diff --git a/desktop/playwright.config.ts b/desktop/playwright.config.ts
index 440d8fac5..83f00c853 100644
--- a/desktop/playwright.config.ts
+++ b/desktop/playwright.config.ts
@@ -71,6 +71,7 @@ export default defineConfig({
         "**/channel-dense-second-reach.spec.ts",
         "**/channel-window-mock-paging.spec.ts",
         "**/live-broadcast-reply-timeline.spec.ts",
+        "**/markdown-parse-cache.spec.ts",
         "**/overscroll-boundary.spec.ts",
         "**/cold-switch-longtask.perf.ts",
         "**/timeline-no-shift.spec.ts",
diff --git a/desktop/src/features/workspaces/useWorkspaceInit.ts b/desktop/src/features/workspaces/useWorkspaceInit.ts
index d368735b6..d9df6113f 100644
--- a/desktop/src/features/workspaces/useWorkspaceInit.ts
+++ b/desktop/src/features/workspaces/useWorkspaceInit.ts
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ import { resetActiveAgentTurnsStore } from "@/features/agents/activeAgentTurnsSt
 import { resetAgentWorkingSignal } from "@/features/agents/agentWorkingSignal";
 import { resetAgentObserverStore } from "@/features/agents/observerRelayStore";
 import { resetSidebarRelayConnectionCardState } from "@/features/sidebar/ui/useSidebarRelayConnectionCard";
+import { clearMarkdownNodeCache } from "@/shared/ui/markdown/nodeCache";
 import { resetVideoPlayerState } from "@/shared/ui/videoPlayerState";
 
 import { initFirstWorkspace } from "./workspaceStorage";
@@ -40,6 +41,7 @@ function resetWorkspaceState(): void {
   resetRenderScopedReactionHydration();
   clearSearchHitEventCache();
   clearAllDrafts();
+  clearMarkdownNodeCache();
 }
 
 type WorkspaceInitResult =
diff --git a/desktop/src/shared/ui/markdown.tsx b/desktop/src/shared/ui/markdown.tsx
index 8493b7239..ee510677a 100644
--- a/desktop/src/shared/ui/markdown.tsx
+++ b/desktop/src/shared/ui/markdown.tsx
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import * as React from "react";
 import { createPortal } from "react-dom";
-import ReactMarkdown, { type Components } from "react-markdown";
+import type { Components } from "react-markdown";
 import {
   ChevronLeft,
   ChevronRight,
@@ -9,8 +9,6 @@ import {
   ZoomOut,
 } from "lucide-react";
 import { AnimatePresence, motion, useReducedMotion } from "motion/react";
-import remarkBreaks from "remark-breaks";
-import remarkGfm from "remark-gfm";
 import { toast } from "sonner";
 
 import { useAppNavigation } from "@/app/navigation/useAppNavigation";
@@ -29,13 +27,6 @@ import {
 } from "@/shared/lib/linkPreview";
 import { useResolvedLinkPreviews } from "@/shared/lib/useResolvedLinkPreviews";
 import { rewriteRelayUrl } from "@/shared/lib/mediaUrl";
-import rehypeImageGallery from "@/shared/lib/rehypeImageGallery";
-import rehypeSearchHighlight from "@/shared/lib/rehypeSearchHighlight";
-import remarkChannelLinks from "@/shared/lib/remarkChannelLinks";
-import remarkCustomEmoji from "@/shared/lib/remarkCustomEmoji";
-import remarkMentions from "@/shared/lib/remarkMentions";
-import remarkSpoilers from "@/shared/lib/remarkSpoilers";
-import remarkMessageLinks from "@/features/messages/lib/remarkMessageLinks";
 import { AttachmentGroup } from "@/shared/ui/attachment";
 import { ConfigNudgeCard } from "@/shared/ui/config-nudge-attachment";
 import { LinkPreviewAttachment } from "@/shared/ui/link-preview-attachment";
@@ -75,84 +66,28 @@ import { MarkdownInput } from "./markdown/MarkdownInput";
 import { MarkdownTable } from "./markdown/MarkdownTable";
 import { MaskedLinkTooltip } from "./markdown/MaskedLinkTooltip";
 import { MessageLinkPill } from "./markdown/MessageLinkPill";
