpisode":
-					const aLatest = a.episodes[0]?.pubDate?.getTime() || 0;
-					const bLatest = b.episodes[0]?.pubDate?.getTime() || 0;
-					return sortDir * (aLatest - bLatest);
-				case "updated":
-				default:
-					return sortDir * (a.lastUpdated.getTime() - b.lastUpdated.getTime());
-			}
-		});
-
 		result.sort((a, b) => {
 			if (a.isPinned && !b.isPinned) return -1;
 			if (!a.isPinned && b.isPinned) return 1;
 			return 0;
 		});
-
 		return result;
 	};
 
@@ -415,17 +270,8 @@ function createFeedStore() {
 		feedId?: string,
 	): Promise<{ episodes: Episode[] | null; coverUrl: string | undefined }> => {
 		try {
-			const response = await fetch(feedUrl, {
-				headers: {
-					"Accept-Encoding": "identity",
-					Accept: "application/rss+xml, application/xml, text/xml, */*",
-				},
-				// Hung feeds must not stall a refresh batch (or the
-				// background refresh loop) indefinitely.
-				signal: AbortSignal.timeout(FETCH_TIMEOUT_MS),
-			});
-			if (!response.ok) return { episodes: null, coverUrl: undefined };
-			const xml = await response.text();
+			const xml = await fetchFeedXml(feedUrl);
+			if (xml === null) return { episodes: null, coverUrl: undefined };
 			// Yield after the network read so the renderer gets a turn
 			// before the sync regex + parse work begins.
 			await yieldToUI();
@@ -702,8 +548,8 @@ function createFeedStore() {
 			// apiKey/apiSecret (pre-keychain builds) move into the macOS
 			// keychain and are stripped from config.json.
 			const secured = await migratePlaintextCredentials(mergedSources);
-			setSources(secured);
-			if (secured !== mergedSources) saveSources(secured);
+			registry.replaceAll(secured);
+			if (secured !== mergedSources) saveSourcesToFile(secured);
 		}
 		await refreshAllFeeds();
 	})();
@@ -762,71 +608,6 @@ function createFeedStore() {
 		}
 	};
 
-	const updateFeed = (feedId: string, updates: Partial<Feed>) => {
-		setFeeds((prev) => {
-			const updated = prev.map((f) =>
-				f.id === feedId ? { ...f, ...updates, lastUpdated: new Date() } : f,
-			);
-			scheduleSaveFeeds();
-			return updated;
-		});
-	};
-
-	const togglePinned = (feedId: string) => {
-		setFeeds((prev) => {
-			const updated = prev.map((f) =>
-				f.id === feedId ? { ...f, isPinned: !f.isPinned } : f,
-			);
-			scheduleSaveFeeds();
-			return updated;
-		});
-	};
-
-	const addSource = (source: Omit<PodcastSource, "id">) => {
-		const newSource: PodcastSource = {
-			...source,
-			id: crypto.randomUUID(),
-		};
-		setSources((prev) => {
-			const updated = [...prev, newSource];
-			saveSources(updated);
-			return updated;
-		});
-		return newSource;
-	};
-
-	const updateSource = (sourceId: string, updates: Partial<PodcastSource>) => {
-		setSources((prev) => {
-			const updated = prev.map((source) =>
-				source.id === sourceId ? { ...source, ...updates } : source,
-			);
-			saveSources(updated);
-			return updated;
-		});
-	};
-
-	const removeSource = (sourceId: string) => {
-		// Don't remove default sources
-		if (DEFAULT_SOURCES.some((s) => s.id === sourceId)) return false;
-
-		setSources((prev) => {
-			const updated = prev.filter((s) => s.id !== sourceId);
-			saveSources(updated);
-			return updated;
-		});
-		return true;
-	};
-
-	const toggleSource = (sourceId: string) => {
-		setSources((prev) => {
-			const updated = prev.map((s) =>
-				s.id === sourceId ? { ...s, enabled: !s.enabled } : s,
-			);
-			saveSources(updated);
-			return updated;
-		});
-	};
-
 	const getFeed = (feedId: string): Feed | undefined => {
 		return feeds().find((f) => f.id === feedId);
 	};
@@ -841,11 +622,6 @@ function createFeedStore() {
 		return undefined;
 	};
 
-	const getSelectedFeed = (): Feed | undefined => {
-		const id = selectedFeedId();
-		return id ? getFeed(id) : undefined;
-	};
-
 	/** Check if a feed has more episodes available beyond what's currently
 	 *  loaded. The full parse cache holds ALL episodes (including beyond the
 	 *  cache bound), so fetch-more can page deeper — but in DATE mode only
@@ -866,7 +642,7 @@ function createFeedStore() {
 			loaded,
 			prefs.episodeCacheDays ?? DEFAULT_EPISODE_WINDOW_DAYS,
 		);
-		return epTs(cached[loaded]) >= cutoff;
+		return episodeTs(cached[loaded]) >= cutoff;
 	};
 
 	/** Load the next chunk of episodes for one feed from the full parse
@@ -888,17 +664,8 @@ function createFeedStore() {
 		// restart). The cache holds the FULL parse — no bound applied here.
 		if (!cached) {
 			try {
-				const response = await fetch(feed.podcast.feedUrl, {
-					headers: {
-						"Accept-Encoding": "identity",
-						Accept: "application/rss+xml, application/xml, text/xml, */*",
-					},
-					// A hung feed must not stall the load-more path forever —
-					// mirror fetchEpisodes' per-feed timeout.
-					signal: AbortSignal.timeout(FETCH_TIMEOUT_MS),
-				});
-				if (!response.ok) return;
-				const xml = await response.text();
+				const xml = await fetchFeedXml(feed.podcast.feedUrl);
+				if (xml === null) return;
 				cached = await parseEpisodesIncremental(xml, feed.podcast.feedUrl);
 			} catch {
 				// Failed/hung refetch: leave the feed's loaded episodes
@@ -936,13 +703,7 @@ function createFeedStore() {
 				currentCount,
 				prefs.episodeCacheDays ?? DEFAULT_EPISODE_WINDOW_DAYS,
 			);
-			newCount = currentCount;
-			while (
-				newCount < cached.length &&
-				epTs(cached[newCount]) >= cutoff
-			) {
-				newCount++;
-			}
+			newCount = dateBandCount(cached, currentCount, cutoff);
 		} else {
 			newCount = currentCount + MAX_EPISODES_REFRESH;
 		}
@@ -1029,14 +790,7 @@ function createFeedStore() {
 						currentCount,
 						windowDays,
 					);
-					if (epTs(cached[currentCount]) < cutoff) continue;
-					newCount = currentCount;
-					while (
-						newCount < cached.length &&
-						epTs(cached[newCount]) >= cutoff
-					) {
-						newCount++;
-					}
+					newCount = dateBandCount(cached, currentCount, cutoff);
 				}
 				if (newCount <= currentCount) continue;
 				episodeLoadCount.set(feed.id, newCount);
@@ -1073,9 +827,7 @@ function createFeedStore() {
 	return {
 		// State
 		feeds,
-		sources,
-		filter,
-		selectedFeedId,
+		sources: registry.sources,
 		isLoadingMore,
 
 		/** Resolves once persisted feeds are loaded from disk (before the
@@ -1087,40 +839,36 @@ function createFeedStore() {
 		getAllEpisodesChronological,
 		getFeed,
 		findEpisode,
-		getSelectedFeed,
 		hasMoreEpisodes,
 		isLoadingFeeds,
 
 		// Actions
-		setFilter,
-		setSelectedFeedId,
 		/** Fetch + parse an RSS feed WITHOUT subscribing or touching any feed
 		 *  record (Discover's episode preview). Pass no feedId to skip the
 		 *  full-parse cache; the visible window is bounded by the user's
 		 *  cache preference and `limit`. */
 		fetchEpisodes,
 		addFeed,
-		hasFeedByUrl,
 		removeFeed,
 		removeFeedByUrl,
-		updateFeed,
-		togglePinned,
 		refreshFeed,
 		refreshAllFeeds,
 		loadMoreEpisodes,
 		loadMoreAllFeeds,
 		hasMoreAcrossAll,
 		flushPendingSave,
-		addSource,
-		removeSource,
-		toggleSource,
-		updateSource,
+		addSource: registry.addSource,
+		toggleSource: registry.toggleSource,
+		updateSource: registry.updateSource,
 		runAutoDownload: runAutoDownloadNow,
 	};
 }
 
 let feedStoreInstance: ReturnType<typeof createFeedStore> | null = null;
 
+/** Re-exported: refresh-merge tests import it from the store module. */
+export { sameRefreshWindow } from "../utils/episode-windows";
+
 export function useFeedStore() {
 	if (!feedStoreInstance) {
 		feedStoreInstance = createFeedStore();

src/stores/pane-layout.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,144 @@
+/**
+ * pane-layout — global split positions for the yazi-style pane rows.
+ *
+ * Every tab renders its parent|current|preview columns through `PaneRow`
+ * sharing one layout: the two borders of the CENTER (current) column are
+ * draggable, and their positions are stored here as fractions of the row
+ * width (so a terminal resize re-derives pixel positions proportionally).
+ *
+ *   parent (15+)  |  current (30+)  |  preview (15+)
+ *   ── left ───────── right ────────   <-- draggable borders
+ *
+ * Defaults mirror the old fixed 2:5:3 ratio (20% / 50% / 30%). Minimum
+ * pane widths are enforced in `splitPixels` whenever a border is dragged
+ * or the row is re-derived. The positions persist to the app preferences
+ * on `commit()` (drag end) — never per drag event, so drags don't thrash
+ * config.json.
+ */
+
+import type { PaneSplits } from "@/types/settings";
+import { createSignal } from "solid-js";
+import { useAppStore } from "./app";
+
+// ── Types ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+/** Public surface of the shared pane-layout store. */
+export interface PaneLayoutStore {
+	/** Current split positions (fractions of the row width). */
+	splits(): PaneSplits;
+	/** Move the left border of the current pane to column `x`. */
+	setLeft(x: number, width: number): void;
+	/** Move the right border of the current pane to column `x`. */
+	setRight(x: number, width: number): void;
+	/** Persist the current splits (called on drag end, not per drag event). */
+	commit(): void;
+}
+
+// ── Constants ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+/** Default split — the historical 2:5:3 ratio (parent 20 / current 50 / preview 30). */
+export const DEFAULT_PANE_SPLITS: PaneSplits = { left: 0.2, right: 0.7 };
+
+/** Per-pane minimum widths (columns) enforced while a border is being
+ *  dragged. Static rendering maps stored fractions 1:1 to pixels — the
+ *  minimums never distort the user's chosen layout on narrow terminals. */
+export const MIN_PANE_WIDTH = {
+	parent: 15,
+	current: 30,
+	preview: 15,
+} as const;
+
+/** Clamp `v` into [`lo`, `hi`] (bounds may invert on degenerate widths). */
+function clamp(v: number, lo: number, hi: number): number {
+	return Math.max(lo, Math.min(hi, v));
+}
+
+/** Minimum row width that can hold all three panes at their drag minimums. */
+const MIN_TOTAL_WIDTH =
+	MIN_PANE_WIDTH.parent + MIN_PANE_WIDTH.current + MIN_PANE_WIDTH.preview;
+
+/** Resolve stored splits into concrete pixel columns for a row `width`.
+ *  A pure 1:1 fraction→pixel mapping (keeping the ratio exact for every
+ *  terminal size); min-width enforcement lives in the drag setters only. */
+export function splitPixels(
+	width: number,
+	splits: PaneSplits,
+): { leftPx: number; rightPx: number } {
+	if (width <= 0) return { leftPx: 0, rightPx: 0 };
+	const leftPx = Math.round(width * splits.left);
+	const rightPx = Math.max(leftPx + 1, Math.round(width * splits.right));
+	return { leftPx, rightPx };
+}
+
+export function createPaneLayoutStore(): PaneLayoutStore {
+	const app = useAppStore();
+
+	// Seeded from persisted preferences; `saved` is always defined because
+	// the app store backfills the default when the config predates it.
+	const [splits, setSplits] = createSignal<PaneSplits>(
+		app.state().preferences.paneSplit ?? DEFAULT_PANE_SPLITS,
+	);
+
+	/** Store the normalized pixel positions as fractions of `width`. */
+	const applyPixels = (leftPx: number, rightPx: number, width: number) => {
+		if (width <= 0) return;
+		setSplits({ left: leftPx / width, right: rightPx / width });
+	};
+
+	/** Clamp a dragged border to the per-pane minimums (only on terminals
+	 *  wide enough to hold them; smaller rows just follow the cursor). */
+	const dragPixels = (
+		leftPx: number,
+		rightPx: number,
+		width: number,
+	): { leftPx: number; rightPx: number } => {
+		if (width < MIN_TOTAL_WIDTH)
+			return {
+				leftPx: clamp(leftPx, 1, width - 2),
+				rightPx: Math.max(rightPx, leftPx + 1),
+			};
+		const minLeft = MIN_PANE_WIDTH.parent;
+		const maxLeft = width - MIN_PANE_WIDTH.current - MIN_PANE_WIDTH.preview;
+		const maxRight = width - MIN_PANE_WIDTH.preview;
+		const newLeft = clamp(leftPx, minLeft, maxLeft);
+		// The dragged border follows the cursor; the other border is pushed
+		// only as far as needed to keep the current pane at its minimum.
+		return {
+			leftPx: newLeft,
+			rightPx: clamp(rightPx, newLeft + MIN_PANE_WIDTH.current, maxRight),
+		};
+	};
+
+	/** Move the left border to column `x` (the current pane's left edge). */
+	const setLeft = (x: number, width: number) => {
+		if (width <= 0) return;
+		const { rightPx: curRight } = splitPixels(width, splits());
+		const { leftPx, rightPx } = dragPixels(Math.round(x), curRight, width);
+		applyPixels(leftPx, rightPx, width);
+	};
+
+	/** Move the right border to column `x` (the current pane's right edge). */
+	const setRight = (x: number, width: number) => {
+		if (width <= 0) return;
+		const { leftPx: curLeft, rightPx: curRight } = splitPixels(width, splits());
+		const { leftPx, rightPx } = dragPixels(curLeft, Math.round(x), width);
+		applyPixels(leftPx, rightPx, width);
+	};
+
+	/** Persist the current splits (called on drag end, not per drag event). */
+	const commit = () => {
+		app.updatePreferences({ paneSplit: splits() });
+	};
+
+	return { splits, setLeft, setRight, commit };
+}
+
+// ── Singleton ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+let paneLayoutInstance: PaneLayoutStore | null = null;
+
+/** Accessor for the shared pane-layout store (all tabs share one split). */
+export function usePaneLayout(): PaneLayoutStore {
+	if (!paneLayoutInstance) paneLayoutInstance = createPaneLayoutStore();
+	return paneLayoutInstance;
+}

