diff --git a/static/js/chat.js b/static/js/chat.js
index 9bc582b41..272d2bc16 100644
--- a/static/js/chat.js
+++ b/static/js/chat.js
@@ -1541,9 +1541,9 @@ import { wireArrowUpRecall, getLastUserMessageFromChatHistory } from './composer
                         <div class="thinking-header-left"><span class="live-think-header-text">Thinking\u2026</span></div>
                         <span class="live-think-spinner-slot" style="flex-shrink:0;margin-left:auto;"></span>
                         <span class="live-think-timer" style="font-size:11px;opacity:0.4;font-variant-numeric:tabular-nums;margin-left:6px;margin-right:5px;"></span>
-                        <span class="thinking-toggle live-think-toggle" id="${_liveThinkDomId}-toggle"></span>
+                        <span class="thinking-toggle live-think-toggle expanded" id="${_liveThinkDomId}-toggle"></span>
                       </div>
-                      <div class="thinking-content" id="${_liveThinkDomId}">
+                      <div class="thinking-content expanded" id="${_liveThinkDomId}">
                         <div class="thinking-content-inner live-think-inner"></div>
                       </div>
                     </div>`;
@@ -1589,13 +1589,15 @@ import { wireArrowUpRecall, getLastUserMessageFromChatHistory } from './composer
                       _liveThinkTimerEl.textContent = _formatThinkStats(_elapsedLive, _liveThinkTokenCount);
                     }
                     // Keep thinking box scrolled to bottom, but let user scroll up
+                    var _followThinking = true;
                     var thinkBox = _liveThinkInner.closest('.thinking-content');
                     if (thinkBox) {
                       var nearBottom = thinkBox.scrollHeight - thinkBox.clientHeight - thinkBox.scrollTop < 80;
                       if (nearBottom) thinkBox.scrollTop = thinkBox.scrollHeight;
+                      _followThinking = nearBottom;
                     }
                   }
-                  uiModule.scrollHistory();
+                  if (_followThinking) uiModule.scrollHistory();
                   continue;
                 } else if (!hasUnclosedThink && isThinking) {
                   isThinking = false;
diff --git a/static/js/cookbook-hwfit.js b/static/js/cookbook-hwfit.js
index 9e5cda02d..e22b75b74 100644
--- a/static/js/cookbook-hwfit.js
+++ b/static/js/cookbook-hwfit.js
@@ -561,8 +561,9 @@ function _ollamaToHwfitRows(libModels, vramAvail, ramAvail) {
   return out;
 }
 
