diff --git a/neode-ui/src/views/Apps.vue b/neode-ui/src/views/Apps.vue
index 1993cfc6..dd4a2838 100644
--- a/neode-ui/src/views/Apps.vue
+++ b/neode-ui/src/views/Apps.vue
@@ -380,7 +380,7 @@ let appsAnimationDone = false
 </script>
 
 <script setup lang="ts">
-import { computed, ref, watch, onMounted, onBeforeUnmount } from 'vue'
+import { computed, ref, watch, onActivated, onBeforeUnmount, onDeactivated, onMounted } from 'vue'
 import { useRouter, useRoute, RouterLink } from 'vue-router'
 import { useI18n } from 'vue-i18n'
 import { useAppStore } from '@/stores/app'
@@ -541,8 +541,19 @@ const isCheckingContainers = computed(() => (
 const connectionError = ref('')
 let connectionTimer: ReturnType<typeof setTimeout> | undefined
 
-onMounted(() => {
-  appsAnimationDone = true
+// Entry-scoped guard: under a surviving instance the 15s "unable to connect"
+// timer would otherwise arm once on the first visit and never again, so its
+// diagnosis of a fresh entry would go stale. Re-armed on every activation
+// (clearing any prior handle first — idempotent, so two consecutive
+// activations never double-arm) and cleared on deactivation; the
+// onBeforeUnmount clear stays for the non-cached mount path.
+function armConnectionGuard() {
+  if (connectionTimer) clearTimeout(connectionTimer)
+  // A stale error from a previous visit must not persist into a fresh entry
+  // — otherwise a since-reconnected node would keep showing "Unable to
+  // connect" instantly (no fresh 15s grace period) once this instance
+  // survives deactivation instead of fully remounting.
+  connectionError.value = ''
   if (!store.isConnected) {
     connectionTimer = setTimeout(() => {
         if (!store.hasLoadedInitialData && sortedPackageEntries.value.length === 0) {
@@ -550,6 +561,21 @@ onMounted(() => {
       }
     }, 15000)
   }
+}
+onActivated(() => armConnectionGuard())
+
+// Once-per-session: the intro stagger flag. Also arms the connection guard
+// directly here — onActivated is a no-op outside a <KeepAlive> boundary, so
+// a bare mount (a unit test, or any future non-KeepAlive usage) must not
+// silently skip it. armConnectionGuard() is idempotent, so the harmless
+// extra pass this causes on a KeepAlive-wrapped first mount costs nothing.
+onMounted(() => {
+  appsAnimationDone = true
+  armConnectionGuard()
+})
+
+onDeactivated(() => {
+  if (connectionTimer) clearTimeout(connectionTimer)
 })
 
 onBeforeUnmount(() => {
diff --git a/neode-ui/src/views/Discover.vue b/neode-ui/src/views/Discover.vue
index d26bf257..618fd7a9 100644
--- a/neode-ui/src/views/Discover.vue
+++ b/neode-ui/src/views/Discover.vue
@@ -57,6 +57,7 @@
           data-controller-no-submit
           class="app-header-search text-white placeholder-white/50 focus:outline-none transition-colors"
         />
+        <RefreshIndicator :state="catalogResource.entry.loadState" label="Refreshing app store catalog" />
       </div>
 
       <!-- Mobile: categories + search -->
@@ -69,6 +70,7 @@
         <div class="flex items-center gap-2 mb-3">
           <span class="discover-terminal-tag">discover</span>
           <h1 class="text-lg font-bold text-white">App Store</h1>
+          <RefreshIndicator :state="catalogResource.entry.loadState" label="Refreshing app store catalog" />
         </div>
         <div class="mobile-category-strip mb-3" aria-label="App Store categories">
           <button
@@ -229,7 +231,7 @@ let discoverAnimationDone = false
 </script>
 