src/stores/persist.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+/**
+ * Persistence scheduler for PodTUI
+ * Per-domain trailing-edge debounced writes
+ */
+
+/** Debounced writer: rapid schedules collapse into one write per domain. */
+export interface PersistScheduler {
+	/** Mark a domain dirty and (re)arm its trailing-edge write timer. */
+	schedule(domain: string): void;
+	/** Write the domain immediately if dirty; cancels any pending timer. */
+	flush(domain: string): void;
+	/** Write every dirty domain immediately. */
+	flushAll(): void;
+}
+
+/** Timer handle as returned by setTimeout in this runtime. */
+type TimerHandle = ReturnType<typeof setTimeout>;
+
+/** Build a per-domain trailing-edge debouncer. `write` is invoked with the
+ *  domain name; callers read current state inside it, so a flush always
+ *  lands the latest value. Rapid schedule() calls share one timer. */
+export function createPersistScheduler(
+	write: (domain: string) => void,
+	debounceMs = 250,
+): PersistScheduler {
+	const dirty = new Set<string>();
+	const timers = new Map<string, TimerHandle>();
+
+	const flush = (domain: string): void => {
+		const timer = timers.get(domain);
+		if (timer) {
+			clearTimeout(timer);
+			timers.delete(domain);
+		}
+		if (!dirty.has(domain)) return;
+		dirty.delete(domain);
+		write(domain);
+	};
+
+	const schedule = (domain: string): void => {
+		dirty.add(domain);
+		clearTimeout(timers.get(domain));
+		timers.set(
+			domain,
+			setTimeout(() => {
+				timers.delete(domain);
+				flush(domain);
+			}, debounceMs),
+		);
+	};
+
+	const flushAll = (): void => {
+		for (const domain of [...dirty]) flush(domain);
+	};
+
+	return { schedule, flush, flushAll };
+}

src/stores/search.ts

@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ import {
 } from "../utils/app-persistence";
 import { useFeedStore } from "./feed";
 import type { SearchResult, SearchScope } from "../types/source";
+import { createPersistScheduler } from "./persist";
 
 const STORAGE_SCOPE_KEY = "podtui_search_scope";
 const MAX_HISTORY = 10;
@@ -70,6 +71,15 @@ export function createSearchStore() {
 	const [selectedSources, setSelectedSources] = createSignal<string[]>([]);
 	const [scope, setScopeState] = createSignal<SearchScope>(loadScope());
 
+	/** History persistence: rapid mutations collapse into one debounced
+	 *  write; the closure reads the live signal so a flush lands the
+	 *  latest list. */
+	const persistHistory = createPersistScheduler((domain: string) => {
+		if (domain === "search-history") {
+			saveSearchHistoryToFile(history());
+		}
+	});
+
 	/** Load search history from file (fire-and-forget; recents appear as
 	 *  soon as the file is read). */
 	async function init(): Promise<void> {
@@ -167,24 +177,18 @@ export function createSearchStore() {
 	};
 
 	const addToHistory = (q: string) => {
-		setHistory((prev) => {
-			const updated = sanitizeHistory([q, ...prev]);
-			saveSearchHistoryToFile(updated);
-			return updated;
-		});
+		setHistory((prev) => sanitizeHistory([q, ...prev]));
+		persistHistory.schedule("search-history");
 	};
 
 	const clearHistory = () => {
 		setHistory([]);
-		saveSearchHistoryToFile([]);
+		persistHistory.schedule("search-history");
 	};
 
 	const removeFromHistory = (q: string) => {
-		setHistory((prev) => {
-			const updated = prev.filter((h) => h !== q);
-			saveSearchHistoryToFile(updated);
-			return updated;
-		});
+		setHistory((prev) => prev.filter((h) => h !== q));
+		persistHistory.schedule("search-history");
 	};
 
 	const clearResults = () => {

src/stores/visualizer.ts

@@ -344,6 +344,7 @@ function createVisualizerStore(): VisualizerStore {
 
 	// ── Render loop (called at ~30fps) ─────────────────────────────────
 
+	let lastBarWriteAt = 0;
 	const renderFrame = () => {
 		if (!cava?.isReady || !sampleBuffer || !pcm) return;
 
@@ -374,11 +375,17 @@ function createVisualizerStore(): VisualizerStore {
 		const count = pcm.readWindow(sampleBuffer, target);
 		// Never feed a partial FFT window to cava.
 		if (count < sampleBuffer.length) return;
-
 		const output = cava.execute(sampleBuffer);
 
+		// Write the UI signal at ~10fps, not 30: cava already smooths
+		// (noise reduction + peak release), and each Solid write costs a
+		// renderer diff pass. 3 of every 4 frames update only the pipeline.
+		const nowMs = performance.now();
+		if (nowMs - lastBarWriteAt >= 95) {
+			lastBarWriteAt = nowMs;
 			// Normalize against the running peak and copy to a new array
 			setBarData(scaler(output));
+		}
 		// Fresh frames only count once the position clock has MOVED from
 		// the resume point: while the player is still re-buffering after a
 		// long pause, the cache serves the same window and the spinner must

src/types/settings.ts

@@ -90,9 +90,6 @@ export type AppSettings = {
 	visualizer: VisualizerSettings;
 };
 
-/** How the Feed and per-show episode lists load older episodes (default: auto). */
-export type FetchMoreMode = "manual" | "auto";
-
 /** Which shows the auto-download setting applies to (default: all). */
 export type AutoDownloadScope = "all" | "none" | "whitelist";
 
@@ -101,6 +98,15 @@ export type AutoDownloadScope = "all" | "none" | "whitelist";
  *  episodes (default: date). */
 export type EpisodeCacheMode = "date" | "count";
 
+/** Left/right edges of the current (center) pane as fractions of the row
+ *  width, shared by the draggable pane borders in every depth tab. */
+export type PaneSplits = {
+	/** Left edge of the current pane (default 0.2 = 20% of the row). */
+	left: number;
+	/** Right edge of the current pane (default 0.7 = 70% of the row). */
+	right: number;
+};
+
 export type UserPreferences = {
 	showExplicit: boolean;
 	autoDownload: boolean;
@@ -112,8 +118,6 @@ export type UserPreferences = {
 	autoDownloadWhitelist: string[];
 	/** Jump to the Player view automatically when playback starts (default: true) */
 	autoJumpToPlayer: boolean;
-	/** Load older episodes from the Feed list: manual button or automatic at the bottom (default: auto). */
-	fetchMoreMode: FetchMoreMode;
 	/** Minutes between automatic background feed refreshes (default: 30). */
 	refreshIntervalMinutes: number;
 	/** How the episode list cache is bounded — by date or by count (default: date). */
@@ -122,6 +126,8 @@ export type UserPreferences = {
 	episodeCacheCount: number;
 	/** Rolling window in days for the episode list when mode is "date" (default: 60). */
 	episodeCacheDays: number;
+	/** Pane split positions as fractions of the row width (default 0.2 / 0.7). */
+	paneSplit: PaneSplits;
 };
 
 export type AppState = {

src/utils/app-persistence.ts

@@ -47,11 +47,11 @@ const defaultPreferences: UserPreferences = {
 	autoDownloadScope: "all",
 	autoDownloadWhitelist: [],
 	autoJumpToPlayer: true,
-	fetchMoreMode: "auto",
 	refreshIntervalMinutes: 30,
 	episodeCacheMode: "date",
 	episodeCacheCount: 25,
 	episodeCacheDays: 60,
+	paneSplit: { left: 0.2, right: 0.7 },
 };
 