+import { renderCachedMarkdown } from "./markdown/nodeCache";
+import {
+  MarkdownRuntimeContext,
+  useMarkdownRuntime,
+} from "./markdown/runtimeContext";
 import { resolveFileCard } from "./markdownFileCard";
-import type {
-  ImetaEntry,
-  MarkdownProps,
-  MarkdownRuntime,
-} from "./markdown/types";
+import type { MarkdownProps, MarkdownRuntime } from "./markdown/types";
 import { SpoilerInline } from "./markdown/SpoilerInline";
 import {
-  aspectRatioFromDim,
   dimensionsFromDim,
   getDecodedImageDimensions,
   imageReserveStyle,
   isInsideHiddenSpoiler,
   getReactNodeText,
-  messageLinkUrlTransform,
   rememberDecodedImageDimensions,
   useFrozenImageReserve,
   useStableArray,
 } from "./markdown/utils";
-import { VideoPlayer, type VideoReviewContext } from "./VideoPlayer";
-
-/**
- * Video review context flows through React context instead of
- * `createMarkdownComponents` arguments. The component map must keep a stable
- * identity across re-renders: a new map means new element types, which makes
- * React unmount and remount every rendered node — including `<video>`
- * elements, killing playback (and any in-progress review comment draft)
- * whenever the timeline re-renders.
- */
-const VideoReviewMarkdownContext = React.createContext<
-  VideoReviewContext | undefined
->(undefined);
-
-function useLatestRef<T>(value: T) {
-  const ref = React.useRef(value);
-  ref.current = value;
-  return ref;
-}
-
-function MarkdownVideoPlayer({
-  alt,
-  entry,
-  resolvedSrc,
-  src,
-}: {
-  alt?: string;
-  entry?: ImetaEntry;
-  resolvedSrc: string;
-  src?: string;
-}) {
-  const videoReviewContext = React.useContext(VideoReviewMarkdownContext);
-  // Look up poster frame from imeta tags (NIP-71 `image` field).
-  // Fall back to `thumb` for compatibility with older events.
-  const posterUrl = entry?.image ?? entry?.thumb;
-  const resolvedPoster = posterUrl ? rewriteRelayUrl(posterUrl) : undefined;
-  const resolvedReviewContext = React.useMemo(
-    () =>
-      videoReviewContext
-        ? {
-            ...videoReviewContext,
-            title:
-              videoReviewContext.title ?? entry?.filename ?? alt ?? "Video",
-          }
-        : undefined,
-    [alt, entry?.filename, videoReviewContext],
-  );
-
-  return (
-    <VideoPlayer
-      src={resolvedSrc}
-      aspectRatio={aspectRatioFromDim(entry?.dim)}
-      poster={resolvedPoster}
-      durationSeconds={entry?.duration}
-      reviewKey={src ?? resolvedSrc}
-      reviewContext={resolvedReviewContext}
-    />
-  );
-}
+import {
+  MarkdownVideoPlayer,
+  VideoReviewMarkdownContext,
+} from "./markdown/MarkdownVideoPlayer";
 
 type ImageLightboxBox = {
   height: number;
@@ -1560,13 +1495,109 @@ function ImageBlock({ alt, dim, resolvedSrc, src }: ImageBlockProps) {
 }
 
 function createMarkdownComponents(
-  runtimeRef: React.RefObject<MarkdownRuntime>,
   interactive = true,
   mediaInset = false,
 ): Components {
   const listItemClassName = "[&_p]:inline";
   const listClassName = "space-y-1 pl-6 marker:text-muted-foreground/80";
 
+  function MarkdownAnchor({
+    children,
+    href,
+    ...props
+  }: React.ComponentPropsWithoutRef<"a">) {
+    const { channels, imetaByUrl, onOpenMessageLink } = useMarkdownRuntime();
+    if (!interactive) {
+      return <span className="font-medium text-current">{children}</span>;
+    }
+
+    // Markdown image-link syntax (`[![alt](src)](href)`) otherwise nests the
+    // image lightbox button inside an anchor. Keep the image as the lightbox
+    // trigger and suppress the parent link activation for block media.
