diff --git a/src/main/providerService.ts b/src/main/providerService.ts
index ed1bc76..46b0a74 100644
--- a/src/main/providerService.ts
+++ b/src/main/providerService.ts
@@ -147,15 +147,15 @@ export class ProviderService {
     checkedAt: number;
   }>();
 
+  private readonly contextProviders: Array<import("./context/types").ContextProvider>;
+
   constructor(
     private readonly storage: AppStorage,
     private readonly secureConfig: SecureConfig
-  ) {}
-
-  private get contextProviders() {
-    return [
-      new TodoContextProvider(this.storage),
-      new NotesContextProvider(this.storage)
+  ) {
+    this.contextProviders = [
+      new TodoContextProvider(storage),
+      new NotesContextProvider(storage)
     ];
   }
 
@@ -495,10 +495,11 @@ export class ProviderService {
     });
 
     let finalCitations: Citation[] = [];
-    const systemPrompt = await buildSystemPrompt(this.contextProviders, request.prompt);
-    const braveApiKey = await this.secureConfig.getToolApiKey("brave");
-    const toolToggles = (await this.storage.getSettings()).toolToggles;
-    const toolExecutors = buildToolExecutors(braveApiKey, toolToggles);
+    const [systemPrompt, braveApiKey] = await Promise.all([
+      buildSystemPrompt(this.contextProviders, request.prompt),
+      this.secureConfig.getToolApiKey("brave")
+    ]);
+    const toolExecutors = buildToolExecutors(braveApiKey, settings.toolToggles);
     const toolDefs = getToolDefinitions(toolExecutors);
 
     const onDelta = (delta: string) => {
diff --git a/src/main/storage.ts b/src/main/storage.ts
index 98b0694..caa95d9 100644
--- a/src/main/storage.ts
+++ b/src/main/storage.ts
@@ -220,9 +220,7 @@ export class AppStorage {
 
   async getSettings(): Promise<SettingsData> {
     const raw = await this.readJson<unknown>(this.settingsPath, DEFAULT_SETTINGS);
-    const normalized = normalizeSettings(raw);
-    await this.writeJson(this.settingsPath, normalized);
-    return normalized;
+    return normalizeSettings(raw);
   }
 
   async saveSettings(updater: (current: SettingsData) => SettingsData): Promise<SettingsData> {
diff --git a/src/main/tools/fetchUrl.ts b/src/main/tools/fetchUrl.ts
index 26fe790..b3f5a6e 100644
--- a/src/main/tools/fetchUrl.ts
+++ b/src/main/tools/fetchUrl.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 import { ToolExecutor } from "./types";
 
 const MAX_CONTENT_CHARS = 30_000;
-const FETCH_TIMEOUT_MS = 15_000;
+const FETCH_TIMEOUT_MS = 8_000;
 const USER_AGENT = "Robin/1.0 (Personal AI Assistant)";
 
 function stripHtml(html: string): string {
diff --git a/src/main/tools/webSearch.ts b/src/main/tools/webSearch.ts
index 3d3ab83..2d3cbb6 100644
--- a/src/main/tools/webSearch.ts
+++ b/src/main/tools/webSearch.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import { ToolExecutor } from "./types";
 
-const SEARCH_TIMEOUT_MS = 10_000;
+const SEARCH_TIMEOUT_MS = 6_000;
 
 interface BraveWebResult {
   title?: string;
diff --git a/src/renderer/App.tsx b/src/renderer/App.tsx
index 4876f46..72acbba 100644
--- a/src/renderer/App.tsx
+++ b/src/renderer/App.tsx
@@ -4,6 +4,8 @@ import "@fontsource/gochi-hand";
 import "@fontsource/dm-sans/500.css";
 import ReactMarkdown from "react-markdown";
 import remarkGfm from "remark-gfm";
+
+const REMARK_PLUGINS = [remarkGfm];
 import {
   AssistantMode,
   CLOUD_PROVIDER_IDS,
@@ -738,8 +740,13 @@ export function App() {
     });
   }
 
+  const scrollTimerRef = useRef<ReturnType<typeof setTimeout> | null>(null);
   useEffect(() => {
-    chatEndRef.current?.scrollIntoView({ behavior: "smooth" });
+    if (scrollTimerRef.current) clearTimeout(scrollTimerRef.current);
+    scrollTimerRef.current = setTimeout(() => {
+      chatEndRef.current?.scrollIntoView({ behavior: "smooth" });
+    }, 80);
+    return () => { if (scrollTimerRef.current) clearTimeout(scrollTimerRef.current); };
   }, [messages.length, messages[messages.length - 1]?.content]);
 
   const localModels = ollamaStatus?.models ?? [];
@@ -1665,15 +1672,14 @@ export function App() {
     setError(null);
     const streamToken = streamSequenceRef.current + 1;
     streamSequenceRef.current = streamToken;
-    if (streamWatchdogRef.current) {
-      clearTimeout(streamWatchdogRef.current);
-    }
-    streamWatchdogRef.current = setTimeout(() => {
-      if (streamToken !== streamSequenceRef.current) {
-        return;
-      }
-      void stopPendingResponse("Model response timed out. Press Stop and retry.");
-    }, 30000);
+    const resetWatchdog = () => {
+      if (streamWatchdogRef.current) clearTimeout(streamWatchdogRef.current);
+      streamWatchdogRef.current = setTimeout(() => {
+        if (streamToken !== streamSequenceRef.current) return;
+        void stopPendingResponse("Model response timed out. Press Stop and retry.");
+      }, 60000);
+    };
+    resetWatchdog();
     setIsStreaming(true);
     const text = prompt.trim();
     const outgoingAttachments = pendingAttachments;
@@ -1701,6 +1707,7 @@ export function App() {
             if (streamToken !== streamSequenceRef.current) {
               return;
             }
+            resetWatchdog();
             queueDelta(messageId, delta);
           },
           onCitations: ({ messageId, citations }) => {
@@ -1720,6 +1727,7 @@ export function App() {
             setTodos(updatedTodos);
           },
           onToolStatus: ({ toolName, status }) => {
+            resetWatchdog();
             if (status === "calling") {
               setToolStatus({ toolName, status });
             } else {
@@ -2699,7 +2707,7 @@ export function App() {
                           ) : null}
                           {message.role === "assistant" ? (
                             <div className="md-content">
-                              <ReactMarkdown remarkPlugins={[remarkGfm]}>
+                              <ReactMarkdown remarkPlugins={REMARK_PLUGINS}>
                                 {message.content}
                               </ReactMarkdown>
                             </div>