 const defaultState: AppState = {

src/utils/audio-engine.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,874 @@
+/**
+ * Module-level audio engine — owns the AudioBackend lifecycle, the 150ms
+ * playback poll (progress save + external pause/resume reconciliation),
+ * cover-art resolution, session restore, and the event-bus playback
+ * commands.
+ *
+ * `createAudioEngine()` is the only factory. It builds a lazily-booting
+ * engine (the backend is created on the first play/load, not here) and
+ * returns the SAME instance for the life of the process, so every
+ * useAudio() call shares one engine. The Solid-lifecycle parts that can't
+ * live at module scope — the ref-counted last-owner dispose and the
+ * process-exit teardown — stay in hooks/useAudio, the thin wrapper.
+ */
+
+import {
+	cachedCoverPath,
+	fetchCoverArt,
+} from "./cover-art";
+import {
+	createAudioBackend,
+	detectPlayers,
+	PlayerRestartedError,
+	type AudioBackend,
+	type BackendName,
+	type DetectedPlayer,
+} from "./audio-player";
+import {
+	isPlaying,
+	setIsPlaying,
+	position,
+	setPosition,
+	duration,
+	setDuration,
+	volume,
+	setVolume,
+	speed,
+	setSpeed,
+	backendName,
+	setBackendName,
+	error,
+	setError,
+	currentEpisode,
+	setCurrentEpisode,
+	availablePlayers,
+	setAvailablePlayers,
+} from "./audio-signals";
+import { emit, on } from "./event-bus";
+import { useAppStore } from "../stores/app";
+import { useProgressStore } from "../stores/progress";
+import { useMediaRegistry } from "./media-registry";
+import {
+	loadLastPlayerFromFile,
+	saveLastPlayerToFile,
+} from "./app-persistence";
+import type { Episode, Progress } from "../types/episode";
+import { feedForEpisode } from "./feed-resolve";
+import { useAudioNavStore } from "../stores/audio-nav";
+import { useDownloadStore } from "../stores/download";
+import { useFeedStore } from "../stores/feed";
+import { useSearchStore } from "../stores/search";
+import {
+	nextStep,
+	prevStep,
+	queueForSource,
+} from "./audio-queue";
+
+// Singleton state — shared by every useAudio() owner through the one engine
+let backend: AudioBackend | null = null;
+let pollTimer: ReturnType<typeof setInterval> | null = null;
+let pollCount = 0; // Counts poll ticks for throttling progress saves
+
+// Playback signals are declared in utils/audio-signals.ts (imported above)
+// so non-component consumers (the visualizer store) can subscribe without
+// mounting a useAudio() owner.
+
+/** True once the current episode has been handed to the backend (play
+ *  started). `false` means the episode is only LOADED in the player (e.g.
+ *  restored at boot) and the first play action must start the backend
+ *  instead of unpausing it. */
+let startedPlayback = false;
+
+/** Completion fraction at/above which an episode is NOT restored at boot. */
+const RESTORE_COMPLETION_THRESHOLD = 0.98;
+
+/** The engine surface useAudio() wraps. Deliberately omits
+ *  availablePlayers and switchBackend — the hook re-exposes those from
+ *  audio-signals / this module on top of the engine. */
+export interface AudioEngine {
+	// Signals (reactive getters)
+	isPlaying: () => boolean;
+	position: () => number;
+	duration: () => number;
+	volume: () => number;
+	speed: () => number;
+	backendName: () => BackendName;
+	error: () => string | null;
+	currentEpisode: () => Episode | null;
+
+	// Actions
+	play: (episode: Episode) => Promise<void>;
+	/** Load an episode into the player WITHOUT starting playback. */
+	load: (episode: Episode) => Promise<void>;
+	pause: () => Promise<void>;
+	resume: () => Promise<void>;
+	togglePlayback: () => Promise<void>;
+	stop: () => Promise<void>;
+	seek: (seconds: number) => Promise<void>;
+	seekRelative: (delta: number) => Promise<void>;
+	setVolume: (volume: number) => Promise<void>;
+	setSpeed: (speed: number) => Promise<void>;
+	prev: () => Promise<void>;
+	next: () => Promise<void>;
+}
+
+/** True when saved progress is below the restore cutoff. Episodes with no
+ *  progress (never reached the persist threshold) or unknown duration count
+ *  as eligible — they restore from the start. */
+function isRestoreEligible(progress: Progress | undefined): boolean {
+	if (!progress || progress.duration <= 0) return true;
+	return progress.position / progress.duration < RESTORE_COMPLETION_THRESHOLD;
+}
+
+/** Lazily create the shared backend on first use. The process-exit
+ *  teardown lives in useAudio (it must survive last-owner dispose), so it is
+ *  registered there, not here. */
+function ensureBackend(): AudioBackend {
+	if (!backend) {
+		const detected = detectPlayers();
+		setAvailablePlayers(detected);
+		backend = createAudioBackend();
+		setBackendName(backend.name);
+	}
+	return backend;
+}
+
+/** Poll ticks between paused-state checks (~1s at 150ms/tick). While the
+ *  UI believes playback is paused we only need to catch an external
+ *  resume (AirPod play tap, lock-screen/media-center play); checking every
+ *  tick would just hammer mpv IPC for nothing. */
+const PAUSE_WATCH_TICKS = 7;
+
+/** The player process died while we believed playback was live — track
+ *  ended (mpv quits at EOF) or the process crashed. Persist the final
+ *  position and stop polling. `autoAdvance` is true only when the track
+ *  reached its natural end with the player still alive and no stream error
+ *  — the signal to keep the queue going. */
+function finalizeTrackEnd(autoAdvance: boolean): void {
+	setIsPlaying(false);
+	stopPolling();
+	const ep = currentEpisode();
+	if (ep) {
+		const progressStore = useProgressStore();
+		progressStore.update(ep.id, position(), duration(), speed());
+	}
+	if (autoAdvance) {
+		// The episode finished: play the next one from the source that
+		// started it (search results / show / feed). No-op at the end of
+		// the list or when the episode isn't in the source list anymore.
+		void next().catch(() => {});
+	}
+}
+
+/** mpv paused itself OUTSIDE PodTUI — system sleep/lock, AirPod removal,
+ *  device swap, OS media keys, the Now Playing center. Bring the UI in
+ *  sync; the poll stays armed so an external resume is caught too. */
+function reconcileExternalPause(): void {
+	setIsPlaying(false);
+	const ep = currentEpisode();
+	if (ep) {
+		const progressStore = useProgressStore();
+		progressStore.update(ep.id, position(), duration(), speed());
+		emit("player.pause", { episodeId: ep.id });
+		const media = useMediaRegistry();
+		media.setPlaybackState(false);
+		media.setPosition(position());
+	}
+}
+
+/** Playback was restarted from outside PodTUI (AirPods, lock-screen or
+ *  media-center play, OS media keys). Bring the UI back to "playing". */
+function reconcileExternalResume(): void {
+	setIsPlaying(true);
+	const ep = currentEpisode();
+	if (ep) {
+		emit("player.play", { episodeId: ep.id });
+		useMediaRegistry().setPlaybackState(true);
+	}
+}
+
+function startPolling(): void {
+	stopPolling();
+	pollCount = 0;
+	// Guard against overlapping ticks if a socket read ever outlives the
+	// interval (getPosition opens a fresh mpv IPC connection per call).
+	let pollInFlight = false;
+	pollTimer = setInterval(async () => {
+		if (!backend || pollInFlight) return;
+		pollInFlight = true;
+		try {
+			pollCount++;
+			if (isPlaying()) {
+				// Track ended (eof-reached observed) or process died. Check
+				// BEFORE pause reconciliation: mpv keeps the file open at EOF
+				// and reports pause=true there, which would otherwise be
+				// mistaken for an external pause and never finalize.
+				if (!backend.isPlaying()) {
+					// Natural EOF (player alive, no stream error) auto-advances
+					// to the next episode; a crashed/killed daemon or a failed
+					// stream must not start the next episode on its own.
+					finalizeTrackEnd(
+						backend.isAlive() && !backend.getPlaybackError(),
+					);
+					return;
+				}
+
+				// mpv can pause itself outside PodTUI. Reconcile instead of
+				// staying stuck on "playing" with a frozen waveform
+				// (getPosition would just re-read the same frozen time-pos).
+				const paused = await backend.getPauseState();
+				if (paused === true) {
+					reconcileExternalPause();
+					return;
+				}
+
+				const pos = await backend.getPosition();
+				const dur = await backend.getDuration();
+				setPosition(pos);
+				if (dur > 0) setDuration(dur);
+
+				// Save progress every ~5 seconds (33 ticks * 150ms)
+				if (pollCount % 33 === 0) {
+					const ep = currentEpisode();
+					if (ep) {
+						const progressStore = useProgressStore();
+						progressStore.update(ep.id, pos, dur > 0 ? dur : duration(), speed());
+
+						const media = useMediaRegistry();
+						media.setPosition(pos);
+					}
+				}
+			} else if (pollCount % PAUSE_WATCH_TICKS === 0) {
+				// Paused — watch for playback restarted from outside (AirPods,
+				// lock-screen/media-center play). Only while the player is
+				// still alive: a dead player while we thought we were paused
+				// means the track ended (mpv quits at EOF) or it crashed.
+				if (!backend.isAlive()) {
+					finalizeTrackEnd(false);
+					return;
+				}
+				const paused = await backend.getPauseState();
+				if (paused === false) {
+					reconcileExternalResume();
+				}
+			}
+		} catch {
+			// Backend may have been disposed
+		} finally {
+			pollInFlight = false;
+		}
+	}, 150);
+}
+
+function stopPolling(): void {
+	if (pollTimer) {
+		clearInterval(pollTimer);
+		pollTimer = null;
+	}
+}
+
+// ── Cover art for system Now Playing ─────────────────────────────────────────
+// macOS shows the media session's albumart in the audio center; mpv reads it
+// from `--cover-art-files`. Shared helper (utils/cover-art.ts) fetches the
+// podcast cover to a temp file BEFORE playback starts, bounded to 3s.
+
+/** Resolve cover art to a local path for mpv's --cover-art-files, per the
+ *  call site's latency budget:
+ *  "cache"   — disk cache only (sync): resume paths must never wait on the
+ *              network, so a miss plays artless and warms for next time.
+ *  "bounded" — disk hit, else fetch capped at 1.2s: cold play needs the art
+ *              at file LOAD, but a slow cover server must not stall audio.
+ *  "await"   — disk hit, else full (8s-bounded) fetch: boot restore preloads
+ *              while feeds/progress load anyway, so the wait is free and the
+ *              cover must be present when the file loads.
+ * fetchCoverArt already short-circuits on the disk cache, so "await" costs
+ * nothing on a warm cache. */
+async function resolveCoverArt(
+	coverUrl: string | undefined,
+	mode: "cache" | "bounded" | "await",
+): Promise<string | null> {
+	if (!coverUrl) return null;
+	if (mode === "cache") return cachedCoverPath(coverUrl);
+	if (mode === "bounded") {
+		const cached = cachedCoverPath(coverUrl);
+		if (cached) return cached;
+		return Promise.race([
+			fetchCoverArt(coverUrl),
+			new Promise<null>((resolve) => setTimeout(() => resolve(null), 1200)),
+		]);
+	}
+	return fetchCoverArt(coverUrl);
+}
+
+async function play(episode: Episode): Promise<void> {
+	const b = ensureBackend();
+	setError(null);
+
+	if (!episode.audioUrl) {
+		setError("No audio URL for this episode");
+		return;
+	}
+
+	const appStore = useAppStore();
+	const progressStore = useProgressStore();
+	const storeSpeed = appStore.state().settings.playbackSpeed;
+	const vol = volume();
+	const spd = storeSpeed || speed();
+
+	const feed = feedForEpisode(useFeedStore().feeds(), episode);
+	const podcastTitle = feed?.customName || feed?.podcast.title || "";
+	// Play the downloaded file when present (offline + no network stalls);
+	// otherwise stream. Cover resolves to the feed art, falling back to the
+	// episode's own image (feeds added by URL may lack a channel cover).
+	const downloadStore = useDownloadStore();
+	const url = downloadStore.getDownloadedFilePath(episode.id) ?? episode.audioUrl;
+
+	// Resume from saved progress if available and not completed
+	const savedProgress = progressStore.get(episode.id);
+	let startPos = 0;
+	if (savedProgress && !progressStore.isCompleted(episode.id)) {
+		startPos = savedProgress.position;
+	}
+
+	// Present the new episode in the UI IMMEDIATELY, before the backend load
+	// (cover fetch + loadfile can take a few hundred ms): the player tab,
+	// status bar, and OS Now Playing must not keep showing the previous
+	// episode during the swap. The previous track's poll is stopped so it
+	// can't attribute its position/progress to the new episode; polling
+	// restarts once the backend is actually playing. Mirrors load()'s
+	// synchronous presentation.
+	stopPolling();
+	setCurrentEpisode(episode);
+	setIsPlaying(false);
+	startedPlayback = false;
+	setPosition(startPos);
+	setSpeed(spd);
+	if (episode.duration) setDuration(episode.duration);
+	const media = useMediaRegistry();
+	media.setNowPlaying({
+		title: episode.title,
+		artist: podcastTitle || episode.podcastId,
+		duration: episode.duration,
+	});
+	media.setPlaybackState(false);
+	if (startPos > 0) media.setPosition(startPos);
+
+	try {
+		// Cover art only applies at file LOAD (the runtime video-add fallback
+		// never becomes an albumart track), so a cold-cache play must wait for
+		// the fetch or play artless. Serve the disk cache synchronously; on a
+		// miss, await the bounded fetch (covers fetch in ~300ms typically) —
+		// past the 1.2s cap, play bare and let the fetch warm the cache.
+		const coverArtPath = await resolveCoverArt(
+			feed?.podcast.coverUrl ?? episode.imageUrl,
+			"bounded",
+		);
+
+		await b.play(url, {
+			volume: vol,
+			speed: spd,
+			startPosition: startPos > 0 ? startPos : undefined,
+			mediaTitle: episode.title,
+			coverArtPath: coverArtPath ?? undefined,
+		});
+
+		setIsPlaying(true);
+		setPosition(startPos);
+		if (episode.duration) setDuration(episode.duration);
+		startedPlayback = true;
+
+		// Remember this episode as "loaded in the player" so the next launch
+		// can restore it paused (cleared by stop()).
+		saveLastPlayerToFile({ episodeId: episode.id, timestamp: new Date() });
+
+		// Register with platform media controls
+		media.setPlaybackState(true);
+		if (startPos > 0) media.setPosition(startPos);
+
+		startPolling();
+		emit("player.play", { episodeId: episode.id });
+		// Distinct from "player.play" (which also fires on resume): signals a
+		// fresh episode start so Shell can honor the auto-jump-to-player pref.
+		emit("player.started", { episodeId: episode.id });
+	} catch (err) {
+		setError(err instanceof Error ? err.message : "Playback failed");
+		setIsPlaying(false);
+	}
+}
+
+/**
+ * Load an episode into the player WITHOUT starting playback. The player tab
+ * renders it paused at its saved position; the first play action starts the
+ * backend from there (see togglePlayback). Used to restore the last player
+ * session at boot.
+ */
+async function load(episode: Episode): Promise<void> {
+	ensureBackend();
+	setError(null);
+
+	setCurrentEpisode(episode);
+	setIsPlaying(false);
+	startedPlayback = false;
+
+	// Show the saved position so the player tab reflects where playback
+	// will resume; episodes at/above the completion threshold start from 0.
+	const progressStore = useProgressStore();
+	const saved = progressStore.get(episode.id);
+	const pos = saved && isRestoreEligible(saved) ? saved.position : 0;
+	setPosition(pos);
+	if (episode.duration) setDuration(episode.duration);
+
+	const appStore = useAppStore();
+	const storeSpeed = appStore.state().settings.playbackSpeed;
+	setSpeed(storeSpeed || speed());
+
+	// Surface the loaded-but-paused track to the OS media controls.
+	const feed = feedForEpisode(useFeedStore().feeds(), episode);
+	const podcastTitle = feed?.customName || feed?.podcast.title || "";
+	const media = useMediaRegistry();
+	media.setNowPlaying({
+		title: episode.title,
+		artist: podcastTitle || episode.podcastId,
+		duration: episode.duration,
+	});
+	media.setPlaybackState(false);
+	if (pos > 0) media.setPosition(pos);
+
+	// Preload the episode into the backend PAUSED: mpv opens the stream and
+	// fills its demuxer cache while parked, so the user's first Play flips
+	// `pause` off instead of paying the ~2s stream-open cold. Fire-and-forget
+	// — a failed preload just makes the first play take the cold path.
+	const downloadStore = useDownloadStore();
+	const url = downloadStore.getDownloadedFilePath(episode.id) ?? episode.audioUrl;
+	if (episode.audioUrl && backend) {
+		// The preload must carry the cover AT LOAD: cover-art-files only
+		// applies when the file loads, and the runtime video-add fallback
+		// never becomes an albumart track (verified). Restore already waits
+		// on feeds/progress at boot, so the bounded fetch (~300ms typical,
+		// 8s worst case) is free. Falls back to the episode's own image when
+		// the feed has no channel cover.
+		const coverArtPath = await resolveCoverArt(
+			feed?.podcast.coverUrl ?? episode.imageUrl,
+			"await",
+		);
+		const backendSnap = backend;
+		backendSnap
+			.preload(url, {
+				volume: volume(),
+				speed: storeSpeed || speed(),
+				startPosition: pos > 0 ? pos : undefined,
+mediaTitle: episode.title,
+				coverArtPath: coverArtPath ?? undefined,
+			})
+			.catch(() => {});
+	}
+
+	saveLastPlayerToFile({ episodeId: episode.id, timestamp: new Date() });
+}
+
+async function pause(): Promise<void> {
+	if (!backend) return;
+	try {
+		await backend.pause();
+		setIsPlaying(false);
+		// Polling stays armed (paused-watch mode): playback can be resumed
+		// from OUTSIDE PodTUI — AirPods, lock-screen/media-center play —
+		// and the poll must be live to catch it.
+		const ep = currentEpisode();
+		if (ep) {
+			// Save progress on pause
+			const progressStore = useProgressStore();
+			progressStore.update(ep.id, position(), duration(), speed());
+			emit("player.pause", { episodeId: ep.id });
+
+			// Update platform media controls
+			const media = useMediaRegistry();
+			media.setPlaybackState(false);
+			media.setPosition(position());
+		}
+	} catch (err) {
+		setError(err instanceof Error ? err.message : "Pause failed");
+	}
+}
+
+/** mpv was killed/crashed: respawn it and restart playback from the saved
+ *  position via the full play path (fresh loadfile, cover art, media
+ *  registry). A bare unpause would target a dead — or freshly-idle —
+ *  daemon and silently do nothing. */
+async function recoverPlayback(): Promise<void> {
+	const ep = currentEpisode();
+	if (ep && ep.audioUrl) {
+		await play(ep);
+	} else {
+		setError("Player is not running");
+	}
+}
+
+async function resume(): Promise<void> {
+	if (!backend) return;
+	if (!backend.isAlive()) {
+		await recoverPlayback();
+		return;
+	}
+	try {
+		await backend.resume();
+		setIsPlaying(true);
+		startPolling();
+		const ep = currentEpisode();
+		if (ep) {
+			emit("player.play", { episodeId: ep.id });
+			const media = useMediaRegistry();
+			media.setPlaybackState(true);
+		}
+	} catch (err) {
+		// Race: the daemon died between the liveness check above and the
+		// unpause — backend.resume() respawned it and threw
+		// PlayerRestartedError (the fresh daemon has no file loaded).
+		if (err instanceof PlayerRestartedError) {
+			await recoverPlayback();
+			return;
+		}
+		setError(err instanceof Error ? err.message : "Resume failed");
+	}
+}
+
+async function togglePlayback(): Promise<void> {
+	if (isPlaying()) {
+		await pause();
+	} else if (currentEpisode()) {
+		if (startedPlayback) {
+			await resume();
+		} else {
+			// Episode is only LOADED (e.g. restored at boot) — the backend
+			// was never started, so unpausing a dead player would fail
+			// silently. Start playback from the saved position instead.
+			const ep = currentEpisode();
+			if (ep) await play(ep);
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+async function stop(): Promise<void> {
+	if (!backend) return;
+	try {
+		// Save progress before stopping
+		const ep = currentEpisode();
+		if (ep) {
+			const progressStore = useProgressStore();
+			progressStore.update(ep.id, position(), duration(), speed());
+		}
+		await backend.stop();
+		setIsPlaying(false);
+		setPosition(0);
+		setCurrentEpisode(null);
+		startedPlayback = false;
+		stopPolling();
+		emit("player.stop", {});
+
+		// Player is empty again — nothing to restore on the next launch.
+		saveLastPlayerToFile({ episodeId: null, timestamp: null });
+
+		const media = useMediaRegistry();
+		media.clearNowPlaying();
+	} catch (err) {
+		setError(err instanceof Error ? err.message : "Stop failed");
+	}
+}
+
+async function seek(seconds: number): Promise<void> {
+	if (!backend) return;
+	const clamped = Math.max(0, Math.min(seconds, duration()));
+	try {
+		await backend.seek(clamped);
+		setPosition(clamped);
+	} catch (err) {
+		setError(err instanceof Error ? err.message : "Seek failed");
+	}
+}
+
+async function seekRelative(delta: number): Promise<void> {
+	await seek(position() + delta);
+}
+
+async function doSetVolume(vol: number): Promise<void> {
+	const clamped = Math.max(0, Math.min(1, vol));
+	if (backend) {
+		try {
+			await backend.setVolume(clamped);
+		} catch {
+			// Some backends can't change volume at runtime
+		}
+	}
+	setVolume(clamped);
+
+	// Sync back to app store (persisted to config.json for the next launch).
+	const appStore = useAppStore();
+	appStore.updateSettings({ volume: clamped });
+}
+
+async function doSetSpeed(spd: number): Promise<void> {
+	const clamped = Math.max(0.25, Math.min(3, spd));
+	if (backend) {
+		try {
+			await backend.setSpeed(clamped);
+		} catch {
+			// Some backends can't change speed at runtime
+		}
+	}
+	setSpeed(clamped);
+
+	// Sync back to app store
+	const appStore = useAppStore();
+	appStore.updateSettings({ playbackSpeed: clamped });
+}
+
+/** Switch the active player backend (mpv / afplay / ...). Off the
+ *  AudioEngine interface by contract, but kept here (module-scoped) so the
+ *  engine owns backend teardown/creation; useAudio re-exposes it. */
+export async function switchBackend(name: BackendName): Promise<void> {
+	const wasPlaying = isPlaying();
+	const ep = currentEpisode();
+	const pos = position();
+	const vol = volume();
+	const spd = speed();
+
+	if (backend) {
+		stopPolling();
+		backend.dispose();
+		backend = null;
+	}
+
+	backend = createAudioBackend(name);
+	setBackendName(backend.name);
+	setAvailablePlayers(detectPlayers());
+
+	// Resume playback if we were playing
+	if (wasPlaying && ep && ep.audioUrl) {
+		try {
+			const feed = feedForEpisode(useFeedStore().feeds(), ep);
+			const podcastTitle = feed?.customName || feed?.podcast.title || "";
+			const url =
+				useDownloadStore().getDownloadedFilePath(ep.id) ?? ep.audioUrl;
+			const coverArtPath = await resolveCoverArt(
+				feed?.podcast.coverUrl ?? ep.imageUrl,
+				"cache",
+			);
+			await backend.play(url, {
+				startPosition: pos,
+				volume: vol,
+				speed: spd,
+mediaTitle: ep.title,
+				coverArtPath: coverArtPath ?? undefined,
+			});
+			setIsPlaying(true);
+			startedPlayback = true;
+			startPolling();
+		} catch (err) {
+			setError(err instanceof Error ? err.message : "Backend switch failed");
+			setIsPlaying(false);
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+/** Serialized restore chain: the boot-triggered restore and any explicit
+ *  call run one after another, so a late-finishing earlier restore can never
+ *  overwrite state changed by a later one (and callers can await the latest
+ *  attempt deterministically). */
+let restoreChain: Promise<void> = Promise.resolve();
+
+/**
+ * Boot-time session restore: reload the episode that was loaded in the
+ * player when the previous run ended (persisted on play/load and at exit),
+ * paused at its saved position — never autostarted. Episodes at/above the
+ * completion threshold are skipped. Silently no-ops when there is nothing
+ * to restore (empty player, unsubscribed show, or completed episode).
+ */
+export async function restoreLastSession(): Promise<void> {
+	const attempt = restoreChain.then(async () => {
+		const marker = await loadLastPlayerFromFile();
+		if (!marker?.episodeId) return;
+
+		// Feeds and progress load asynchronously at boot; wait for both
+		// before looking the episode up.
+		await Promise.all([
+			useProgressStore().whenReady(),
+			useFeedStore().whenReady(),
+		]);
+
+		const episode = useFeedStore().findEpisode(marker.episodeId);
+		if (!episode) return;
+
+		// Only restore episodes below the completion threshold.
+		const saved = useProgressStore().get(episode.id);
+		if (!isRestoreEligible(saved)) return;
+
+		await load(episode);
+	});
+	// Keep the chain alive even when an attempt fails; the caller awaiting
+	// this attempt still observes its own outcome.
+	restoreChain = attempt.catch(() => {});
+	await attempt;
+}
+
+// ── Episode queue navigation ──────────────────────────────────────────────
+// `next`/`prev` (and the end-of-episode auto-advance in finalizeTrackEnd)
+// move within the ordered list of the source that STARTED the current
+// episode: the Feed's chronological list, the current show's episodes, or
+// the search results (see utils/audio-queue). Module-level so
+// finalizeTrackEnd can auto-advance without a mounted hook owner.
+
+const audioNav = useAudioNavStore();
+
+/** The ordered playable episodes for the source that started playback. */
+function queueForCurrentSource(): Episode[] {
+	const feedStore = useFeedStore();
+	return queueForSource(
+		audioNav.getSource(),
+		audioNav.getPodcastId(),
+		feedStore.feeds(),
+		feedStore.getAllEpisodesChronological(),
+		useSearchStore().results(),
+	);
+}
+
+async function next(): Promise<void> {
+	const current = currentEpisode();
+	if (!current) return;
+	const step = nextStep(queueForCurrentSource(), current.id);
+	// A duplicated queue entry (same episode id twice) must not make
+	// "next" replay the CURRENT episode — that would reload it from
+	// saved progress and audibly repeat already-played audio.
+	if (!step || step.episode.id === current.id) return;
+	await play(step.episode);
+	audioNav.next(step.index);
+}
+
+async function prev(): Promise<void> {
+	const current = currentEpisode();
+	if (!current) return;
+
+	// Standard transport behavior: past 30s in, "prev" restarts the current
+	// episode; before that it steps back within the source queue.
+	const NAV_START_THRESHOLD = 30;
+	const currentPos = position();
+	const currentDur = duration();
+	if (currentPos > NAV_START_THRESHOLD && currentDur > 0) {
+		await seek(NAV_START_THRESHOLD);
+		return;
+	}
+
+	const step = prevStep(queueForCurrentSource(), current.id);
+	if (!step) return;
+	await play(step.episode);
+	audioNav.prev(step.index);
+}
+
+// ── Event bus commands ────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+// Registered once per process (in createAudioEngine), not per hook owner.
+// Every handler is no-op-safe when the backend is absent (e.g. after the
+// last owner disposed it).
+
+let eventListenersRegistered = false;
+function registerEventListeners(): void {
+	if (eventListenersRegistered) return;
+	eventListenersRegistered = true;
+
+	on("player.play", async (data) => {
+		// External play requests — currently just tracks episodeId.
+		// Episode lookup would require feed store integration.
+	});
+
+	on("player.stop", async () => {
+		if (backend && isPlaying()) {
+			await backend.stop();
+			setIsPlaying(false);
+			setPosition(0);
+			setCurrentEpisode(null);
+			stopPolling();
+		}
+	});
+
+	// Global multimedia key events (from useMultimediaKeys)
+	on("media.toggle", async () => {
+		await togglePlayback();
+	});
+
+	on("media.volumeUp", async () => {
+		await doSetVolume(Math.min(1, Number((volume() + 0.05).toFixed(2))));
+	});
+
+	on("media.volumeDown", async () => {
+		await doSetVolume(Math.max(0, Number((volume() - 0.05).toFixed(2))));
+	});
+
+	on("media.speedCycle", async () => {
+		const next = speed() >= 2 ? 0.5 : Number((speed() + 0.25).toFixed(2));
+		await doSetSpeed(next);
+	});
+}
+
+/** Lazily create the shared backend on first use. Called from useAudio's
+ *  boot path (the old hook created it eagerly; tests and the mpv IPC test
+ *  rely on the backend existing before the first play). */
+export function ensureEngineBackend(): AudioBackend {
+	return ensureBackend();
+}
+
+/** Full engine teardown for when the last hook owner unmounts: stop the
+ *  poll, dispose the backend, and clear the OS media session. (The
+ *  process-exit teardown in useAudio does the same minus the media clear,
+ *  since the process is ending.) */
+export function disposeEngineBackend(): void {
+	stopPolling();
+	if (backend) {
+		backend.dispose();
+		backend = null;
+	}
+	// Clear media registry on full teardown
+	useMediaRegistry().clearNowPlaying();
+}
+
+/** Stop the poll — one-line wrapper so the process-exit teardown in
+ *  useAudio doesn't reach into engine internals. */
+export function stopEnginePolling(): void {
+	stopPolling();
+}
+
+/** The current backend (or null), for useAudio's exit-time dispose. */
+export function getEngineBackend(): AudioBackend | null {
+	return backend;
+}
+
+let engineInstance: AudioEngine | null = null;
+
+/** Build (once) and return the process-wide audio engine. Side-effect-free:
+ *  the backend is created lazily on the first play/load, and the event-bus
+ *  listeners are registered here. */
+export function createAudioEngine(): AudioEngine {
+	if (engineInstance) return engineInstance;
+	registerEventListeners();
+	engineInstance = {
+		isPlaying,
+		position,
+		duration,
+		volume,
+		speed,
+		backendName,
+		error,
+		currentEpisode,
+
+		play,
+		load,
+		pause,
+		resume,
+		togglePlayback,
+		stop,
+		seek,
+		seekRelative,
+		setVolume: doSetVolume,
+		setSpeed: doSetSpeed,
+		prev,
+		next,
+	};
+	return engineInstance;
+}