-export async function _hwfitFetch(fresh = false) {
+export async function _hwfitFetch(fresh = false, opts = {}) {
   const _tk = ++_hwfitFetchToken;
+  const allowNetwork = fresh || opts.allowNetwork !== false;
   const useCase = document.getElementById('hwfit-usecase')?.value || '';
   const search = document.getElementById('hwfit-search')?.value?.trim() || '';
   const remoteHost = _envState.remoteHost || '';
@@ -588,6 +589,13 @@ export async function _hwfitFetch(fresh = false) {
     }
     _hwfitRenderList(list, _applyEngineFilter(_cached.models));
   } else {
+    if (!allowNetwork) {
+      _hwfitCache = null;
+      _hwfitRenderHw(hw, null);
+      list.innerHTML = '<div class="hwfit-loading" style="flex-direction:column;gap:6px;text-align:center;"><div>No cached scan yet</div><div style="font-size:11px;opacity:0.55;max-width:420px;line-height:1.4;">Press Scan to test hardware and rank models for this server.</div></div>';
+      try { wp.destroy(); } catch {}
+      return;
+    }
     // Show spinner while scanning — stack the spinner above a text label
     // (the .hwfit-loading class is a centered flex ROW, so force column here).
     const loadingDiv = document.createElement('div');
@@ -606,6 +614,10 @@ export async function _hwfitFetch(fresh = false) {
     list.appendChild(loadingDiv);
     _hwfitCache = null;   // no instant paint — clear until the fetch returns
   }
+  if (!allowNetwork) {
+    try { wp.destroy(); } catch {}
+    return;
+  }
   // Only fetch cached model IDs when server changes, not on every search/sort
   const remoteKey = _currentServerValue();
   if (!_cachedModelIds || _lastCacheHost() !== remoteKey) {
@@ -2168,15 +2180,12 @@ export function _hwfitInit() {
         }
       });
     });
-    // Auto-test when host or port blur
+    // Manual connectivity test after editing host or port. Existing saved
+    // servers are not auto-tested on panel open; unreachable hosts can stall the
+    // Cookbook UI and make opening the panel feel blocked.
     entry.querySelectorAll('.cookbook-srv-host, .cookbook-srv-port').forEach(el => {
       el.addEventListener('blur', () => _testServerConnection(entry));
     });
-    // Initial test for pre-filled rows (existing servers on tab load)
-    if (entry.querySelector('.cookbook-srv-host')?.value?.trim() && !entry.dataset.tested) {
-      entry.dataset.tested = '1';
-      _testServerConnection(entry);
-    }
     // Cancel button on a brand-new server entry: discard it (no confirm — it's
     // unsaved) and re-sync so the dropped blank server doesn't linger.
     const cancelBtn = entry.querySelector('.cookbook-server-cancel-btn');
diff --git a/static/js/cookbook.js b/static/js/cookbook.js
index 3206948c2..6451f4bc0 100644
--- a/static/js/cookbook.js
+++ b/static/js/cookbook.js
@@ -1640,10 +1640,10 @@ function _wireTabEvents(body) {
       });
       if (backend === 'Search') {
         _hwfitInit();
-        _hwfitFetch();
+        _hwfitFetch(false, { allowNetwork: false });
       }
       if (backend === 'Serve') {
-        _fetchCachedModels();
+        _fetchCachedModels(false, { allowNetwork: false });
       }
       if (backend === 'Dependencies') {
         _fetchDependencies();
@@ -1746,7 +1746,7 @@ function _wireTabEvents(body) {
       _applyServerSelection(dlServer.value);
       // Reset toggle state (no flicker) so the new server's hardware re-renders.
       _resetGpuToggleState();
-      _hwfitFetch();
+      _hwfitFetch(false, { allowNetwork: false });
     });
   }
 
@@ -1783,7 +1783,7 @@ function _wireTabEvents(body) {
           if (settingsTab) settingsTab.click();
         });
       }
-      _fetchCachedModels();
+      _fetchCachedModels(false, { allowNetwork: false });
     });
   }
 
@@ -2863,7 +2863,7 @@ function _renderRecipes() {
 
   // Auto-init What Fits
   _hwfitInit();
-  _hwfitFetch();
+  _hwfitFetch(false, { allowNetwork: false });
 }
 
 // ── Public API ──
diff --git a/static/js/cookbookRunning.js b/static/js/cookbookRunning.js
index f2aba5641..42c237efe 100644
--- a/static/js/cookbookRunning.js
+++ b/static/js/cookbookRunning.js
@@ -1862,6 +1862,7 @@ export function _renderRunningTab() {
       body.querySelectorAll('.cookbook-group').forEach(g => {
         g.classList.toggle('hidden', g.dataset.backendGroup !== 'Running');
       });
+      setTimeout(() => _renderRunningTab(), 0);
     });
   } else if (runTab) {
     const _errCount2 = tasks.filter(t => t.status === 'error' || t.status === 'crashed').length;
@@ -2712,7 +2713,7 @@ export function _renderRunningTab() {
     // responds; without this, the user opens the Running tab and sees
     // only the placeholder ("Launched by scheduled task …") because
     // _reconnectTask never fires for status 'ready'/'loading'/'warming'.
-    if (['running', 'ready', 'loading', 'warming', 'starting'].includes(task.status)) {
+    if (_isRunningTabVisible() && ['running', 'ready', 'loading', 'warming', 'starting'].includes(task.status)) {
       _reconnectTask(el, task);
     }
   }
@@ -3438,6 +3439,23 @@ async function _reconnectTask(el, task) {
 
 let _bgMonitorInterval = null;
 
