fix(#344 review F1-F4): test-mock coverage + getSpaces freshness + comment/test fixes

- F1 [blocking]: share-modal.test.tsx + comment-content-view.test.tsx mocked
  page-query without usePageMetaQuery → 3 tests threw (ShareModal uses it
  directly, comment-content-view via MentionContent). Added usePageMetaQuery to
  both mocks (the space-tree mocks were already fixed; these two were missed).
- F2: restored refetchOnMount:true on useGetSpacesQuery — ["spaces"] is
  invalidated only by same-tab mutations (no socket path), so a cross-actor
  change (an admin adding/removing THIS user from a space) left the list stale
  until a hard reload. The other refetchOnMount removals (favorites/watched —
  per-user, same-tab-only gap) stay removed.
- F3: corrected the trash-list + recent-changes KEEP comments — both keys ARE
  invalidated (trash-list by 3 mutations, recent-changes by page CRUD), but
  invalidateQueries only marks an UNMOUNTED query stale without refetching, so the
  mount refetch closes the gap. The old "never invalidated" wording was wrong and
  risked a maintainer deleting a live invalidation as dead code.
- F4: tests for the two load-bearing pure paths — invalidate-on-update-page (the
  undefined-guard: a title-only event keeps the icon; sibling/unrelated subtrees
  untouched) and breadcrumb-path-equal (equal chain → true; any id/slugId/name/
  icon change or length diff → false; both-null → true). Exported
  breadcrumbPathEqual for the test.

Gate: client tsc 0; the 4 affected/new test files 33 passed.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

.env.example

@@ -202,6 +202,13 @@ MCP_DOCMOST_PASSWORD=
 # Default 900000 (15 min).
 # AI_MCP_CALL_TIMEOUT_MS=900000
 
+# Deferred tool loading for the in-app AI chat (#332). Default ON: the agent sees
+# a compact <tool_catalog> and only CORE tools + a loadTools meta-tool are active
+# each step; deferred tools (the fat/rare ones + all external MCP tools) load on
+# demand. Set AI_CHAT_DEFERRED_TOOLS=false to restore the old "all tools always
+# active" behavior.
+# AI_CHAT_DEFERRED_TOOLS=true
+
 # --- Anonymous public-share AI assistant ---
 # Opt-in per workspace (AI settings -> "public share assistant"; off by default).
 # When enabled, anonymous visitors of a published share can ask an AI about that

.github/workflows/develop.yml

@@ -18,12 +18,48 @@ env:
   IMAGE: ghcr.io/vvzvlad/gitmost
 
 jobs:
-  # Run the reusable test suite first so a failing test blocks the image build.
+  # Run the reusable test suite. Together with the e2e jobs below it gates the
+  # publish job (the image push), not the build itself — build runs in parallel.
   test:
     uses: ./.github/workflows/test.yml
 
+  # Runs in parallel with the test/e2e jobs and only warms the buildx cache
+  # (GHA cache, scope develop-amd64). No push happens here — the publish job
+  # below is the only one that pushes the image.
   build:
-    needs: test
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    timeout-minutes: 30
+    steps:
+      - name: Checkout
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
+        with:
+          fetch-depth: 0
+
+      - name: Set up Docker Buildx
+        uses: docker/setup-buildx-action@v3
+
+      - name: Resolve version
+        id: version
+        run: echo "value=$(git describe --tags --always)" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+
+      - name: Build develop image (warm cache, no push)
+        uses: docker/build-push-action@v6
+        with:
+          context: .
+          platforms: linux/amd64
+          build-args: |
+            APP_VERSION=${{ steps.version.outputs.value }}
+            AI_AGENT_ROLES_CATALOG_URL=https://raw.githubusercontent.com/vvzvlad/gitmost/develop/agent-roles-catalog
+          push: false
+          cache-from: type=gha,scope=develop-amd64
+          cache-to: type=gha,scope=develop-amd64,mode=max,ignore-error=true
+
+  # The gate: rebuilds from the cache the build job just wrote (near-instant on
+  # a cache hit; worst case — cache eviction — a full rebuild, which matches the
+  # old sequential timing) and pushes :develop only when unit tests AND both
+  # e2e suites AND the build are green.
+  publish:
+    needs: [test, e2e-server, e2e-mcp, build]
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     timeout-minutes: 30
     steps:
@@ -57,13 +93,10 @@ jobs:
           push: true
           tags: ${{ env.IMAGE }}:develop
           cache-from: type=gha,scope=develop-amd64
-          cache-to: type=gha,scope=develop-amd64,mode=max,ignore-error=true
 
-  # e2e jobs run on every develop push but DO NOT gate the build/publish above:
-  # `build` stays `needs: test` only, so the :develop image still ships even if
-  # e2e fails. A failing e2e job turns the run red and triggers GitHub's email
-  # to the pusher — that red run + email is the intended notification, not a
-  # deploy block.
+  # e2e jobs gate the publish (image push), not the build: the :develop image
+  # is pushed only when unit tests AND both e2e suites pass (publish.needs
+  # lists them all).
   e2e-server:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     # Hard cap: the full-AppModule e2e leaks open handles and hung jest to the 6h max.
@@ -124,9 +157,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Run server e2e
         run: pnpm --filter ./apps/server test:e2e
 
-  # Same rationale as e2e-server: this job is intentionally NOT in
-  # `build.needs`. Deploy of the :develop image must not be blocked by e2e;
-  # a red run plus GitHub's email to the pusher is the notification mechanism.
+  # Gates the publish too — see the comment above e2e-server.
   e2e-mcp:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     timeout-minutes: 20

Dockerfile

@@ -5,6 +5,13 @@ RUN npm install -g pnpm@10.4.0
 
 FROM base AS builder
 
+# re2 (packages/mcp) always compiles from source under pnpm (the prebuilt-binary
+# download cannot identify the GitHub repo), so node-gyp needs python3/make/g++.
+# This stage is discarded, so the toolchain can stay installed.
+RUN apt-get update \
+  && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends python3 make g++ \
+  && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
+
 WORKDIR /app
 
 COPY . .
@@ -57,9 +64,16 @@ COPY --from=builder /app/patches /app/patches
 
 RUN chown -R node:node /app
 
-USER node
+# Toolchain is needed transiently to compile re2 during the prod install; install
+# and purge it in one layer to keep the final image slim. The install itself runs
+# as the node user via su to keep node_modules ownership without a costly chown layer.
+RUN apt-get update \
+  && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends python3 make g++ \
+  && su node -c "pnpm install --frozen-lockfile --prod" \
+  && apt-get purge -y --auto-remove python3 make g++ \
+  && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
 
-RUN pnpm install --frozen-lockfile --prod
+USER node
 
 RUN mkdir -p /app/data/storage
 

apps/client/src/components/layouts/global/global-app-shell.tsx

@@ -67,14 +67,20 @@ export default function GlobalAppShell({
   );
 
   useEffect(() => {
-    //https://codesandbox.io/p/sandbox/kz9de
+    // Attach the global mousemove/mouseup only WHILE resizing (started on the
+    // handle's mousedown via startResizing → isResizing=true) and detach on
+    // mouseup (stopResizing → isResizing=false). Previously these listeners were
+    // attached for the whole app lifetime, so every mouse move over the app ran
+    // the resize handler.
+    // https://codesandbox.io/p/sandbox/kz9de
+    if (!isResizing) return;
     window.addEventListener("mousemove", resize);
     window.addEventListener("mouseup", stopResizing);
     return () => {
       window.removeEventListener("mousemove", resize);
       window.removeEventListener("mouseup", stopResizing);
     };
-  }, [resize, stopResizing]);
+  }, [isResizing, resize, stopResizing]);
 
   const location = useLocation();
   const isSettingsRoute = location.pathname.startsWith("/settings");

apps/client/src/components/ui/emoji-picker.tsx

@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ import {
   Button,
   useMantineColorScheme,
 } from "@mantine/core";
-import { useClickOutside, useDisclosure, useWindowEvent } from "@mantine/hooks";
+import { useClickOutside, useDisclosure } from "@mantine/hooks";
 import { Suspense } from "react";
 import { useTranslation } from "react-i18next";
 
@@ -57,14 +57,22 @@ function EmojiPicker({
     [dropdown, target],
   );
 
-  // We need this because the default Mantine popover closeOnEscape does not work
-  useWindowEvent("keydown", (event) => {
-    if (opened && event.key === "Escape") {
-      event.stopPropagation();
-      event.preventDefault();
-      handlers.close();
-    }
-  });
+  // We need this because the default Mantine popover closeOnEscape does not work.
+  // Attach the global keydown ONLY while the picker is open (every tree row
+  // renders an EmojiPicker, so an always-on window listener meant ~20-30 idle
+  // keydown handlers firing on each keystroke).
+  useEffect(() => {
+    if (!opened) return;
+    const handleKeydown = (event: KeyboardEvent) => {
+      if (event.key === "Escape") {
+        event.stopPropagation();
+        event.preventDefault();
+        handlers.close();
+      }
+    };
+    window.addEventListener("keydown", handleKeydown);
+    return () => window.removeEventListener("keydown", handleKeydown);
+  }, [opened, handlers]);
 
   // emoji-mart's built-in autoFocus calls .focus() without preventScroll, which
   // makes the browser scroll every scrollable ancestor of the search input to

apps/client/src/features/ai-chat/components/ai-chat-window.tsx

@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ import {
   desktopSidebarAtom,
   mobileSidebarAtom,
 } from "@/components/layouts/global/hooks/atoms/sidebar-atom.ts";
-import { usePageQuery } from "@/features/page/queries/page-query.ts";
+import { usePageMetaQuery } from "@/features/page/queries/page-query.ts";
 import { extractPageSlugId } from "@/lib";
 import {
   AI_CHATS_RQ_KEY,
@@ -219,7 +219,9 @@ export default function AiChatWindow() {
   // left partly off-screen).
   const [geom, setGeom] = useAtom(aiChatWindowGeomAtom);
 
-  const { data: chats } = useAiChatsQuery();
+  // Gated on windowOpen: the chat list is only needed once the window is open,
+  // so a closed window issues no chat-list request/refetch on navigation.
+  const { data: chats } = useAiChatsQuery(windowOpen);
   // Roles for the new-chat picker (any member may list them). Only fetched while
   // the window is open.
   const { data: roles } = useAiRolesQuery(windowOpen);
@@ -231,8 +233,10 @@ export default function AiChatWindow() {
     [roles],
   );
 
+  // Gated on windowOpen too: no message history is fetched while the window is
+  // closed (it is loaded when the window opens with an active chat).
   const { data: messageRows, isLoading: messagesLoading } =
-    useAiChatMessagesQuery(activeChatId ?? undefined);
+    useAiChatMessagesQuery(activeChatId ?? undefined, windowOpen);
 
   // The page the user is currently viewing. AiChatWindow lives in a pathless
   // parent layout route, so useParams() can't see :pageSlug. Match the full
@@ -244,7 +248,7 @@ export default function AiChatWindow() {
   // reads/writes via its CASL-enforced page tools using the id.
   const pageRouteMatch = useMatch("/s/:spaceSlug/p/:pageSlug");
   const pageSlug = pageRouteMatch?.params?.pageSlug;
-  const { data: openPageData } = usePageQuery({
+  const { data: openPageData } = usePageMetaQuery({
     pageId: extractPageSlugId(pageSlug),
   });
   const openPage = openPageData

apps/client/src/features/ai-chat/queries/ai-chat-query.ts

@@ -52,8 +52,12 @@ export const AI_CHAT_MESSAGES_RQ_KEY = (chatId: string) => [
   chatId,
 ];
 
-/** Paginated list of the current user's chats (auto-loads further pages). */
-export function useAiChatsQuery() {
+/**
+ * Paginated list of the current user's chats (auto-loads further pages).
+ * `enabled` (default true) lets the AI chat window skip fetching while it is
+ * closed — the list is only needed once the window is open.
+ */
+export function useAiChatsQuery(enabled: boolean = true) {
   const query = useInfiniteQuery({
     queryKey: AI_CHATS_RQ_KEY,
     queryFn: ({ pageParam }) =>
@@ -61,6 +65,7 @@ export function useAiChatsQuery() {
     initialPageParam: undefined as string | undefined,
     getNextPageParam: (lastPage) =>
       lastPage.meta.hasNextPage ? (lastPage.meta.nextCursor ?? undefined) : undefined,
+    enabled,
   });
 
   const data = useMemo<IPagination<IAiChat> | undefined>(() => {
@@ -83,7 +88,10 @@ export function useAiChatsQuery() {
  * Load all persisted messages of a chat (oldest first), flattening the
  * paginated server response. Used to seed `useChat` initial messages.
  */
-export function useAiChatMessagesQuery(chatId: string | undefined) {
+export function useAiChatMessagesQuery(
+  chatId: string | undefined,
+  enabled: boolean = true,
+) {
   const query = useInfiniteQuery({
     queryKey: AI_CHAT_MESSAGES_RQ_KEY(chatId ?? ""),
     queryFn: ({ pageParam }) =>
@@ -91,7 +99,7 @@ export function useAiChatMessagesQuery(chatId: string | undefined) {
     initialPageParam: undefined as string | undefined,
     getNextPageParam: (lastPage) =>
       lastPage.meta.hasNextPage ? (lastPage.meta.nextCursor ?? undefined) : undefined,
-    enabled: !!chatId,
+    enabled: !!chatId && enabled,
   });
 
   // useInfiniteQuery only fetches the first page on its own. The hook's contract

apps/client/src/features/comment/components/comment-content-view.test.tsx

@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ vi.mock("@/features/comment/components/comment-editor", () => ({
 // case renders in isolation.
 vi.mock("@/features/page/queries/page-query.ts", () => ({
   usePageQuery: () => ({ data: undefined, isLoading: false, isError: false }),
+  usePageMetaQuery: () => ({ data: undefined, isLoading: false, isError: false }),
 }));
 vi.mock("@/features/share/queries/share-query.ts", () => ({
   useSharePageQuery: () => ({ data: undefined }),

apps/client/src/features/comment/components/comment-list-with-tabs.tsx

@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ import CommentEditor from "@/features/comment/components/comment-editor";
 import CommentActions from "@/features/comment/components/comment-actions";
 import { useFocusWithin } from "@mantine/hooks";
 import { IComment } from "@/features/comment/types/comment.types.ts";
-import { usePageQuery } from "@/features/page/queries/page-query.ts";
+import { usePageMetaQuery } from "@/features/page/queries/page-query.ts";
 import { extractPageSlugId } from "@/lib";
 import { useTranslation } from "react-i18next";
 import { useGetSpaceBySlugQuery } from "@/features/space/queries/space-query.ts";
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ export function buildChildrenByParent(
 function CommentListWithTabs({ onClose }: CommentListWithTabsProps) {
   const { t } = useTranslation();
   const { pageSlug } = useParams();
-  const { data: page } = usePageQuery({ pageId: extractPageSlugId(pageSlug) });
+  const { data: page } = usePageMetaQuery({ pageId: extractPageSlugId(pageSlug) });
   const {
     data: comments,
     isLoading: isCommentsLoading,

apps/client/src/features/editor/components/link/link-view.tsx

@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ import classes from "./link.module.css";
 import { useTranslation } from "react-i18next";
 import { INTERNAL_LINK_REGEX } from "@/lib/constants";
 import { LinkEditorPanel } from "@/features/editor/components/link/link-editor-panel.tsx";
-import { usePageQuery } from "@/features/page/queries/page-query.ts";
+import { usePageMetaQuery } from "@/features/page/queries/page-query.ts";
 import { useSharePageQuery } from "@/features/share/queries/share-query.ts";
 import { buildSharedPageUrl } from "@/features/page/page.utils.ts";
 import { extractPageSlugId } from "@/lib";
@@ -83,7 +83,7 @@ export default function LinkView(props: MarkViewProps) {
   const isPopoverVisible = popoverState !== "closed";
   const activeView = isPopoverVisible ? popoverState : lastOpenState.current;
 
-  const { data: linkedPage } = usePageQuery({
+  const { data: linkedPage } = usePageMetaQuery({
     pageId: isPopoverVisible && slugId && !isShareRoute ? slugId : null,
   });
 

apps/client/src/features/editor/components/mention/mention-list.tsx

@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ import { IconFileDescription, IconPlus } from "@tabler/icons-react";
 import { useSpaceQuery } from "@/features/space/queries/space-query.ts";
 import { useParams } from "react-router-dom";
 import { v7 as uuid7 } from "uuid";
-import { useAtom } from "jotai";
+import { useAtom, useSetAtom, useStore } from "jotai";
 import { currentUserAtom } from "@/features/user/atoms/current-user-atom.ts";
 import {
   MentionListProps,
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ import {
 import { IPage } from "@/features/page/types/page.types";
 import {
   useCreatePageMutation,
-  usePageQuery,
+  usePageMetaQuery,
 } from "@/features/page/queries/page-query";
 import { treeDataAtom } from "@/features/page/tree/atoms/tree-data-atom";
 import { treeModel } from "@/features/page/tree/model/tree-model";
@@ -50,12 +50,16 @@ const MentionList = forwardRef<any, MentionListProps>((props, ref) => {
   const [countAnnouncement, setCountAnnouncement] = useState("");
   const [selectionAnnouncement, setSelectionAnnouncement] = useState("");
   const { pageSlug, spaceSlug } = useParams();
-  const { data: page } = usePageQuery({ pageId: extractPageSlugId(pageSlug) });
+  const { data: page } = usePageMetaQuery({ pageId: extractPageSlugId(pageSlug) });
   const { data: space } = useSpaceQuery(spaceSlug);
   const [currentUser] = useAtom(currentUserAtom);
   const [renderItems, setRenderItems] = useState<MentionSuggestionItem[]>([]);
   const { t } = useTranslation();
-  const [data, setData] = useAtom(treeDataAtom);
+  // Setter-only: the tree value is read only imperatively inside createPage
+  // (via `store` below), never at render, so useSetAtom avoids re-rendering the
+  // mention popup on any tree event.
+  const setData = useSetAtom(treeDataAtom);
+  const store = useStore();
   const createPageMutation = useCreatePageMutation();
   const emit = useQueryEmit();
   const isInCommentContext = props.isInCommentContext ?? false;
@@ -272,9 +276,11 @@ const MentionList = forwardRef<any, MentionListProps>((props, ref) => {
         children: [],
       };
 
-      const lastIndex = data.length;
+      // Read the live tree imperatively at call time.
+      const currentTree = store.get(treeDataAtom);
+      const lastIndex = currentTree.length;
 