+    if (hasBlockMedia(React.Children.toArray(children))) {
+      return <>{children}</>;
+    }
+
+    const label = getReactNodeText(children);
+
+    // Generic file attachment: a `[filename](url)` link whose href matches an
+    // imeta entry with a non-image, non-video MIME. Render a download card
+    // instead of a plain link. (Media uses the `img` renderer, not this path.)
+    const card = resolveFileCard(
+      href ? imetaByUrl?.get(href) : undefined,
+      href,
+      label,
+    );
+    if (card) {
+      return (
+        <FileCard href={card.href} filename={card.filename} size={card.size} />
+      );
+    }
+
+    // Intercept `buzz://message?channel=…&id=…` links so a click navigates
+    // in-app instead of opening the URL in the OS browser. http(s) links
+    // continue to use the existing target="_blank" behavior.
+    if (href) {
+      const messageLinkTarget = resolveMessageLinkRenderTarget({
+        href,
+        label,
+      });
+      if (messageLinkTarget.kind !== "none") {
+        if (messageLinkTarget.kind === "pill") {
+          return (
+            <MessageLinkPill
+              channels={channels}
+              href={href}
+              interactive={interactive}
+              link={messageLinkTarget.link}
+              onOpenMessageLink={onOpenMessageLink}
+            />
+          );
+        }
+
+        return (
+          <a
+            {...props}
+            className="font-medium text-primary underline underline-offset-4 transition-colors hover:text-primary/80 cursor-pointer"
+            href={href}
+            onClick={(event) => {
+              event.preventDefault();
+              onOpenMessageLink(messageLinkTarget.link);
+            }}
+          >
+            {children}
+          </a>
+        );
+      }
+      // Malformed message deep link — fall through to the default
+      // anchor (renders as a normal external link).
+    }
+
+    const supportedLinkPreview = href ? parseSupportedLinkPreview(href) : null;
+    const isLinearLink = supportedLinkPreview?.kind === "linear-issue";
+
+    const anchor = (
+      <a
+        {...props}
+        className={cn(
+          "font-medium underline underline-offset-4 transition-colors",
+          isLinearLink ? "linear-link" : "text-primary hover:text-primary/80",
+        )}
+        href={href}
+        rel="noreferrer"
+        target="_blank"
+      >
+        {children}
+      </a>
+    );
+
+    return (
+      <MaskedLinkTooltip disabled={isLinearLink} href={href} label={label}>
+        {anchor}
+      </MaskedLinkTooltip>
+    );
+  }
+
   return {
     spoiler: ({
       children,
@@ -1582,104 +1613,7 @@ function createMarkdownComponents(
         {children}
       </SpoilerInline>
     ),
-    a: ({ children, href, ...props }) => {
-      const { imetaByUrl, onOpenMessageLink } = runtimeRef.current;
-      if (!interactive) {
-        return <span className="font-medium text-current">{children}</span>;
-      }
-
-      // Markdown image-link syntax (`[![alt](src)](href)`) otherwise nests the
-      // image lightbox button inside an anchor. Keep the image as the lightbox
-      // trigger and suppress the parent link activation for block media.
-      if (hasBlockMedia(React.Children.toArray(children))) {
-        return <>{children}</>;
-      }
-
-      const label = getReactNodeText(children);
-
-      // Generic file attachment: a `[filename](url)` link whose href matches an
-      // imeta entry with a non-image, non-video MIME. Render a download card
-      // instead of a plain link. (Media uses the `img` renderer, not this path.)
-      const card = resolveFileCard(
-        href ? imetaByUrl?.get(href) : undefined,
-        href,
-        label,
-      );
-      if (card) {
-        return (
-          <FileCard
-            href={card.href}
-            filename={card.filename}
-            size={card.size}
-          />
-        );
-      }
-
-      // Intercept `buzz://message?channel=…&id=…` links so a click navigates
-      // in-app instead of opening the URL in the OS browser. http(s) links
-      // continue to use the existing target="_blank" behavior.
