diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index cca22374..64872489 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -78,6 +78,13 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 
 ### Fixed
 
+- **AI chat: the desktop app no longer freezes at 100% CPU on long agent runs.**
+  `useChat` re-rendered on every streamed token and `MessageItem`/`ReasoningBlock`
+  re-parsed the whole transcript markdown (marked + DOMPurify) on every delta, so
+  per-turn work grew quadratically and saturated the main thread. The stream is now
+  throttled (`experimental_throttle`) to ~20 Hz and each finalized message row /
+  markdown part / reasoning block is memoized, so a long turn no longer re-parses
+  already-finished content. (#182)
 - **Editor: caret/selection landed on the wrong line when clicking inside code
   blocks and footnotes.** The affected NodeViews rendered their non-editable
   chrome (language menu, footnotes heading, footnote number marker) before the
diff --git a/apps/client/src/features/ai-chat/components/chat-thread.tsx b/apps/client/src/features/ai-chat/components/chat-thread.tsx
index f021cfa3..af797947 100644
--- a/apps/client/src/features/ai-chat/components/chat-thread.tsx
+++ b/apps/client/src/features/ai-chat/components/chat-thread.tsx
@@ -29,6 +29,14 @@ import {
 } from "@/features/ai-chat/utils/queue-helpers.ts";
 import classes from "@/features/ai-chat/components/ai-chat.module.css";
 
+// Throttle how often the streamed `messages` state triggers a re-render. Without
+// it, useChat updates state on EVERY token, so the whole transcript's markdown
+// (marked + DOMPurify) is re-parsed per token — on a long agent run that grows
+// into a quadratic CPU storm that pins the main thread and freezes the UI.
+// ~50ms (20 Hz) keeps streaming visually smooth while decoupling re-render cost
+// from the token rate.
+const STREAM_THROTTLE_MS = 50;
+
 /** The page the user is currently viewing, sent as chat context. */
 export interface OpenPageContext {
   id: string;
@@ -254,6 +262,8 @@ export default function ChatThread({
     id: chatStoreId,
     messages: initialMessages,
     transport,
+    // See STREAM_THROTTLE_MS — bounds re-render/markdown-reparse frequency.
+    experimental_throttle: STREAM_THROTTLE_MS,
     // `onFinish` (ai@6 useChat) fires from a `finally` on EVERY terminal outcome
     // — success, user Stop/abort (`isAbort`), network drop (`isDisconnect`), and
     // stream error (`isError`). Keep calling `onTurnFinished()` on all of them
diff --git a/apps/client/src/features/ai-chat/components/message-item-memo.test.tsx b/apps/client/src/features/ai-chat/components/message-item-memo.test.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..06c0c5fb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/client/src/features/ai-chat/components/message-item-memo.test.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,81 @@
+import { describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
+import { render } from "@testing-library/react";
+import { MantineProvider } from "@mantine/core";
+import type { UIMessage } from "@ai-sdk/react";
+
+// Stub react-i18next (the component reads `useTranslation`). Mirrors the stub in
+// reasoning-block.test.tsx.
+vi.mock("react-i18next", () => ({
+  useTranslation: () => ({ t: (key: string) => key }),
+}));
+
+// Spy on `renderChatMarkdown` so we can count parse calls per text. We keep every
+// OTHER named export of markdown.ts intact via `importActual`, and override only
+// `renderChatMarkdown` with a `vi.fn()` that returns simple HTML so the component
+// still renders. This is the seam that proves the MarkdownPart memo works: a
+// finalized text part must NOT be re-parsed on a later streamed delta.
+// `vi.hoisted` so the spy exists when the hoisted `vi.mock` factory runs.
+const { renderChatMarkdownSpy } = vi.hoisted(() => ({
+  renderChatMarkdownSpy: vi.fn((text: string) => `<p>${text}</p>`),
+}));
+vi.mock("@/features/ai-chat/utils/markdown.ts", async () => {
+  const actual = await vi.importActual<
+    typeof import("@/features/ai-chat/utils/markdown.ts")
+  >("@/features/ai-chat/utils/markdown.ts");
+  return { ...actual, renderChatMarkdown: renderChatMarkdownSpy };
+});
+
+import MessageItem from "./message-item";
+
+// matchMedia (read by MantineProvider) is stubbed globally in vitest.setup.ts.