 <script setup lang="ts">
-import { ref, computed, onMounted, onBeforeUnmount } from 'vue'
+import { ref, computed, onBeforeUnmount, onMounted } from 'vue'
 import { useRouter, RouterLink } from 'vue-router'
 import { useAppStore } from '@/stores/app'
 import { useServerStore } from '@/stores/server'
@@ -239,6 +241,8 @@ import { useAppLauncherStore } from '@/stores/appLauncher'
 import { useToast } from '@/composables/useToast'
 import { useCollapsingHeaderTabs } from '@/composables/useCollapsingHeaderTabs'
 import { useContainersScanTimeout } from '@/composables/useContainersScanTimeout'
+import { useCachedResource } from '@/composables/useCachedResource'
+import RefreshIndicator from '@/components/RefreshIndicator.vue'
 import { APP_STORE_SECTIONS } from './appStoreCategories'
 import DiscoverHero from './discover/DiscoverHero.vue'
 import FeaturedApps from './discover/FeaturedApps.vue'
@@ -258,7 +262,59 @@ const appLauncher = useAppLauncherStore()
 
 const selectedCategory = ref('all')
 const searchQuery = ref('')
-const bitcoinPruned = ref(false)
+
+// Community marketplace + Bitcoin prune-status — routed through the SAME
+// shared cache keys the 02-02 tracer introduced on Marketplace.vue
+// ('app-catalog', 'bitcoin.prune-status') rather than duplicating the
+// fetch (02-04). Both views populate the same cache entry, whichever one
+// happens to trigger a given fetch — the store doesn't care which caller's
+// fetcher ran, only the resulting cached value.
+const catalogFeatured = ref<CatalogFeatured | null>(null)
+const catalogResource = useCachedResource<MarketplaceApp[]>({
+  key: 'app-catalog',
+  // Preserves this view's existing dynamic-catalog-first behavior (Marketplace's
+  // own fetcher for this key is the simpler getCuratedAppList()-only form —
+  // both are valid producers of the same shared cache entry).
+  fetcher: async () => {
+    const catalog = await fetchAppCatalog()
+    if (catalog) {
+      catalogFeatured.value = catalog.featured
+      if (import.meta.env.DEV) console.log('Loaded app catalog from registry:', catalog.apps.length, 'apps')
+      return catalog.apps
+    }
+    catalogFeatured.value = null
+    if (import.meta.env.DEV) console.log('Using hardcoded app list (catalog.json unavailable)')
+    return getCuratedAppList()
+  },
+  ttlMs: 300_000,
+  persist: true,
+})
+const communityApps = computed(() => catalogResource.data.value ?? [])
+const loadingCommunity = computed(() => catalogResource.entry.loadState === 'loading')
+// Keep-last-value error banner (D-07): a failed background refresh never
+// raises a toast, it only surfaces here — content stays on screen either way.
+const communityError = computed(() => catalogResource.error.value ?? '')
+function loadCommunityMarketplace() {
+  return catalogResource.refresh()
+}
+
+interface BitcoinStatusResponse {
+  blockchain_info?: { pruned?: boolean }
+}
+const pruneStatusResource = useCachedResource<BitcoinStatusResponse | null>({
+  key: 'bitcoin.prune-status',
+  fetcher: async (signal) => {
+    const res = await fetch('/bitcoin-status', { credentials: 'include', signal })
+    if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`bitcoin-status responded ${res.status}`)
+    return res.json()
+  },
+  persist: true,
+})
+const bitcoinPruned = computed(() => pruneStatusResource.data.value?.blockchain_info?.pruned === true)
+function loadBitcoinPruneStatus() {
+  return pruneStatusResource.refresh()
+}
+
 const electrumxArchiveWarning = 'You need a full archival bitcoin node before downloading ElectrumX'
 const discoverHeaderRef = ref<HTMLElement | null>(null)
 const discoverPrimaryRef = ref<HTMLElement | null>(null)
@@ -295,10 +351,8 @@ function selectDiscoverCategory(categoryId: string) {
   navigateToMarketplace(categoryId)
 }
 