-      setData(treeModel.insert(data, parentId, newNode, lastIndex));
+      setData(treeModel.insert(currentTree, parentId, newNode, lastIndex));
 
       props.command({
         id: uuid7(),

apps/client/src/features/editor/components/mention/mention-view.tsx

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ import { NodeViewProps, NodeViewWrapper } from "@tiptap/react";
 import { ActionIcon, Anchor, Text } from "@mantine/core";
 import { IconFileDescription } from "@tabler/icons-react";
 import { Link, useLocation, useNavigate, useParams } from "react-router-dom";
-import { usePageQuery } from "@/features/page/queries/page-query.ts";
+import { usePageMetaQuery } from "@/features/page/queries/page-query.ts";
 import { useSharePageQuery } from "@/features/share/queries/share-query.ts";
 import {
   buildPageUrl,
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ export function MentionContent({ attrs }: { attrs: MentionAttrs }) {
     data: page,
     isLoading,
     isError,
-  } = usePageQuery({ pageId: isPageMention && !isShareRoute ? slugId : null });
+  } = usePageMetaQuery({ pageId: isPageMention && !isShareRoute ? slugId : null });
 
   const { data: sharedPage } = useSharePageQuery({
     pageId: isPageMention && isShareRoute ? slugId : undefined,

apps/client/src/features/favorite/queries/favorite-query.ts

@@ -24,7 +24,6 @@ export function useFavoritesQuery(type?: FavoriteType, spaceId?: string) {
     initialPageParam: undefined as string | undefined,
     getNextPageParam: (lastPage) =>
       lastPage.meta.hasNextPage ? lastPage.meta.nextCursor : undefined,
-    refetchOnMount: true,
   });
 }
 
@@ -32,7 +31,6 @@ export function useFavoriteIds(type: FavoriteType, spaceId?: string): Set<string
   const { data } = useQuery({
     queryKey: ["favorite-ids", type, spaceId],
     queryFn: () => getFavoriteIds(type, spaceId),
-    refetchOnMount: true,
   });
 
   const items = data?.items;

apps/client/src/features/page-details/components/page-details-aside.tsx

@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ import { useAtomValue } from "jotai";
 import { useParams } from "react-router-dom";
 import { useTranslation } from "react-i18next";
 import { extractPageSlugId } from "@/lib";
-import { usePageQuery } from "@/features/page/queries/page-query.ts";
+import { usePageMetaQuery } from "@/features/page/queries/page-query.ts";
 import { pageEditorAtom } from "@/features/editor/atoms/editor-atoms.ts";
 import { useBacklinksCountQuery } from "@/features/page-details/queries/backlinks-query.ts";
 import { BacklinksModal } from "./backlinks-modal";
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ import { LabelsSection } from "@/features/label/components/labels-section.tsx";
 
 export function PageDetailsAside() {
   const { pageSlug } = useParams();
-  const { data: page } = usePageQuery({
+  const { data: page } = usePageMetaQuery({
     pageId: extractPageSlugId(pageSlug),
   });
   const pageEditor = useAtomValue(pageEditorAtom);

apps/client/src/features/page/components/breadcrumbs/breadcrumb-path-equal.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
+import { describe, it, expect, vi } from "vitest";
+import { SpaceTreeNode } from "@/features/page/tree/types";
+
+// breadcrumb.tsx transitively imports @/main.tsx (via usePageMetaQuery ->
+// queryClient), whose module body calls ReactDOM.createRoot on a null root in
+// jsdom. Stub it so importing the pure helper under test doesn't run that
+// (breadcrumbPathEqual does not use queryClient, so a dummy is enough).
+vi.mock("@/main.tsx", () => ({ queryClient: {} }));
+
+import { breadcrumbPathEqual } from "./breadcrumb";
+
+// breadcrumbPathEqual is the ONLY point where a false-positive equality would
+// leave a stale/incorrect breadcrumb trail on screen: it decides whether the
+// selectAtom hands back the same reference (no re-render) for the ancestor chain.
+// Pin both directions — a too-loose equality goes stale on a rename; a too-tight
+// one loses the perf win.
+const node = (over: Partial<SpaceTreeNode>): SpaceTreeNode =>
+  ({ id: "a", slugId: "sa", name: "A", icon: "📄", ...over }) as SpaceTreeNode;
+
+describe("breadcrumbPathEqual", () => {
+  it("both null → true", () => {
+    expect(breadcrumbPathEqual(null, null)).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it("same reference → true", () => {
+    const p = [node({})];
+    expect(breadcrumbPathEqual(p, p)).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it("equal by id/slugId/name/icon (different arrays) → true", () => {
+    expect(breadcrumbPathEqual([node({})], [node({})])).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it("one side null → false", () => {
+    expect(breadcrumbPathEqual([node({})], null)).toBe(false);
+    expect(breadcrumbPathEqual(null, [node({})])).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it("different length → false", () => {
+    expect(
+      breadcrumbPathEqual([node({})], [node({}), node({ id: "b" })]),
+    ).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it.each(["name", "icon", "slugId", "id"] as const)(
+    "a changed %s → false (breadcrumb must re-render)",
+    (field) => {
+      expect(
+        breadcrumbPathEqual([node({})], [node({ [field]: "CHANGED" })]),
+      ).toBe(false);
+    },
+  );
+});

apps/client/src/features/page/components/breadcrumbs/breadcrumb.tsx

@@ -1,7 +1,9 @@
 import { useAtomValue } from "jotai";
+import { selectAtom } from "jotai/utils";
 import { treeDataAtom } from "@/features/page/tree/atoms/tree-data-atom.ts";
-import React, { useCallback, useEffect, useState } from "react";
+import React, { useCallback, useEffect, useMemo, useState } from "react";
 import { computeBreadcrumbState } from "./breadcrumb.utils";
+import { findBreadcrumbPath } from "@/features/page/tree/utils";
 import {
   Button,
   Anchor,
@@ -18,7 +20,7 @@ import { SpaceTreeNode } from "@/features/page/tree/types.ts";
 import { IPage } from "@/features/page/types/page.types.ts";
 import { buildPageUrl } from "@/features/page/page.utils.ts";
 import {
-  usePageQuery,
+  usePageMetaQuery,
   usePageBreadcrumbsQuery,
 } from "@/features/page/queries/page-query.ts";
 import { extractPageSlugId } from "@/lib";
@@ -32,39 +34,84 @@ function getTitle(name: string, icon: string) {
   return name;
 }
 
+/**
+ * Equality over a breadcrumb chain by the only fields the breadcrumb renders
+ * (id, slugId, name, icon). Lets the selectAtom below hand back the SAME
+ * reference when an unrelated tree mutation leaves THIS page's ancestor chain
+ * visually unchanged, so the breadcrumb no longer re-renders on every tree
+ * event (it previously subscribed to the whole treeDataAtom).
+ */
+export function breadcrumbPathEqual(
+  a: SpaceTreeNode[] | null,
+  b: SpaceTreeNode[] | null,
+): boolean {
+  if (a === b) return true;
+  if (!a || !b || a.length !== b.length) return false;
+  for (let i = 0; i < a.length; i++) {
+    if (
+      a[i].id !== b[i].id ||
+      a[i].slugId !== b[i].slugId ||
+      a[i].name !== b[i].name ||
+      a[i].icon !== b[i].icon
+    ) {
+      return false;
+    }
+  }
+  return true;
+}
+
 export default function Breadcrumb() {
   const { t } = useTranslation();
-  const treeData = useAtomValue(treeDataAtom);
   const [breadcrumbNodes, setBreadcrumbNodes] = useState<
     SpaceTreeNode[] | null
   >(null);
   const { pageSlug, spaceSlug } = useParams();
-  const { data: currentPage } = usePageQuery({
+  const { data: currentPage } = usePageMetaQuery({
     pageId: extractPageSlugId(pageSlug),
   });
+  const currentPageId = currentPage?.id;
   // The page's own ancestor chain, fetched independently of the lazily-built
   // sidebar tree so a deep page doesn't render a blank breadcrumb for seconds
   // while the tree backfills (#218).
-  const { data: ancestors } = usePageBreadcrumbsQuery(currentPage?.id);
+  const { data: ancestors } = usePageBreadcrumbsQuery(currentPageId);
   const isMobile = useMediaQuery("(max-width: 48em)");
 
+  // Narrowed subscription: instead of subscribing to the whole treeDataAtom and
+  // recomputing on every tree event, derive ONLY the current page's ancestor
+  // chain. The custom equality returns the previous reference when that chain is
+  // visually unchanged, so an unrelated tree mutation no longer re-renders this
+  // component. Mirrors computeBreadcrumbState's tree-hit branch
+  // (findBreadcrumbPath); the tree-miss/ancestors fallback is applied below.
+  const treePathAtom = useMemo(
+    () =>
+      selectAtom(
+        treeDataAtom,
+        (tree): SpaceTreeNode[] | null =>
+          currentPageId ? findBreadcrumbPath(tree, currentPageId) : null,
+        breadcrumbPathEqual,
+      ),
+    [currentPageId],
+  );
+  const treePath = useAtomValue(treePathAtom);
+
   useEffect(() => {
     if (!currentPage) return;
 
     // Selection/mapping + stale-clearing live in a pure, unit-tested helper
-    // (#218). It resolves the correct chain when possible and, on a transient
-    // miss, clears a chain left over from a previously-viewed page instead of
-    // showing the wrong trail — while keeping a chain already resolved for THIS
-    // page to avoid a blank flash.
+    // (#218). The tree-hit chain (treePath) always wins when present; otherwise
+    // fall back to the page's own ancestors and the stale-clearing logic — this
+    // reproduces computeBreadcrumbState(fullTree, ancestors, …) exactly, since
+    // its tree-hit branch is precisely findBreadcrumbPath(fullTree, pageId).
     setBreadcrumbNodes((previous) =>
+      treePath ??
       computeBreadcrumbState(
-        treeData,
+        null,
         ancestors as IPage[] | undefined,
         currentPage.id,
         previous,
       ),
     );
-  }, [currentPage?.id, treeData, ancestors]);
+  }, [currentPage?.id, treePath, ancestors]);
 
   const HiddenNodesTooltipContent = () =>
     breadcrumbNodes?.slice(1, -1).map((node) => (

apps/client/src/features/page/components/header/page-header-menu.tsx

@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ import { historyAtoms } from "@/features/page-history/atoms/history-atoms.ts";
 import { useDisclosure, useHotkeys } from "@mantine/hooks";
 import { useClipboard } from "@/hooks/use-clipboard";
 import { useParams } from "react-router-dom";
-import { usePageQuery } from "@/features/page/queries/page-query.ts";
+import { usePageMetaQuery } from "@/features/page/queries/page-query.ts";
 import {
   useToggleTemporaryMutation,
   syncTemporaryExpiresInCache,
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ export default function PageHeaderMenu({ readOnly }: PageHeaderMenuProps) {
   const commentsTriggerProps = useAsideTriggerProps("comments");
   const tocTriggerProps = useAsideTriggerProps("toc");
   const { pageSlug } = useParams();
-  const { data: page } = usePageQuery({
+  const { data: page } = usePageMetaQuery({
     pageId: extractPageSlugId(pageSlug),
   });
   const isDeleted = !!page?.deletedAt;
@@ -146,7 +146,7 @@ function PageActionMenu({ readOnly }: PageActionMenuProps) {
   const [, setHistoryModalOpen] = useAtom(historyAtoms);
   const clipboard = useClipboard({ timeout: 500 });
   const { pageSlug, spaceSlug } = useParams();
-  const { data: page, isLoading } = usePageQuery({
+  const { data: page, isLoading } = usePageMetaQuery({
     pageId: extractPageSlugId(pageSlug),
   });
   const { handleDelete } = useTreeMutation(page?.spaceId ?? "");

apps/client/src/features/page/components/temporary-note-banner.tsx

@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ import { IconClockHour4, IconTrash } from "@tabler/icons-react";
 import { useState } from "react";
 import { Trans, useTranslation } from "react-i18next";
 import { useTimeAgo } from "@/hooks/use-time-ago.tsx";
-import { usePageQuery } from "@/features/page/queries/page-query.ts";
+import { usePageMetaQuery } from "@/features/page/queries/page-query.ts";
 import { useTreeMutation } from "@/features/page/tree/hooks/use-tree-mutation.ts";
 import {
   useToggleTemporaryMutation,
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ type TemporaryNoteBannerProps = {
  */
 export function TemporaryNoteBanner({ slugId }: TemporaryNoteBannerProps) {
   const { t } = useTranslation();
-  const { data: page } = usePageQuery({ pageId: slugId });
+  const { data: page } = usePageMetaQuery({ pageId: slugId });
   const { data: space } = useGetSpaceBySlugQuery(page?.space?.slug);
   const spaceAbility = useSpaceAbility(space?.membership?.permissions);
   const expiresTimeAgo = useTimeAgo(page?.temporaryExpiresAt);

apps/client/src/features/page/queries/invalidate-on-update-page.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,90 @@
+import { describe, it, expect, beforeEach, vi } from "vitest";
+import type { IPage } from "@/features/page/types/page.types";
+
+// A fresh QueryClient stands in for the app singleton (importing the real
+// @/main.tsx would run ReactDOM.createRoot, which has no DOM root in jsdom). The
+// factory constructs it (QueryClient can't be referenced in vi.hoisted — that
+// runs before imports resolve); we import the SAME mocked instance back to seed
+// and assert on it.
+vi.mock("@/main.tsx", async () => {
+  const { QueryClient } = await import("@tanstack/react-query");
+  return { queryClient: new QueryClient() };
+});
+
+import { queryClient as h_qc } from "@/main.tsx";
+import { invalidateOnUpdatePage } from "./page-query";
+
+const h = { qc: h_qc };
+
+// invalidateOnUpdatePage is the field-only (title/icon) tree path: instead of a
+// blanket invalidate it patches the affected node IN PLACE in every cached embed
+// subtree. The undefined-guard is LOAD-BEARING: a title-only socket event carries
+// icon:undefined, and without the guard `{...p, icon: undefined}` would WIPE the
+// icon in every cached subtree.
+const page = (over: Partial<IPage>): IPage =>
+  ({ id: "p1", title: "Old", icon: "📄", spaceId: "s1" }) as IPage &
+    typeof over as IPage;
+
+describe("invalidateOnUpdatePage — pointwise embed-cache patch", () => {
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    h.qc.clear();
+  });
+
+  it("title-only event updates title but PRESERVES the icon (undefined-guard)", () => {
+    const key = ["page-tree", "parent-1"];
+    h.qc.setQueryData<IPage[]>(key, [
+      { id: "p1", title: "Old", icon: "📄", spaceId: "s1" } as IPage,
+      { id: "p2", title: "Other", icon: "📁", spaceId: "s1" } as IPage,
+    ]);
+
+    // icon passed as undefined (a title-only update)
+    invalidateOnUpdatePage(
+      "s1",
+      "parent-1",
+      "p1",
+      "New Title",
+      undefined as unknown as string,
+    );
+
+    const patched = h.qc.getQueryData<IPage[]>(key)!;
+    const p1 = patched.find((p) => p.id === "p1")!;
+    const p2 = patched.find((p) => p.id === "p2")!;
+    expect(p1.title).toBe("New Title");
+    expect(p1.icon).toBe("📄"); // preserved, not wiped
+    // Sibling node untouched.
+    expect(p2.title).toBe("Other");
+    expect(p2.icon).toBe("📁");
+  });
+
+  it("icon-only event updates icon but preserves the title", () => {
+    const key = ["page-tree", "parent-1"];
+    h.qc.setQueryData<IPage[]>(key, [
+      { id: "p1", title: "Keep", icon: "📄", spaceId: "s1" } as IPage,
+    ]);
+
+    invalidateOnUpdatePage(
+      "s1",
+      "parent-1",
+      "p1",
+      undefined as unknown as string,
+      "🚀",
+    );
+
+    const p1 = h.qc.getQueryData<IPage[]>(key)!.find((p) => p.id === "p1")!;
+    expect(p1.icon).toBe("🚀");
+    expect(p1.title).toBe("Keep");
+  });
+
+  it("does not touch a subtree that lacks the updated node", () => {
+    const otherKey = ["page-tree", "unrelated"];
+    const before = [
+      { id: "x1", title: "X", icon: "❌", spaceId: "s1" } as IPage,
+    ];
+    h.qc.setQueryData<IPage[]>(otherKey, before);
+
+    invalidateOnUpdatePage("s1", "parent-1", "p1", "New", "🚀");
+
+    // Same reference back — the subtree without p1 is left as-is.
+    expect(h.qc.getQueryData<IPage[]>(otherKey)).toBe(before);
+  });
+});

apps/client/src/features/page/queries/page-query.ts

@@ -51,6 +51,10 @@ export function usePageQuery(
     queryFn: () => getPageById(pageInput),
     enabled: !!pageInput.pageId,
     staleTime: 5 * 60 * 1000,
+    // Keep the previously-loaded page visible while navigating to a new one
+    // instead of flashing a blank/skeleton frame (the new page's content
+    // streams in when ready). isLoading stays true only for the very first load.
+    placeholderData: keepPreviousData,
   });
 
   useEffect(() => {
@@ -66,6 +70,61 @@ export function usePageQuery(
   return query;
 }
 
+/**
+ * A page view that omits the large, frequently-changing `content` field. Every
+ * other field is preserved, so consumers that read only metadata (title, icon,
+ * permissions, id, creator, timestamps, …) keep working unchanged.
+ */
+export type IPageMeta = Omit<IPage, "content">;
+
+function selectPageMeta(page: IPage): IPageMeta {
+  // Drop `content`; react-query's structural sharing (replaceEqualDeep) then
+  // returns the SAME reference whenever the remaining fields are unchanged, so a
+  // pure content churn (typing / debouncedUpdateContent, collab `page.updated`)
+  // no longer changes this slice's identity and its ~13 subscribers don't
+  // re-render on every keystroke wave.
+  const { content: _content, ...meta } = page;
+  return meta as IPageMeta;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Metadata-only variant of {@link usePageQuery}. Shares the SAME query cache
+ * entry (`["pages", pageId]`, full object incl. content), but this hook returns
+ * a stable content-less slice so peripheral subscribers stop re-rendering on
+ * every content update. Use it anywhere the full `content` is not read.
+ */
+export function usePageMetaQuery(
+  pageInput: Partial<IPageInput>,
+): UseQueryResult<IPageMeta, Error> {
+  const query = useQuery({
+    queryKey: ["pages", pageInput.pageId],
+    queryFn: () => getPageById(pageInput),
+    enabled: !!pageInput.pageId,
+    staleTime: 5 * 60 * 1000,
+    select: selectPageMeta,
+    // Match usePageQuery: keep the previous page's metadata visible while
+    // navigating so the periphery (header, breadcrumb, …) doesn't flash blank.
+    placeholderData: keepPreviousData,
+  });
+
+  // Mirror usePageQuery's cross-key alias write so a page fetched by one
+  // identifier is also cached under the other. The cache stores the FULL page
+  // (select only narrows what THIS hook returns), so read the full object back
+  // from the cache and alias THAT — never the content-less slice.
+  useEffect(() => {
+    if (!query.data) return;
+    const full = queryClient.getQueryData<IPage>(["pages", pageInput.pageId]);
+    if (!full) return;
+    if (isValidUuid(pageInput.pageId)) {
+      queryClient.setQueryData(["pages", full.slugId], full);
+    } else {
+      queryClient.setQueryData(["pages", full.id], full);
+    }
+  }, [query.data]);
+
+  return query;
+}
+
 export function useCreatePageMutation() {
   const { t } = useTranslation();
   return useMutation<IPage, Error, Partial<IPageInput>>({
@@ -351,6 +410,12 @@ export function useRecentChangesQuery(spaceId?: string) {
     initialPageParam: undefined as string | undefined,
     getNextPageParam: (lastPage) =>
       lastPage.meta.hasNextPage ? lastPage.meta.nextCursor : undefined,
+    // KEEP refetchOnMount:true (against the global default false): recent-changes
+    // IS invalidated on page create/update/move/delete, but invalidateQueries only
+    // marks an UNMOUNTED query stale — it doesn't refetch it. The widget isn't
+    // always mounted, so an event that lands while it's unmounted leaves it stale,
+    // and the global refetchOnMount:false would not re-fetch on remount. The mount
+    // refetch closes that gap.
     refetchOnMount: true,
   });
 }
@@ -367,6 +432,9 @@ export function useCreatedByQuery(params?: {
     initialPageParam: undefined as string | undefined,
     getNextPageParam: (lastPage) =>
       lastPage.meta.hasNextPage ? lastPage.meta.nextCursor : undefined,
+    // KEEP refetchOnMount:true: the "created-by" key is never invalidated (no
+    // socket/mutation path), so the mount refetch is its ONLY freshness mechanism
+    // — without it the list shows stale cache on navigation.
     refetchOnMount: true,
   });
 }
@@ -380,8 +448,14 @@ export function useDeletedPagesQuery(
     queryFn: () => getDeletedPages(spaceId, params),
     enabled: !!spaceId,
     placeholderData: keepPreviousData,
-    refetchOnMount: true,
     staleTime: 0,
+    // KEEP refetchOnMount:true: ["trash-list"] IS invalidated by the
+    // move-to-trash / delete / restore mutations, but invalidateQueries only marks
+    // an unmounted query stale — it doesn't refetch it. The trash panel isn't
+    // usually mounted when a page is trashed, so on opening it the global
+    // refetchOnMount:false would show a stale list; the mount refetch closes that.
+    // (Do NOT remove the three trash-list invalidations — they are not dead code.)
+    refetchOnMount: true,
   });
 }
 