-      if (href) {
-        const messageLinkTarget = resolveMessageLinkRenderTarget({
-          href,
-          label,
-        });
-        if (messageLinkTarget.kind !== "none") {
-          if (messageLinkTarget.kind === "pill") {
-            return (
-              <MessageLinkPill
-                channels={runtimeRef.current.channels}
-                href={href}
-                interactive={interactive}
-                link={messageLinkTarget.link}
-                onOpenMessageLink={onOpenMessageLink}
-              />
-            );
-          }
-
-          return (
-            <a
-              {...props}
-              className="font-medium text-primary underline underline-offset-4 transition-colors hover:text-primary/80 cursor-pointer"
-              href={href}
-              onClick={(event) => {
-                event.preventDefault();
-                onOpenMessageLink(messageLinkTarget.link);
-              }}
-            >
-              {children}
-            </a>
-          );
-        }
-        // Malformed message deep link — fall through to the default
-        // anchor (renders as a normal external link).
-      }
-
-      const supportedLinkPreview = href
-        ? parseSupportedLinkPreview(href)
-        : null;
-      const isLinearLink = supportedLinkPreview?.kind === "linear-issue";
-
-      const anchor = (
-        <a
-          {...props}
-          className={cn(
-            "font-medium underline underline-offset-4 transition-colors",
-            isLinearLink ? "linear-link" : "text-primary hover:text-primary/80",
-          )}
-          href={href}
-          rel="noreferrer"
-          target="_blank"
-        >
-          {children}
-        </a>
-      );
-
-      return (
-        <MaskedLinkTooltip disabled={isLinearLink} href={href} label={label}>
-          {anchor}
-        </MaskedLinkTooltip>
-      );
-    },
+    a: MarkdownAnchor,
     blockquote: ({ children }) => (
       <blockquote className="border-l-2 border-border pl-4 italic text-muted-foreground [&>*:first-child]:mt-0 [&>*+*]:mt-2">
         {children}
@@ -1751,8 +1685,8 @@ function createMarkdownComponents(
       </h6>
     ),
     hr: () => <hr className="border-border/80" />,
-    img: ({ alt, src }) => {
-      const { imetaByUrl } = runtimeRef.current;
+    img: function MarkdownImage({ alt, src }) {
+      const { imetaByUrl } = useMarkdownRuntime();
       const resolvedSrc = src ? rewriteRelayUrl(src) : src;
       if (!interactive) {
         const fallbackLabel = resolvedSrc?.endsWith(".mp4")
@@ -1851,9 +1785,13 @@ function createMarkdownComponents(
     ul: ({ children }) => (
       <ul className={cn("list-disc", listClassName)}>{children}</ul>
     ),
-    mention: ({ children }: { children?: React.ReactNode }) => {
+    mention: function MarkdownMention({
+      children,
+    }: {
+      children?: React.ReactNode;
+    }) {
       const { agentMentionPubkeysByName, mentionPubkeysByName } =
-        runtimeRef.current;
+        useMarkdownRuntime();
       const mentionText = String(children ?? "");
       const mentionName = mentionText.replace(/^@/, "").trim().toLowerCase();
       const pubkey = mentionPubkeysByName?.[mentionName];
@@ -1910,8 +1848,12 @@ function createMarkdownComponents(
       }
       return <InlineEmojiPopover alt={alt} resolvedSrc={resolvedSrc} />;
     },
-    "channel-link": ({ children }: { children?: React.ReactNode }) => {
-      const { channels, onOpenChannel } = runtimeRef.current;
+    "channel-link": function MarkdownChannelLink({
+      children,
+    }: {
+      children?: React.ReactNode;
+    }) {
+      const { channels, onOpenChannel } = useMarkdownRuntime();
       const text = String(children ?? "");
       const channelName = text.startsWith("#") ? text.slice(1) : text;
       const channel = channels.find(
@@ -1946,8 +1888,12 @@ function createMarkdownComponents(
         </span>
       );
     },
-    "message-link": ({ children }: { children?: React.ReactNode }) => {
-      const { channels, onOpenMessageLink } = runtimeRef.current;
+    "message-link": function MarkdownMessageLink({
+      children,
+    }: {
+      children?: React.ReactNode;
+    }) {
+      const { channels, onOpenMessageLink } = useMarkdownRuntime();
       const href = String(children ?? "");
       const parsed = parseMessageLink(href);
       if (!parsed.ok) {
@@ -1969,6 +1915,38 @@ function createMarkdownComponents(
   } as Components;
 }
 
+/**
+ * The component map only varies by the two boolean render flags, so at most
+ * four instances ever exist. Module-stable maps mean cached markdown element
+ * trees (see ./markdown/nodeCache.ts) never embed per-mount closures.