+function _hasLiveTasks(tasks = null) {
+  const list = tasks || _loadTasks();
+  return list.some(t =>
+    t.status === 'running'
+    || t.status === 'queued'
+    || t.status === 'ready'
+    || _downloadOutputLooksActive(t)
+  );
+}
+
+function _isRunningTabVisible() {
+  const modal = document.getElementById('cookbook-modal');
+  if (!modal || modal.classList.contains('hidden')) return false;
+  const activeTab = modal.querySelector('.cookbook-tab.active')?.dataset?.backend || '';
+  return activeTab === 'Running';
+}
+
 // Reachability check for running serve tasks. The tmux pane can stay alive
 // while the model server inside it has crashed (so no "Process exited" line
 // ever appears) — leaving the card showing "running" forever. So we actively
@@ -3656,7 +3674,9 @@ export function _startBackgroundMonitor() {
     // crashed/etc. whose tmux session is actually still running, and flip
     // them back to running. Internally throttled to 8s so a manual call from
     // the open path or a fast invocation doesn't double up.
-    _selfHealStaleTasks().catch(() => {});
+    if (_hasLiveTasks() || _isRunningTabVisible()) {
+      _selfHealStaleTasks().catch(() => {});
+    }
   }, BG_MONITOR_INTERVAL_MS);
   _pollBackgroundStatus();
   _checkServeReachability();
@@ -3972,17 +3992,15 @@ export function initRunning(shared) {
   _detectModelOptimizations = shared._detectModelOptimizations;
   _buildServeCmd = shared._buildServeCmd;
 
-  // App boot: pull authoritative state from server, then auto-start
-  // the background monitor unconditionally. Used to gate on "already
-  // has running tasks" but that meant when the agent (or anyone)
-  // added a task after boot, the UI never noticed. 10s poll of a
-  // small status endpoint is cheap and gives the agent + the UI a
-  // shared live picture.
+  // App boot: pull authoritative state from server, but don't start the
+  // running-task monitor unless there is real work to watch. Starting it
+  // unconditionally made a plain Cookbook open keep probing stale tmux/SSH
+  // sessions, which is expensive when a saved remote host is unreachable.
   (async () => {
     try {
       await _syncFromServer();
     } catch {}
-    _startBackgroundMonitor();
+    if (_hasLiveTasks()) _startBackgroundMonitor();
   })();
 }
 
diff --git a/static/js/cookbookServe.js b/static/js/cookbookServe.js
index 0e168da60..98af9d0e2 100644
--- a/static/js/cookbookServe.js
+++ b/static/js/cookbookServe.js
@@ -3663,9 +3663,10 @@ function _renderCachedModelsData(list, data, host) {
   _rerenderCachedModels();
 }
 
-export async function _fetchCachedModels(fresh = false) {
+export async function _fetchCachedModels(fresh = false, opts = {}) {
   const list = document.getElementById('hwfit-cached-list');
   if (!list) return;
+  const allowNetwork = fresh || opts.allowNetwork !== false;
 
   list.innerHTML = '';
   const _dlWp = spinnerModule.createWhirlpool(22);
@@ -3740,6 +3741,13 @@ export async function _fetchCachedModels(fresh = false) {
       _renderCachedModelsData(list, cached, host);
       return;
     }
+    if (!allowNetwork) {
+      _dlWp.destroy();
+      list.innerHTML = '<div class="hwfit-loading" style="flex-direction:column;gap:6px;text-align:center;"><div>No cached model scan yet</div><div style="font-size:11px;opacity:0.55;max-width:420px;line-height:1.4;">Press Scan to check this server\'s model cache.</div></div>';
+      const tagContainer = document.getElementById('serve-tags');
+      if (tagContainer) tagContainer.innerHTML = '';
+      return;
+    }
     const res = await fetch(`/api/model/cached${params}`);
     if (!res.ok) {
       const body = await res.text().catch(() => '');
diff --git a/static/js/sessions.js b/static/js/sessions.js
index da2799e35..698991477 100644
--- a/static/js/sessions.js
+++ b/static/js/sessions.js
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 // This module handles all session-related operations
 
 import Storage from './storage.js';
-import uiModule, { styledPrompt } from './ui.js';
+import uiModule, { autoResize, styledPrompt } from './ui.js';
 import markdownModule from './markdown.js';
 import chatRenderer from './chatRenderer.js';
 import { providerLogo } from './providers.js';
@@ -1859,6 +1859,9 @@ export async function selectSession(id, { keepSidebar = false, showLoading = tru
     if (msgInput) {
       msgInput.disabled = false;
       msgInput.value = '';
+      msgInput.style.height = '';
+      msgInput.style.overflow = '';
+      autoResize(msgInput);
     }
     const sendBtn2 = document.querySelector('.send-btn');
     if (sendBtn2) {