@@ -516,7 +590,35 @@ export function invalidateOnUpdatePage(
   title: string,
   icon: string,
 ) {
-  invalidatePageTree();
+  // Scoped page-tree refresh (was a blanket `invalidatePageTree()`): this is the
+  // FIELD-only update path (title/icon — no structural change), and the sidebar
+  // tree is already updated pointwise (applyUpdateOne / optimistic setData) plus
+  // via the sidebar-pages cache below. Invalidating ALL ["page-tree"] queries
+  // here refetched every open recursive subpages-embed block on each
+  // rename/icon-change — pure duplicate work. Instead patch just the affected
+  // node IN PLACE in every cached embed subtree: same visible result, no network
+  // churn, no full embed-tree rebuild. Structural events (create/move/delete)
+  // keep the blanket invalidate in their own helpers.
+  const pageTreeMatches = queryClient.getQueriesData<IPage[]>({
+    queryKey: ["page-tree"],
+  });
+  pageTreeMatches.forEach(([key, items]) => {
+    if (!items || !items.some((p) => p.id === id)) return;
+    queryClient.setQueryData<IPage[]>(key, (old) =>
+      old?.map((p) =>
+        p.id === id
+          ? {
+              ...p,
+              // Guard undefined so a title-only event can't wipe the icon (and
+              // vice versa) in the embed cache.
+              ...(title !== undefined ? { title } : {}),
+              ...(icon !== undefined ? { icon } : {}),
+            }
+          : p,
+      ),
+    );
+  });
+
   let queryKey: QueryKey = null;
   if (parentPageId === null) {
     queryKey = ["root-sidebar-pages", spaceId];

apps/client/src/features/page/trash/components/deleted-page-banner.tsx

@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ import { useRestorePageModal } from "@/features/page/hooks/use-restore-page-moda
 import { useDeletePageModal } from "@/features/page/hooks/use-delete-page-modal.tsx";
 import {
   useDeletePageMutation,
-  usePageQuery,
+  usePageMetaQuery,
   useRestorePageMutation,
 } from "@/features/page/queries/page-query.ts";
 import { getSpaceUrl } from "@/lib/config.ts";
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ type DeletedPageBannerProps = {
 export function DeletedPageBanner({ slugId }: DeletedPageBannerProps) {
   const { t } = useTranslation();
   const navigate = useNavigate();
-  const { data: page } = usePageQuery({ pageId: slugId });
+  const { data: page } = usePageMetaQuery({ pageId: slugId });
   const { data: space } = useGetSpaceBySlugQuery(page?.space?.slug);
   const spaceAbility = useSpaceAbility(space?.membership?.permissions);
   const deletedTimeAgo = useTimeAgo(page?.deletedAt);

apps/client/src/features/page/tree/components/space-tree-node-menu.tsx

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { useAtom } from "jotai";
+import { useSetAtom, useStore } from "jotai";
 import { useTranslation } from "react-i18next";
 import { useParams } from "react-router-dom";
 import { ActionIcon, Menu, rem } from "@mantine/core";
@@ -52,7 +52,11 @@ export function NodeMenu({ node, canEdit }: NodeMenuProps) {
   const clipboard = useClipboard({ timeout: 500 });
   const { spaceSlug } = useParams();
   const { handleDelete } = useTreeMutation(node.spaceId);
-  const [data, setData] = useAtom(treeDataAtom);
+  // Setter-only: the tree value is read only imperatively inside the duplicate
+  // handler (via `store` below), never at render, so useSetAtom avoids
+  // re-rendering every row's NodeMenu on any tree event.
+  const setData = useSetAtom(treeDataAtom);
+  const store = useStore();
   const emit = useQueryEmit();
   const [exportOpened, { open: openExportModal, close: closeExportModal }] =
     useDisclosure(false);
@@ -125,8 +129,8 @@ export function NodeMenu({ node, canEdit }: NodeMenuProps) {
     try {
       const duplicatedPage = await duplicatePage({ pageId: node.id });
 
-      // figure out parent + insertion index
-      const siblings = treeModel.siblingsOf(data, node.id);
+      // figure out parent + insertion index (read the live tree imperatively)
+      const siblings = treeModel.siblingsOf(store.get(treeDataAtom), node.id);
       const parentId = siblings?.parentId ?? null;
       const currentIndex = siblings?.index ?? 0;
       const newIndex = currentIndex + 1;

apps/client/src/features/page/tree/components/space-tree-row.tsx

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import { useRef } from "react";
 import { Link, useParams } from "react-router-dom";
-import { useAtom } from "jotai";
+import { useAtom, useSetAtom } from "jotai";
 import { useTranslation } from "react-i18next";
 import { ActionIcon, rem, Tooltip } from "@mantine/core";
 import {
@@ -51,7 +51,11 @@ export function SpaceTreeRow({
   const { t } = useTranslation();
   const { spaceSlug } = useParams();
   const updatePageMutation = useUpdatePageMutation();
-  const [, setTreeData] = useAtom(treeDataAtom);
+  // Setter-only: subscribing to the whole treeDataAtom (via useAtom) re-rendered
+  // every virtualized row on any tree event, bypassing the DocTreeRow memo. This
+  // row never reads the tree value, only writes it, so useSetAtom avoids the
+  // value subscription.
+  const setTreeData = useSetAtom(treeDataAtom);
   const emit = useQueryEmit();
   const timerRef = useRef<ReturnType<typeof setTimeout> | null>(null);
   const [mobileSidebarOpened] = useAtom(mobileSidebarAtom);

apps/client/src/features/page/tree/components/space-tree.boot-cache.test.tsx

@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@ vi.mock("@/features/page/queries/page-query.ts", () => ({
     isFetching: false,
   }),
   usePageQuery: () => ({ data: undefined }),
+  usePageMetaQuery: () => ({ data: undefined }),
   fetchAllAncestorChildren: (...args: unknown[]) =>
     fetchAllAncestorChildrenMock(...args),
 }));

apps/client/src/features/page/tree/components/space-tree.expand-all.test.tsx

@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ vi.mock("@/features/page/queries/page-query.ts", () => ({
     isFetching: false,
   }),
   usePageQuery: () => ({ data: undefined }),
+  usePageMetaQuery: () => ({ data: undefined }),
   fetchAllAncestorChildren: vi.fn(),
 }));
 

apps/client/src/features/page/tree/components/space-tree.tsx

@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ import { notifications } from "@mantine/notifications";
 import {
   fetchAllAncestorChildren,
   useGetRootSidebarPagesQuery,
-  usePageQuery,
+  usePageMetaQuery,
 } from "@/features/page/queries/page-query.ts";
 import classes from "@/features/page/tree/styles/tree.module.css";
 import { treeDataAtom } from "@/features/page/tree/atoms/tree-data-atom.ts";
@@ -76,7 +76,7 @@ const SpaceTree = forwardRef<SpaceTreeApi, SpaceTreeProps>(function SpaceTree(
   const [isDataLoaded, setIsDataLoaded] = useState(false);
   const spaceIdRef = useRef(spaceId);
   spaceIdRef.current = spaceId;
-  const { data: currentPage } = usePageQuery({
+  const { data: currentPage } = usePageMetaQuery({
     pageId: extractPageSlugId(pageSlug),
   });
 

apps/client/src/features/page/tree/hooks/use-tree-mutation.ts

@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import { useCallback } from "react";
-import { useAtom, useSetAtom, useStore } from "jotai";
+import { useSetAtom, useStore } from "jotai";
 import { notifications } from "@mantine/notifications";
 import { useTranslation } from "react-i18next";
 import { useNavigate, useParams } from "react-router-dom";
@@ -34,7 +34,10 @@ export type UseTreeMutation = {
 
 export function useTreeMutation(spaceId: string): UseTreeMutation {
   const { t } = useTranslation();
-  const [, setData] = useAtom(treeDataAtom);
+  // Setter-only: this hook never reads the tree reactively (handlers read the
+  // live value imperatively via `store` below), so useSetAtom avoids
+  // re-rendering SpaceSidebar on every tree event.
+  const setData = useSetAtom(treeDataAtom);
   // `store` reads the *current* treeDataAtom imperatively in handlers — avoids
   // stale-closure issues when the caller updates the tree (e.g. lazy-load
   // children) and then immediately invokes a handler.

apps/client/src/features/share/components/share-modal.test.tsx

@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ vi.mock("@/features/share/queries/share-query.ts", () => ({
 
 vi.mock("@/features/page/queries/page-query.ts", () => ({
   usePageQuery: () => ({ data: { id: "page-1", title: "Doc" } }),
+  usePageMetaQuery: () => ({ data: { id: "page-1", title: "Doc" } }),
 }));
 
 vi.mock("@/features/space/queries/space-query.ts", () => ({

apps/client/src/features/share/components/share-modal.tsx

@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ import {
 import { Link, useParams } from "react-router-dom";
 import { extractPageSlugId, getPageIcon } from "@/lib";
 import { useTranslation } from "react-i18next";
-import { usePageQuery } from "@/features/page/queries/page-query.ts";
+import { usePageMetaQuery } from "@/features/page/queries/page-query.ts";
 import CopyTextButton from "@/components/common/copy.tsx";
 import { getAppUrl } from "@/lib/config.ts";
 import { buildPageUrl } from "@/features/page/page.utils.ts";
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ export default function ShareModal({ readOnly }: ShareModalProps) {
   const { t } = useTranslation();
   const { pageSlug } = useParams();
   const pageSlugId = extractPageSlugId(pageSlug);
-  const { data: page } = usePageQuery({ pageId: pageSlugId });
+  const { data: page } = usePageMetaQuery({ pageId: pageSlugId });
   const pageId = page?.id;
   const { data: share } = useShareForPageQuery(pageId);
   const { spaceSlug } = useParams();

apps/client/src/features/space/queries/space-query.ts

@@ -38,6 +38,11 @@ export function useGetSpacesQuery(
     queryKey: ["spaces", params],
     queryFn: () => getSpaces(params),
     placeholderData: keepPreviousData,
+    // KEEP refetchOnMount:true (against the global default false): the ["spaces"]
+    // key is invalidated only by same-tab mutations (no socket path), so a
+    // cross-actor change — an admin adding/removing THIS user from a space — has
+    // no local mutation or socket event and would leave the space list stale until
+    // a hard reload. The mount refetch is its only cross-actor freshness path.
     refetchOnMount: true,
   });
 }

apps/client/src/features/space/queries/space-watcher-query.ts

@@ -16,7 +16,6 @@ export function useWatchedSpaceIds(): Set<string> {
   const { data } = useQuery({
     queryKey: [WATCHED_SPACE_IDS_KEY],
     queryFn: () => getWatchedSpaceIds(),
-    refetchOnMount: true,
   });
 
   const items = data?.items;

apps/client/src/features/websocket/use-query-subscription.ts

@@ -19,7 +19,11 @@ export const useQuerySubscription = () => {
   const [socket] = useAtom(socketAtom);
 
   React.useEffect(() => {
-    socket?.on("message", (event) => {
+    if (!socket) return;
+    // Named handler + off() cleanup (mirrors use-notification-socket). Without
+    // cleanup, every socket recreation / effect re-run stacked another listener,
+    // so a single broadcast fired duplicated invalidateQueries / setQueryData.
+    const handleMessage = (event) => {
       const data: WebSocketEvent = event;
 
       let entity = null;
@@ -163,6 +167,11 @@ export const useQuerySubscription = () => {
           });
           break;
       }
-    });
+    };
+
+    socket.on("message", handleMessage);
+    return () => {
+      socket.off("message", handleMessage);
+    };
   }, [queryClient, socket]);
 };

apps/client/src/features/websocket/use-tree-socket.ts

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import { useEffect } from "react";
 import { socketAtom } from "@/features/websocket/atoms/socket-atom.ts";
-import { useAtom } from "jotai";
+import { useAtom, useSetAtom } from "jotai";
 import { treeDataAtom } from "@/features/page/tree/atoms/tree-data-atom.ts";
 import { WebSocketEvent } from "@/features/websocket/types";
 import { SpaceTreeNode } from "@/features/page/tree/types.ts";
@@ -16,7 +16,10 @@ import localEmitter from "@/lib/local-emitter.ts";
 
 export const useTreeSocket = () => {
   const [socket] = useAtom(socketAtom);
-  const [, setTreeData] = useAtom(treeDataAtom);
+  // Setter-only: this hook writes the tree from socket events but never reads it
+  // reactively, so useSetAtom avoids re-rendering UserProvider (its host) on
+  // every tree event.
+  const setTreeData = useSetAtom(treeDataAtom);
   const queryClient = useQueryClient();
 
   useEffect(() => {
@@ -37,7 +40,11 @@ export const useTreeSocket = () => {
   }, []);
 
   useEffect(() => {
-    socket?.on("message", (event: WebSocketEvent) => {
+    if (!socket) return;
+    // Named handler + off() cleanup (mirrors use-notification-socket). Without
+    // cleanup, every socket recreation / effect re-run stacked another listener,
+    // so a single broadcast fired duplicated tree walks after each reconnect.
+    const handleMessage = (event: WebSocketEvent) => {
       switch (event.operation) {
         case "updateOne":
           if (event.entity[0] === "pages") {
@@ -64,6 +71,11 @@ export const useTreeSocket = () => {
           });
           break;
       }
-    });
-  }, [socket]);
+    };
+
+    socket.on("message", handleMessage);
+    return () => {
+      socket.off("message", handleMessage);
+    };
+  }, [socket, queryClient, setTreeData]);
 };

apps/client/src/features/workspace/queries/workspace-query.ts

@@ -243,6 +243,5 @@ export function useAppVersion(
     queryFn: () => getAppVersion(),
     staleTime: 60 * 60 * 1000, // 1 hr
     enabled: isEnabled,
-    refetchOnMount: true,
   });
 }

apps/client/src/pages/page/page-redirect.tsx

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import { useNavigate, useParams } from "react-router-dom";
 import { useEffect } from "react";
-import { usePageQuery } from "@/features/page/queries/page-query";
+import { usePageMetaQuery } from "@/features/page/queries/page-query";
 import { buildPageUrl } from "@/features/page/page.utils.ts";
 import { extractPageSlugId } from "@/lib";
 import { Error404 } from "@/components/ui/error-404.tsx";
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ export default function PageRedirect() {
     data: page,
     isLoading: pageIsLoading,
     isError,
-  } = usePageQuery({ pageId: extractPageSlugId(pageSlug) });
+  } = usePageMetaQuery({ pageId: extractPageSlugId(pageSlug) });
   const navigate = useNavigate();
 
   useEffect(() => {

apps/client/src/pages/page/page.tsx

@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ import { useTranslation } from "react-i18next";
 import React from "react";
 import { EmptyState } from "@/components/ui/empty-state.tsx";
 import { IconAlertTriangle, IconFileOff } from "@tabler/icons-react";
-import { Button } from "@mantine/core";
+import { Button, Skeleton } from "@mantine/core";
 import { Link } from "react-router-dom";
 import { ErrorBoundary } from "react-error-boundary";
 const MemoizedFullEditor = React.memo(FullEditor);
@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@ function PageContent({ pageSlug }: { pageSlug: string | undefined }) {
     (space?.settings?.comments?.allowViewerComments === true);
 
   if (isLoading) {
-    return <></>;
+    return <PageSkeleton />;
   }
 
   if (isError || !page) {
@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ function PageContent({ pageSlug }: { pageSlug: string | undefined }) {
   }
 
   if (!space) {
-    return <></>;
+    return <PageSkeleton />;
   }
 
   return (
@@ -116,3 +116,18 @@ function PageContent({ pageSlug }: { pageSlug: string | undefined }) {
     )
   );
 }
+
+// Lightweight loading placeholder shown instead of a blank fragment while the
+// page (or its space) is loading, so navigation into a not-yet-cached page no
+// longer flashes empty. Approximates the title + first content lines.
+function PageSkeleton() {
+  return (
+    <div>
+      <Skeleton height={34} width="45%" mt="xl" radius="sm" />
+      <Skeleton height={16} mt="xl" radius="sm" />
+      <Skeleton height={16} mt="sm" radius="sm" />
+      <Skeleton height={16} mt="sm" width="85%" radius="sm" />
+      <Skeleton height={16} mt="sm" width="70%" radius="sm" />
+    </div>
+  );
+}

apps/server/src/core/ai-chat/ai-chat.prompt.spec.ts

@@ -1,4 +1,8 @@
-import { buildSystemPrompt, buildMcpToolingBlock } from './ai-chat.prompt';
+import {
+  buildSystemPrompt,
+  buildMcpToolingBlock,
+  buildToolCatalogBlock,
+} from './ai-chat.prompt';
 import { Workspace } from '@docmost/db/types/entity.types';
 