+
+const msg = (parts: UIMessage["parts"]): UIMessage =>
+  ({ id: "m1", role: "assistant", parts }) as UIMessage;
+
+const renderRow = (message: UIMessage) =>
+  render(
+    <MantineProvider>
+      <MessageItem message={message} />
+    </MantineProvider>,
+  );
+
+/** Count how many spy calls parsed exactly `text` (filtering by the first arg). */
+const callsFor = (text: string) =>
+  renderChatMarkdownSpy.mock.calls.filter((c) => c[0] === text).length;
+
+describe("MessageItem markdown memoization", () => {
+  it("does not re-parse finalized text parts when only a tail part grows", () => {
+    renderChatMarkdownSpy.mockClear();
+
+    // Two finalized text parts.
+    const first = msg([
+      { type: "text", text: "alpha" },
+      { type: "text", text: "beta" },
+    ]);
+    const { rerender } = renderRow(first);
+
+    // Both finalized parts parsed exactly once on the initial render.
+    expect(callsFor("alpha")).toBe(1);
+    expect(callsFor("beta")).toBe(1);
+
+    // A streamed delta: a NEW message object where only a third tail part grows;
+    // the first two parts' text is byte-identical.
+    const next = msg([
+      { type: "text", text: "alpha" },
+      { type: "text", text: "beta" },
+      { type: "text", text: "gamm" },
+    ]);
+    rerender(
+      <MantineProvider>
+        <MessageItem message={next} />
+      </MantineProvider>,
+    );
+
+    // The finalized parts hit the MarkdownPart memo: still parsed at most once
+    // each across BOTH renders (the resilient invariant). The only new parse is
+    // for the changed/added tail part.
+    expect(callsFor("alpha")).toBe(1);
+    expect(callsFor("beta")).toBe(1);
+    expect(callsFor("gamm")).toBe(1);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/apps/client/src/features/ai-chat/components/message-item.test.ts b/apps/client/src/features/ai-chat/components/message-item.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..dfed46f4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/client/src/features/ai-chat/components/message-item.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,73 @@
+import { describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
+import type { UIMessage } from "@ai-sdk/react";
+
+// Stub react-i18next: importing the component module pulls in `useTranslation`,
+// and we only exercise the pure `arePropsEqual` comparator (no rendering), so a
+// minimal `t` that echoes the key is enough. Mirrors the stub in
+// reasoning-block.test.tsx.
+vi.mock("react-i18next", () => ({
+  useTranslation: () => ({ t: (key: string) => key }),
+}));
+
+import { arePropsEqual } from "./message-item";
+
+/**
+ * Tests for `arePropsEqual`, the `React.memo` comparator for MessageItem. It must
+ * return false on any visible prop/content change (so the row re-renders) and
+ * true when nothing visible changed (so a finalized row is skipped). A FIXED
+ * message id is used so a content-identical clone yields an equal signature.