-// Community & Nostr marketplace state
-const loadingCommunity = ref(false)
-const communityError = ref('')
-const communityApps = ref<MarketplaceApp[]>([])
+// Nostr community marketplace state (community/catalog state is declared
+// above, alongside the shared catalogResource/pruneStatusResource)
 const nostrApps = ref<MarketplaceApp[]>([])
 const nostrLoading = ref(false)
 const nostrError = ref('')
@@ -523,17 +577,6 @@ onBeforeUnmount(() => {
 
 const toast = useToast()
 
-async function loadBitcoinPruneStatus() {
-  try {
-    const res = await fetch('/bitcoin-status', { credentials: 'include', signal: AbortSignal.timeout(8000) })
-    if (!res.ok) return
-    const status = await res.json()
-    bitcoinPruned.value = status?.blockchain_info?.pruned === true
-  } catch (e) {
-    if (import.meta.env.DEV) console.warn('[Discover] Bitcoin prune status unavailable:', e)
-  }
-}
-
 function installBlockedReason(appId: string): string | undefined {
   if (!bitcoinPruned.value) return undefined
   if (appId !== 'electrumx' && appId !== 'electrs' && appId !== 'mempool-electrs') return undefined
@@ -595,29 +638,17 @@ async function installCommunityApp(app: MarketplaceApp, versionOverride?: string
   }
 }
 
+// Once-per-session: the intro stagger flag. The catalog/prune-status loads
+// need no onMounted or onActivated call of their own — catalogResource and
+// pruneStatusResource are useCachedResource-backed with `immediate` at its
+// default (true), so each fetches itself on setup and revalidates itself,
+// staleness-gated, on every later reactivation via the composable's own
+// onActivated hook (same precedent as Marketplace.vue in 02-02).
 onMounted(() => {
   discoverAnimationDone = true
-  if (communityApps.value.length === 0 && !loadingCommunity.value) {
-    loadCommunityMarketplace()
-  }
-  loadBitcoinPruneStatus()
 })
 
-const catalogFeatured = ref<CatalogFeatured | null>(null)
-
-async function loadCommunityMarketplace() {
-  loadingCommunity.value = true
-  communityError.value = ''
-  // Try dynamic catalog first, fall back to hardcoded
-  const catalog = await fetchAppCatalog()
-  if (catalog) {
-    communityApps.value = catalog.apps
-    catalogFeatured.value = catalog.featured
-    if (import.meta.env.DEV) console.log('Loaded app catalog from registry:', catalog.apps.length, 'apps')
-  } else {
-    communityApps.value = getCuratedAppList()
-    if (import.meta.env.DEV) console.log('Using hardcoded app list (catalog.json unavailable)')
-  }
-  loadingCommunity.value = false
-}
+// Exposed for tests only (mirrors Marketplace.vue's own defineExpose for the
+// same shared-key resources).
+defineExpose({ loadCommunityMarketplace, loadBitcoinPruneStatus })
 </script>
diff --git a/neode-ui/src/views/dashboard/keepAliveRoutes.ts b/neode-ui/src/views/dashboard/keepAliveRoutes.ts
index ea3d81c7..67825299 100644
--- a/neode-ui/src/views/dashboard/keepAliveRoutes.ts
+++ b/neode-ui/src/views/dashboard/keepAliveRoutes.ts
@@ -8,21 +8,58 @@
 // `server/openwrt`, `web5/credentials`, `goals/:goalId` and `app-session/:appId`.
 
 import type { RouteLocationNormalizedLoaded } from 'vue-router'
+import { TAB_ORDER } from './useRouteTransitions'
 