+ */
+const markdownComponentsByVariant = new Map<string, MarkdownComponentSet>();
+
+type MarkdownComponentSet = { components: Components; variant: string };
+
+/**
+ * Returns the component map together with the `variant` token that fully
+ * identifies it. The token doubles as the variant segment of the parse-cache
+ * key (see nodeCache.ts), so the map partitioning and the key partitioning
+ * come from one place and cannot drift apart: a new render flag added here
+ * automatically partitions the cache too.
+ */
+function getMarkdownComponents(
+  interactive: boolean,
+  mediaInset: boolean,
+): MarkdownComponentSet {
+  const variant = `${interactive ? "i" : ""}${mediaInset ? "m" : ""}`;
+  let entry = markdownComponentsByVariant.get(variant);
+  if (!entry) {
+    entry = {
+      components: createMarkdownComponents(interactive, mediaInset),
+      variant,
+    };
+    markdownComponentsByVariant.set(variant, entry);
+  }
+  return entry;
+}
+
 function MarkdownInner({
   channelNames,
   className,
@@ -2017,44 +1995,25 @@ function MarkdownInner({
     () => computeConfigNudge(content, interactive, configNudgeAuthorPubkey),
     [content, interactive, configNudgeAuthorPubkey],
   );
-  const runtimeRef = useLatestRef<MarkdownRuntime>({
-    agentMentionPubkeysByName,
-    channels,
-    imetaByUrl,
-    mentionPubkeysByName,
-    onOpenChannel,
-    onOpenMessageLink,
-  });
-
-  const components = React.useMemo(
-    () => createMarkdownComponents(runtimeRef, interactive, mediaInset),
-    [runtimeRef, interactive, mediaInset],
-  );
-
-  // biome-ignore lint/suspicious/noExplicitAny: PluggableList type not directly importable
-  const remarkPlugins = React.useMemo<any[]>(
-    () => [
-      remarkGfm,
-      remarkBreaks,
-      remarkSpoilers,
-      remarkMessageLinks,
-      [remarkMentions, { mentionNames }],
-      [remarkChannelLinks, { channelNames }],
-      [remarkCustomEmoji, { customEmoji }],
+  const runtime = React.useMemo<MarkdownRuntime>(
+    () => ({
+      agentMentionPubkeysByName,
+      channels,
+      imetaByUrl,
+      mentionPubkeysByName,
+      onOpenChannel,
+      onOpenMessageLink,
+    }),
+    [
+      agentMentionPubkeysByName,
+      channels,
+      imetaByUrl,
+      mentionPubkeysByName,
+      onOpenChannel,
+      onOpenMessageLink,
     ],
-    [mentionNames, channelNames, customEmoji],
   );
 
-  // biome-ignore lint/suspicious/noExplicitAny: PluggableList type not directly importable
-  const rehypePlugins = React.useMemo<any[]>(() => {
-    // biome-ignore lint/suspicious/noExplicitAny: PluggableList type not directly importable
-    const plugins: any[] = [rehypeImageGallery];
-    if (searchQuery && searchQuery.trim().length >= 2) {
-      plugins.push([rehypeSearchHighlight, { query: searchQuery }]);
-    }
-    return plugins;
-  }, [searchQuery]);
-
   let processedContent = content;
 
   // Note: stripping the sentinel here is intentionally omitted. When
@@ -2072,16 +2031,21 @@ function MarkdownInner({
 
   const resolvedLinkPreviews = useResolvedLinkPreviews(linkPreviews);
 
-  const markdownNode = (
-    <ReactMarkdown
-      components={components}
-      remarkPlugins={remarkPlugins}
-      rehypePlugins={rehypePlugins}
-      urlTransform={messageLinkUrlTransform}
-    >
-      {processedContent}
-    </ReactMarkdown>
-  );
+  // When a config-nudge suppresses the prose (selectProseOrNudge returns
+  // null), skip the parse entirely — it would be thrown away unrendered.
