diff --git a/web/src/components/layout/AppShell.tsx b/web/src/components/layout/AppShell.tsx
index e5dd25f..7e525df 100644
--- a/web/src/components/layout/AppShell.tsx
+++ b/web/src/components/layout/AppShell.tsx
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { useEffect, useState } from 'react'
+import { Suspense, useEffect, useState } from 'react'
 import { Link, Outlet, useMatchRoute, useNavigate, useRouterState } from '@tanstack/react-router'
 import { Toaster } from '@/components/ui/toast'
 import { useLogout, useMe } from '@/lib/auth'
@@ -93,7 +93,10 @@ export function AppShell() {
           showBottomNav && 'pb-[calc(3.5rem+env(safe-area-inset-bottom))] md:pb-6',
         )}
       >
-        <Outlet />
+        {/* Boundary for the lazily-loaded routes (see router.tsx). */}
+        <Suspense fallback={<p className="p-6 text-sm text-muted">Loading…</p>}>
+          <Outlet />
+        </Suspense>
       </main>
 
       {showBottomNav && <BottomNav sections={visibleSections} />}
diff --git a/web/src/router.tsx b/web/src/router.tsx
index 09429fc..eb240c5 100644
--- a/web/src/router.tsx
+++ b/web/src/router.tsx
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import { lazy, type ComponentType } from 'react'
 import {
   createRootRouteWithContext,
   createRoute,
@@ -9,17 +10,55 @@ import { AppShell } from '@/components/layout/AppShell'
 import { NotFound } from '@/components/NotFound'
 import { RouteError } from '@/components/RouteError'
 import { LoginPage } from '@/pages/LoginPage'
-import { RegisterPage } from '@/pages/RegisterPage'
 import { GardensPage } from '@/pages/GardensPage'
-import { GardenEditorPage } from '@/pages/GardenEditorPage'
-import { PublicGardenPage } from '@/pages/PublicGardenPage'
-import { PlantsPage } from '@/pages/PlantsPage'
-import { SettingsPage } from '@/pages/SettingsPage'
 import { meQueryOptions } from '@/lib/auth'
 import { queryClient } from '@/lib/queryClient'
 import { safeRedirectPath } from '@/lib/redirect'
 import { getLastGardenId } from '@/lib/lastGarden'
 
+// Lazily load a page by its named export, with recovery for the stale-chunk
+// problem. A push to main redeploys, so a still-open app references chunk hashes
+// the server has just replaced; that import 404s and React.lazy MEMOIZES the
+// rejection, so RouteError's "Try again" (router.invalidate) can never recover —
+// the user is stuck until a manual hard reload. On the first such failure we
+// reload once (fetching the fresh index + hashes); a session flag stops a reload
+// loop, and a success clears it so a later genuine failure can reload again.
+function lazyPage<M, K extends keyof M>(load: () => Promise<M>, name: K) {
+  return lazy(async () => {
+    try {
+      const mod = await load()
+      try {
+        sessionStorage.removeItem('pansy:chunk-reload')
+      } catch {
+        /* storage unavailable — fine */
+      }
+      return { default: mod[name] as ComponentType }
+    } catch (err) {
+      try {
+        if (!sessionStorage.getItem('pansy:chunk-reload')) {
+          sessionStorage.setItem('pansy:chunk-reload', '1')
+          window.location.reload()
+          return await new Promise<{ default: ComponentType }>(() => {}) // hold for the reload
+        }
+      } catch {
+        /* storage unavailable — fall through to surface the error */
+      }
+      throw err // already reloaded once (or can't); let the error boundary show it
+    }
+  })
+}
+
+// Code-split the heavier / deeper routes so a phone on cell data doesn't download
+// the whole app (notably the canvas editor with its gesture + geometry deps)
+// before the first screen paints. Login and the gardens list — the entry points —
+// stay eager to avoid a fallback flash on landing; AppShell wraps the Outlet in a
+// Suspense boundary for the rest.
+const GardenEditorPage = lazyPage(() => import('@/pages/GardenEditorPage'), 'GardenEditorPage')
+const PublicGardenPage = lazyPage(() => import('@/pages/PublicGardenPage'), 'PublicGardenPage')
+const PlantsPage = lazyPage(() => import('@/pages/PlantsPage'), 'PlantsPage')
+const SettingsPage = lazyPage(() => import('@/pages/SettingsPage'), 'SettingsPage')
+const RegisterPage = lazyPage(() => import('@/pages/RegisterPage'), 'RegisterPage')
+
 interface RouterContext {
   queryClient: QueryClient
 }
diff --git a/web/vite.config.ts b/web/vite.config.ts
index b92a007..c90cfc7 100644
--- a/web/vite.config.ts
+++ b/web/vite.config.ts
@@ -29,6 +29,27 @@ export default defineConfig(({ mode }) => {
     build: {
       outDir: 'dist',
       sourcemap: true,
+      rollupOptions: {
+        output: {
+          // One vendor chunk for ALL node_modules: it's rarely-changing, so it
+          // caches across app deploys while the tiny app chunk churns. Kept as a
+          // SINGLE chunk on purpose — splitting react-dom/scheduler into their own
+          // chunk reorders their module init across chunk boundaries and breaks
+          // React 19 at load ("Cannot set 'Activity' of undefined"). The heavy
+          // routes are code-split separately via React.lazy (router.tsx), which is
+          // where the real first-paint win is.
+          manualChunks(id) {
+            if (!id.includes('node_modules')) return undefined
+            // Editor-only libs (the gesture engine) ride with the lazy editor
+            // chunk instead of the eager vendor one, so the first paint doesn't
+            // pay for code only the canvas needs. Everything else — react, tanstack
+            // and the rest — stays in ONE vendor chunk; splitting react-dom out
+            // reorders its init across chunks and breaks React 19 at load.
+            if (id.includes('@use-gesture')) return undefined
+            return 'vendor'
+          },
+        },
+      },
     },
   }
 })