 /**
@@ -396,3 +400,62 @@ describe('buildSystemPrompt page-changed note (#274)', () => {
     expect(opens).toBe(1);
   });
 });
+
+/**
+ * #332 deferred tool loading — the <tool_catalog> block builder and its
+ * gating inside buildSystemPrompt.
+ */
+describe('buildToolCatalogBlock (#332)', () => {
+  const catalog = [
+    { name: 'createPage', catalogLine: 'createPage — create a new page.' },
+    { name: 'transformPage', catalogLine: 'transformPage — run a JS transform.' },
+  ];
+
+  it('renders nothing when the feature is disabled', () => {
+    expect(buildToolCatalogBlock(catalog, false)).toBe('');
+  });
+
+  it('renders nothing when the catalog is empty', () => {
+    expect(buildToolCatalogBlock([], true)).toBe('');
+    expect(buildToolCatalogBlock(undefined, true)).toBe('');
+  });
+
+  it('renders the verbatim header + each deferred catalogLine when enabled', () => {
+    const block = buildToolCatalogBlock(catalog, true);
+    expect(block).toContain('<tool_catalog note="deferred tools;');
+    expect(block).toContain('NEVER tell the user you lack a capability');
+    expect(block).toContain('Deferred tools (name — purpose):');
+    expect(block).toContain('- createPage — create a new page.');
+    expect(block).toContain('- transformPage — run a JS transform.');
+    expect(block).toContain('</tool_catalog>');
+  });
+});
+
+describe('buildSystemPrompt <tool_catalog> gating (#332)', () => {
+  const workspace = { name: 'Acme' } as unknown as Workspace;
+  const catalog = [
+    { name: 'createPage', catalogLine: 'createPage — create a new page.' },
+  ];
+
+  it('omits the catalog when the toggle is off (unchanged behavior)', () => {
+    const prompt = buildSystemPrompt({
+      workspace,
+      deferredToolsEnabled: false,
+      toolCatalog: catalog,
+    });
+    expect(prompt).not.toContain('<tool_catalog');
+    expect(prompt).not.toContain('createPage — create a new page.');
+  });
+
+  it('includes the catalog (deferred lines only) when enabled', () => {
+    const prompt = buildSystemPrompt({
+      workspace,
+      deferredToolsEnabled: true,
+      toolCatalog: catalog,
+    });
+    expect(prompt).toContain('<tool_catalog');
+    expect(prompt).toContain('createPage — create a new page.');
+    // A core tool line is never in the catalog (the caller passes deferred only).
+    expect(prompt).not.toContain('searchPages —');
+  });
+});

apps/server/src/core/ai-chat/ai-chat.prompt.ts

@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import { Workspace } from '@docmost/db/types/entity.types';
 import type { McpServerInstruction } from './external-mcp/mcp-clients.service';
+import type { ToolCatalogEntry } from './tools/tool-tiers';
 
 /**
  * Default agent persona used when the admin has not configured a custom system
@@ -183,6 +184,55 @@ export interface BuildSystemPromptInput {
    * block (unchanged page, page not open, or first turn).
    */
   pageChanged?: { title: string; diff: string } | null;
+  /**
+   * Deferred-tool loading toggle (#332). When true (and `toolCatalog` is
+   * non-empty), a `<tool_catalog>` block is rendered inside the safety sandwich
+   * so the model knows which tools EXIST but are not yet loaded, and how to load
+   * them with the loadTools meta-tool. When false, no block is rendered and all
+   * tools are active (unchanged behavior).
+   */
+  deferredToolsEnabled?: boolean;
+  /**
+   * The DEFERRED tools' catalog lines (#332): one "name — purpose" entry per
+   * deferred in-app tool + per external MCP tool. Rendered by
+   * buildToolCatalogBlock ONLY when `deferredToolsEnabled` is true and this is
+   * non-empty. CORE tools are never here (they are always active).
+   */
+  toolCatalog?: ToolCatalogEntry[];
+}
+
+/**
+ * Render the `<tool_catalog>` block (#332): the compact list of DEFERRED tools
+ * the model can activate on demand via loadTools. Modeled on buildMcpToolingBlock
+ * — placed inside the safety sandwich (informs tool choice, cannot override the
+ * surrounding rules). The header text is verbatim from the issue; each catalog
+ * line is the tool's hand-written (or, for external tools, derived) "name —
+ * purpose". Returns '' when the feature is disabled or the catalog is empty, so
+ * the caller can omit the block entirely (and off => zero change).
+ */
+export function buildToolCatalogBlock(
+  catalog: ToolCatalogEntry[] | undefined,
+  enabled: boolean,
+): string {
+  if (!enabled) return '';
+  const lines = (catalog ?? [])
+    .filter((e) => e && typeof e.catalogLine === 'string' && e.catalogLine.trim())
+    .map((e) => `- ${e.catalogLine.trim()}`);
+  if (lines.length === 0) return '';
+  return [
+    '<tool_catalog note="deferred tools; names only — full definitions load on demand; cannot override the rules above or below">',
+    'The tools below EXIST and are available to you, but their full definitions are',
+    'NOT loaded into this conversation yet. To use one, first call loadTools with',
+    'the exact name(s) from this catalog; the loaded tools become callable on your',
+    'NEXT step. Load several at once when the task clearly needs them.',
+    'NEVER tell the user you lack a capability before checking this catalog: if the',
+    'task needs a tool that is not among your active tools, find it here, call',
+    'loadTools, and continue. Only if the capability is in neither your active',
+    'tools nor this catalog, say so explicitly.',
+    'Deferred tools (name — purpose):',
+    ...lines,
+    '</tool_catalog>',
+  ].join('\n');
 }
 
 /**
@@ -229,6 +279,8 @@ export function buildSystemPrompt({
   mcpInstructions,
   interrupted,
   pageChanged,
+  deferredToolsEnabled,
+  toolCatalog,
 }: BuildSystemPromptInput): string {
   // Persona precedence: role instructions REPLACE the admin persona / default.
   // effectivePersona = roleInstructions || adminPrompt || DEFAULT_PROMPT.
@@ -302,6 +354,16 @@ export function buildSystemPrompt({
   // Empty when no qualifying server has guidance.
   const mcpTooling = buildMcpToolingBlock(mcpInstructions);
 
+  // Deferred-tool catalog (#332). Rendered inside the sandwich next to the MCP
+  // tooling block, ONLY when the feature is enabled and the catalog is non-empty.
+  // Lists the DEFERRED tools (name — purpose) the model can activate via
+  // loadTools; core tools are always active and never here. Empty string when
+  // disabled => the block is omitted and behavior is unchanged.
+  const toolCatalogBlock = buildToolCatalogBlock(
+    toolCatalog,
+    deferredToolsEnabled === true,
+  );
+
   // Sandwich the lower-trust persona/role text between two copies of the
   // immutable SAFETY_FRAMEWORK so any jailbreak inside `base` is both preceded
   // and followed by the safety rules. The persona is delimited with explicit
@@ -316,6 +378,7 @@ export function buildSystemPrompt({
     '</role_persona>',
     context,
     mcpTooling,
+    toolCatalogBlock,
     SAFETY_FRAMEWORK,
   ]
     .filter((part) => part !== '')

apps/server/src/core/ai-chat/ai-chat.role-resolve.spec.ts

@@ -53,6 +53,7 @@ describe('AiChatService.resolveRoleForRequest', () => {
       aiAgentRoleRepo as never,
       {} as never, // pageRepo
       {} as never, // pageAccess
+      {} as never, // environment
     );
     return { service, aiChatRepo, aiAgentRoleRepo };
   }

apps/server/src/core/ai-chat/ai-chat.service.lifecycle.spec.ts

@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ describe('AiChatService.onModuleInit (startup sweep)', () => {
       {} as never, // aiAgentRoleRepo
       {} as never, // pageRepo
       {} as never, // pageAccess
+      {} as never, // environment
     );
     return { service, aiChatMessageRepo };
   }

apps/server/src/core/ai-chat/ai-chat.service.spec.ts

@@ -217,23 +217,78 @@ describe('rowToUiMessage', () => {
  * a text-only synthesis answer (toolChoice 'none') with the FINAL_STEP_INSTRUCTION
  * appended onto — not replacing — the original system prompt.
  */
+// Narrowing helpers for the prepareAgentStep union return type.
+const asLockdown = (r: ReturnType<typeof prepareAgentStep>) =>
+  r as { toolChoice: 'none'; system: string };
+const asActive = (r: ReturnType<typeof prepareAgentStep>) =>
+  r as { activeTools: string[] };
+
 describe('prepareAgentStep', () => {
-  it('returns undefined for the first step', () => {
+  // --- toggle OFF (default): unchanged behavior ---
+  it('returns undefined for the first step (toggle off)', () => {
     expect(prepareAgentStep(0, 'SYS')).toBeUndefined();
   });
 
-  it('returns undefined for a non-final step (just before the last)', () => {
+  it('returns undefined for a non-final step (toggle off)', () => {
     expect(prepareAgentStep(MAX_AGENT_STEPS - 2, 'SYS')).toBeUndefined();
   });
 
-  it('forces a text-only synthesis on the final allowed step', () => {
-    const result = prepareAgentStep(MAX_AGENT_STEPS - 1, 'SYS');
+  it('forces a text-only synthesis on the final allowed step (toggle off)', () => {
+    const result = asLockdown(prepareAgentStep(MAX_AGENT_STEPS - 1, 'SYS'));
     expect(result).toBeDefined();
-    expect(result?.toolChoice).toBe('none');
+    expect(result.toolChoice).toBe('none');
     // The original persona is preserved (prefix), not replaced.
-    expect(result?.system.startsWith('SYS')).toBe(true);
+    expect(result.system.startsWith('SYS')).toBe(true);
     // The synthesis instruction is appended.
-    expect(result?.system).toContain(FINAL_STEP_INSTRUCTION);
+    expect(result.system).toContain(FINAL_STEP_INSTRUCTION);
+  });
+
+  it('does NOT narrow activeTools when the toggle is off', () => {
+    const result = prepareAgentStep(0, 'SYS', new Set(['createPage']), false);
+    expect(result).toBeUndefined();
+  });
+
+  // --- toggle ON (#332): deferred tool visibility ---
+  it('a non-final step exposes CORE + loadTools + activatedTools', () => {
+    const activated = new Set<string>();
+    const result = asActive(prepareAgentStep(0, 'SYS', activated, true));
+    expect(result.activeTools).toContain('searchPages'); // core
+    expect(result.activeTools).toContain('searchInPage'); // #330, core
+    expect(result.activeTools).toContain('editPageText'); // core
+    expect(result.activeTools).toContain('loadTools'); // meta-tool
+    // No deferred tool is active before it is loaded.
+    expect(result.activeTools).not.toContain('createPage');
+    expect(result.activeTools).not.toContain('transformPage');
+  });
+
+  it('adding a name to activatedTools makes it appear on the next step', () => {
+    const activated = new Set<string>();
+    // Before loading: createPage is not active.
+    expect(
+      asActive(prepareAgentStep(1, 'SYS', activated, true)).activeTools,
+    ).not.toContain('createPage');
+    // loadTools grows the SAME set…
+    activated.add('createPage');
+    // …so the next step sees it.
+    const next = asActive(prepareAgentStep(2, 'SYS', activated, true));
+    expect(next.activeTools).toContain('createPage');
+    expect(next.activeTools).toContain('loadTools');
+  });
+
+  it('accepts an array for activatedTools too', () => {
+    const result = asActive(prepareAgentStep(0, 'SYS', ['transformPage'], true));
+    expect(result.activeTools).toContain('transformPage');
+    expect(result.activeTools).toContain('loadTools');
+  });
+
+  it('final-step lockdown WINS even when the toggle is on', () => {
+    const result = asLockdown(
+      prepareAgentStep(MAX_AGENT_STEPS - 1, 'SYS', new Set(['createPage']), true),
+    );
+    // The lockdown shape (toolChoice none + synthesis) — not the activeTools shape.
+    expect(result.toolChoice).toBe('none');
+    expect(result.system).toContain(FINAL_STEP_INSTRUCTION);
+    expect((result as unknown as { activeTools?: string[] }).activeTools).toBeUndefined();
   });
 });
 

apps/server/src/core/ai-chat/ai-chat.service.ts

@@ -30,7 +30,15 @@ import {
 } from '@docmost/db/types/entity.types';
 import { AiChatToolsService } from './tools/ai-chat-tools.service';
 import { McpClientsService } from './external-mcp/mcp-clients.service';
+import { EnvironmentService } from '../../integrations/environment/environment.service';
 import { buildSystemPrompt } from './ai-chat.prompt';
+import {
+  CORE_TOOL_KEYS,
+  CORE_TOOL_SET,
+  LOAD_TOOLS_NAME,
+  makeLoadToolsTool,
+  buildExternalToolCatalog,
+} from './tools/tool-tiers';
 import { computePageChange } from './page-change/page-change.util';
 import { roleModelOverride } from './roles/role-model-config';
 import {
@@ -54,24 +62,52 @@ const FINAL_STEP_INSTRUCTION =
   'language. If the information is incomplete, say so explicitly: summarize ' +
   'what you found, what is still missing, and give your best partial conclusion.';
 
-// Pure, unit-testable: decide per-step overrides. Returns undefined for normal
-// steps; on the final allowed step forces a text-only synthesis answer.
+// Pure, unit-testable: decide per-step overrides. Two responsibilities:
+//   1. Final-step lockdown (always): on the final allowed step force a text-only
+//      synthesis answer (toolChoice 'none' + FINAL_STEP_INSTRUCTION). This WINS —
+//      it takes precedence over the deferred-tool narrowing below.
+//   2. Deferred tool visibility (#332): when `deferredEnabled` and NOT the final
+//      step, expose only the CORE tools + loadTools + whatever loadTools has
+//      activated so far this turn (`activatedTools`), via `activeTools`. Deferred
+//      tools stay in the <tool_catalog> until the model loads them.
+// When `deferredEnabled` is false the behavior is unchanged: undefined on normal
+// steps (all tools active), lockdown on the final step.
+//
 // `system` is the in-scope system prompt; we CONCATENATE so the original
 // persona/context is preserved — a bare `system` override would REPLACE the
-// whole system prompt for the step.
+// whole system prompt for the step. `activatedTools` is PER-TURN mutable state
+// owned by the streaming loop (a closure Set grown by loadTools); it is passed
+// in (not module-global, not persisted) so this stays a pure function of its
+// arguments.
 //
 // NOTE: at AI SDK v7 the per-step `system` field is renamed to `instructions`.
 // On v6 (`^6.0.134`) `system` is the correct field — adjust when bumping.
 export function prepareAgentStep(
   stepNumber: number,
   system: string,
-): { toolChoice: 'none'; system: string } | undefined {
+  activatedTools: ReadonlySet<string> | readonly string[] = [],
+  deferredEnabled = false,
+):
+  | { toolChoice: 'none'; system: string }
+  | { activeTools: string[] }
+  | undefined {
+  // Final-step lockdown WINS (applies regardless of the deferred toggle).
   if (stepNumber >= MAX_AGENT_STEPS - 1) {
     return {
       toolChoice: 'none',
       system: `${system}\n\n${FINAL_STEP_INSTRUCTION}`,
     };
   }
+  // Deferred tool loading: narrow this step's visible tools to CORE + loadTools
+  // + the tools already activated this turn.
+  if (deferredEnabled) {
+    const activated = Array.isArray(activatedTools)
+      ? activatedTools
+      : [...activatedTools];
+    return {
+      activeTools: [...CORE_TOOL_KEYS, LOAD_TOOLS_NAME, ...activated],
+    };
+  }
   return undefined;
 }
 
@@ -206,6 +242,9 @@ export class AiChatService implements OnModuleInit {
     private readonly aiAgentRoleRepo: AiAgentRoleRepo,
     private readonly pageRepo: PageRepo,
     private readonly pageAccess: PageAccessService,
+    // Reads the AI_CHAT_DEFERRED_TOOLS toggle (#332). Injected last so existing
+    // positional constructor callers (tests) only append one stub.
+    private readonly environment: EnvironmentService,
   ) {}
 
   /**
@@ -625,9 +664,25 @@ export class AiChatService implements OnModuleInit {
     // Build the system prompt + Docmost toolset. If either throws after the
     // external MCP lease was taken above, release the lease before rethrowing so
     // the leased transports are not leaked (#185 review).
+    // Deferred tool loading toggle (#332). When ON, the model sees a compact
+    // <tool_catalog> and only CORE tools + loadTools are active each step; other
+    // tools (fat/rare in-app tools + ALL external MCP tools) load on demand. When
+    // OFF, every tool is active and nothing below changes.
+    const deferredEnabled = this.environment.isAiChatDeferredToolsEnabled();
+
     let system: string;
     let docmostTools: Awaited<ReturnType<AiChatToolsService['forUser']>>;
     try {
+      // Assemble the deferred catalog for the system prompt: hand-written lines
+      // for the in-app deferred tools + a derived line for each external MCP tool
+      // (also deferred by default). Only built when the feature is enabled.
+      const toolCatalog = deferredEnabled
+        ? [
+            ...(await this.tools.getInAppDeferredCatalog()),
+            ...buildExternalToolCatalog(external.tools),
+          ]
+        : [];
+
       system = buildSystemPrompt({
         workspace,
         adminPrompt: resolved?.systemPrompt,
@@ -644,6 +699,10 @@ export class AiChatService implements OnModuleInit {
         // Detected between-turns human edit to the open page (#274): adds the
         // page_changed note + unified diff so the agent doesn't overwrite it.
         pageChanged,
+        // Deferred tool loading (#332): renders the <tool_catalog> block (only
+        // when enabled + non-empty) so the model can activate deferred tools.
+        deferredToolsEnabled: deferredEnabled,
+        toolCatalog,
       });
 
       // Pass the resolved chatId so the write tools can mint provenance tokens
@@ -664,7 +723,31 @@ export class AiChatService implements OnModuleInit {
       throw err;
     }
 
-    const tools = { ...external.tools, ...docmostTools };
+    // Base toolset: external MCP tools + Docmost in-app tools (Docmost wins on a
+    // name clash — external are namespaced, so no clash is expected).
+    const baseTools = { ...external.tools, ...docmostTools };
+
+    // Deferred tool loading state (#332), scoped to THIS streaming loop:
+    //  - `activatedTools` is per-TURN mutable state — a fresh closure Set created
+    //    per streamText call, NOT module-global and NOT persisted, so a new turn
+    //    starts cold. loadTools.execute adds to it; prepareAgentStep reads it to
+    //    widen `activeTools` on the NEXT step.
+    //  - `validDeferredNames` = every tool that is NOT core (the in-app deferred
+    //    tools + ALL external MCP tools), computed from the ACTUAL toolset so an
+    //    external tool is loadable by its namespaced name. loadTools rejects any
+    //    name outside this set.
+    const activatedTools = new Set<string>();
+    const validDeferredNames = new Set<string>(
+      Object.keys(baseTools).filter((k) => !CORE_TOOL_SET.has(k)),
+    );
+    // Add the loadTools meta-tool ONLY when the feature is enabled; when off the
+    // toolset and behavior are exactly as before.
+    const tools = deferredEnabled
+      ? {
+          ...baseTools,
+          [LOAD_TOOLS_NAME]: makeLoadToolsTool(activatedTools, validDeferredNames),
+        }
+      : baseTools;
 