+  const componentSet = getMarkdownComponents(interactive, mediaInset);
+  const markdownNode =
+    configNudge === null
+      ? renderCachedMarkdown({
+          channelNames,
+          components: componentSet.components,
+          content: processedContent,
+          customEmoji,
+          mentionNames,
+          searchQuery,
+          variant: componentSet.variant,
+        })
+      : null;
 
   return (
     <div
@@ -2104,27 +2068,29 @@ function MarkdownInner({
         className,
       )}
     >
-      <VideoReviewMarkdownContext.Provider value={videoReviewContext}>
-        {selectProseOrNudge(configNudge, markdownNode)}
-        {configNudge !== null ? (
-          <AttachmentGroup
-            className="max-w-full flex-wrap overflow-visible pb-0"
-            data-config-nudge=""
-          >
-            <ConfigNudgeCard nudge={configNudge} />
-          </AttachmentGroup>
-        ) : null}
-        {resolvedLinkPreviews.length > 0 ? (
-          <AttachmentGroup
-            className="max-w-full flex-wrap overflow-visible pb-0"
-            data-link-preview-list=""
-          >
-            {resolvedLinkPreviews.map((preview) => (
-              <LinkPreviewAttachment key={preview.href} preview={preview} />
-            ))}
-          </AttachmentGroup>
-        ) : null}
-      </VideoReviewMarkdownContext.Provider>
+      <MarkdownRuntimeContext.Provider value={runtime}>
+        <VideoReviewMarkdownContext.Provider value={videoReviewContext}>
+          {selectProseOrNudge(configNudge, markdownNode)}
+          {configNudge !== null ? (
+            <AttachmentGroup
+              className="max-w-full flex-wrap overflow-visible pb-0"
+              data-config-nudge=""
+            >
+              <ConfigNudgeCard nudge={configNudge} />
+            </AttachmentGroup>
+          ) : null}
+          {resolvedLinkPreviews.length > 0 ? (
+            <AttachmentGroup
+              className="max-w-full flex-wrap overflow-visible pb-0"
+              data-link-preview-list=""
+            >
+              {resolvedLinkPreviews.map((preview) => (
+                <LinkPreviewAttachment key={preview.href} preview={preview} />
+              ))}
+            </AttachmentGroup>
+          ) : null}
+        </VideoReviewMarkdownContext.Provider>
+      </MarkdownRuntimeContext.Provider>
     </div>
   );
 }
diff --git a/desktop/src/shared/ui/markdown/MarkdownVideoPlayer.tsx b/desktop/src/shared/ui/markdown/MarkdownVideoPlayer.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..f16949954
--- /dev/null
+++ b/desktop/src/shared/ui/markdown/MarkdownVideoPlayer.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,59 @@
+import * as React from "react";
+
+import { rewriteRelayUrl } from "@/shared/lib/mediaUrl";
+
+import { VideoPlayer, type VideoReviewContext } from "../VideoPlayer";
+import type { ImetaEntry } from "./types";
+import { aspectRatioFromDim } from "./utils";
+
+/**
+ * Video review context flows through React context instead of
+ * `createMarkdownComponents` arguments. The component map must keep a stable
+ * identity across re-renders: a new map means new element types, which makes
+ * React unmount and remount every rendered node — including `<video>`
+ * elements, killing playback (and any in-progress review comment draft)
+ * whenever the timeline re-renders.