src/utils/audio-player.ts

@@ -579,8 +579,12 @@ export class MpvBackend implements AudioBackend {
 		if (pausedSeek) {
 			// time-pos sent before file-loaded is silently dropped by mpv
 			// (no file yet) — the preload then parked at 0 and the restore
-			// position was lost. Wait for the open, then seek.
-			await fileLoaded;
+			// position was lost. Wait for the open, then seek. A dead URL
+			// never fires file-loaded at all (mpv keeps retrying the
+			// open), so end-file (the open-failure notification) races it
+			// and the wait folds to "not loaded" instead of stalling the
+			// load mutex for the full 5s timeout.
+			await Promise.race([fileLoaded, this.conn?.waitEvent("end-file", 5000)]);
 			await this.send(["set_property", "time-pos", pausedSeek]);
 			this._position = pausedSeek;
 		}

src/utils/cavacore.ts

@@ -95,6 +95,8 @@ export class CavaCore {
 	private _bars = 0;
 	private _channels = 1;
 	private _destroyed = false;
+	/** Serialized last init config — identical init() calls are no-ops. */
+	private lastConfigKey = "";
 
 	/** Use loadCavaCore() instead of constructing directly. */
 	constructor(lib: CavaLib) {
@@ -112,15 +114,25 @@ export class CavaCore {
 
 	/**
 	 * Initialize the cavacore engine with the given configuration.
-	 * Must be called before execute(). Can be called again after destroy()
-	 * to reinitialize with different parameters.
+	 * Must be called before execute(). Identical configs are a no-op:
+	 * cava_init/destroy churn leaks the old plan's FFTW work buffers
+	 * (upstream frees only its own struct), so a pipeline restart with
+	 * unchanged bars/rate/cutoffs must re-USE the live plan.
 	 */
 	init(config: CavaCoreConfig = {}): void {
+		const cfg = { ...DEFAULTS, ...config };
+		if (
+			this.plan !== null &&
+			!this._destroyed &&
+			this.lastConfigKey === JSON.stringify(cfg)
+		) {
+			return;
+		}
+		this.lastConfigKey = JSON.stringify(cfg);
 		if (this.plan) {
 			this.destroy();
 		}
 
-		const cfg = { ...DEFAULTS, ...config };
 		this._bars = cfg.bars;
 		this._channels = cfg.channels;
 

src/utils/episode-downloader.ts

@@ -124,17 +124,17 @@ export async function downloadEpisode(
       }
     }
 
-    const reader = body.getReader()
-    const chunks: Uint8Array[] = []
+    const fileWriter = Bun.file(filePath).writer()
     let bytesDownloaded = 0
     let lastProgressTime = Date.now()
     let lastProgressBytes = 0
 
+    const reader = body.getReader()
     while (true) {
       const { done, value } = await reader.read()
       if (done) break
 