+ */
+const msg = (parts: UIMessage["parts"]): UIMessage =>
+  ({ id: "m1", role: "assistant", parts }) as UIMessage;
+
+const props = (
+  message: UIMessage,
+  over: Record<string, unknown> = {},
+) => ({
+  message,
+  showCitations: true,
+  neutralizeInternalLinks: false,
+  assistantName: "AI",
+  ...over,
+});
+
+describe("arePropsEqual", () => {
+  it("returns false when showCitations differs", () => {
+    const m = msg([{ type: "text", text: "answer" }]);
+    expect(
+      arePropsEqual(props(m), props(m, { showCitations: false })),
+    ).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it("returns false when neutralizeInternalLinks differs", () => {
+    const m = msg([{ type: "text", text: "answer" }]);
+    expect(
+      arePropsEqual(props(m), props(m, { neutralizeInternalLinks: true })),
+    ).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it("returns false when assistantName differs", () => {
+    const m = msg([{ type: "text", text: "answer" }]);
+    expect(
+      arePropsEqual(props(m), props(m, { assistantName: "Other" })),
+    ).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it("returns true on the identity fast path (same message object, equal props)", () => {
+    const m = msg([{ type: "text", text: "answer" }]);
+    expect(arePropsEqual(props(m), props(m))).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it("returns true for the same content in a different message object", () => {
+    const a = msg([{ type: "text", text: "answer" }]);
+    const b = msg([{ type: "text", text: "answer" }]);
+    expect(a).not.toBe(b);
+    expect(arePropsEqual(props(a), props(b))).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it("returns false when content changed in a different message object", () => {
+    const a = msg([{ type: "text", text: "answer" }]);
+    const b = msg([{ type: "text", text: "answer grown" }]);
+    expect(arePropsEqual(props(a), props(b))).toBe(false);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/apps/client/src/features/ai-chat/components/message-item.tsx b/apps/client/src/features/ai-chat/components/message-item.tsx
index 6436b4d6..6bd4374d 100644
--- a/apps/client/src/features/ai-chat/components/message-item.tsx
+++ b/apps/client/src/features/ai-chat/components/message-item.tsx
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import { memo } from "react";
 import { Box, Text } from "@mantine/core";
 import { useTranslation } from "react-i18next";
 import type { UIMessage } from "@ai-sdk/react";
@@ -10,6 +11,7 @@ import { assistantMessageHasVisibleContent } from "@/features/ai-chat/utils/mess
 import { renderChatMarkdown } from "@/features/ai-chat/utils/markdown.ts";
 import { resolveAssistantName } from "@/features/ai-chat/utils/assistant-name.ts";
 import { reasoningTokensForPart } from "@/features/ai-chat/utils/reasoning-tokens.ts";
+import { messageSignature } from "@/features/ai-chat/utils/message-signature.ts";
 import { describeChatError } from "@/features/ai-chat/utils/error-message.ts";
 import classes from "@/features/ai-chat/components/ai-chat.module.css";
 
@@ -34,6 +36,39 @@ interface MessageItemProps {
   assistantName?: string;
 }
 
+/**
+ * One assistant text part rendered as sanitized markdown. Memoized on its inputs
+ * so a finalized text part is NOT re-parsed on every streamed delta: during a
+ * turn only the actively-growing tail part changes its `text`, so every earlier
+ * part hits the memo and skips the expensive marked + DOMPurify pass. Props are
+ * primitives, so React.memo's default shallow compare is exactly right (the
+ * `text` string is compared by value).
+ */
+const MarkdownPart = memo(function MarkdownPart({
+  text,
+  neutralizeInternalLinks,
+}: {
+  text: string;
+  neutralizeInternalLinks: boolean;
+}) {
+  const html = renderChatMarkdown(text, { neutralizeInternalLinks });
+  if (html) {
+    return (
+      <div
+        className={classes.markdown}
+        // Sanitized by renderChatMarkdown (DOMPurify) before insertion.
+        dangerouslySetInnerHTML={{ __html: html }}
+      />
+    );
+  }
+  // Fallback when markdown could not render synchronously: raw text.
+  return (
+    <Text className={classes.markdown} style={{ whiteSpace: "pre-wrap" }}>
+      {text}
+    </Text>
+  );
+});
+
 /**
  * Render a single UIMessage by iterating its `parts`:
  *  - `text` parts -> sanitized markdown.
@@ -41,12 +76,13 @@ interface MessageItemProps {
  * Other part kinds (reasoning, sources, files, step-start) are ignored for v1.
  * User messages render their text as a right-aligned plain bubble.
  *
- * This component is intentionally NOT memoized: `useChat` replaces the streaming
- * assistant message with a freshly cloned object on every streamed delta, so the
- * `message` prop identity (and its `parts`) changes each tick. Re-rendering the
- * text parts on each delta is what makes the answer stream in progressively.
+ * This component is memoized (see `arePropsEqual` at the bottom) on a cheap
+ * per-message content signature: the streaming TAIL message's signature changes
+ * on each delta so it still re-renders and streams in, while finalized rows are
+ * skipped. Each text part's markdown is itself memoized via `MarkdownPart`, so a
+ * long turn no longer re-parses the whole transcript on every token.