 /** Maximum number of main-tab component instances kept alive at once (D-03).
  * Bounds memory on low-power fleet nodes — the oldest unused instance evicts
- * once this cap is exceeded (Vue's own LRU eviction). */
+ * once this cap is exceeded (Vue's own LRU eviction). Stays at 6 against the
+ * ~11 registered paths below (FA-D) — plan 02-08 tunes it against real
+ * on-device memory, not guessed at again here. */
 export const KEEP_ALIVE_MAX = 6
 
-/** Paths whose component instance survives a tab switch (D-01).
+/** TAB_ORDER paths deliberately withheld from the instance cache this plan
+ * (02-04) would otherwise register. Two distinct reasons populate this set —
+ * kept in one place so `KEEP_ALIVE_PATHS` stays a single derivation:
  *
- * Seeded with only the tracer tab (Marketplace) for this plan — plan 02-04
- * widens this set after auditing every main tab's mount/activate lifecycle.
- * Do not add paths here without doing that audit first: a view with an
- * un-audited side effect in `onMounted` that should have moved to
- * `onActivated`/`onDeactivated` would misbehave the moment it's kept alive. */
+ * 1. Measured `already fast` in 02-FINDINGS.md with `Remounted: false` — no
+ *    instance cache to gain (D-02). (None as of 02-04: every TAB_ORDER path
+ *    measured `Remounted: true` (Home, Apps, Marketplace, Cloud, Web5,
+ *    Fleet) or was `unmeasured` (Mesh, Chat) — neither unmeasured row has a
+ *    `Remounted: false`, so per the plan's literal exclusion rule both stay
+ *    registered, and their lifecycle was audited in 02-04's Task 1.)
+ * 2. Unaudited-risk (02-04 Rule-3 deviation, not in 02-FINDINGS.md at all):
+ *    `/dashboard/settings` is in TAB_ORDER but neither Settings.vue nor any
+ *    of its child sections are in this plan's Task 1/2 file lists. A grep
+ *    across `neode-ui/src/views/settings/*.vue` found real un-audited side
+ *    effects that would misbehave under KeepAlive exactly as this plan
+ *    warns against: `SystemDangerZone.vue`'s reboot poll/elapsed intervals,
+ *    and one-shot `onMounted`-only fetches in `VpnStatusSection.vue`,
+ *    `KioskDisplaySection.vue`, `TransportPrefsCard.vue` and
+ *    `ClaudeAuthSection.vue` that would never refresh again once cached.
+ *    Registering Settings without that audit would ship the exact
+ *    off-screen-timer/stale-data bug this plan exists to prevent — excluded
+ *    until a future plan audits it the way Task 1 did for Home/Web5/Chat/
+ *    Cloud/Server/Mesh. */
+const WITHHELD_FROM_CACHE: ReadonlySet<string> = new Set([
+  '/dashboard/settings',
+])
+
+/** Paths whose component instance survives a tab switch (D-01), derived from
+ * the single-sourced TAB_ORDER main-tab list (plus `/dashboard/discover`,
+ * the App Store's second tab, measured `remount storm` in 02-FINDINGS.md but
+ * not part of TAB_ORDER) rather than restating every path literally — a
+ * future tab addition to TAB_ORDER is registered automatically instead of
+ * silently missing registration.
+ *
+ * 02-04 widened this from the 02-02 tracer's single seed path after
+ * auditing every main tab's mount/activate/deactivate lifecycle (see
+ * 02-04-SUMMARY.md's per-view side-effect table) — every registered path's
+ * timers, subscriptions and window listeners are now placed for an
+ * activate/deactivate lifecycle, so it's safe for their instances to
+ * survive a tab switch. */
 export const KEEP_ALIVE_PATHS: ReadonlySet<string> = new Set([
-  '/dashboard/marketplace',
+  ...TAB_ORDER.filter((path) => !WITHHELD_FROM_CACHE.has(path)),
+  '/dashboard/discover',
 ])
 
 /** True only for an exact path match against KEEP_ALIVE_PATHS. */