-      chunks.push(value)
+      fileWriter.write(value)
       bytesDownloaded += value.length
 
       // Report progress roughly every 250ms
@@ -152,22 +152,14 @@ export async function downloadEpisode(
       }
     }
 
-    // Concatenate chunks and write to file
-    const totalSize = bytesDownloaded
-    const buffer = new Uint8Array(totalSize)
-    let offset = 0
-    for (const chunk of chunks) {
-      buffer.set(chunk, offset)
-      offset += chunk.length
-    }
-
-    await Bun.write(filePath, buffer)
+    // Finalize the streamed file
+    await fileWriter.end()
 
     // Final progress report
     if (onProgress) {
       onProgress({
-        bytesDownloaded: totalSize,
-        totalBytes: contentLength || totalSize,
+        bytesDownloaded,
+        totalBytes: contentLength || bytesDownloaded,
         percent: 100,
         speed: 0,
       })
@@ -176,7 +168,7 @@ export async function downloadEpisode(
     return {
       success: true,
       filePath,
-      fileSize: totalSize,
+      fileSize: bytesDownloaded,
     }
   } catch (err: unknown) {
     if (err instanceof DOMException && err.name === "AbortError") {

src/utils/episode-windows.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,111 @@
+/**
+ * Episode cache-window math — shared by the feed store's refresh, retention,
+ * and fetch-more paging paths. Pure module: no Solid, no store imports.
+ */
+
+import type { Episode } from "../types/episode";
+import { episodeSignature } from "./episode-merge";
+import { episodeInWindow } from "./feeds-persistence";
+
+/** Floor on the visible episode window for a subscribed show: at least this
+ *  many most-recent episodes always load, regardless of a stricter count or
+ *  date cache bound. */
+const MIN_EPISODES_PER_SHOW = 5;
+
+/** Fetch-more step in date mode: each press reveals the next two weeks of
+ *  episodes past the oldest loaded one, instead of a fixed episode count. */
+const FETCH_MORE_WINDOW_DAYS = 14;
+
+/** Timestamp for window math — undated episodes sort/compare as NEWEST
+ *  (Infinity) so they can never be excluded by a date cutoff. */
+export const episodeTs = (ep: Episode): number => {
+	const t = ep.pubDate?.getTime();
+	return t === undefined || Number.isNaN(t) ? Infinity : t;
+};
+
+/** Read the episode cache bound from preferences: a closure that decides
+ *  whether the episode at `index` (0 = newest, after sort) is kept. The five
+ *  most-recent episodes of a subscribed show always stay (MIN_EPISODES_PER_SHOW),
+ *  overriding a stricter count or date bound so every show surfaces at least
+ *  five episodes. */
+export function episodeKeepFn(
+	prefs: {
+		episodeCacheMode: "date" | "count";
+		episodeCacheCount: number;
+		episodeCacheDays: number;
+	},
+	now?: Date,
+): (ep: Episode, index: number) => boolean {
+	const at = now ?? new Date();
+	if (prefs.episodeCacheMode === "count") {
+		const count = Math.max(1, prefs.episodeCacheCount);
+		return (_ep: Episode, index: number) =>
+			index < Math.max(count, MIN_EPISODES_PER_SHOW);
+	}
+	const days = Math.max(1, prefs.episodeCacheDays);
+	return (ep: Episode, index: number) =>
+		index < MIN_EPISODES_PER_SHOW || episodeInWindow(ep, at, days);
+}
+
+/** Date-mode fetch-more cutoff: the oldest loaded episode's pubDate minus the
+ *  2-week band. With nothing loaded (a show whose episodes all fall outside
+ *  the cache window), the band anchors at the cache-window edge (now minus
+ *  the configured days) — a dormant show can't drag in arbitrarily old
+ *  episodes just because the button is pressed. */
+export const dateFetchMoreCutoff = (
+	cached: Episode[],
+	loaded: number,
+	windowDays: number,
+): number => {
+	if (loaded > 0) {
+		const t = episodeTs(cached[loaded - 1]);
+		if (Number.isFinite(t)) {
+			return t - FETCH_MORE_WINDOW_DAYS * 24 * 3600 * 1000;
+		}
+	}
+	// Nothing loaded: the band extends FETCH_MORE_WINDOW_DAYS before the
+	// cache-window edge (e.g. 60d → reveals the 60–74d slice).
+	return (
+		Date.now() -
+		Math.max(1, windowDays) * 24 * 3600 * 1000 -
+		FETCH_MORE_WINDOW_DAYS * 24 * 3600 * 1000
+	);
+};
+
+/** Episodes the date band adds past the loaded window: count forward while
+ *  each next cached episode still falls on/after the cutoff. The single
+ *  implementation behind both fetch-more paths (one feed / all feeds) — an
+ *  empty band adds nothing, which doubles as the "has more" guard. */
+export function dateBandCount(
+	cached: Episode[],
+	loaded: number,
+	cutoff: number,
+): number {
+	let count = loaded;
+	while (count < cached.length && episodeTs(cached[count]) >= cutoff) {
+		count++;
+	}
+	return count;
+}
+
+/** True when the freshly fetched window matches the corresponding PREFIX of
+ *  the existing episode list (id-set equality, order-insensitive). With
+ *  union semantics the merged list legitimately contains episodes BEYOND the
+ *  fetched window, so unchanged-detection must compare the fetched window
+ *  against the existing list's prefix — comparing full lists would bump
+ *  `lastUpdated` on every refresh. When ids drifted between refreshes (the
+ *  one-time positional-id migration, or a feed that rotates enclosure URLs)
+ *  the id sets differ for the SAME content, so a content-signature
+ *  comparison decides: an unchanged feed stays unchanged. */
+export function sameRefreshWindow(
+	existing: Episode[],
+	fetched: Episode[],
+): boolean {
+	if (fetched.length === 0) return true;
+	const prefix = existing.slice(0, fetched.length);
+	const ids = new Set(prefix.map((e) => e.id));
+	if (fetched.every((e) => ids.has(e.id))) return true;
+	if (prefix.length !== fetched.length) return false;
+	const signatures = new Set(prefix.map(episodeSignature));
+	return fetched.every((e) => signatures.has(episodeSignature(e)));
+}

src/utils/feeds-persistence.ts

@@ -83,6 +83,18 @@ function reviveDates(feed: Feed): Feed {
 		})),
 	};
 }
+
+/** Config-legacy baggage: search-time parseRSSFeed once embedded the full
+ *  episode history inside podcast.episodes (2,100+ stale copies, 3.8 MB of
+ *  config). Nothing reads them — feed.episodes is the source of truth — so
+ *  every load/save drops them. */
+function stripLegacyPodcastEpisodes(feed: Feed): Feed {
+	if (!("episodes" in feed.podcast)) return feed;
+	const { episodes: _legacy, ...podcast } = feed.podcast;
+	void _legacy;
+	return { ...feed, podcast: podcast as Feed["podcast"] };
+}
+
 /** Load feeds from config.json, pruning episodes outside the retention
  *  window (completed downloads always kept). When anything was pruned, the
  *  pruned list is rewritten to config.json (startup cleanup for legacy
@@ -93,7 +105,9 @@ export async function loadFeedsFromFile(
 	try {
 		const cfg = await loadConfig();
 		if (!Array.isArray(cfg.feeds)) return [];
-		const feeds = cfg.feeds.map(reviveDates);
+		const feeds = cfg.feeds
+			.map(reviveDates)
+			.map(stripLegacyPodcastEpisodes);
 		const downloadedIds = await readDownloadedEpisodeIds();
 		const now = new Date();
 		let prunedAny = false;
@@ -122,7 +136,9 @@ export function saveFeedsToFile(feeds: Feed[], windowDays?: number): void {
 	(async () => {
 		try {
 			const downloadedIds = await readDownloadedEpisodeIds();
-			const pruned = feeds.map((f) => ({
+			const pruned = feeds
+				.map(stripLegacyPodcastEpisodes)
+				.map((f) => ({
 					...f,
 					episodes: f.episodes.filter((ep) =>
 						episodeIsPersistable(ep, downloadedIds, new Date(), windowDays),

src/utils/layer-graph.ts

@@ -1,11 +1,11 @@
 /**
  * layer-graph — maps each TAB id to its page component + pane count.
  *
- * Split out of `navigation.ts` so that the nav-model primitives (TABS,
- * TabsCount, DEPTH_TABS, rootFrameFor, TabPaneCount, PANE_RATIO) in
- * `navigation.ts` stay free of any `.tsx` / JSX imports. This lets unit tests
- * import the pure navigation store without pulling the OpenTUI JSX runtime
- * (which is only provided by the build-time @opentui/solid bun-plugin).
+ * Split out of `navigation.ts` so that the navigation primitives (TABS,
+ * TabsCount, DEPTH_TABS, rootFrameFor, TabPaneCount) stay free of any
+ * `.tsx` / JSX imports. This lets unit tests import the pure navigation
+ * store without pulling the OpenTUI JSX runtime (which is only provided by
+ * the build-time @opentui/solid bun-plugin).
  *
  * The page modules live alongside their pages and export `<count>PaneCount`
  * constants describing how many focusable panes each fixed page owns.

src/utils/navigation.ts

@@ -49,22 +49,10 @@ export function rootFrameFor(
 	}
 }
 
-// The per-tab page components + pane counts live in `src/utils/layer-graph.ts`,
-// split out so this module stays free of `.tsx`/JSX imports (unit-testable).
-
-// Yazi-style pane grow ratios (parent : current : preview). Panes use
-// flexGrow (Yoga) so columns always sum to the row width regardless of
-// terminal size — more robust than fixed percentages and exactly mirrors
-// yazi's `mgr.ratio` config. Set a slot's ratio to 0 to hide it (2-pane tabs).
-//
-// Current ratios: parent : current : preview = 2 : 5 : 3, i.e. 20% / 50% / 30%
-// of the row width (2 : 5 : 3 of 10). 2-pane tabs drop the preview slot and
-// give `current` the combined 8/10 (80%).
-export const PANE_RATIO = {
-	parent: 2,
-	current: 5,
-	preview: 3,
-} as const;
+// Pane sizes are now user-resizable: the split positions (fractions of the
+// row width) live in the shared pane-layout store (`@/stores/pane-layout`),
+// which `PaneRow` consumes. `PANE_RATIO` was removed — see DEFAULT_PANE_SPLITS
+// (0.2 / 0.7) for the historical 2:5:3 start.
 
 // Number of *focusable* content panes per tab. The three visible columns
 // (parent | current | preview) are a *render* concern, NOT three panes — for

src/utils/nested-scroll.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,74 @@
+/**
+ * Nested scroll sections favor the innermost one under the cursor.
+ *
+ * opentui bubbles a wheel event up the renderable tree, so every ancestor
+ * `ScrollBoxRenderable` that has room to move scrolls — nested sections (e.g.
+ * the episode-description scrollbox inside a page's list pane) scroll in
+ * lockstep. This patches the scrollbox's wheel handler so the innermost
+ * scrollbox under the cursor wins instead:
+ *
+ *   • The first scrollbox that can move in the wheel's direction scrolls and
+ *     stops propagation, so its ancestors don't also scroll.
+ *   • When it is already at its boundary it lets the next outer scrollbox
+ *     take over (wheel chaining), matching typical nested-scroll UX.
+ */
+
+import { ScrollBoxRenderable } from "@opentui/core";
+import type { MouseEvent } from "@opentui/core";
+
+type ScrollDir = "up" | "down" | "left" | "right";
+
+// The scrollbox's own wheel handler (scrolls, then bubbles to its parent).
+const original = (ScrollBoxRenderable.prototype as unknown as {
+	onMouseEvent: (event: MouseEvent) => void;
+}).onMouseEvent;
+
+let installed = false;
+
+/** True when `sb` has room to move in `dir` from its current position. */
+function canScroll(sb: ScrollBoxRenderable, dir: ScrollDir): boolean {
+	const maxTop = Math.max(0, sb.scrollHeight - sb.viewport.height);
+	const maxLeft = Math.max(0, sb.scrollWidth - sb.viewport.width);
+	switch (dir) {
+		case "up":
+			return sb.scrollTop > 0;
+		case "down":
+			return sb.scrollTop < maxTop;
+		case "left":
+			return sb.scrollLeft > 0;
+		case "right":
+			return sb.scrollLeft < maxLeft;
+	}
+}
+
+const handleWheel = function (
+	this: ScrollBoxRenderable,
+	event: MouseEvent,
+): void {
+	if (event.type !== "scroll" || !event.scroll?.direction) {
+		original.call(this, event);
+		return;
+	}
+
+	const dir = event.scroll.direction;
+	const effective: ScrollDir = event.modifiers.shift
+		? (dir === "up" ? "left" : dir === "down" ? "right" : dir === "right" ? "down" : "up")
+		: dir;
+
+	const moves = canScroll(this, effective);
+	original.call(this, event);
+	// Only claim the wheel when this box actually moved; otherwise let the
+	// next outer scrollbox (also under the cursor) take over.
+	if (moves) event.stopPropagation();
+};
+
+export function installNestedScrollBehavior(): void {
+	if (installed || typeof original !== "function") return;
+	installed = true;
+	// `onMouseEvent` is a well-known protected method; the cast only bypasses
+	// TypeScript's protected-access check and trusts the shipped class shape.
+	const scrollboxProto = ScrollBoxRenderable.prototype as unknown as {
+		onMouseEvent: typeof handleWheel;
+	};
+	scrollboxProto.onMouseEvent = handleWheel;
+}

src/utils/rss-client.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+/**
+ * RSS feed client — single owner of feed XML fetches: headers, timeout,
+ * and failure folding to null.
+ */
+
+/** Default per-feed fetch timeout (ms). */
+export const FETCH_TIMEOUT_MS = 20_000;
+
+/**
+ * Fetch a feed's raw XML. Identity encoding keeps the response raw; the
+ * Accept list matches what podcast servers send. Any failure (network,
+ * non-ok, timeout) resolves to null — callers must leave data untouched.
+ */
+export const fetchFeedXml = async (
+  url: string,
+  opts?: { timeoutMs?: number },
+): Promise<string | null> => {
+  try {
+    const response = await fetch(url, {
+      headers: {
+        "Accept-Encoding": "identity",
+        Accept: "application/rss+xml, application/xml, text/xml, */*",
+      },
+      signal: AbortSignal.timeout(opts?.timeoutMs ?? FETCH_TIMEOUT_MS),
+    });
+    if (!response.ok) return null;
+    return await response.text();
+  } catch {
+    return null;
+  }
+};

src/utils/search.ts

@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import { searchSourceByType, searchEpisodesByType } from "./source-searcher";
 import { parseRSSFeed } from "../api/rss-parser";
+import { fetchFeedXml } from "./rss-client";
 import { SourceType } from "../types/source";
 import type { PodcastSource, SearchResult } from "../types/source";
 