  */
-export default function MessageItem({
+function MessageItem({
   message,
   showCitations = true,
   neutralizeInternalLinks = false,
@@ -109,24 +145,12 @@ export default function MessageItem({
           // starts with an empty text part before the first token arrives); the
           // typing indicator covers that gap until real content streams in.
           if (!part.text.trim()) return null;
-          const html = renderChatMarkdown(part.text, {
-            neutralizeInternalLinks,
-          });
-          if (html) {
-            return (
-              <div
-                key={index}
-                className={classes.markdown}
-                // Sanitized by renderChatMarkdown (DOMPurify) before insertion.
-                dangerouslySetInnerHTML={{ __html: html }}
-              />
-            );
-          }
-          // Fallback when markdown could not render synchronously: raw text.
           return (
-            <Text key={index} className={classes.markdown} style={{ whiteSpace: "pre-wrap" }}>
-              {part.text}
-            </Text>
+            <MarkdownPart
+              key={index}
+              text={part.text}
+              neutralizeInternalLinks={neutralizeInternalLinks}
+            />
           );
         }
 
@@ -177,3 +201,26 @@ export default function MessageItem({
     </Box>
   );
 }
+
+/** Skip re-rendering a message whose visible content is unchanged. The streaming
+ *  TAIL message gets a fresh object whose signature changes each delta, so it
+ *  still re-renders and streams in; every FINALIZED message is skipped, turning a
+ *  per-token whole-transcript re-render into a tail-only one. */
+export function arePropsEqual(
+  prev: MessageItemProps,
+  next: MessageItemProps,
+): boolean {
+  if (
+    prev.showCitations !== next.showCitations ||
+    prev.neutralizeInternalLinks !== next.neutralizeInternalLinks ||
+    prev.assistantName !== next.assistantName
+  ) {
+    return false;
+  }
+  // Fast path: identical message object (finalized rows keep their identity
+  // across deltas) — skip without building signatures.
+  if (prev.message === next.message) return true;
+  return messageSignature(prev.message) === messageSignature(next.message);
+}
+
+export default memo(MessageItem, arePropsEqual);
diff --git a/apps/client/src/features/ai-chat/components/reasoning-block.tsx b/apps/client/src/features/ai-chat/components/reasoning-block.tsx
index de35229a..cb3335f4 100644
--- a/apps/client/src/features/ai-chat/components/reasoning-block.tsx
+++ b/apps/client/src/features/ai-chat/components/reasoning-block.tsx
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { useState } from "react";
+import { memo, useMemo, useState } from "react";
 import { Box, Collapse, Group, Text, UnstyledButton } from "@mantine/core";
 import { IconChevronDown } from "@tabler/icons-react";
 import { useTranslation } from "react-i18next";
@@ -27,19 +27,23 @@ interface ReasoningBlockProps {
  * Providers that don't stream reasoning TEXT still render this block from the
  * authoritative count alone (header only, empty body) so the cost is visible.
  */
-export default function ReasoningBlock({ text, tokens }: ReasoningBlockProps) {
+function ReasoningBlock({ text, tokens }: ReasoningBlockProps) {
   const { t } = useTranslation();
   const [open, setOpen] = useState(false);
 
   // Authoritative count wins; otherwise estimate live from the streamed text.
   const count = tokens && tokens > 0 ? tokens : estimateTokens(text);
   const trimmed = text.trim();
-  // Collapse the blank-line gaps the model emits between every list item /
-  // paragraph so the reasoning renders compactly (tight lists, joined
-  // paragraphs) — see collapseBlankLines. ONLY here, not in the normal answer.
-  const html = trimmed
-    ? renderChatMarkdown(collapseBlankLines(trimmed), {})
-    : "";
+  // Memoize the markdown render so toggling `open` (or a parent re-render caused
+  // by an unrelated streamed delta) does not re-parse the reasoning text; it
+  // recomputes only when the reasoning text itself changes (while it streams in).
+  // collapseBlankLines collapses the blank-line gaps the model emits between every
+  // list item / paragraph so the reasoning renders compactly (tight lists, joined
+  // paragraphs) — ONLY here, not in the normal answer.