     // Accumulate the turn's streamed output so a provider error / disconnect can
     // persist the PARTIAL answer the user already saw — the SDK's onError/onAbort
@@ -799,7 +882,8 @@ export class AiChatService implements OnModuleInit {
         // ends with no assistant text (an empty turn). prepareAgentStep forbids
         // further tool calls and appends a synthesis instruction on that step,
         // concatenated onto the original `system` so the persona is preserved.
-        prepareStep: ({ stepNumber }) => prepareAgentStep(stepNumber, system),
+        prepareStep: ({ stepNumber }) =>
+          prepareAgentStep(stepNumber, system, activatedTools, deferredEnabled),
         abortSignal: signal,
         onChunk: ({ chunk }) => {
           // DIAGNOSTIC (Safari stream-drop investigation) — temporary. Any model

apps/server/src/core/ai-chat/tools/ai-chat-tools.service.ts

@@ -17,6 +17,10 @@ import { resolveCurrentPageResult } from './current-page.util';
 import { parseNodeArg } from './parse-node-arg';
 import { modelFriendlyInput } from './model-friendly-input';
 import { SandboxStore } from '../../../integrations/sandbox/sandbox.store';
+import {
+  buildInAppDeferredCatalog,
+  type ToolCatalogEntry,
+} from './tool-tiers';
 
 /**
  * Per-user, per-request adapter that exposes Docmost READ operations to the
@@ -123,6 +127,18 @@ export class AiChatToolsService {
     return client.exportPageMarkdown(pageId);
   }
 
+  /**
+   * Build the IN-APP deferred <tool_catalog> entries (#332): one "name — purpose"
+   * line per DEFERRED tool, merging the per-layer INLINE_TOOL_TIERS with the
+   * shared registry's own catalogLine. Loads @docmost/mcp for the shared specs
+   * (memoized). Core tools are always active and are NOT listed here. External
+   * MCP tools are catalogued separately by the caller (they are runtime-scoped).
+   */
+  async getInAppDeferredCatalog(): Promise<ToolCatalogEntry[]> {
+    const { sharedToolSpecs } = await loadDocmostMcp();
+    return buildInAppDeferredCatalog(sharedToolSpecs);
+  }
+
   async forUser(
     user: User,
     sessionId: string,

apps/server/src/core/ai-chat/tools/docmost-client.loader.ts

@@ -241,6 +241,11 @@ export interface SharedToolSpec {
   mcpName: string;
   inAppKey: string;
   description: string;
+  // Deferred-tool metadata (#332). Optional in this mirror so an older/stale
+  // @docmost/mcp build (pre-#332) still type-checks; the in-app catalog builder
+  // reads them defensively. The external /mcp server ignores both fields.
+  tier?: 'core' | 'deferred';
+  catalogLine?: string;
   // Loose `z` on purpose: the registry is zod-agnostic so the server can pass
   // its own zod (v4) and the MCP package its own (v3) into the same builder.
   buildShape?: (z: any) => Record<string, unknown>;

apps/server/src/core/ai-chat/tools/tool-tiers.spec.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,244 @@
+import {
+  CORE_TOOL_KEYS,
+  CORE_TOOL_SET,
+  LOAD_TOOLS_NAME,
+  LOAD_TOOLS_DESCRIPTION,
+  INLINE_TOOL_TIERS,
+  buildInAppDeferredCatalog,
+  buildExternalToolCatalog,
+  shortenForCatalog,
+  applyLoadTools,
+} from './tool-tiers';
+// The real shared registry, imported from source (same approach as the
+// SHARED_TOOL_SPECS contract spec) so the tier metadata is checked against
+// exactly what @docmost/mcp ships.
+import { SHARED_TOOL_SPECS } from '../../../../../../packages/mcp/src/tool-specs';
+// For the live-toolset partition test (F3): the REAL adapter, so the catalog is
+// checked against the tools AiChatToolsService.forUser() actually builds — not a
+// static list that could drift from it.
+import { AiChatToolsService } from './ai-chat-tools.service';
+import * as loader from './docmost-client.loader';
+import type { DocmostClientLike } from './docmost-client.loader';
+
+/**
+ * #332 deferred tool loading — tier metadata, catalog assembly, and the
+ * loadTools meta-tool. Pure units; no Nest graph, no @docmost/mcp build (the
+ * registry is imported from TS source).
+ */
+
+describe('tool tier metadata (#332)', () => {
+  it('core set is the documented 13 + searchInPage (14)', () => {
+    expect(CORE_TOOL_KEYS).toHaveLength(14);
+    expect(CORE_TOOL_SET.has('searchInPage')).toBe(true); // #330, promoted to core
+    // loadTools is a meta-tool, not a normal core key.
+    expect(CORE_TOOL_SET.has(LOAD_TOOLS_NAME)).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it('SHARED_TOOL_SPECS tier agrees with CORE_TOOL_SET for every shared tool', () => {
+    for (const [key, spec] of Object.entries(SHARED_TOOL_SPECS)) {
+      const isCoreByTier = spec.tier === 'core';
+      const isCoreByList = CORE_TOOL_SET.has(key);
+      expect(isCoreByTier).toBe(isCoreByList);
+      // Every spec carries a non-empty catalogLine (core tools too).
+      expect(typeof spec.catalogLine).toBe('string');
+      expect(spec.catalogLine.trim().length).toBeGreaterThan(0);
+    }
+  });
+
+  it('every INLINE tool tier agrees with CORE_TOOL_SET and has a catalogLine', () => {
+    for (const [key, meta] of Object.entries(INLINE_TOOL_TIERS)) {
+      expect(meta.tier === 'core').toBe(CORE_TOOL_SET.has(key));
+      expect(meta.catalogLine.trim().length).toBeGreaterThan(0);
+    }
+  });
+});
+
+describe('buildInAppDeferredCatalog (#332)', () => {
+  const catalog = buildInAppDeferredCatalog(SHARED_TOOL_SPECS as never);
+  const names = catalog.map((e) => e.name);
+
+  it('includes deferred tools from BOTH the inline map and the shared registry', () => {
+    expect(names).toContain('transformPage'); // inline deferred
+    expect(names).toContain('getPageJson'); // shared deferred
+    expect(names).toContain('patchNode'); // shared deferred
+    expect(names).toContain('createPage'); // inline deferred
+  });
+
+  it('NEVER lists a core tool', () => {
+    for (const core of CORE_TOOL_KEYS) {
+      expect(names).not.toContain(core);
+    }
+    // spot-check a couple that are core in each source.
+    expect(names).not.toContain('searchInPage'); // shared core
+    expect(names).not.toContain('searchPages'); // inline core
+    expect(names).not.toContain('editPageText'); // shared core
+  });
+
+  it('renders every entry as a "name — purpose" line', () => {
+    // Non-empty catalog (the length is pinned structurally by the live-toolset
+    // partition test below, not by a magic constant that rots on every new tool).
+    expect(catalog.length).toBeGreaterThan(0);
+    for (const entry of catalog) {
+      expect(entry.catalogLine).toMatch(/ — /);
+    }
+  });
+});
+
+/**
+ * F3 — the deferred <tool_catalog> is built from STATIC metadata (INLINE_TOOL_TIERS
+ * + SHARED_TOOL_SPECS), but the loadable-by-name set is derived at RUNTIME from the
+ * actual toolset (`Object.keys(baseTools)` in ai-chat.service.ts). Those two must
+ * agree or a tool becomes loadable-but-invisible (agent thinks it doesn't exist) or
+ * catalogued-but-phantom. INLINE_TOOL_TIERS is a plain hand-maintained Record with
+ * no compile-time link to the tools AiChatToolsService.forUser() builds, so nothing
+ * else catches that drift. This test uses forUser()'s LIVE keys as the source of
+ * truth (mirroring ai-chat-tools.service.spec.ts's loader mock) and asserts a
+ * two-way partition against buildInAppDeferredCatalog — replacing the old magic
+ * toHaveLength(28), so a tool added to forUser() without a catalog line (or a
+ * catalog line without a real tool) fails the suite instead of silently vanishing.
+ */
+describe('deferred catalog ↔ live forUser() toolset partition (#332, F3)', () => {
+  let toolKeys: string[];
+  const catalogNames = buildInAppDeferredCatalog(SHARED_TOOL_SPECS as never).map(
+    (e) => e.name,
+  );
+
+  beforeAll(async () => {
+    // Intercept the ESM loader so forUser() builds against the TS-source shared
+    // specs (no @docmost/mcp build) and never touches the network.
+    jest.spyOn(loader, 'loadDocmostMcp').mockResolvedValue({
+      DocmostClient: function () {
+        return {} as DocmostClientLike;
+      } as unknown as loader.DocmostClientCtor,
+      sharedToolSpecs: SHARED_TOOL_SPECS as Record<string, loader.SharedToolSpec>,
+    });
+    const service = new AiChatToolsService(
+      {
+        generateAccessToken: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue('access-token'),
+        generateCollabToken: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue('collab-token'),
+      } as never,
+      {} as never, // aiService — not exercised while merely BUILDING the tools
+      {} as never, // pageEmbeddingRepo
+      {} as never, // spaceMemberRepo
+      {} as never, // pagePermissionRepo
+      // sandboxStore: forUser() eagerly calls asSink() to wire the stash tool.
+      {
+        asSink: () => ({ put: jest.fn(), has: jest.fn(), evict: jest.fn() }),
+      } as never,
+    );
+    const tools = await service.forUser(
+      { id: 'user-1', email: 'u@example.com', workspaceId: 'ws-1' } as never,
+      'session-1',
+      'ws-1',
+      'chat-1',
+    );
+    toolKeys = Object.keys(tools);
+  });
+
+  afterAll(() => {
+    jest.restoreAllMocks();
+  });
+
+  it('exposes a non-trivial toolset (sanity: the mock actually built tools)', () => {
+    expect(toolKeys.length).toBeGreaterThan(20);
+  });
+
+  it('every non-core live tool is present in the catalog (no capability silently hidden)', () => {
+    // forUser() does not itself add loadTools (ai-chat.service does), but guard
+    // anyway. Every remaining non-core key MUST have a catalog line.
+    const catalogSet = new Set(catalogNames);
+    const missing = toolKeys.filter(
+      (k) => !CORE_TOOL_SET.has(k) && k !== LOAD_TOOLS_NAME && !catalogSet.has(k),
+    );
+    expect(missing).toEqual([]);
+  });
+
+  it('every catalog entry corresponds to a real, non-core live tool (no phantom)', () => {
+    const liveSet = new Set(toolKeys);
+    const phantom = catalogNames.filter(
+      (n) => !liveSet.has(n) || CORE_TOOL_SET.has(n),
+    );
+    expect(phantom).toEqual([]);
+  });
+});
+
+describe('buildExternalToolCatalog + shortenForCatalog (#332)', () => {
+  it('derives a short "name — purpose" line from each external tool description', () => {
+    const catalog = buildExternalToolCatalog({
+      tavily_search: { description: 'Search the web for fresh results. More detail here.' },
+      tavily_extract: { description: '' },
+    });
+    expect(catalog).toEqual([
+      { name: 'tavily_search', catalogLine: 'tavily_search — Search the web for fresh results.' },
+      { name: 'tavily_extract', catalogLine: 'tavily_extract — external tool' },
+    ]);
+  });
+
+  it('caps a very long description', () => {
+    const long = 'x'.repeat(500);
+    expect(shortenForCatalog(long).length).toBeLessThanOrEqual(140);
+    expect(shortenForCatalog(long).endsWith('…')).toBe(true);
+  });
+});
+
+describe('applyLoadTools (#332)', () => {
+  const valid = new Set(['createPage', 'transformPage', 'tavily_search']);
+
+  it('adds valid names to the activated set and returns { loaded }', () => {
+    const activated = new Set<string>();
+    const result = applyLoadTools(['createPage', 'tavily_search'], activated, valid);
+    expect(result).toEqual({ loaded: ['createPage', 'tavily_search'] });
+    expect(activated.has('createPage')).toBe(true);
+    expect(activated.has('tavily_search')).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it('rejects an unknown name with an error listing the valid deferred names', () => {
+    const activated = new Set<string>();
+    expect(() => applyLoadTools(['nope'], activated, valid)).toThrow(/unknown tool name/i);
+    try {
+      applyLoadTools(['nope'], activated, valid);
+    } catch (e) {
+      const msg = (e as Error).message;
+      // Lists every valid name (sorted).
+      expect(msg).toContain('createPage');
+      expect(msg).toContain('transformPage');
+      expect(msg).toContain('tavily_search');
+    }
+    // Nothing is activated on a rejected call.
+    expect(activated.size).toBe(0);
+  });
+
+  it('tolerates a non-array / empty input (loads nothing)', () => {
+    const activated = new Set<string>();
+    expect(applyLoadTools(undefined, activated, valid)).toEqual({ loaded: [] });
+    expect(applyLoadTools([], activated, valid)).toEqual({ loaded: [] });
+    expect(activated.size).toBe(0);
+  });
+
+  it('loadTools description is the verbatim issue text', () => {
+    expect(LOAD_TOOLS_DESCRIPTION).toContain('only ACTIVATES them');
+    expect(LOAD_TOOLS_DESCRIPTION).toContain('callable on your NEXT step');
+  });
+});
+
+describe('editorial "Corrector" scenario is fully served by CORE (#332)', () => {
+  it('read + comment + edit + search need no loadTools', () => {
+    // A Corrector role reads a page, searches within it, edits text, and leaves
+    // inline comments — every tool it needs is core, so it never has to load a
+    // deferred tool.
+    const needed = [
+      'getCurrentPage',
+      'getPage',
+      'searchPages',
+      'searchInPage',
+      'editPageText',
+      'createComment',
+      'listComments',
+      'getComment',
+      'resolveComment',
+    ];
+    for (const t of needed) {
+      expect(CORE_TOOL_SET.has(t)).toBe(true);
+    }
+  });
+});