+ */
+export const VideoReviewMarkdownContext = React.createContext<
+  VideoReviewContext | undefined
+>(undefined);
+
+export function MarkdownVideoPlayer({
+  alt,
+  entry,
+  resolvedSrc,
+  src,
+}: {
+  alt?: string;
+  entry?: ImetaEntry;
+  resolvedSrc: string;
+  src?: string;
+}) {
+  const videoReviewContext = React.useContext(VideoReviewMarkdownContext);
+  // Look up poster frame from imeta tags (NIP-71 `image` field).
+  // Fall back to `thumb` for compatibility with older events.
+  const posterUrl = entry?.image ?? entry?.thumb;
+  const resolvedPoster = posterUrl ? rewriteRelayUrl(posterUrl) : undefined;
+  const resolvedReviewContext = React.useMemo(
+    () =>
+      videoReviewContext
+        ? {
+            ...videoReviewContext,
+            title:
+              videoReviewContext.title ?? entry?.filename ?? alt ?? "Video",
+          }
+        : undefined,
+    [alt, entry?.filename, videoReviewContext],
+  );
+
+  return (
+    <VideoPlayer
+      src={resolvedSrc}
+      aspectRatio={aspectRatioFromDim(entry?.dim)}
+      poster={resolvedPoster}
+      durationSeconds={entry?.duration}
+      reviewKey={src ?? resolvedSrc}
+      reviewContext={resolvedReviewContext}
+    />
+  );
+}
diff --git a/desktop/src/shared/ui/markdown/nodeCache.test.mjs b/desktop/src/shared/ui/markdown/nodeCache.test.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..bade50966
--- /dev/null
+++ b/desktop/src/shared/ui/markdown/nodeCache.test.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,117 @@
+import assert from "node:assert/strict";
+import test from "node:test";
+
+import { renderToStaticMarkup } from "react-dom/server";
+
+import { clearMarkdownNodeCache, renderCachedMarkdown } from "./nodeCache.ts";
+
+// The whole point of the cache is element-identity reuse across the message
+// timeline's per-channel-switch remount: same parse inputs must return the
+// SAME element (no re-parse), and anything that changes the parse output
+// must miss.
+
+const BASE = {
+  components: {},
+  content: "**bold** and `code`",
+  variant: "i",
+};
+
+test("same parse inputs return the identical cached element", () => {
+  clearMarkdownNodeCache();
+  const first = renderCachedMarkdown({ ...BASE });
+  const second = renderCachedMarkdown({ ...BASE });
+  assert.equal(first, second);
+  assert.match(renderToStaticMarkup(first), /<strong>bold<\/strong>/);
+});
+
+test("content changes miss the cache", () => {
+  clearMarkdownNodeCache();
+  const first = renderCachedMarkdown({ ...BASE });
+  const second = renderCachedMarkdown({ ...BASE, content: "**bald**" });
+  assert.notEqual(first, second);
+});
+
+test("customEmoji is keyed by value, not identity", () => {
+  clearMarkdownNodeCache();
+  const emoji = [{ shortcode: "buzz", url: "https://relay/buzz.png" }];
+  const first = renderCachedMarkdown({
+    ...BASE,
+    content: "hi :buzz:",
+    customEmoji: emoji,
+  });
+  // Fresh array, same values — the exact remount scenario (useMessageEmoji
+  // rebuilds the array): must HIT.
+  const second = renderCachedMarkdown({
+    ...BASE,
+    content: "hi :buzz:",
+    customEmoji: [{ shortcode: "buzz", url: "https://relay/buzz.png" }],
+  });
+  assert.equal(first, second);
+  // Same content, different emoji set (e.g. emoji added while editing —
+  // custom-emoji.spec.ts Bug 2): must MISS so the new emoji renders.
