diff --git a/web/src/router.tsx b/web/src/router.tsx
index 2935fa1..eb240c5 100644
--- a/web/src/router.tsx
+++ b/web/src/router.tsx
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { lazy } from 'react'
+import { lazy, type ComponentType } from 'react'
 import {
   createRootRouteWithContext,
   createRoute,
@@ -12,28 +12,52 @@ import { RouteError } from '@/components/RouteError'
 import { LoginPage } from '@/pages/LoginPage'
 import { GardensPage } from '@/pages/GardensPage'
 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 = lazy(() =>
-  import('@/pages/GardenEditorPage').then((m) => ({ default: m.GardenEditorPage })),
-)
-const PublicGardenPage = lazy(() =>
-  import('@/pages/PublicGardenPage').then((m) => ({ default: m.PublicGardenPage })),
-)
-const PlantsPage = lazy(() => import('@/pages/PlantsPage').then((m) => ({ default: m.PlantsPage })))
-const SettingsPage = lazy(() =>
-  import('@/pages/SettingsPage').then((m) => ({ default: m.SettingsPage })),
-)
-const RegisterPage = lazy(() =>
-  import('@/pages/RegisterPage').then((m) => ({ default: m.RegisterPage })),
-)
-import { queryClient } from '@/lib/queryClient'
-import { safeRedirectPath } from '@/lib/redirect'
-import { getLastGardenId } from '@/lib/lastGarden'
+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 88fe190..c90cfc7 100644
--- a/web/vite.config.ts
+++ b/web/vite.config.ts
@@ -39,7 +39,14 @@ export default defineConfig(({ mode }) => {
           // routes are code-split separately via React.lazy (router.tsx), which is
           // where the real first-paint win is.
           manualChunks(id) {
-            return id.includes('node_modules') ? 'vendor' : undefined
+            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'
           },
         },
       },