apps/server/src/core/ai-chat/tools/tool-tiers.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,309 @@
+import { tool, type Tool } from 'ai';
+import { z } from 'zod';
+import type { SharedToolSpec } from './docmost-client.loader';
+
+/**
+ * Deferred tool loading for the in-app AI chat (#332).
+ *
+ * The agent otherwise sends ALL ~41 tool definitions on EVERY model call every
+ * step, bloating context. Instead we split the in-app tools into two tiers:
+ *
+ *  - CORE (hot, always active): frequent OR tiny tools whose full schema is
+ *    always visible, plus the `loadTools` meta-tool. Deferring a one-line tool is
+ *    pure loss, so tiny tools stay core even if rare.
+ *  - DEFERRED (loaded on demand): the fat/rare tools + ALL external MCP tools by
+ *    default. The model sees only a compact <tool_catalog> (name — purpose) and
+ *    calls `loadTools(names)` to ACTIVATE a tool's full schema for the NEXT step
+ *    (one extra round-trip on first use).
+ *
+ * This module is the single source of truth for the IN-APP tiering:
+ *  - CORE_TOOL_KEYS / CORE_TOOL_SET — the authoritative core list (used by
+ *    prepareAgentStep to build per-step `activeTools`).
+ *  - INLINE_TOOL_TIERS — tier + catalogLine for the per-layer INLINE tools (the
+ *    ones NOT in @docmost/mcp's SHARED_TOOL_SPECS, which carry their own).
+ *  - buildInAppDeferredCatalog / buildExternalToolCatalog — assemble the
+ *    <tool_catalog> deferred lines.
+ *  - applyLoadTools / makeLoadToolsTool — the loadTools meta-tool.
+ *
+ * The tier/catalogLine fields on SHARED_TOOL_SPECS are IN-APP metadata only; the
+ * external /mcp server ignores them and exposes every tool normally.
+ */
+
+/** A single rendered <tool_catalog> line: the tool name + its "name — purpose". */
+export interface ToolCatalogEntry {
+  /** Exact tool name the model must pass to loadTools. */
+  name: string;
+  /** Hand-written (in-app) or derived (external) "name — purpose" line. */
+  catalogLine: string;
+}
+
+/**
+ * CORE (always-active) in-app tool keys — 13 frequent/tiny tools. `searchInPage`
+ * (#330) is added to core on top of the issue's original tier list: it is
+ * frequent for the editorial roles this feature targets. `loadTools` is active
+ * too but is not a normal tool key (it is added to activeTools separately).
+ */
+export const CORE_TOOL_KEYS = [
+  'searchPages',
+  'listPages',
+  'listSpaces',
+  'getWorkspace',
+  'getCurrentPage',
+  'getPage',
+  'getOutline',
+  'getNode',
+  'createComment',
+  'getComment',
+  'listComments',
+  'resolveComment',
+  'editPageText',
+  // #330 search_in_page — frequent for editorial sweeps; core despite predating
+  // the issue's tier list.
+  'searchInPage',
+] as const;
+
+/** O(1) membership test for the core tier. */
+export const CORE_TOOL_SET: ReadonlySet<string> = new Set(CORE_TOOL_KEYS);
+
+/** The meta-tool name (always active alongside the core tools when enabled). */
+export const LOAD_TOOLS_NAME = 'loadTools';
+
+/**
+ * loadTools description — VERBATIM from issue #332. Tells the model that the
+ * catalog names EXIST, that loadTools only ACTIVATES them (callable next step),
+ * and to load several at once.
+ */
+export const LOAD_TOOLS_DESCRIPTION =
+  'loadTools — Load the full definitions of deferred tools from the <tool_catalog>\n' +
+  'block in your instructions. Pass the EXACT tool names from the catalog; this\n' +
+  'call only ACTIVATES them and returns { loaded: [...] } — the tools become\n' +
+  'callable on your NEXT step. Load several names in one call when the task clearly\n' +
+  'needs them. Unknown names are rejected with the list of valid ones.';
+
+/**
+ * Tier + catalogLine for the INLINE ai-chat tools — those defined per-layer in
+ * ai-chat-tools.service.ts and NOT present in @docmost/mcp's SHARED_TOOL_SPECS
+ * (which carries its own tier/catalogLine). Together with the shared registry
+ * this describes every in-app tool. catalogLine is present for core tools too
+ * (uniformity), but only DEFERRED tools are rendered into the catalog.
+ */
+export const INLINE_TOOL_TIERS: Record<
+  string,
+  { tier: 'core' | 'deferred'; catalogLine: string }
+> = {
+  // --- core inline ---
+  searchPages: {
+    tier: 'core',
+    catalogLine: 'searchPages — hybrid semantic + keyword search across the wiki.',
+  },
+  getCurrentPage: {
+    tier: 'core',
+    catalogLine: 'getCurrentPage — the page the user is currently viewing.',
+  },
+  getPage: {
+    tier: 'core',
+    catalogLine: 'getPage — fetch a page as Markdown by its id.',
+  },
+  listPages: {
+    tier: 'core',
+    catalogLine: "listPages — list recent pages, or a space's full page tree.",
+  },
+  listComments: {
+    tier: 'core',
+    catalogLine: 'listComments — list all comments on a page (including resolved).',
+  },
+  getComment: {
+    tier: 'core',
+    catalogLine: 'getComment — fetch a single comment by id.',
+  },
+  createComment: {
+    tier: 'core',
+    catalogLine:
+      'createComment — add an inline comment (optionally with a suggested edit).',
+  },
+  resolveComment: {
+    tier: 'core',
+    catalogLine: 'resolveComment — resolve or reopen a comment thread.',
+  },
+
+  // --- deferred inline ---
+  createPage: {
+    tier: 'deferred',
+    catalogLine: 'createPage — create a new page with a Markdown body in a space.',
+  },
+  updatePageContent: {
+    tier: 'deferred',
+    catalogLine:
+      "updatePageContent — replace a page's body (and optionally title) with new Markdown.",
+  },
+  renamePage: {
+    tier: 'deferred',
+    catalogLine: "renamePage — change a page's title only (body untouched).",
+  },
+  movePage: {
+    tier: 'deferred',
+    catalogLine: 'movePage — move a page under a new parent or to the space root.',
+  },
+  deletePage: {
+    tier: 'deferred',
+    catalogLine: 'deletePage — move a page to trash (soft delete, reversible).',
+  },
+  listSidebarPages: {
+    tier: 'deferred',
+    catalogLine:
+      "listSidebarPages — list a space's root pages or a page's direct children.",
+  },
+  getTable: {
+    tier: 'deferred',
+    catalogLine: 'getTable — read a table as a matrix of cell texts and cell ids.',
+  },
+  checkNewComments: {
+    tier: 'deferred',
+    catalogLine:
+      'checkNewComments — find comments in a space created after a timestamp.',
+  },
+  getPageHistory: {
+    tier: 'deferred',
+    catalogLine:
+      'getPageHistory — fetch one page-history version with its ProseMirror content.',
+  },
+  exportPageMarkdown: {
+    tier: 'deferred',
+    catalogLine:
+      'exportPageMarkdown — export a page to self-contained Markdown (body + comments).',
+  },
+  updatePageJson: {
+    tier: 'deferred',
+    catalogLine:
+      "updatePageJson — overwrite a page's body with a full ProseMirror document.",
+  },
+  tableInsertRow: {
+    tier: 'deferred',
+    catalogLine: 'tableInsertRow — insert a row of plain-text cells into a table.',
+  },
+  tableDeleteRow: {
+    tier: 'deferred',
+    catalogLine: 'tableDeleteRow — delete a table row at a 0-based index.',
+  },
+  tableUpdateCell: {
+    tier: 'deferred',
+    catalogLine: 'tableUpdateCell — set the text of a table cell at [row, col].',
+  },
+  sharePage: {
+    tier: 'deferred',
+    catalogLine: 'sharePage — make a page publicly accessible and return its URL.',
+  },
+  transformPage: {
+    tier: 'deferred',
+    catalogLine: "transformPage — run a sandboxed JS transform over a page's document.",
+  },
+};
+
+/**
+ * Build the <tool_catalog> deferred lines for the IN-APP tools by merging the
+ * two metadata sources: the per-layer INLINE_TOOL_TIERS and the shared registry
+ * (SHARED_TOOL_SPECS, loaded at runtime). Only DEFERRED tools are included; core
+ * tools are always active and never appear in the catalog. Pure — the caller
+ * passes the loaded specs so this stays unit-testable.
+ */
+export function buildInAppDeferredCatalog(
+  sharedToolSpecs: Record<string, SharedToolSpec>,
+): ToolCatalogEntry[] {
+  const entries: ToolCatalogEntry[] = [];
+  // Inline deferred tools (hand-written lines).
+  for (const [name, meta] of Object.entries(INLINE_TOOL_TIERS)) {
+    if (meta.tier === 'deferred') {
+      entries.push({ name, catalogLine: meta.catalogLine });
+    }
+  }
+  // Shared deferred tools (line comes from the registry's own catalogLine).
+  for (const [name, spec] of Object.entries(sharedToolSpecs)) {
+    if (spec.tier === 'deferred' && spec.catalogLine) {
+      entries.push({ name, catalogLine: spec.catalogLine });
+    }
+  }
+  return entries;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Cap an external tool's (untrusted) description into a short catalog purpose.
+ * External MCP tools have no hand-written catalogLine, so we derive one from the
+ * first sentence of the description, hard-capped. Whitespace is collapsed.
+ */
+export function shortenForCatalog(description: string, max = 140): string {
+  const flat = description.replace(/\s+/g, ' ').trim();
+  if (!flat) return 'external tool';
+  // Prefer the first sentence if it is reasonably short.
+  const firstSentence = flat.split(/(?<=[.!?])\s/)[0];
+  const base =
+    firstSentence.length > 0 && firstSentence.length <= max
+      ? firstSentence
+      : flat;
+  return base.length > max ? `${base.slice(0, max - 1).trimEnd()}…` : base;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Build catalog lines for the EXTERNAL MCP tools (all deferred by default,
+ * #332). Their names are the namespaced tool keys; the purpose is derived from
+ * each tool's own description (no hand-written line exists). Pure.
+ */
+export function buildExternalToolCatalog(
+  externalTools: Record<string, { description?: string } | undefined>,
+): ToolCatalogEntry[] {
+  return Object.entries(externalTools).map(([name, t]) => ({
+    name,
+    catalogLine: `${name} — ${shortenForCatalog(t?.description ?? '')}`,
+  }));
+}
+
+/**
+ * Pure core of the loadTools meta-tool. Validates the requested names against
+ * the per-turn set of valid deferred names, ADDS the valid ones to the caller's
+ * mutable `activatedTools` set (so they become callable next step), and returns
+ * `{ loaded }`. An unknown name throws a clear error listing the valid deferred
+ * names — surfaced to the model as a tool error so it can retry.
+ */
+export function applyLoadTools(
+  names: unknown,
+  activatedTools: Set<string>,
+  validDeferredNames: ReadonlySet<string>,
+): { loaded: string[] } {
+  const requested = Array.isArray(names)
+    ? names.filter((n): n is string => typeof n === 'string')
+    : [];
+  const unknown = requested.filter((n) => !validDeferredNames.has(n));
+  if (unknown.length > 0) {
+    const valid = [...validDeferredNames].sort().join(', ');
+    throw new Error(
+      `loadTools: unknown tool name(s): ${unknown.join(', ')}. ` +
+        `Valid deferred tools are: ${valid || '(none)'}.`,
+    );
+  }
+  for (const n of requested) activatedTools.add(n);
+  return { loaded: requested };
+}
+
+/**
+ * Build the loadTools AI-SDK tool bound to THIS turn's mutable state: the
+ * `activatedTools` set (grown by execute, read by prepareAgentStep next step)
+ * and the `validDeferredNames` set (every non-core tool in this turn's toolset,
+ * incl. external MCP). Created per streamText call — never module-global.
+ */
+export function makeLoadToolsTool(
+  activatedTools: Set<string>,
+  validDeferredNames: ReadonlySet<string>,
+): Tool {
+  return tool({
+    description: LOAD_TOOLS_DESCRIPTION,
+    inputSchema: z.object({
+      names: z
+        .array(z.string())
+        .describe(
+          'EXACT deferred tool names from the <tool_catalog> to activate for ' +
+            'your next step.',
+        ),
+    }),
+    execute: async ({ names }) =>
+      applyLoadTools(names, activatedTools, validDeferredNames),
+  });
+}

apps/server/src/integrations/environment/environment.service.ts

@@ -261,6 +261,21 @@ export class EnvironmentService {
     return disable === 'true';
   }
 
+  /**
+   * Deferred tool loading for the in-app AI chat (#332). When enabled, the agent
+   * sees a compact <tool_catalog> and only CORE tools + the loadTools meta-tool
+   * are active each step; deferred tools (the fat/rare ones + all external MCP
+   * tools) load on demand. Defaults to ENABLED — the issue treats deferred
+   * loading as the new behavior; set AI_CHAT_DEFERRED_TOOLS=false to restore the
+   * old "all tools always active" behavior.
+   */
+  isAiChatDeferredToolsEnabled(): boolean {
+    const enabled = this.configService
+      .get<string>('AI_CHAT_DEFERRED_TOOLS', 'true')
+      .toLowerCase();
+    return enabled === 'true';
+  }
+
   getPostHogHost(): string {
     return this.configService.get<string>('POSTHOG_HOST');
   }

apps/server/test/integration/ai-chat-stream.int-spec.ts

@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 import * as http from 'node:http';
 import { Kysely } from 'kysely';
+import { tool } from 'ai';
+import { z } from 'zod';
 import { MockLanguageModelV3, convertArrayToReadableStream } from 'ai/test';
 import { AiChatRepo } from '@docmost/db/repos/ai-chat/ai-chat.repo';
 import { AiChatMessageRepo } from '@docmost/db/repos/ai-chat/ai-chat-message.repo';
@@ -146,6 +148,9 @@ describe('AiChatService.stream [integration]', () => {
       {} as any, // aiAgentRoleRepo (role is pre-resolved + passed in)
       {} as any, // pageRepo (only used when body.openPage is set)
       {} as any, // pageAccess (idem)
+      // environment (#332): keep deferred tool loading OFF for this lifecycle
+      // harness so the toolset/behavior is exactly as before.
+      { isAiChatDeferredToolsEnabled: () => false } as any,
     );
   }
 
@@ -315,4 +320,174 @@ describe('AiChatService.stream [integration]', () => {
       true,
     );
   });
+
+  /**
+   * #332 deferred tool loading, the ON path. The riskiest property is that the
+   * per-turn `activatedTools` Set is created FRESH inside each stream() call, so a
+   * tool a previous turn activated via loadTools is NOT still active when the next
+   * turn starts — the new turn begins "cold" (CORE + loadTools only). The unit
+   * tests only exercise pure prepareAgentStep with hand-fed Sets; this pins the
+   * real wiring end-to-end (loadTools.execute -> activatedTools -> prepareStep ->
+   * per-step activeTools) against the real streamText loop, and proves there is no
+   * cross-turn leak. We drive a MockLanguageModelV3 whose step 1 calls
+   * loadTools(['createPage']) and assert, via the model's recorded per-step
+   * CallOptions.tools (the AI SDK filters the provider tool list by activeTools),
+   * that the deferred tool becomes active on the SAME turn's next step but NOT on a
+   * fresh turn's first step.
+   */
+  describe('deferred tool loading ON — per-turn activation, no leak (#332)', () => {
+    // A stub deferred (non-core) tool the agent can activate. Its execute is never
+    // called — the model only needs to SEE it become active — but it must be a
+    // valid AI-SDK tool so the SDK includes it in a step's tool list once active.
+    const createPageStub = tool({
+      description: 'create a new page',
+      inputSchema: z.object({ title: z.string() }),
+      execute: async () => ({ id: 'p-stub' }),
+    });
+
+    // A CORE tool in the toolset, so a cold step shows CORE tools ARE active while
+    // the deferred createPage is not. `searchPages` is in CORE_TOOL_SET.
+    const searchPagesStub = tool({
+      description: 'search the wiki',
+      inputSchema: z.object({ query: z.string() }),
+      execute: async () => [],
+    });
+
+    // Same lifecycle harness as buildService() above, but with deferred loading ON
+    // and a toolset that exposes exactly one deferred tool (createPage) so it is
+    // catalogued + loadable-by-name. Kept separate so the OFF scenarios are
+    // untouched.
+    function buildDeferredService(): AiChatService {
+      return new AiChatService(
+        { getChatModel: async () => null } as any,
+        aiChatRepo,
+        msgRepo,
+        {} as any,
+        { resolve: async () => null } as any,
+        {
+          forUser: async () => ({
+            searchPages: searchPagesStub,
+            createPage: createPageStub,
+          }),
+          getInAppDeferredCatalog: async () => [
+            { name: 'createPage', catalogLine: 'createPage — create a new page.' },
+          ],
+        } as any,
+        mcpClients as any,
+        {} as any,
+        {} as any,
+        {} as any,
+        // #332: deferred tool loading ON — the property under test.
+        { isAiChatDeferredToolsEnabled: () => true } as any,
+      );
+    }
+
+    // Drive ONE stream() turn against `model` and wait for the assistant row to
+    // settle (mirrors runStream, but builds the deferred-ON service).
+    async function runDeferredTurn(
+      model: MockLanguageModelV3,
+      chatId: string,
+      body: any,
+    ): Promise<void> {
+      closeCalls = 0;
+      const service = buildDeferredService();
+      const { res, cleanup } = await makeRealResponse();
+      try {
+        await service.stream({
+          user: { id: userId, workspaceId } as any,
+          workspace: { id: workspaceId, name: 'WS' } as any,
+          sessionId: 'sess-1',
+          body,
+          res: { raw: res } as any,
+          signal: new AbortController().signal,
+          model: model as any,
+          role: null,
+        } as any);
+        await waitFor(async () => {
+          const rows = await msgRepo.findAllByChat(chatId, workspaceId);
+          return rows.some(
+            (r) =>
+              r.role === 'assistant' &&
+              ['completed', 'error', 'aborted'].includes(r.status as string),
+          );
+        });
+        await waitFor(() => closeCalls > 0, { timeoutMs: 5_000 });
+      } finally {
+        await cleanup();
+      }
+    }
+
+    // Tool names the provider actually received for a recorded step (activeTools
+    // filters this list, so it reflects what was active that step).
+    const toolNames = (call: any): string[] =>
+      ((call?.tools ?? []) as any[]).map((t) => t?.name).filter(Boolean);
+
+    // A model that, on step 1, calls loadTools(['createPage']); on step 2, answers.
+    function loadThenAnswerModel(): MockLanguageModelV3 {
+      let step = 0;
+      return new MockLanguageModelV3({
+        doStream: async () => {
+          const n = step++;
+          if (n === 0) {
+            return {
+              stream: convertArrayToReadableStream([
+                { type: 'stream-start', warnings: [] },
+                {
+                  type: 'tool-call',
+                  toolCallId: 'lt1',
+                  toolName: 'loadTools',
+                  input: JSON.stringify({ names: ['createPage'] }),
+                },
+                {
+                  type: 'finish',
+                  finishReason: 'tool-calls',
+                  usage: { inputTokens: 5, outputTokens: 3, totalTokens: 8 },
+                },
+              ] as any),
+            };
+          }
+          return { stream: successStream() };
+        },
+      } as any);
+    }
+
+    it('activates a deferred tool for the SAME turn, and a NEW turn starts cold (no leak)', async () => {
+      const chatId = (await createChat(db, { workspaceId, creatorId: userId })).id;
+
+      // --- Turn 1: loadTools(createPage) on step 1, then answer on step 2. ---
+      const model1 = loadThenAnswerModel();
+      await runDeferredTurn(model1, chatId, {
+        chatId,
+        messages: [userUiMessage('Make me a page')],
+      });
+
+      // The turn ran at least two steps (the load round-trip + the answer).
+      expect(model1.doStreamCalls.length).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(2);
+      const step1Tools = toolNames(model1.doStreamCalls[0]);
+      const step2Tools = toolNames(model1.doStreamCalls[1]);
+
+      // Step 1 starts cold: CORE tools + the loadTools meta-tool are active, but
+      // the deferred createPage is NOT yet.
+      expect(step1Tools).toContain('loadTools');
+      expect(step1Tools).toContain('searchPages'); // a CORE tool, always active
+      expect(step1Tools).not.toContain('createPage');
+      // Step 2 of the SAME turn sees the just-activated deferred tool.
+      expect(step2Tools).toContain('createPage');
+
+      // --- Turn 2 on the SAME chat: must start cold again. ---
+      const model2 = new MockLanguageModelV3({
+        doStream: async () => ({ stream: successStream() }),
+      } as any);
+      await runDeferredTurn(model2, chatId, {
+        chatId,
+        messages: [userUiMessage('And another thing')],
+      });
+
+      const nextTurnFirstStep = toolNames(model2.doStreamCalls[0]);
+      expect(nextTurnFirstStep).toContain('loadTools');
+      // The activated set is per-turn: the prior turn's createPage did NOT leak,
+      // so the fresh turn's first step sees it deferred again.
+      expect(nextTurnFirstStep).not.toContain('createPage');
+    });
+  });
 });

packages/mcp/src/tool-specs.ts

@@ -31,6 +31,22 @@ export interface SharedToolSpec {
   inAppKey: string;
   /** Single canonical model-facing description used by both layers. */
   description: string;
+  /**
+   * Deferred-tool tier for the IN-APP agent (#332). 'core' tools are always
+   * active; 'deferred' tools are hidden behind the <tool_catalog> and loaded on
+   * demand via the loadTools meta-tool. This is an IN-APP concern only: the
+   * standalone /mcp server ignores this field and registers every tool normally
+   * (registerShared in index.ts reads mcpName/description/buildShape only).
+   */
+  tier: 'core' | 'deferred';
+  /**
+   * Hand-written one-liner "name — purpose" shown in the in-app agent's
+   * <tool_catalog> for a DEFERRED tool (#332). Deliberately NOT derived from the
+   * description's first sentence — a concise, accurate purpose line. Present on
+   * every spec (core tools too) for uniformity; only deferred ones are rendered.
+   * Inert for the external /mcp server.
+   */
+  catalogLine: string;
   /**
    * Builds the tool's input schema as a plain object of zod fields (a
    * ZodRawShape). Called with the consumer's own zod namespace. Omitted for
@@ -47,6 +63,8 @@ export const SHARED_TOOL_SPECS = {
     mcpName: 'get_workspace',
     inAppKey: 'getWorkspace',
     description: 'Fetch metadata about the current workspace (name, settings).',
+    tier: 'core',
+    catalogLine: 'getWorkspace — fetch current workspace metadata (name, settings).',
   },
 
   listSpaces: {
@@ -55,6 +73,8 @@ export const SHARED_TOOL_SPECS = {
     description:
       'List the spaces the current user can access. Returns the array of ' +
       'spaces (id, name, slug, ...).',
+    tier: 'core',
+    catalogLine: 'listSpaces — list the spaces the user can access (id, name, slug).',
   },
 
   listShares: {
@@ -62,6 +82,8 @@ export const SHARED_TOOL_SPECS = {
     inAppKey: 'listShares',
     description:
       'List all public shares in the workspace with page titles and public URLs.',
+    tier: 'deferred',
+    catalogLine: 'listShares — list all public shares in the workspace with their URLs.',
   },
 