+  const html = useMemo(
+    () => (trimmed ? renderChatMarkdown(collapseBlankLines(trimmed), {}) : ""),
+    [trimmed],
+  );
 
   return (
     <Box className={classes.reasoningBlock} mb={6}>
@@ -87,3 +91,8 @@ export default function ReasoningBlock({ text, tokens }: ReasoningBlockProps) {
     </Box>
   );
 }
+
+// Memoized: re-renders only when `text`/`tokens` change (primitive props, default
+// shallow compare), so a parent re-render during streaming of OTHER content does
+// not re-run the markdown parse for an already-finalized reasoning block.
+export default memo(ReasoningBlock);
diff --git a/apps/client/src/features/ai-chat/utils/message-signature.test.ts b/apps/client/src/features/ai-chat/utils/message-signature.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..7c4f7a70
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/client/src/features/ai-chat/utils/message-signature.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,241 @@
+import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+import type { UIMessage } from "@ai-sdk/react";
+import { messageSignature } from "@/features/ai-chat/utils/message-signature.ts";
+
+/**
+ * Pure-helper tests for `messageSignature`, the cheap per-message content
+ * signature that drives MessageItem's memo (a streaming row's signature must
+ * change on every delta so it re-renders, while a finalized row's stays stable
+ * so it is skipped). Each test exercises ONE change signal and asserts it flips
+ * the signature; a content-identical clone must keep an EQUAL signature.
+ *
+ * The signature embeds `message.id` and `message.role`, so the `msg` factory
+ * uses a FIXED id/role here (not `Math.random()`): otherwise two messages with
+ * identical content would get different signatures and the negative case would
+ * be impossible to express.
+ */
+const msg = (
+  parts: UIMessage["parts"],
+  metadata?: unknown,
+): UIMessage =>
+  ({
+    id: "m1",
+    role: "assistant",
+    parts,
+    metadata,
+  }) as UIMessage;
+
+describe("messageSignature", () => {
+  it("changes when a text part grows", () => {
+    const before = msg([{ type: "text", text: "alpha" }]);
+    const after = msg([{ type: "text", text: "alpha beta" }]);
+    expect(messageSignature(before)).not.toBe(messageSignature(after));
+  });
+
+  it("changes when a new part is appended", () => {
+    const before = msg([{ type: "text", text: "alpha" }]);
+    const after = msg([
+      { type: "text", text: "alpha" },
+      { type: "text", text: "beta" },
+    ]);
+    expect(messageSignature(before)).not.toBe(messageSignature(after));
+  });
+
+  it("changes when a part's state flips", () => {
+    const before = msg([
+      { type: "tool-getPage", state: "input-streaming" } as never,
+    ]);
+    const after = msg([
+      { type: "tool-getPage", state: "output-available" } as never,
+    ]);
+    expect(messageSignature(before)).not.toBe(messageSignature(after));
+  });
+
+  it("changes when a tool part gains an output", () => {
+    const before = msg([
+      { type: "tool-getPage", state: "output-available" } as never,
+    ]);
+    const after = msg([
+      {
+        type: "tool-getPage",
+        state: "output-available",
+        output: { ok: true },
+      } as never,
+    ]);
+    expect(messageSignature(before)).not.toBe(messageSignature(after));
+  });
+
+  it("changes when a part gains an errorText", () => {
+    const before = msg([
+      { type: "tool-getPage", state: "output-error" } as never,
+    ]);
+    const after = msg([
+      {
+        type: "tool-getPage",
+        state: "output-error",
+        errorText: "boom",
+      } as never,
+    ]);
+    expect(messageSignature(before)).not.toBe(messageSignature(after));
+  });
+
+  it("changes when usage.reasoningTokens arrives on finish-step (text/state already frozen)", () => {
+    // The specifically-commented edge case: the authoritative turn total lands on
+    // the final finish-step AFTER the reasoning text length and state are frozen.
+    // Only the token count appears between these two snapshots, so the signature
+    // MUST still flip — otherwise the "Thinking · N tokens" header would never
+    // snap from the live estimate to the exact figure.