@@ -81,16 +82,13 @@ export const searchByFeedUrl = async (
   if (!FEED_URL_RE.test(trimmed)) return [];
 
   try {
-    const response = await fetch(trimmed, {
-      headers: {
-        "Accept-Encoding": "identity",
-        Accept: "application/rss+xml, application/xml, text/xml, */*",
-      },
-    });
-    if (!response.ok) return [];
-
-    const xml = await response.text();
-    const podcast = parseRSSFeed(xml, trimmed);
+    const xml = await fetchFeedXml(trimmed);
+    if (xml === null) return [];
+    // Full parse's episodes are dead weight here (2,100+ stale copies were
+    // previously persisted inside Feed.podcast): addFeed refetches through
+    // fetchEpisodes and nothing reads Podcast.episodes off a search result.
+    const { episodes: _episodes, ...podcast } = parseRSSFeed(xml, trimmed);
+    void _episodes;
 
     return [
       {

src/utils/source-registry.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,59 @@
+/**
+ * Source registry — owns the podcast source list and its immediate file
+ * persistence. The feed store seeds it at boot and wires the loaded list in.
+ */
+
+import { createSignal } from "solid-js";
+import type { PodcastSource } from "../types/source";
+import { saveSourcesToFile } from "./feeds-persistence";
+
+/** Create a source registry around the given initial list. Every mutation
+ *  persists immediately (async, fire-and-forget) — source edits are rare
+ *  and must not sit in a debounce window across a process exit. */
+export function createSourceRegistry(initial: PodcastSource[]) {
+	const [sources, setSources] = createSignal<PodcastSource[]>([...initial]);
+
+	/** Swap in a fully rebuilt list WITHOUT persisting — the boot-time
+	 *  loader saves only when its migration actually changed data. */
+	const replaceAll = (list: PodcastSource[]): void => {
+		setSources(list);
+	};
+
+	const addSource = (source: Omit<PodcastSource, "id">): PodcastSource => {
+		const newSource: PodcastSource = {
+			...source,
+			id: crypto.randomUUID(),
+		};
+		setSources((prev) => {
+			const updated = [...prev, newSource];
+			saveSourcesToFile(updated);
+			return updated;
+		});
+		return newSource;
+	};
+
+	const updateSource = (
+		sourceId: string,
+		updates: Partial<PodcastSource>,
+	): void => {
+		setSources((prev) => {
+			const updated = prev.map((source) =>
+				source.id === sourceId ? { ...source, ...updates } : source,
+			);
+			saveSourcesToFile(updated);
+			return updated;
+		});
+	};
+
+	const toggleSource = (sourceId: string): void => {
+		setSources((prev) => {
+			const updated = prev.map((s) =>
+				s.id === sourceId ? { ...s, enabled: !s.enabled } : s,
+			);
+			saveSourcesToFile(updated);
+			return updated;
+		});
+	};
+
+	return { sources, replaceAll, addSource, updateSource, toggleSource };
+}

tests/cavacore-init-reuse.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,58 @@
+/**
+ * CavaCore.init() must be a no-op for an identical config: re-initializing
+ * the same plan leaks the old plan's native FFTW work buffers, so pipeline
+ * restarts (focus/episode churn) have to re-USE the live plan.
+ */
+import { test, expect } from "bun:test"
+import { CavaCore } from "../src/utils/cavacore"
+
+function stubLib() {
+  const calls = { init: 0, destroy: 0 }
+  let plans = 0
+  const lib = {
+    symbols: {
+      cava_init: () => {
+        calls.init++
+        return { p: ++plans }
+      },
+      cava_execute: () => {},
+      cava_destroy: () => {
+        calls.destroy++
+      },
+    },
+    close: () => {},
+  }
+  return { lib, calls }
+}
+
+test("identical init config reuses the plan", () => {
+  const { lib, calls } = stubLib()
+  const cava = new CavaCore(lib as never)
+  const cfg = { bars: 64, sampleRate: 22050, channels: 1, autosens: 0 }
+  cava.init(cfg)
+  cava.init(cfg)
+  cava.init(cfg)
+  expect(calls.init).toBe(1)
+  expect(cava.isReady).toBe(true)
+})
+
+test("changed config re-inits, destroying the old plan", () => {
+  const { lib, calls } = stubLib()
+  const cava = new CavaCore(lib as never)
+  cava.init({ bars: 64, sampleRate: 22050, channels: 1, autosens: 0 })
+  cava.init({ bars: 32, sampleRate: 22050, channels: 1, autosens: 0 })
+  expect(calls.init).toBe(2)
+  expect(calls.destroy).toBe(1)
+  expect(cava.bars).toBe(32)
+})
+
+test("init after destroy creates a fresh plan", () => {
+  const { lib, calls } = stubLib()
+  const cava = new CavaCore(lib as never)
+  const cfg = { bars: 64, sampleRate: 22050, channels: 1, autosens: 0 }
+  cava.init(cfg)
+  cava.destroy()
+  cava.init(cfg)
+  expect(calls.init).toBe(2)
+  expect(cava.isReady).toBe(true)
+})

tests/feed-retention.test.ts

@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@ import { whenConfigIdle } from "../src/utils/config";
 import { FeedVisibility } from "../src/types/feed";
 import type { Feed } from "../src/types/feed";
 import type { Episode } from "../src/types/episode";
+import type { PodcastWithEpisodes } from "../src/types/podcast";
 
 const configJsonPath = join(configHome, "podtui", "config.json");
 const downloadsJsonPath = join(configHome, "podtui", "downloads.json");
@@ -169,6 +170,73 @@ test("DEFAULT_EPISODE_WINDOW_DAYS is 60", () => {
 	expect(DEFAULT_EPISODE_WINDOW_DAYS).toBe(60);
 });
 
+// ── Legacy podcast.episodes baggage ────────────────────────────────────────
+
+test("saveFeedsToFile strips legacy podcast.episodes from the persisted feed", async () => {
+	const feed = makeFeed([
+		makeEpisode({ id: "recent-id", pubDate: new Date(Date.now() - 5 * DAY) }),
+	]);
+	// Simulate the pre-fix shape: parseRSSFeed's full history embedded on
+	// the podcast object (841 stale copies were persisted this way).
+	const podcastWithLegacy = feed.podcast as PodcastWithEpisodes;
+	podcastWithLegacy.episodes = [
+		makeEpisode({ id: "stale-history-1" }),
+		makeEpisode({ id: "stale-history-2" }),
+	];
+
+	saveFeedsToFile([feed]);
+	await settleWrites();
+	const raw = await Bun.file(configJsonPath).json();
+	expect("episodes" in raw.feeds[0].podcast).toBe(false);
+});
+
+test("loadFeedsFromFile drops legacy podcast.episodes from a seeded config", async () => {
+	await Bun.write(
+		configJsonPath,
+		JSON.stringify({
+			feeds: [
+				{
+					id: "feed-1",
+					podcast: {
+						id: "feed-1",
+						title: "Baggage Show",
+						description: "",
+						author: "tester",
+						feedUrl: "https://example.com/baggage.xml",
+						lastUpdated: new Date().toISOString(),
+						isSubscribed: true,
+						episodes: [
+							{ id: "huge-stale-1", title: "archived copy" },
+							{ id: "huge-stale-2", title: "archived copy" },
+						],
+					},
+					episodes: [
+						{
+							id: "recent-id",
+							podcastId: "feed-1",
+							title: "Recent",
+							description: "",
+							audioUrl: "https://example.com/audio/recent.mp3",
+							duration: 60,
+							pubDate: new Date().toISOString(),
+						},
+					],
+					visibility: "public",
+					sourceId: "source-1",
+					lastUpdated: new Date().toISOString(),
+					isPinned: false,
+				},
+			],
+		}),
+	);
+
+	const feeds = await loadFeedsFromFile();
+
+	expect(feeds).toHaveLength(1);
+	expect(feeds[0].episodes.map((e) => e.id)).toEqual(["recent-id"]);
+	expect("episodes" in feeds[0].podcast).toBe(false);
+});
+
 // ── Save path: retention window applied with completed-download exemption ──
 
 test("saveFeedsToFile prunes over-window episodes but keeps completed downloads", async () => {

tests/feed-volatile-merge.test.ts

@@ -329,7 +329,7 @@ test("date mode: episodes outside the 60-day window never enter the list", async
 	expect(store.getFeed(id)!.episodes.length).toBe(600);
 });
 
-test("date mode boundary: 25 days in, 70 days out", async () => {
+test("date mode: the 5 newest episodes load even outside the date window", async () => {
 	const store = useFeedStore();
 	const now = Date.now();
 	servedEpisodes = [
@@ -344,13 +344,15 @@ test("date mode boundary: 25 days in, 70 days out", async () => {
 
 	expect(store.getFeed(id)!.episodes.map((e) => e.title)).toEqual([
 		"In Window",
+		"Out Window",
 	]);
-	// The 70d episode is ~45 days past the 2-week band beyond the oldest
-	// loaded episode (25d → 39d band): a sparse show must NOT drag it in.
+	// The 70d episode is the second-newest available, so the min-5 floor
+	// pulls it in despite the 60-day cache window.
 	expect(store.hasMoreEpisodes(id)).toBe(false);
 	await store.loadMoreEpisodes(id);
 	expect(store.getFeed(id)!.episodes.map((e) => e.title)).toEqual([
 		"In Window",
+		"Out Window",
 	]);
 });
 
@@ -369,17 +371,19 @@ test("date mode: a dormant show (nothing in the window or next band) never fetch
 	const id = feed!.id;
 	addedFeedIds.push(id);
 
-	expect(store.getFeed(id)!.episodes.length).toBe(0);
+	// The min-5 floor surfaces the show's only 2 episodes; it still cannot
+	// fetch-more (nothing further exists to load).
+	expect(store.getFeed(id)!.episodes.length).toBe(2);
 	expect(store.hasMoreEpisodes(id)).toBe(false);
 	await store.loadMoreEpisodes(id);
-	expect(store.getFeed(id)!.episodes.length).toBe(0);
+	expect(store.getFeed(id)!.episodes.length).toBe(2);
 });
 
 test("date mode: episodes just outside the window load via the band anchored at the window edge", async () => {
 	const store = useFeedStore();
 	const now = Date.now();
-	// Both episodes are outside the 60-day window (61d / 65d) but inside the
-	// 14-day band past its edge (60d → 74d) — fetch-more reveals them.
+	// Both episodes are outside the 60-day window (61d / 65d); the min-5
+	// floor loads them at subscribe time regardless.
 	servedEpisodes = [
 		{ title: "Just Out A", date: new Date(now - 61 * DAY).toISOString() },
 		{ title: "Just Out B", date: new Date(now - 65 * DAY).toISOString() },
@@ -390,8 +394,9 @@ test("date mode: episodes just outside the window load via the band anchored at
 	const id = feed!.id;
 	addedFeedIds.push(id);
 
-	expect(store.getFeed(id)!.episodes.length).toBe(0);
-	expect(store.hasMoreEpisodes(id)).toBe(true);
+	// The min-5 floor loads both out-of-window episodes immediately.
+	expect(store.getFeed(id)!.episodes.length).toBe(2);
+	expect(store.hasMoreEpisodes(id)).toBe(false);
 	await store.loadMoreEpisodes(id);
 	expect(store.getFeed(id)!.episodes.map((e) => e.title)).toEqual([
 		"Just Out A",