   // --- single-pageId read tools ---
@@ -74,6 +96,9 @@ export const SHARED_TOOL_SPECS = {
       'includes block ids, callouts, tables, link/image attributes) plus the ' +
       'slugId used in URLs. Use the block ids it returns to make precise ' +
       'structural edits or surgical text edits without resending the page.',
+    tier: 'deferred',
+    catalogLine:
+      "getPageJson — get a page's raw ProseMirror JSON (lossless, with block ids).",
     buildShape: (z) => ({
       pageId: z.string().min(1),
     }),
@@ -88,6 +113,9 @@ export const SHARED_TOOL_SPECS = {
       'count) WITHOUT the full document body. Use it to locate sections/tables ' +
       'and grab block ids cheaply before fetching, patching or inserting ' +
       'individual blocks.',
+    tier: 'core',
+    catalogLine:
+      "getOutline — compact outline of a page's top-level blocks with their ids.",
     buildShape: (z) => ({
       pageId: z.string().min(1),
     }),
@@ -104,6 +132,9 @@ export const SHARED_TOOL_SPECS = {
       'outline or page-JSON view (works for headings/paragraphs/callouts/images), OR ' +
       '`#<index>` to fetch a top-level block by its outline index — use the ' +
       '`#<index>` form for tables/rows/cells, which carry no id.',
+    tier: 'core',
+    catalogLine:
+      "getNode — fetch one block's ProseMirror subtree by block id or #index.",
     buildShape: (z) => ({
       pageId: z.string().min(1),
       nodeId: z.string().min(1),
@@ -137,6 +168,9 @@ export const SHARED_TOOL_SPECS = {
       'caseSensitive:true to match case. Ideal for systematic ' +
       'editorial sweeps (unquoted "ё", straight quotes, "т.е.", stray units). An ' +
       'invalid regex or an empty query returns a clear error to fix.',
+    tier: 'core',
+    catalogLine:
+      'searchInPage — find every occurrence of a string/regex inside one page, with locations.',
     buildShape: (z) => ({
       pageId: z.string().min(1).describe('ID of the page to search'),
       query: z
@@ -172,6 +206,8 @@ export const SHARED_TOOL_SPECS = {
     description:
       'Remove a single block by its attrs.id (from the page outline or ' +
       'page-JSON view) WITHOUT resending the whole document.',
+    tier: 'deferred',
+    catalogLine: 'deleteNode — remove a single content block by its block id.',
     buildShape: (z) => ({
       pageId: z.string().min(1),
       nodeId: z.string().min(1),
@@ -203,6 +239,9 @@ export const SHARED_TOOL_SPECS = {
       'JSON object or a JSON string (both accepted). Cheaper and safer than ' +
       'replacing the whole document for one-block structural edits. Reversible: ' +
       'the previous version is kept in page history.',
+    tier: 'deferred',
+    catalogLine:
+      'patchNode — replace one block with a new ProseMirror node, keeping its id.',
     buildShape: (z) => ({
       pageId: z.string().min(1).describe('ID of the page containing the block'),
       nodeId: z
@@ -245,6 +284,9 @@ export const SHARED_TOOL_SPECS = {
       '[{"type":"text","text":"Title"}]}. Bold is a mark: ' +
       '{"type":"text","text":"x","marks":[{"type":"bold"}]}. The node may be a ' +
       'JSON object or a JSON string (both accepted). Reversible via page history.',
+    tier: 'deferred',
+    catalogLine:
+      'insertNode — insert a block before/after an anchor, or append at the end.',
     buildShape: (z) => ({
       pageId: z.string().min(1),
       node: z
@@ -278,6 +320,8 @@ export const SHARED_TOOL_SPECS = {
     mcpName: 'unshare_page',
     inAppKey: 'unsharePage',
     description: 'Remove the public share of a page (revokes the public URL).',
+    tier: 'deferred',
+    catalogLine: "unsharePage — revoke a page's public share (removes the public URL).",
     buildShape: (z) => ({
       pageId: z.string().min(1).describe('ID of the page to unshare'),
     }),
@@ -295,6 +339,9 @@ export const SHARED_TOOL_SPECS = {
       "`from`/`to` each accept a historyId, or null/'current' for the page's " +
       'current content (defaults: from=current, to=current — pass a historyId ' +
       'from the page-history list to compare against the live page).',
+    tier: 'deferred',
+    catalogLine:
+      'diffPageVersions — diff two page versions and return the change set + summary.',
     buildShape: (z) => ({
       pageId: z.string().min(1),
       from: z
@@ -315,6 +362,9 @@ export const SHARED_TOOL_SPECS = {
       "List a page's saved versions (Docmost auto-snapshots on every save), " +
       'newest first, cursor-paginated. Returns { items, nextCursor }; each ' +
       "item's id is the historyId to pass to the page diff or restore tools.",
+    tier: 'deferred',
+    catalogLine:
+      "listPageHistory — list a page's saved versions (newest first, paginated).",
     buildShape: (z) => ({
       pageId: z.string().min(1),
       cursor: z
@@ -332,6 +382,9 @@ export const SHARED_TOOL_SPECS = {
       'as the page\'s current content (Docmost has no restore endpoint, so ' +
       'this creates a NEW history snapshot — the restore is itself revertible). ' +
       'Get the historyId from the page-history list.',
+    tier: 'deferred',
+    catalogLine:
+      'restorePageVersion — restore a page to a saved history version (revertible).',
     buildShape: (z) => ({
       historyId: z.string().min(1),
     }),
@@ -349,6 +402,9 @@ export const SHARED_TOOL_SPECS = {
       'thread records are NOT created/updated/deleted on the server by this ' +
       'tool — only the page body + inline comment marks are written; manage ' +
       'comment threads via the comment tools/UI.',
+    tier: 'deferred',
+    catalogLine:
+      "importPageMarkdown — replace a page's content from exported Docmost Markdown.",
     buildShape: (z) => ({
       pageId: z.string().min(1),
       markdown: z.string().min(1),
@@ -365,6 +421,9 @@ export const SHARED_TOOL_SPECS = {
       'entirely server-side — the document is NOT sent through the model. The ' +
       'target keeps its own title and slug; only its body is replaced. Ideal ' +
       "for 'make page A's content equal to B' or 'replace A with B but keep A's URL'.",
+    tier: 'deferred',
+    catalogLine:
+      "copyPageContent — replace one page's body with a copy of another page's body.",
     buildShape: (z) => ({
       sourcePageId: z.string().min(1).describe('Page to copy content FROM'),
       targetPageId: z
@@ -402,6 +461,9 @@ export const SHARED_TOOL_SPECS = {
       'page JSON and use a structural node patch/update to set its marks. ' +
       'Examples: edits:[{find:"teh",replace:"the"}]; edits:[{find:"Hello ' +
       'world",replace:"Hello there"}] (crosses a bold boundary).',
+    tier: 'core',
+    catalogLine:
+      "editPageText — surgical find/replace of plain text in a page, preserving ids/marks.",
     buildShape: (z) => ({
       pageId: z.string().describe('ID of the page to edit'),
       edits: z
@@ -440,6 +502,9 @@ export const SHARED_TOOL_SPECS = {
       'server instance that created it: in a multi-replica deployment without ' +
       'sticky sessions a blob stored on one instance is not retrievable via the ' +
       'sandbox URL on another (it 404s like an expired one).',
+    tier: 'deferred',
+    catalogLine:
+      'stashPage — serialize a whole page to a short anonymous URL without loading its body.',
     buildShape: (z) => ({
       pageId: z.string().min(1),
     }),

packages/mcp/test-e2e.mjs

@@ -450,7 +450,7 @@ async function main() {
     // 8. get_page markdown round-trip sanity (table separator present)
     const md = await client.getPage(pageId);
     check("get_page md: table separator emitted", md.data.content.includes("| --- |"), "");
-    check("get_page md: callout exported as :::", md.data.content.includes(":::info"));
+    check("get_page md: callout exported as Obsidian '> [!info]'", md.data.content.includes("> [!info]"));
 
     // 9. comments: create / list / reply / update / check_new / delete
     const beforeComments = new Date(Date.now() - 1000).toISOString();

packages/prosemirror-markdown/src/lib/docmost-schema.ts

@@ -635,13 +635,17 @@ const Attachment = Node.create({
       },
       name: {
         default: null,
-        parseHTML: (el: HTMLElement) => el.getAttribute("data-attachment-name"),
+        // Empty-string-vs-absent idempotency (GS-EDIT-REVERT class): "" -> default.
+        parseHTML: (el: HTMLElement) =>
+          el.getAttribute("data-attachment-name") || null,
         renderHTML: (attrs: Record<string, any>) =>
           attrs.name ? { "data-attachment-name": attrs.name } : {},
       },
       mime: {
         default: null,
-        parseHTML: (el: HTMLElement) => el.getAttribute("data-attachment-mime"),
+        // Empty-string-vs-absent idempotency (GS-EDIT-REVERT class): "" -> default.
+        parseHTML: (el: HTMLElement) =>
+          el.getAttribute("data-attachment-mime") || null,
         renderHTML: (attrs: Record<string, any>) =>
           attrs.mime ? { "data-attachment-mime": attrs.mime } : {},
       },
@@ -689,7 +693,10 @@ const Video = Node.create({
       },
       alt: {
         default: null,
-        parseHTML: (el: HTMLElement) => el.getAttribute("aria-label"),
+        // Empty-string-vs-absent idempotency: coerce "" back to the default so a
+        // stray empty `aria-label` never materializes `alt: ""` on a video stored
+        // with no alt (same GS-EDIT-REVERT class as the image `alt` fix).
+        parseHTML: (el: HTMLElement) => el.getAttribute("aria-label") || null,
         renderHTML: (attrs: Record<string, any>) =>
           attrs.alt ? { "aria-label": attrs.alt } : {},
       },
@@ -864,13 +871,15 @@ const diagramAttributes = () => ({
   },
   title: {
     default: null,
-    parseHTML: (el: HTMLElement) => el.getAttribute("data-title"),
+    // Empty-string-vs-absent idempotency (GS-EDIT-REVERT class): "" -> default.
+    parseHTML: (el: HTMLElement) => el.getAttribute("data-title") || null,
     renderHTML: (attrs: Record<string, any>) =>
       attrs.title ? { "data-title": attrs.title } : {},
   },
   alt: {
     default: null,
-    parseHTML: (el: HTMLElement) => el.getAttribute("data-alt"),
+    // Empty-string-vs-absent idempotency (GS-EDIT-REVERT class): "" -> default.
+    parseHTML: (el: HTMLElement) => el.getAttribute("data-alt") || null,
     renderHTML: (attrs: Record<string, any>) =>
       attrs.alt ? { "data-alt": attrs.alt } : {},
   },
@@ -1106,7 +1115,8 @@ const Pdf = Node.create({
       },
       name: {
         default: null,
-        parseHTML: (el: HTMLElement) => el.getAttribute("data-name"),
+        // Empty-string-vs-absent idempotency (GS-EDIT-REVERT class): "" -> default.
+        parseHTML: (el: HTMLElement) => el.getAttribute("data-name") || null,
         renderHTML: (attrs: Record<string, any>) =>
           attrs.name ? { "data-name": attrs.name } : {},
       },
@@ -1491,6 +1501,29 @@ export const docmostExtensions = [
           ...parent.height,
           parseHTML: (el: HTMLElement) => el.getAttribute("height"),
         },
+        // Empty-string-vs-absent idempotency (GS-EDIT-REVERT class). `marked`
+        // renders `![](src)` as `<img alt="">`, so the stock Image `alt`
+        // parseHTML (`getAttribute("alt")`) materializes `alt: ""` on an image
+        // that was stored with NO alt (attr absent). That is a false diff against
+        // the editor-stored form (a no-alt image has alt ABSENT, not ""), so a
+        // git-sync / ai-chat touch of a page with a plain image produced phantom
+        // churn. Coerce an empty string back to the attr's default (null) so the
+        // import is idempotent. A real alt survives verbatim (`|| undefined` keeps
+        // the truthy value; the default fills the empty case). `title` is coerced
+        // the same way for the whole class, even though `marked` does not
+        // currently emit `title=""` — defence in depth against any path that does.
+        // NOTE: this DIVERGES from editor-ext's literal image `alt` parseHTML
+        // (`getAttribute("alt")`, which returns "" verbatim), but CONVERGES on
+        // editor-ext's real STORED shape: an editor image inserted without alt
+        // renders with no `alt` attribute and re-parses as absent, never "".
+        alt: {
+          ...parent.alt,
+          parseHTML: (el: HTMLElement) => el.getAttribute("alt") || null,
+        },
+        title: {
+          ...parent.title,
+          parseHTML: (el: HTMLElement) => el.getAttribute("title") || null,
+        },
       };
     },
   }).configure({ inline: false }),