+    const before = msg([
+      { type: "reasoning", text: "thinking", state: "done" } as never,
+    ]);
+    const after = msg(
+      [{ type: "reasoning", text: "thinking", state: "done" } as never],
+      { usage: { reasoningTokens: 42 } },
+    );
+    expect(messageSignature(before)).not.toBe(messageSignature(after));
+  });
+
+  it("changes when metadata.error appears", () => {
+    const before = msg([{ type: "text", text: "answer" }]);
+    const after = msg([{ type: "text", text: "answer" }], { error: "boom" });
+    expect(messageSignature(before)).not.toBe(messageSignature(after));
+  });
+
+  it("changes when metadata.finishReason changes (e.g. to 'aborted')", () => {
+    const before = msg([{ type: "text", text: "answer" }], {
+      finishReason: "stop",
+    });
+    const after = msg([{ type: "text", text: "answer" }], {
+      finishReason: "aborted",
+    });
+    expect(messageSignature(before)).not.toBe(messageSignature(after));
+  });
+
+  it("is UNCHANGED for a content-identical clone (different object, same values)", () => {
+    // A finalized row that is re-created as a fresh object (different parts array
+    // by reference, same parts by value) must keep an EQUAL signature, so the
+    // memo skips re-rendering it.
+    const a = msg([
+      { type: "text", text: "alpha" },
+      { type: "tool-getPage", state: "output-available", output: { ok: true } } as never,
+    ]);
+    const b = msg([
+      { type: "text", text: "alpha" },
+      { type: "tool-getPage", state: "output-available", output: { ok: true } } as never,
+    ]);
+    expect(a).not.toBe(b);
+    expect(messageSignature(a)).toBe(messageSignature(b));
+  });
+});
+
+/**
+ * Per-part-kind coupling guard for the load-bearing invariant documented at the
+ * top of message-signature.ts: the signature MUST sample every VISIBLE field the
+ * MessageItem render body draws, or the memo freezes a stale row. This is an
+ * executable lock for the part kinds rendered TODAY — read alongside
+ * `MessageItem` (message-item.tsx) and the `assistantMessageHasVisibleContent`
+ * helper (message-content.ts), which "mirrors MessageItem's render decisions
+ * EXACTLY". For each kind, mutating a field the render body DRAWS must flip the
+ * signature. If a new visible field is rendered without being added here AND to
+ * the signature, the corresponding assertion below should fail — that is the
+ * guard. (This intentionally stops short of the render-descriptor refactor:
+ * adding a part kind or a visible field still requires a human to extend both
+ * the signature and this block.)
+ */
+describe("messageSignature ↔ render coupling (per visible part kind)", () => {
+  describe("text part — render draws part.text (MarkdownPart text={part.text})", () => {
+    it("flips when the visible text changes", () => {
+      // Streaming is append-only, so the visible text only grows; the signature
+      // samples its length, so the growth is the change signal.
+      const before = msg([{ type: "text", text: "answer" }]);
+      const after = msg([{ type: "text", text: "answer extended" }]);
+      expect(messageSignature(before)).not.toBe(messageSignature(after));
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe("reasoning part — render draws text + tokens (ReasoningBlock)", () => {
+    it("flips when the visible reasoning text changes", () => {
+      const before = msg([
+        { type: "reasoning", text: "think", state: "streaming" } as never,
+      ]);
+      const after = msg([
+        { type: "reasoning", text: "think harder", state: "streaming" } as never,
+      ]);
+      expect(messageSignature(before)).not.toBe(messageSignature(after));
+    });
+
+    it("flips when the visible token count (metadata.usage.reasoningTokens) lands", () => {
+      // The header's "Thinking · N tokens" reads reasoningTokensForPart, fed by
+      // metadata.usage.reasoningTokens — a VISIBLE field that arrives on the final
+      // finish-step after text length and state are frozen.
+      const before = msg([
+        { type: "reasoning", text: "think", state: "done" } as never,
+      ]);
+      const after = msg(
+        [{ type: "reasoning", text: "think", state: "done" } as never],
+        { usage: { reasoningTokens: 99 } },
+      );
+      expect(messageSignature(before)).not.toBe(messageSignature(after));
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe("tool-* part — render draws state/errorText/citations (ToolCallCard)", () => {
+    it("flips when the run state changes (running ↔ done icon + label)", () => {
+      // toolRunState(part.state) selects the spinner/check/error icon.