tests/nested-scroll.test.tsx

@@ -0,0 +1,128 @@
+/**
+ * Nested scroll behavior — the innermost scrollbox under the cursor wins.
+ *
+ * opentui bubbles wheel events up the renderable tree, so without a guard
+ * every ancestor scrollbox scrolls in lockstep. This pins the fix from
+ * `src/utils/nested-scroll.ts`: two nested scrollboxes (an inner one nested
+ * inside an outer one, as a description pane sits inside a list pane) must
+ * treat the wheel as owned by the innermost scrollbox under the cursor, and
+ * only chain out to the outer one when the inner is at its boundary.
+ */
+
+import { describe, test, expect, afterAll } from "bun:test";
+import { testRender } from "@opentui/solid";
+import { installNestedScrollBehavior } from "../src/utils/nested-scroll";
+import type { ScrollBoxRenderable } from "@opentui/core";
+
+installNestedScrollBehavior();
+
+type TestSetup = {
+	renderOnce: () => Promise<void>;
+	mockMouse: {
+		scroll: (x: number, y: number, direction: "up" | "down") => Promise<void>;
+	};
+	renderer: { destroy: () => Promise<void> };
+};
+
+async function renderNested(): Promise<{
+	setup: TestSetup;
+	outer: () => ScrollBoxRenderable;
+	inner: () => ScrollBoxRenderable;
+	destroy: () => Promise<void>;
+}> {
+	let outer: ScrollBoxRenderable | undefined;
+	let inner: ScrollBoxRenderable | undefined;
+	const setup = (await testRender(
+		() => (
+			// Outer spans the full 25-row terminal; the inner scrollbox sits at
+			// rows 3..12 (a top spacer above, a tall spacer below so the outer
+			// has room to scroll). Inner holds 30 rows -> max scroll 20.
+			<box flexDirection="column" width={60} height={25}>
+				<scrollbox ref={(el: ScrollBoxRenderable) => (outer = el)} height="100%">
+					<box height={3} />
+					<scrollbox
+						ref={(el: ScrollBoxRenderable) => (inner = el)}
+						height={10}
+						width="100%"
+					>
+						{Array.from({ length: 30 }, (_, i) => (
+							<box height={1}>
+								<text>row {i}</text>
+							</box>
+						))}
+					</scrollbox>
+					<box height={40} />
+				</scrollbox>
+			</box>
+		),
+		{ width: 60, height: 25, useThread: false },
+	)) as unknown as TestSetup;
+
+	// Give the renderer a chance to compute scrollbox layout (scrollHeight).
+	for (let i = 0; i < 40 && (inner?.scrollHeight ?? 0) <= 10; i++) {
+		await setup.renderOnce();
+		const { promise, resolve } = Promise.withResolvers<void>();
+		setTimeout(resolve, 50);
+		await promise;
+	}
+	if (!inner || !outer) throw new Error("scrollboxes did not render");
+	return {
+		setup,
+		outer: () => outer!,
+		inner: () => inner!,
+		destroy: async () => {
+			setup.renderer.destroy();
+		},
+	};
+}
+
+const cleanups: (() => void | Promise<void>)[] = [];
+afterAll(async () => {
+	for (const c of cleanups) {
+		try {
+			await c();
+		} catch {
+			// renderer already torn down — ignore
+		}
+	}
+});
+
+describe("nested scroll favors the innermost scrollbox under the cursor", () => {
+	test("wheel over the inner section scrolls only the inner scrollbox", async () => {
+		const { setup, inner, outer, destroy } = await renderNested();
+		cleanups.push(destroy);
+		expect(inner().scrollTop).toBe(0);
+		await setup.mockMouse.scroll(5, 5, "down"); // inside inner (rows 3..12)
+		expect(inner().scrollTop).toBe(1);
+		expect(outer().scrollTop).toBe(0);
+	});
+
+	test("wheel over the outer section (outside the inner) scrolls only the outer", async () => {
+		const { setup, inner, outer, destroy } = await renderNested();
+		cleanups.push(destroy);
+		await setup.mockMouse.scroll(5, 20, "down"); // below inner, still in outer
+		expect(outer().scrollTop).toBe(1);
+		expect(inner().scrollTop).toBe(0);
+	});
+
+	test("at the inner's bottom edge the wheel chains out to the outer scrollbox", async () => {
+		const { setup, inner, outer, destroy } = await renderNested();
+		cleanups.push(destroy);
+		for (let i = 0; i < 30; i++) await setup.mockMouse.scroll(5, 5, "down");
+		expect(inner().scrollTop).toBe(20); // pinned at max (30 rows - 10 viewport)
+		const before = outer().scrollTop;
+		await setup.mockMouse.scroll(5, 5, "down");
+		expect(inner().scrollTop).toBe(20); // inner stays pinned
+		expect(outer().scrollTop).toBe(before + 1); // outer took over
+	});
+
+	test("wheel up favors the inner again once it has room above", async () => {
+		const { setup, inner, outer, destroy } = await renderNested();
+		cleanups.push(destroy);
+		await setup.mockMouse.scroll(5, 5, "down");
+		expect(inner().scrollTop).toBe(1);
+		await setup.mockMouse.scroll(5, 5, "up");
+		expect(inner().scrollTop).toBe(0); // inner wins again
+		expect(outer().scrollTop).toBe(0);
+	});
+});

tests/pane-layout-store.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,101 @@
+/**
+ * pane-layout-store.test.ts — the shared pane-split store: splitPixels
+ * clamping, border moves that respect per-pane minimum widths, and
+ * commit() persistence into the app preferences.
+ */
+import { test, expect, beforeAll, afterAll } from "bun:test";
+import { mkdtempSync } from "node:fs";
+import { tmpdir } from "node:os";
+import { join } from "node:path";
+
+// Point the config dir at a throwaway directory BEFORE importing the store
+// (its module-level init reads it).
+process.env.XDG_CONFIG_HOME = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "podtui-panecfg-"));
+
+// The config dir must be set before the module is evaluated, so the app
+// store is loaded dynamically here rather than statically at the top.
+const { splitPixels, createPaneLayoutStore, DEFAULT_PANE_SPLITS } = await import(
+	"../src/stores/pane-layout"
+);
+const { useAppStore } = await import("../src/stores/app");
+
+beforeAll(async () => {
+	await useAppStore().whenReady();
+});
+afterAll(() => {
+	// Restore pristine preferences so a later file sharing this process
+	// (bun test reuses the module registry) renders the default split.
+	useAppStore().updatePreferences({ paneSplit: DEFAULT_PANE_SPLITS });
+});
+
+test("default splits mirror the historical 2:5:3 ratio at width 100", () => {
+	expect(DEFAULT_PANE_SPLITS).toEqual({ left: 0.2, right: 0.7 });
+	const { leftPx, rightPx } = splitPixels(100, DEFAULT_PANE_SPLITS);
+	expect(leftPx).toBe(20);
+	expect(rightPx).toBe(70);
+});
+
+test("splitPixels maps splits 1:1 to pixels (ratio exact at every width)", () => {
+	// Pure fraction→pixel mapping — no minimum enforcement in rendering.
+	expect(splitPixels(100, { left: 0.6, right: 0.7 })).toEqual({
+		leftPx: 60,
+		rightPx: 70,
+	});
+	expect(splitPixels(70, { left: 0.2, right: 0.7 })).toEqual({
+		leftPx: 14,
+		rightPx: 49,
+	});
+});
+
+test("splitPixels handles zero-width and degenerate terminals", () => {
+	expect(splitPixels(0, DEFAULT_PANE_SPLITS)).toEqual({ leftPx: 0, rightPx: 0 });
+	const tiny = splitPixels(40, { left: 0.2, right: 0.7 });
+	expect(tiny.leftPx).toBe(8);
+	expect(tiny.rightPx).toBe(28);
+});
+
+test("setRight clamps the preview to its minimum", () => {
+	const store = createPaneLayoutStore();
+	store.setRight(97, 100); // preview can't shrink below 15
+	expect(store.splits().right).toBeCloseTo(0.85, 5);
+	// The parent minimum also holds when the left border is dragged.
+	store.setLeft(1, 100);
+	expect(store.splits().left).toBeCloseTo(0.15, 5);
+});
+
+test("setLeft moves the border and normalizes stored fractions", () => {
+	const store = createPaneLayoutStore();
+	store.setLeft(40, 100);
+	expect(store.splits().left).toBeCloseTo(0.4, 5);
+	expect(store.splits().right).toBeCloseTo(0.7, 5);
+});
+
+test("setLeft below the parent minimum clamps up", () => {
+	const store = createPaneLayoutStore();
+	store.setLeft(5, 100);
+	expect(store.splits().left).toBeCloseTo(0.15, 5);
+});
+
+test("setLeft beyond the current minimum forces the right border right", () => {
+	const store = createPaneLayoutStore();
+	store.setLeft(60, 100);
+	expect(store.splits().left).toBeCloseTo(0.55, 5);
+	expect(store.splits().right).toBeCloseTo(0.85, 5);
+});
+
+test("setRight respects the current and preview minimums", () => {
+	const store = createPaneLayoutStore();
+	store.setRight(80, 100);
+	expect(store.splits().right).toBeCloseTo(0.8, 5);
+	store.setRight(40, 100); // must not cross below leftPx(20) + minCurrent(30)
+	expect(store.splits().right).toBeCloseTo(0.5, 5);
+});
+
+test("commit persists the split into the app preferences", async () => {
+	const store = createPaneLayoutStore();
+	store.setLeft(35, 100);
+	store.commit();
+	await useAppStore().whenReady();
+	expect(useAppStore().state().preferences.paneSplit.left).toBeCloseTo(0.35, 5);
+	expect(useAppStore().state().preferences.paneSplit.right).toBeCloseTo(0.7, 5);
+});

tests/pane-resize.test.tsx

@@ -0,0 +1,209 @@
+/**
+ * pane-resize.test.tsx — dragging the center column's borders actually
+ * resizes the panes in a rendered PaneRow.
+ *
+ * Each pane renders a long run of a unique character (P / C / V). A line
+ * where all three meet encodes the boundary columns directly: the current
+ * pane carries the only borders (cols `leftPx` and `rightPx - 1`), so its
+ * content starts one column in — `leftPx + 1`. Hence
+ * `leftPx = firstC - 1`, `rightPx = firstV`.
+ *
+ * The grab zones overlay each border: 3 columns wide, the border plus one
+ * help-padded column each side (left zone at [left-1, left+1], right zone
+ * at [right-2, right)). The test presses inside a zone and drags across
+ * the row — the drag bubbles to the row container which moves the split,
+ * so the panes must re-render at the new columns.
+ */
+import { test, expect, afterAll } from "bun:test";
+import { testRender } from "@opentui/solid";
+import { ThemeProvider } from "../src/context/ThemeContext";
+import { PaneRow } from "../src/components/PaneRow";
+import { usePaneLayout } from "../src/stores/pane-layout";
+import { mkdtempSync, rmSync } from "node:fs";
+import { tmpdir } from "node:os";
+import { join } from "node:path";
+
+// Point the config dir at a throwaway directory BEFORE importing the store
+// (module-level init reads it).
+const configHome = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "podtui-paneresize-"));
+process.env.XDG_CONFIG_HOME = configHome;
+
+type Span = { text: string };
+type Frame = { cols: number; lines: { spans: Span[] }[] };
+
+interface BoundCols {
+	left: number;
+	right: number;
+}
+
+function readBounds(frame: Frame): BoundCols {
+	const line = frame.lines
+		.map((l) => l.spans.map((s) => s.text).join(""))
+		.find((l) => l.includes("C"));
+	if (!line) throw new Error("pane row did not render");
+	return { left: line.indexOf("C") - 1, right: line.indexOf("V") };
+}
+
+async function renderRow(panes: 2 | 3 = 3) {
+	const setup = (await testRender(
+		() => (
+			<ThemeProvider mode="dark">
+				<PaneRow
+					parent={<text selectable={false}>{"P".repeat(300)}</text>}
+					current={<text selectable={false}>{"C".repeat(600)}</text>}
+					preview={<text selectable={false}>{"V".repeat(300)}</text>}
+					currentLabel=""
+					panes={panes}
+				/>
+			</ThemeProvider>
+		),
+		{ width: 100, height: 10, useThread: false },
+	)) as unknown as {
+		renderOnce: () => Promise<void>;
+		captureSpans: () => Frame;
+		mockMouse: {
+			drag: (a: number, b: number, c: number, d: number) => Promise<void>;
+			click: (a: number, b: number) => Promise<void>;
+		};
+		renderer: { destroy: () => void };
+	};
+	for (let i = 0; i < 10; i++) await setup.renderOnce();
+	return setup;
+}
+
+/** Reset the shared store to the default split for a deterministic start. */
+function resetSplits() {
+	usePaneLayout().setLeft(20, 100);
+	usePaneLayout().setRight(70, 100);
+}
+
+const cleanups: (() => void)[] = [];
+afterAll(() => {
+	for (const c of cleanups) c();
+	// Restore the default split so a later file sharing this process (bun
+	// test reuses the module registry) renders the default layout.
+	usePaneLayout().setLeft(20, 100);
+	usePaneLayout().setRight(70, 100);
+	rmSync(configHome, { recursive: true, force: true });
+});
+
+test("panes render at the default 20/70 split", async () => {
+	const setup = await renderRow(3);
+	cleanups.push(() => setup.renderer.destroy());
+	resetSplits();
+	await setup.renderOnce();
+	const { left, right } = readBounds(setup.captureSpans());
+	expect(left).toBe(20);
+	expect(right).toBe(70);
+});
+
+test("dragging the left border resizes parent vs current", async () => {
+	const setup = await renderRow(3);
+	cleanups.push(() => setup.renderer.destroy());
+	resetSplits();
+	await setup.renderOnce();
+
+	// Press on the left zone (border at 20 → zone covers 19-21) and drag
+	// toward the middle of the row.
+	await setup.mockMouse.drag(20, 5, 45, 5);
+	for (let i = 0; i < 10; i++) await setup.renderOnce();
+	const after = readBounds(setup.captureSpans());
+	expect(after.left).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(44);
+	expect(after.left).toBeLessThanOrEqual(46);
+	// Pushing the left border to 45 would shrink the current pane below its
+	// 30-col minimum (45..70 = 25), so the right border is forced right to
+	// 75, keeping the current pane at exactly 30 and absorbing the overflow
+	// in the preview.
+	expect(after.right).toBe(75);
+});
+
+test("dragging the right border resizes current vs preview", async () => {
+	const setup = await renderRow(3);
+	cleanups.push(() => setup.renderer.destroy());
+	resetSplits();
+	await setup.renderOnce();
+
+	// Press on the right zone (border at 69 → zone covers 68-70) and drag
+	// toward the right edge of the row.
+	await setup.mockMouse.drag(69, 5, 90, 5);
+	for (let i = 0; i < 10; i++) await setup.renderOnce();
+	const after = readBounds(setup.captureSpans());
+	expect(after.right).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(84);
+	expect(after.right).toBeLessThanOrEqual(85); // clamped at preview min 15
+	expect(after.left).toBe(20);
+});
+
+test("grabbing the left zone from its far edge does not jump the border", async () => {
+	const setup = await renderRow(3);
+	cleanups.push(() => setup.renderer.destroy());
+	resetSplits();
+	await setup.renderOnce();
+
+	// Press one column LEFT of the border (x=19, border at 20 → offset -1)
+	// and drag to 37. The border must track the grab, landing at 38 (37 + 1),
+	// not at 37. Without the grab offset it would jump one column.
+	await setup.mockMouse.drag(19, 5, 37, 5);
+	for (let i = 0; i < 10; i++) await setup.renderOnce();
+	const after = readBounds(setup.captureSpans());
+	expect(after.left).toBe(38);
+	expect(after.right).toBe(70);
+});
+
+test("grabbing the left zone from its inner edge does not jump the border", async () => {
+	const setup = await renderRow(3);
+	cleanups.push(() => setup.renderer.destroy());
+	resetSplits();
+	await setup.renderOnce();
+
+	// Press one column RIGHT of the border (x=21, border at 20 → offset +1)
+	// and drag to 37. The border lands at 36 (37 - 1), not 37.
+	await setup.mockMouse.drag(21, 5, 37, 5);
+	for (let i = 0; i < 10; i++) await setup.renderOnce();
+	const after = readBounds(setup.captureSpans());
+	expect(after.left).toBe(36);
+	expect(after.right).toBe(70);
+});
+
+test("a click inside a padded grab zone (off the border) does not resize", async () => {
+	const setup = await renderRow(3);
+	cleanups.push(() => setup.renderer.destroy());
+	resetSplits();
+	await setup.renderOnce();
+
+	// A bare click (no drag) on the help-padded column beside the border
+	// must not move the split — only an actual drag does.
+	await setup.mockMouse.click(19, 5);
+	await setup.renderOnce();
+	const { left, right } = readBounds(setup.captureSpans());
+	expect(left).toBe(20);
+	expect(right).toBe(70);
+});
+
+test("a plain click away from the borders does not resize", async () => {
+	const setup = await renderRow(3);
+	cleanups.push(() => setup.renderer.destroy());
+	resetSplits();
+	await setup.renderOnce();
+
+	await setup.mockMouse.click(5, 5);
+	await setup.renderOnce();
+	const { left, right } = readBounds(setup.captureSpans());
+	expect(left).toBe(20);
+	expect(right).toBe(70);
+});
+
+test("2-pane rows offer no right border (current fills the row)", async () => {
+	const setup = await renderRow(2);
+	cleanups.push(() => setup.renderer.destroy());
+	resetSplits();
+	for (let i = 0; i < 10; i++) await setup.renderOnce();
+
+	// No 'V' pane: the line runs to the screen edge.
+	const frame = setup.captureSpans();
+	const { left } = readBounds(frame);
+	expect(left).toBe(20);
+	const line = frame.lines
+		.map((l) => l.spans.map((s) => s.text).join(""))
+		.find((l) => l.includes("C"));
+	expect(line?.includes("V")).toBe(false);
+});