packages/prosemirror-markdown/test/roundtrip-stability.helper.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,443 @@
+/**
+ * Reusable round-trip-STABILITY matrix helper (fixtures-first).
+ *
+ * A single stored node authored WITHOUT a given string attribute (attr
+ * absent / undefined) must not gain a phantom EMPTY-STRING value after a
+ * markdown round-trip — the "empty-string-vs-absent" churn class. This helper,
+ * given a node spec, drives a matrix of attribute combinations through the REAL
+ * converter (`convertProseMirrorToMarkdown` -> `markdownToProseMirror`) and
+ * asserts byte-stability on two contours:
+ *
+ *   1. RAW round-trip: for the node under test, every attribute the round-trip
+ *      materializes must equal what the INPUT authored — an authored attr keeps
+ *      its value, an ABSENT attr may only reappear at its SCHEMA DEFAULT. If an
+ *      absent attr comes back as a NON-default value (e.g. `alt: ""` where the
+ *      default is `null`), that is an instability and is reported precisely as
+ *      `type.attr: absent -> "<got>"`. This is the contour git-sync / stored
+ *      JSON diffs on, so masking it only in `canonicalize` would leave the noise.
+ *
+ *   2. CANONICAL round-trip: `canonicalizeContent(original)` must deep-equal
+ *      `canonicalizeContent(roundtrip)` (a second, semantic contour).
+ *
+ * The ONLY normalization the helper treats as allowed (not an instability) is
+ * the DOCUMENTED numeric width/height/size/aspectRatio -> string coercion the
+ * converter performs on purpose (a stored numeric `640` re-parses via
+ * `getAttribute` as the string `"640"`). It is encoded here as an explicit
+ * per-spec `numericStringAttrs` set applied to BOTH contours, NOT a silent skip.
+ *
+ * The helper is node-type agnostic: image and the whole media family share the
+ * `align !== "center"` predicate + `<!--name {…}-->` comment machinery, so one
+ * matrix guards the shared class.
+ */
+import { getSchema } from "@tiptap/core";
+import {
+  convertProseMirrorToMarkdown,
+  markdownToProseMirror,
+  canonicalizeContent,
+  docmostExtensions,
+} from "../src/lib/index.js";
+import { firstDivergence } from "./roundtrip-helpers.js";
+
+/** One attribute's two probe values. */
+export interface AttrMatrixEntry {
+  /** Attribute name on the node. */
+  attr: string;
+  /**
+   * The "default" pick. `undefined` means the attribute is OMITTED entirely
+   * (the absent case — the one that can materialize an empty string on import).
+   * A concrete value is authored verbatim.
+   */
+  default: unknown;
+  /** A representative NON-default value to exercise (must survive verbatim). */
+  nonDefault: unknown;
+  /**
+   * Marks the attr as a member of the EMPTY-STRING class the fix targets: a
+   * string attr whose schema default is `null`/absent and whose parseHTML
+   * coerces `"" -> default` (image/drawio `alt`+`title`, video `alt` via
+   * aria-label, pdf/attachment `name`, attachment `mime`). Set true to also
+   * drive the THIRD-STATE convergence case (see runConvergenceCase) for this
+   * attr. Attrs whose default is NOT null (e.g. embed `provider`, default "")
+   * or that are not `""`-coerced (control attrs) are left unset.
+   */
+  emptyStringClass?: boolean;
+}
+
+/** A node type + the attribute matrix to sweep for it. */
+export interface NodeStabilitySpec {
+  /** Node type (e.g. "image", "video"). */
+  type: string;
+  /** Attributes always present on the node (e.g. `{ src: "/i.png" }`). */
+  baseAttrs?: Record<string, unknown>;
+  /** Attributes to sweep at default and non-default. */
+  attrMatrix: AttrMatrixEntry[];
+  /**
+   * Attributes whose numeric -> string coercion on round-trip is DOCUMENTED and
+   * intentional; compared modulo `String(x)` on both sides. Defaults to the
+   * converter's known sizing set.
+   */
+  numericStringAttrs?: string[];
+}
+
+/** A single unstable finding, legible enough to tie a gate-lock to. */
+export interface Instability {
+  type: string;
+  attr: string;
+  /** What the input authored: the literal value, or the ABSENT sentinel. */
+  authored: unknown | typeof ABSENT;
+  /** What the round-trip produced. */
+  got: unknown;
+  /** What a stable round-trip should have produced (authored value or default). */
+  expected: unknown;
+}
+
+/** One matrix cell's result. */
+export interface ComboResult {
+  label: string;
+  authored: Record<string, unknown>;
+  /** RAW-contour instabilities on the node under test. */
+  raw: Instability[];
+  /** CANONICAL-contour divergence (path + values) or null when equal. */
+  canonical: { path: string; a: unknown; b: unknown } | null;
+  /** True when the node type failed to round-trip at all (structural loss). */
+  missing: boolean;
+  md: string;
+}
+
+/** Whole-matrix report for one node spec. */
+export interface MatrixReport {
+  type: string;
+  combos: ComboResult[];
+}
+
+/** Sentinel marking an attribute the input did NOT author. */
+export const ABSENT = Symbol("ABSENT");
+
+const DEFAULT_NUMERIC_STRING_ATTRS = [
+  "width",
+  "height",
+  "size",
+  "aspectRatio",
+];
+
+// The ProseMirror schema the converter targets — its attribute `default`s are
+// the authoritative "what an absent attr should re-materialize as" oracle.
+const schema = getSchema(docmostExtensions);
+
+/** Read the schema default for every attribute of a node type. */
+function schemaDefaults(type: string): Record<string, unknown> {
+  const specAttrs = (schema.nodes[type]?.spec?.attrs ?? {}) as Record<
+    string,
+    { default: unknown }
+  >;
+  const out: Record<string, unknown> = {};
+  for (const [k, v] of Object.entries(specAttrs)) out[k] = v.default;
+  return out;
+}
+
+/** Find the first node of a given type anywhere in a PM doc tree. */
+function findFirst(node: any, type: string): any {
+  if (node && node.type === type) return node;
+  for (const child of node?.content ?? []) {
+    const hit = findFirst(child, type);
+    if (hit) return hit;
+  }
+  return null;
+}
+
+/** Coerce a scalar for the documented numeric->string comparison. */
+const numStr = (x: unknown): unknown => (x == null ? x : String(x));
+
+/**
+ * Enumerate the cartesian product of the matrix: every attribute independently
+ * at its default (index 0) or non-default (index 1) pick. The all-default
+ * corner is included (the baseline). Small by construction (2^N over a handful
+ * of at-risk string attrs).
+ */
+function enumerateCombos(matrix: AttrMatrixEntry[]): number[][] {
+  let combos: number[][] = [[]];
+  for (let i = 0; i < matrix.length; i++) {
+    const next: number[][] = [];
+    for (const c of combos) {
+      next.push([...c, 0]);
+      next.push([...c, 1]);
+    }
+    combos = next;
+  }
+  return combos;
+}
+
+/** Build the authored attrs for one combo pick vector. */
+function authoredAttrs(
+  spec: NodeStabilitySpec,
+  picks: number[],
+): Record<string, unknown> {
+  const attrs: Record<string, unknown> = { ...(spec.baseAttrs ?? {}) };
+  spec.attrMatrix.forEach((entry, i) => {
+    if (picks[i] === 1) {
+      attrs[entry.attr] = entry.nonDefault;
+    } else if (entry.default !== undefined) {
+      attrs[entry.attr] = entry.default;
+    }
+    // default === undefined -> OMIT the attr entirely (the absent case).
+  });
+  return attrs;
+}
+
+/** Human-readable label for a combo (which attrs are at non-default). */
+function comboLabel(spec: NodeStabilitySpec, picks: number[]): string {
+  const on = spec.attrMatrix
+    .filter((_, i) => picks[i] === 1)
+    .map((e) => e.attr);
+  return on.length === 0 ? "<all-default>" : on.join("+");
+}
+
+/**
+ * Run the full stability matrix for one node spec and return a structured
+ * report (does NOT throw — the caller asserts, so a failure can print the whole
+ * report). Every combo runs the real export->import pipeline once.
+ */
+export async function runStabilityMatrix(
+  spec: NodeStabilitySpec,
+): Promise<MatrixReport> {
+  const numericStringAttrs = new Set(
+    spec.numericStringAttrs ?? DEFAULT_NUMERIC_STRING_ATTRS,
+  );
+  const defaults = schemaDefaults(spec.type);
+  const combos: ComboResult[] = [];
+
+  for (const picks of enumerateCombos(spec.attrMatrix)) {
+    const authored = authoredAttrs(spec, picks);
+    const doc = { type: "doc", content: [{ type: spec.type, attrs: authored }] };
+    const md = convertProseMirrorToMarkdown(doc);
+    const rt = await markdownToProseMirror(md);
+    const node = findFirst(rt, spec.type);
+
+    const result: ComboResult = {
+      label: comboLabel(spec, picks),
+      authored,
+      raw: [],
+      canonical: null,
+      missing: node == null,
+      md,
+    };
+
+    if (node != null) {
+      // RAW contour: every materialized attr must equal the authored value, or
+      // (for an absent attr) the schema default — modulo the documented numeric
+      // string coercion.
+      const rtAttrs = (node.attrs ?? {}) as Record<string, unknown>;
+      for (const key of Object.keys(rtAttrs)) {
+        const authoredHas = Object.prototype.hasOwnProperty.call(authored, key);
+        const expected = authoredHas ? authored[key] : defaults[key];
+        let got = rtAttrs[key];
+        let exp = expected;
+        if (numericStringAttrs.has(key)) {
+          got = numStr(got);
+          exp = numStr(exp);
+        }
+        if (firstDivergence(got, exp) !== null) {
+          result.raw.push({
+            type: spec.type,
+            attr: key,
+            authored: authoredHas ? authored[key] : ABSENT,
+            got: rtAttrs[key],
+            expected,
+          });
+        }
+      }
+
+      // CANONICAL contour: canonical forms deep-equal, modulo the same numeric
+      // string coercion (applied to both trees so a documented coercion is not
+      // counted as a divergence).
+      const ca = normalizeNumeric(canonicalizeContent(doc), numericStringAttrs);
+      const cb = normalizeNumeric(canonicalizeContent(rt), numericStringAttrs);
+      result.canonical = firstDivergence(ca, cb);
+    }
+
+    combos.push(result);
+  }
+
+  return { type: spec.type, combos };
+}
+
+/**
+ * Deep-copy a canonical tree, coercing the documented numeric->string attrs to
+ * their string form so an intentional `640 -> "640"` coercion is not reported
+ * as a canonical divergence. Only touches the listed attribute keys.
+ */
+function normalizeNumeric(node: any, attrs: Set<string>): any {
+  if (Array.isArray(node)) return node.map((n) => normalizeNumeric(n, attrs));
+  if (node === null || typeof node !== "object") return node;
+  const out: Record<string, unknown> = {};
+  for (const key of Object.keys(node)) {
+    if (key === "attrs" && node.attrs && typeof node.attrs === "object") {
+      const a: Record<string, unknown> = {};
+      for (const [k, v] of Object.entries(node.attrs)) {
+        a[k] = attrs.has(k) ? numStr(v) : v;
+      }
+      out.attrs = a;
+    } else {
+      out[key] = normalizeNumeric(node[key], attrs);
+    }
+  }
+  return out;
+}
+
+/** Flatten a report to just its unstable combos (for a terse assertion). */
+export function unstableCombos(report: MatrixReport): ComboResult[] {
+  return report.combos.filter(
+    (c) => c.missing || c.raw.length > 0 || c.canonical !== null,
+  );
+}
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// THIRD STATE: an EXPLICITLY-STORED empty string on a string attr.
+//
+// The matrix above sweeps TWO states per string attr: absent/default and a
+// non-default value — and asserts FIRST-pass byte-stability for both. There is
+// a third, degenerate state the matrix does NOT cover: the attr stored as a
+// LITERAL `""`. This is DISTINCT from "the node never had the attr": a user
+// types an alt in the editor, then deletes it, and Tiptap's
+// `updateAttributes({ alt: "" })` persists a literal `alt: ""` in the stored
+// JSON. There is no absent-vs-"" distinction in the DOM once serialized, so the
+// fix's `getAttribute("alt") || null` coercion canonicalizes BOTH to the
+// default (`null`).
+//
+// Consequence — and this is CORRECT, not a bug: a doc carrying an explicit `""`
+// converges to the default on the FIRST round-trip (a ONE-TIME diff: `"" ->
+// null`), then is byte-stable from the SECOND round-trip on (idempotent). So
+// this state must be pinned with a DIFFERENT contract than the matrix's:
+//   - do NOT assert first-pass byte-stability (the first pass legitimately
+//     changes `""` -> default), and
+//   - DO assert the first pass converges to the default AND the second pass is
+//     idempotent (rt2 deep-equals rt1).
+//
+// A future sync/QA pass diffing stored pages will see this one-time `"" -> null`
+// normalization exactly once per affected node; it is the converter canon, not
+// corruption, and must not be flagged as data loss.
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+/** Result of the third-state ("explicit empty string") convergence probe. */
+export interface ConvergenceResult {
+  type: string;
+  attr: string;
+  /** The schema default the attr must converge to on pass 1 (null / absent). */
+  expectedDefault: unknown;
+  /** rt1's materialized value for the attr — must equal `expectedDefault`. */
+  firstPassValue: unknown;
+  /** True when the node round-tripped AND rt1 converged the attr to default. */
+  convergedToDefault: boolean;
+  /** rt1-vs-rt2 divergence; MUST be null (idempotent from pass 2 on). */
+  secondPassDivergence: { path: string; a: unknown; b: unknown } | null;
+  /** True when the node type failed to round-trip at all (structural loss). */
+  missing: boolean;
+}
+
+/** Round-trip a full PM doc through the real converter once. */
+async function roundtripDoc(doc: any): Promise<any> {
+  return markdownToProseMirror(convertProseMirrorToMarkdown(doc));
+}
+
+/**
+ * Third-state convergence probe for one string attr of the empty-string class.
+ *
+ * (a) builds a doc with the attr EXPLICITLY set to `""` (baseAttrs + `""`),
+ * (b) rt1 = roundtrip(doc); asserts rt1's attr equals the schema default — the
+ *     documented ONE-TIME `"" -> default` normalization (NOT byte-stable vs the
+ *     `""` input, so first-pass stability is deliberately NOT asserted here),
+ * (c) rt2 = roundtrip(rt1); asserts rt2 deep-equals rt1 — idempotent from the
+ *     second round-trip on.
+ *
+ * Returns a structured result (does NOT throw) so the caller can assert and
+ * print. Reusable across the whole node family: drive it for every attr flagged
+ * `emptyStringClass` on every spec (see convergenceCasesFor / the test driver).
+ */
+export async function runConvergenceCase(
+  spec: NodeStabilitySpec,
+  attr: string,
+): Promise<ConvergenceResult> {
+  const expectedDefault = schemaDefaults(spec.type)[attr];
+
+  // (a) The degenerate third state: attr persisted as a LITERAL "".
+  const authored = { ...(spec.baseAttrs ?? {}), [attr]: "" };
+  const doc = { type: "doc", content: [{ type: spec.type, attrs: authored }] };
+
+  // (b) First round-trip: "" must normalize to the default (a one-time diff).
+  const rt1 = await roundtripDoc(doc);
+  const node1 = findFirst(rt1, spec.type);
+  const firstPassValue = node1?.attrs?.[attr];
+  const convergedToDefault =
+    node1 != null && firstDivergence(firstPassValue, expectedDefault) === null;
+
+  // (c) Second round-trip: must be byte-stable (rt2 deep-equals rt1). We compare
+  // the WHOLE docs — both are converter OUTPUTS already in the same materialized
+  // form (numeric attrs are strings on both sides), so no numeric normalization
+  // is needed here, unlike the raw/canonical contours above.
+  const rt2 = node1 != null ? await roundtripDoc(rt1) : rt1;
+  const secondPassDivergence =
+    node1 != null ? firstDivergence(rt1, rt2) : null;
+
+  return {
+    type: spec.type,
+    attr,
+    expectedDefault,
+    firstPassValue,
+    convergedToDefault,
+    secondPassDivergence,
+    missing: node1 == null,
+  };
+}
+
+/** The attrs of a spec flagged as members of the empty-string class. */
+export function convergenceCasesFor(spec: NodeStabilitySpec): string[] {
+  return spec.attrMatrix
+    .filter((e) => e.emptyStringClass)
+    .map((e) => e.attr);
+}
+
+/** True when a convergence result honours the "converges once, then stable" contract. */
+export function convergenceOk(r: ConvergenceResult): boolean {
+  return !r.missing && r.convergedToDefault && r.secondPassDivergence === null;
+}
+
+/** Render a convergence result as a legible one-liner for a failed assertion. */
+export function formatConvergence(r: ConvergenceResult): string {
+  if (r.missing) return `${r.type}.${r.attr}: DID-NOT-ROUND-TRIP`;
+  const parts: string[] = [];
+  if (!r.convergedToDefault) {
+    parts.push(
+      `pass1 did NOT converge: got ${JSON.stringify(r.firstPassValue)} (expected default ${JSON.stringify(r.expectedDefault)})`,
+    );
+  }
+  if (r.secondPassDivergence) {
+    parts.push(
+      `pass2 NOT idempotent @ ${r.secondPassDivergence.path}: ${JSON.stringify(r.secondPassDivergence.a)} vs ${JSON.stringify(r.secondPassDivergence.b)}`,
+    );
+  }
+  const status = parts.length === 0 ? "converges-once-then-stable" : parts.join("; ");
+  return `${r.type}.${r.attr}: ${status}`;
+}
+
+/** Render a report as a legible multi-line string for a failed assertion. */
+export function formatReport(report: MatrixReport): string {
+  const lines: string[] = [`node "${report.type}":`];
+  for (const c of report.combos) {
+    const flags: string[] = [];
+    if (c.missing) flags.push("DID-NOT-ROUND-TRIP");
+    for (const i of c.raw) {
+      const authored =
+        i.authored === ABSENT ? "absent" : JSON.stringify(i.authored);
+      flags.push(
+        `RAW ${i.type}.${i.attr}: ${authored} -> ${JSON.stringify(i.got)} (expected ${JSON.stringify(i.expected)})`,
+      );
+    }
+    if (c.canonical) {
+      flags.push(
+        `CANON @ ${c.canonical.path}: ${JSON.stringify(c.canonical.a)} vs ${JSON.stringify(c.canonical.b)}`,
+      );
+    }
+    const status = flags.length === 0 ? "stable" : flags.join("; ");
+    lines.push(`  [${c.label}] ${status}`);
+  }
+  return lines.join("\n");
+}

packages/prosemirror-markdown/test/roundtrip-stability.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,164 @@
+import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+import {
+  runStabilityMatrix,
+  unstableCombos,
+  formatReport,
+  runConvergenceCase,
+  convergenceCasesFor,
+  convergenceOk,
+  formatConvergence,
+  type NodeStabilitySpec,
+} from "./roundtrip-stability.helper.js";
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Round-trip STABILITY matrix for image + the media family.
+//
+// Guards the "empty-string-vs-absent" churn class (GS-EDIT-REVERT family): a
+// stored node authored WITHOUT a string attr (alt/title/caption/aria-label/...)
+// must not gain a phantom `attr: ""` after `markdownToProseMirror(convert…)`.
+// Each spec sweeps the at-risk string attrs at DEFAULT (absent) and at a real
+// NON-default value; the helper asserts both the RAW round-trip (attrs equal the
+// input's, modulo the documented numeric width/height/size/aspectRatio -> string
+// coercion) and the CANONICAL round-trip (canonical forms deep-equal).
+//
+// The image + media family share the `align !== "center"` predicate and the
+// `<!--name {…}-->` comment machinery, so one matrix guards the shared class.
+// align is NOT part of this class (it round-trips correctly) and is not swept.
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+const SPECS: NodeStabilitySpec[] = [
+  {
+    // Image carries the most at-risk string attrs. `alt` is the one marked
+    // materializes as `<img alt="">` on `![](src)` import (the real bug); title
+    // and caption are covered as the same class. attachmentId is a string attr
+    // that must stay absent when unset (control).
+    type: "image",
+    baseAttrs: { src: "/i.png" },
+    attrMatrix: [
+      { attr: "alt", default: undefined, nonDefault: "a real alt text", emptyStringClass: true },
+      { attr: "title", default: undefined, nonDefault: "a real title", emptyStringClass: true },
+      { attr: "caption", default: undefined, nonDefault: "a real caption" },
+      { attr: "attachmentId", default: undefined, nonDefault: "att-42" },
+    ],
+  },
+  {
+    // Video's `alt` rides the `aria-label` attribute (media aria-label at risk).
+    type: "video",
+    baseAttrs: { src: "/v.mp4" },
+    attrMatrix: [
+      { attr: "alt", default: undefined, nonDefault: "a clip", emptyStringClass: true },
+      { attr: "attachmentId", default: undefined, nonDefault: "att-1" },
+    ],
+  },
+  {
+    // Audio carries no alt/title; attachmentId is its only optional string attr.
+    type: "audio",
+    baseAttrs: { src: "/a.mp3" },
+    attrMatrix: [
+      { attr: "attachmentId", default: undefined, nonDefault: "att-2" },
+    ],
+  },
+  {
+    // pdf: link-form media. `name` (filename) is its at-risk string attr.
+    type: "pdf",
+    baseAttrs: { src: "/d.pdf" },
+    attrMatrix: [
+      { attr: "name", default: undefined, nonDefault: "report.pdf", emptyStringClass: true },
+      { attr: "attachmentId", default: undefined, nonDefault: "att-3" },
+    ],
+  },
+  {
+    // attachment: link-form media (file card). `name` + `mime` string attrs.
+    type: "attachment",
+    baseAttrs: { url: "/f.zip" },
+    attrMatrix: [
+      { attr: "name", default: undefined, nonDefault: "bundle.zip", emptyStringClass: true },
+      { attr: "mime", default: undefined, nonDefault: "application/zip", emptyStringClass: true },
+      { attr: "attachmentId", default: undefined, nonDefault: "att-4" },
+    ],
+  },
+  {
+    // embed: link-form media. `provider` is its at-risk string attr (schema
+    // default ""). embed's numeric width/height defaults (800/600) are a SEPARATE,
+    // documented limitation OUTSIDE the empty-string class: they are not in
+    // canonicalize's KNOWN_DEFAULTS, so an ABSENT width/height re-imports as the
+    // 800/600 default and diverges canonically (see the note in canonicalize.ts).
+    // That is canonicalize-owned and out of scope here, so we author the
+    // dimensions at their defaults (as real editor embeds carry them) to keep this
+    // guard focused on the empty-string/provider class.
+    // provider's schema default is "" (NOT null), so a re-imported "" is the
+    // correct value, not a phantom — it is outside the null-default empty-string
+    // class. We author it at its "" default (the default pick) so the sweep still
+    // asserts a non-default provider ("youtube") round-trips, without tripping the
+    // canonicalize KNOWN_DEFAULTS gap for embed's non-null defaults.
+    type: "embed",
+    baseAttrs: { src: "https://example.com/x", width: 800, height: 600 },
+    attrMatrix: [
+      { attr: "provider", default: "", nonDefault: "youtube" },
+    ],
+  },
+  {
+    // drawio: image-form diagram. `title` + `alt` string attrs (data-title/-alt).
+    type: "drawio",
+    baseAttrs: { src: "blob:drawio" },
+    attrMatrix: [
+      { attr: "title", default: undefined, nonDefault: "flow chart", emptyStringClass: true },
+      { attr: "alt", default: undefined, nonDefault: "an alt", emptyStringClass: true },
+      { attr: "attachmentId", default: undefined, nonDefault: "att-5" },
+    ],
+  },
+  {
+    // excalidraw: image-form diagram, same shared diagramAttributes set.
+    type: "excalidraw",
+    baseAttrs: { src: "blob:excalidraw" },
+    attrMatrix: [
+      { attr: "title", default: undefined, nonDefault: "sketch", emptyStringClass: true },
+      { attr: "alt", default: undefined, nonDefault: "an alt", emptyStringClass: true },
+      { attr: "attachmentId", default: undefined, nonDefault: "att-6" },
+    ],
+  },
+];
+
+describe("round-trip stability matrix (image + media family)", () => {
+  for (const spec of SPECS) {
+    it(`${spec.type}: no attr materializes an empty-string / phantom value`, async () => {
+      const report = await runStabilityMatrix(spec);
+      const unstable = unstableCombos(report);
+      // On failure, print the WHOLE matrix so which (attr, value) combos are
+      // unstable is legible.
+      expect(unstable, `\n${formatReport(report)}\n`).toEqual([]);
+    });
+  }
+});
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// THIRD STATE: an attr EXPLICITLY stored as a literal "" (GS-EDIT-REVERT: a user
+// typed alt/title/name/... then deleted it, so Tiptap persisted `attr: ""` — a
+// value DISTINCT from "attr was never set"). Unlike the absent case above, this
+// state is NOT first-pass byte-stable: the fix's `"" -> default` coercion is a
+// deliberate ONE-TIME normalization on the FIRST sync round-trip, stable
+// thereafter. We therefore assert a DIFFERENT contract — "converges to default
+// on pass 1, then idempotent from pass 2 on" — for every empty-string-class attr
+// across the whole node family (image/video/pdf/attachment/drawio/excalidraw).
+//
+// IMPORTANT for a future sync/QA pass: the pass-1 `"" -> null` diff is the
+// converter canon, not corruption. It appears at most once per affected node and
+// must NOT be flagged as "the converter is losing/corrupting page data".
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+describe("round-trip third state: explicit empty string converges once, then idempotent", () => {
+  for (const spec of SPECS) {
+    for (const attr of convergenceCasesFor(spec)) {
+      it(`${spec.type}.${attr}: "" normalizes to default on pass 1, byte-stable from pass 2`, async () => {
+        const r = await runConvergenceCase(spec, attr);
+        // Pass 1 must converge "" -> the schema default (the one-time diff) and
+        // pass 2 (roundtrip of pass-1 output) must be byte-stable. formatConvergence
+        // prints exactly which half failed.
+        expect(convergenceOk(r), `\n${formatConvergence(r)}\n`).toBe(true);
+        // Spell the contract out explicitly so the intent is legible in the test:
+        expect(r.convergedToDefault, `\n${formatConvergence(r)}\n`).toBe(true);
+        expect(r.firstPassValue).toEqual(r.expectedDefault);
+        expect(r.secondPassDivergence, `\n${formatConvergence(r)}\n`).toBeNull();
+      });
+    }
+  }
+});