+      const before = msg([
+        { type: "tool-getPage", state: "input-available" } as never,
+      ]);
+      const after = msg([
+        { type: "tool-getPage", state: "output-available" } as never,
+      ]);
+      expect(messageSignature(before)).not.toBe(messageSignature(after));
+    });
+
+    it("flips when output arrives (drives the rendered citation links)", () => {
+      // toolCitations reads part.output to render the "/p/{id}" anchors.
+      const before = msg([
+        { type: "tool-getPage", state: "output-available" } as never,
+      ]);
+      const after = msg([
+        {
+          type: "tool-getPage",
+          state: "output-available",
+          output: { id: "page-1", title: "Doc" },
+        } as never,
+      ]);
+      expect(messageSignature(before)).not.toBe(messageSignature(after));
+    });
+
+    it("flips when errorText appears (the visible red error detail line)", () => {
+      const before = msg([
+        { type: "tool-getPage", state: "output-error" } as never,
+      ]);
+      const after = msg([
+        {
+          type: "tool-getPage",
+          state: "output-error",
+          errorText: "permission denied",
+        } as never,
+      ]);
+      expect(messageSignature(before)).not.toBe(messageSignature(after));
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe("metadata banners — render draws error / aborted notices", () => {
+    it("flips when metadata.error appears (ChatErrorAlert banner)", () => {
+      const before = msg([{ type: "text", text: "answer" }]);
+      const after = msg([{ type: "text", text: "answer" }], { error: "boom" });
+      expect(messageSignature(before)).not.toBe(messageSignature(after));
+    });
+
+    it("flips when metadata.finishReason becomes 'aborted' (ChatStoppedNotice)", () => {
+      const before = msg([{ type: "text", text: "answer" }], {
+        finishReason: "stop",
+      });
+      const after = msg([{ type: "text", text: "answer" }], {
+        finishReason: "aborted",
+      });
+      expect(messageSignature(before)).not.toBe(messageSignature(after));
+    });
+  });
+});
diff --git a/apps/client/src/features/ai-chat/utils/message-signature.ts b/apps/client/src/features/ai-chat/utils/message-signature.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..84c37919
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/client/src/features/ai-chat/utils/message-signature.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+import type { UIMessage } from "@ai-sdk/react";
+
+/** Cheap content signature for one message: changes iff something VISIBLE in the
+ *  row changed. Streaming is APPEND-ONLY (text parts only grow, parts are only
+ *  appended, a tool/text part flips state once), so a per-part [type, text
+ *  length, state, error/output presence] tuple + the persisted metadata
+ *  (error/finishReason) is a sufficient change signal without comparing full
+ *  strings on every delta. WARNING — load-bearing for the MessageItem memo:
+ *  if a future part kind's VISIBLE content can change WITHOUT changing [type,
+ *  text length, state, error/output presence] (e.g. a tool that streams
+ *  `preliminary` output, or a client-side regenerate that edits a finalized
+ *  row in place), extend this signature or the memo will freeze a stale row. */
+export function messageSignature(message: UIMessage): string {
+  const parts = message.parts
+    .map((p) => {
+      const any = p as {
+        type: string;
+        text?: string;
+        state?: string;
+        errorText?: string;
+        output?: unknown;
+      };
+      return [
+        any.type,
+        any.text?.length ?? 0,
+        any.state ?? "",
+        any.errorText ? 1 : 0,
+        any.output !== undefined ? 1 : 0,
+      ].join(":");
+    })
+    .join("|");
+  const meta = message.metadata as
+    | { error?: string; finishReason?: string; usage?: { reasoningTokens?: number } }
+    | undefined;
+  // `usage.reasoningTokens` is neither append-only nor part-bound: the authoritative
+  // turn total arrives on the final `finish-step` AFTER the reasoning text length and
+  // state are already frozen. Without it in the signature the row's signature would be
+  // unchanged at that point and the re-render skipped, so the "Thinking · N tokens"
+  // header (reasoningTokensForPart) would keep the live estimate instead of snapping
+  // to the exact figure.
+  return `${message.id}#${message.role}#${parts}#${meta?.error ?? ""}#${
+    meta?.finishReason ?? ""
+  }#${meta?.usage?.reasoningTokens ?? ""}`;
+}