tests/scratch-cava-reinit.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+/** Scratch: cava init/destroy cycles leak native fftw buffers? */
+import { test, expect } from "bun:test"
+import { loadCavaCore } from "../src/utils/cavacore"
+
+const cava = loadCavaCore()
+const skip = !cava
+
+test.skipIf(skip)("init/destroy x50: RSS bounded", () => {
+  const cfg = { bars: 64, sampleRate: 22050, channels: 1, autosens: 0 }
+  const samples = new Float64Array(8192)
+  Bun.gc(true)
+  const startRss = process.memoryUsage.rss()
+  for (let i = 0; i < 50; i++) {
+    cava!.init(cfg)
+    cava!.execute(samples)
+    cava!.destroy()
+  }
+  Bun.gc(true)
+  const endRss = process.memoryUsage.rss()
+  const grown = (endRss - startRss) / 1048576
+  console.log(`init/destroy x50: rss delta=${grown.toFixed(1)}MB`)
+  expect(grown).toBeLessThan(100)
+}, 60_000)

tests/scratch-hover.test.tsx

@@ -0,0 +1,59 @@
+/** Scratch — verify full-height hover accent line. */
+import { test, expect } from "bun:test";
+import { testRender } from "@opentui/solid";
+import { ThemeProvider } from "../src/context/ThemeContext";
+import { PaneRow } from "../src/components/PaneRow";
+import { mkdtempSync } from "node:fs";
+import { tmpdir } from "node:os";
+import { join } from "node:path";
+
+process.env.XDG_CONFIG_HOME = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "podtui-phover3-"));
+
+type Span = { text: string; fg?: { r: number; g: number; b: number; a: number } | null };
+type Frame = { cols: number; lines: { spans: Span[] }[] };
+
+test("hover renders accent line on every row", async () => {
+	const setup = (await testRender(
+		() => (
+			<ThemeProvider mode="dark">
+				<PaneRow
+					parent={<text selectable={false}>{"P".repeat(300)}</text>}
+					current={<text selectable={false}>{"C".repeat(600)}</text>}
+					preview={<text selectable={false}>{"V".repeat(300)}</text>}
+					currentLabel=""
+				/>
+			</ThemeProvider>
+		),
+		{ width: 100, height: 10, useThread: false },
+	)) as unknown as {
+		renderOnce: () => Promise<void>;
+		captureSpans: () => Frame;
+		captureCharFrame: () => string;
+		mockMouse: { moveTo: (x: number, y: number) => Promise<void> };
+		renderer: { destroy: () => void };
+	};
+	for (let i = 0; i < 10; i++) await setup.renderOnce();
+	await setup.mockMouse.moveTo(20, 5);
+	for (let i = 0; i < 3; i++) await setup.renderOnce();
+
+	const frame = setup.captureSpans();
+	let accentRows = 0;
+	for (let y = 0; y < frame.lines.length; y++) {
+		const line = frame.lines[y].spans.map((s) => s.text).join("");
+		// Border column = 20.
+		const ch = line[20];
+		const isAccent = frame.lines[y].spans
+			.filter((s) => s.text.length > 0)
+			.some((s) => {
+				const t = s.text;
+				let c = 0;
+				// recompute col: approximate by scanning previous spans
+				return false;
+			});
+		if (ch === "│") accentRows++;
+		console.log(`row ${y}: ${JSON.stringify(line.slice(16, 25))} ch20=${JSON.stringify(ch)}`);
+	}
+	console.log("accentRows:", accentRows, "of", frame.lines.length);
+	expect(accentRows).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(6);
+	setup.renderer.destroy();
+});

tests/scratch-region-count.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+/** Mach VM region walker via FFI (self-process). */
+import { dlopen, FFIType, ptr } from "bun:ffi"
+
+const k = dlopen("/usr/lib/system/libsystem_kernel.dylib", {
+  mach_task_self: { args: [], returns: FFIType.u64 },
+  mach_vm_region: {
+    args: [FFIType.u64, FFIType.ptr, FFIType.ptr, FFIType.u32, FFIType.ptr, FFIType.ptr, FFIType.ptr],
+    returns: FFIType.i32,
+  },
+})
+
+/** Walk own VM map; count total regions and ~128K ones. */
+export function countRegions(): { total: number; r128k: number } {
+  const task = (k.symbols.mach_task_self as any)() as number
+  const addr = new BigUint64Array(1)
+  const size = new BigUint64Array(1)
+  const info = new Uint32Array(16)
+  const infoCnt = new Uint32Array(1)
+  const objectName = new Uint32Array(1)
+  let total = 0
+  let r128k = 0
+  addr[0] = 1n
+  const walk = k.symbols.mach_vm_region as any
+  for (;;) {
+    infoCnt[0] = 16
+    const kr = walk(BigInt(task), ptr(addr), ptr(size), 9, ptr(info), ptr(infoCnt), ptr(objectName))
+    if (kr !== 0) break
+    total++
+    if (size[0] >= 131072n && size[0] <= 139264n) r128k++
+    addr[0] = addr[0] + size[0]
+    if (addr[0] === 0n || total > 500000) break
+  }
+  return { total, r128k }
+}

tests/scratch-render-leak.tsx

@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+/** Minimal opentui app: VM region growth from render loop and/or text churn. */
+import { appendFileSync } from "node:fs"
+import { createSignal } from "solid-js"
+import { render } from "@opentui/solid"
+import { countRegions } from "./scratch-region-count"
+
+const CHURN = Bun.argv.includes("--churn")
+const OUT = Bun.argv.find((a) => a.startsWith("--out="))?.slice(6) ?? "/tmp/render-leak.log"
+const log = (m: string) => Bun.write(Bun.stderr, m + "\n") // stderr may be hijacked too; use fd via file:
+const append = (m: string) => appendFileSync(OUT, m + "\n")
+
+const [s, setS] = createSignal("hello")
+if (CHURN) {
+  let i = 0
+  setInterval(() => setS(`hello ${++i} ${"x".repeat(i % 50)}`), 33)
+}
+
+render(() => <text>{s()}</text>)
+await Bun.sleep(1000)
+const c0 = countRegions()
+append(`start churn=${CHURN}: total=${c0.total}`)
+for (let w = 1; w <= 4; w++) {
+  await Bun.sleep(15_000)
+  const c = countRegions()
+  append(`t=${w * 15}s total=${c.total} (delta ${c.total - c0.total})`)
+}
+process.exit(0)

tests/scratch-stream-leak.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+/** Scratch: does the ffmpeg decode stream leak VM regions per chunk? */
+import { test, expect } from "bun:test"
+import { EpisodePcmCache } from "../src/utils/audio-pcm-cache"
+import { spawnSync } from "child_process"
+
+const wav = "/tmp/podtui-stream.wav"
+if (!(await Bun.file(wav).exists()) && (await Bun.$`which ffmpeg`.nothrow())) {
+  await Bun.$`ffmpeg -f lavfi -i "sine=frequency=440:duration=600" -ar 22050 -ac 1 -sample_fmt s16 ${wav}`.quiet().nothrow()
+}
+
+function regions(): number {
+  const out = spawnSync("vmmap", [String(process.pid)], { timeout: 20000 }).stdout?.toString() ?? ""
+  return out.split("\n").filter((l) => l.includes("VM_ALLOCATE")).length
+}
+function rss(): number {
+  return Number(spawnSync("ps", ["-o", "rss=", "-p", String(process.pid)]).stdout?.toString().trim() || 0)
+}
+
+test("decode stream 90s: regions and rss bounded", async () => {
+  Bun.gc(true)
+  await Bun.sleep(200)
+  const r0 = regions(), m0 = rss()
+  const pcm = new EpisodePcmCache({ url: wav })
+  pcm.startDecode(0)
+  const t0 = Date.now()
+  while (Date.now() - t0 < 90_000) {
+    await Bun.sleep(5_000)
+    const pos = ((Date.now() - t0) / 1000) * 4
+    pcm.readWindow(new Float64Array(512), pos)
+  }
+  Bun.gc(true)
+  const r1 = regions(), m1 = rss()
+  console.log(`stream 90s: regions ${r0}->${r1} (delta ${r1 - r0}), rss ${(m0 / 1048576) | 0}->${(m1 / 1048576) | 0}MB`)
+  pcm.stop()
+  expect(r1 - r0).toBeLessThan(100)
+}, 140_000)

tests/scratch-stream-run.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+/** Scratch runner: decode stream, self-measure VM regions over time. */
+import { EpisodePcmCache } from "../src/utils/audio-pcm-cache"
+import { countRegions } from "./scratch-region-count"
+const wav = "/tmp/podtui-stream.wav"
+if (!(await Bun.file(wav).exists())) {
+  await Bun.$`ffmpeg -f lavfi -i "sine=frequency=440:duration=600" -ar 22050 -ac 1 -sample_fmt s16 ${wav}`.quiet().nothrow()
+}
+const pcm = new EpisodePcmCache({ url: wav })
+Bun.gc(true)
+console.log(`start: ${JSON.stringify(countRegions())}`)
+pcm.startDecode(0)
+const t0 = Date.now()
+const buf = new Float64Array(512)
+while (Date.now() - t0 < 90_000) {
+  await Bun.sleep(15_000)
+  const pos = ((Date.now() - t0) / 1000) * 4
+  pcm.readWindow(buf, pos)
+  const c = countRegions()
+  console.log(`t=${((Date.now() - t0) / 1000) | 0}s total=${c.total} r128k=${c.r128k} rss=${(process.memoryUsage.rss() / 1048576) | 0}MB`)
+}
+pcm.stop()
+console.log("done")

tests/visualizer-throttle.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+/** bars signal writes are throttled to ~10fps; the render loop still runs 30fps. */
+import { test, expect } from "bun:test"
+import { join } from "path"
+import { tmpdir } from "os"
+
+process.env.XDG_CONFIG_HOME = join(tmpdir(), `podtui-th-${process.pid}`)
+process.env.XDG_DATA_HOME = join(tmpdir(), `podtui-th-data-${process.pid}`)
+process.env.PODTUI_AUDIO_BACKEND = "none"
+
+const { useVisualizer } = await import("../src/stores/visualizer")
+const { setCurrentEpisode, setIsPlaying, setPosition } = await import("../src/utils/audio-signals")
+import type { Episode } from "../src/types/episode"
+
+const wavPath = "/tmp/podtui-pause-cycle.wav"
+const skip = !(Bun.which("ffmpeg") && Bun.file(wavPath).exists())
+
+test.skipIf(skip)("barData updates at ~10fps while the loop runs at 30fps", async () => {
+  const viz = useVisualizer()
+  viz.setBarCount(64)
+  viz.setFocused(true)
+  setCurrentEpisode({ audioUrl: wavPath } as unknown as Episode)
+  setIsPlaying(true)
+  setPosition(5)
+  for (let i = 0; i < 200 && !(viz.barData().length > 0); i++) await Bun.sleep(25)
+
+  let writes = 0
+  let prev = viz.barData()
+  // count distinct array references the signal produced over 1s
+  const check = setInterval(() => {
+    const cur = viz.barData()
+    if (cur !== prev) {
+      writes++
+      prev = cur
+    }
+  }, 16)
+  await Bun.sleep(1000)
+  clearInterval(check)
+  console.log(`barData writes in 1s: ${writes} (30fps loop would be ~15-20 distinct seen at 16ms sampling)`)
+  expect(writes).toBeGreaterThan(3)
+  expect(writes).toBeLessThanOrEqual(14)
+}, 30_000)