+  const third = renderCachedMarkdown({
+    ...BASE,
+    content: "hi :buzz:",
+    customEmoji: [{ shortcode: "buzz", url: "https://relay/other.png" }],
+  });
+  assert.notEqual(first, third);
+});
+
+test("mention and channel names are part of the key", () => {
+  clearMarkdownNodeCache();
+  const first = renderCachedMarkdown({
+    ...BASE,
+    content: "ping @alice in #general",
+    mentionNames: ["alice"],
+    channelNames: ["general"],
+  });
+  const second = renderCachedMarkdown({
+    ...BASE,
+    content: "ping @alice in #general",
+    mentionNames: ["alice", "bob"],
+    channelNames: ["general"],
+  });
+  assert.notEqual(first, second);
+});
+
+test("render variants do not collide", () => {
+  clearMarkdownNodeCache();
+  const interactive = renderCachedMarkdown({ ...BASE });
+  const nonInteractive = renderCachedMarkdown({ ...BASE, variant: "" });
+  assert.notEqual(interactive, nonInteractive);
+});
+
+test("crafted values cannot forge key-segment boundaries", () => {
+  clearMarkdownNodeCache();
+  // Length-prefixed segments: a single name containing arbitrary bytes must
+  // never be key-identical to two separate names, and values must not bleed
+  // across the mention/channel field boundary.
+  const joined = renderCachedMarkdown({
+    ...BASE,
+    mentionNames: ["ab"],
+  });
+  const split = renderCachedMarkdown({
+    ...BASE,
+    mentionNames: ["a", "b"],
+  });
+  assert.notEqual(joined, split);
+
+  const inMentions = renderCachedMarkdown({ ...BASE, mentionNames: ["x"] });
+  const inChannels = renderCachedMarkdown({ ...BASE, channelNames: ["x"] });
+  assert.notEqual(inMentions, inChannels);
+});
+
+test("oversized content bypasses the cache", () => {
+  clearMarkdownNodeCache();
+  const huge = { ...BASE, content: "a".repeat(40_000) };
+  const first = renderCachedMarkdown(huge);
+  const second = renderCachedMarkdown(huge);
+  assert.notEqual(first, second);
+});
+
+test("active search queries bypass the cache", () => {
+  clearMarkdownNodeCache();
+  const first = renderCachedMarkdown({ ...BASE, searchQuery: "bold" });
+  const second = renderCachedMarkdown({ ...BASE, searchQuery: "bold" });
+  assert.notEqual(first, second);
+});
diff --git a/desktop/src/shared/ui/markdown/nodeCache.ts b/desktop/src/shared/ui/markdown/nodeCache.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..a90c2fcfe
--- /dev/null
+++ b/desktop/src/shared/ui/markdown/nodeCache.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,158 @@
+import type * as React from "react";
+import ReactMarkdown, { type Components } from "react-markdown";
+import remarkBreaks from "remark-breaks";
+import remarkGfm from "remark-gfm";
+
+import remarkMessageLinks from "@/features/messages/lib/remarkMessageLinks";
+import rehypeImageGallery from "@/shared/lib/rehypeImageGallery";
+import rehypeSearchHighlight from "@/shared/lib/rehypeSearchHighlight";
+import remarkChannelLinks from "@/shared/lib/remarkChannelLinks";
+import remarkCustomEmoji, {
+  type CustomEmoji,
+} from "@/shared/lib/remarkCustomEmoji";
+import remarkMentions from "@/shared/lib/remarkMentions";
+import remarkSpoilers from "@/shared/lib/remarkSpoilers";
+
+import { messageLinkUrlTransform } from "./utils";
+
+/**
+ * Parsed-markdown element cache.
+ *
+ * The message timeline's scroll container is keyed by channel id (see
+ * MessageTimeline — required so TanStack Router's scroll restoration never
+ * writes a stale scrollTop into a reused scroll node), so every channel
+ * switch remounts every row and `React.memo` cannot carry the react-markdown
+ * parse across the remount. react-markdown's `Markdown` is a plain
+ * synchronous hook-free function, so its element tree is a pure function of
+ * the parse inputs below and can be reused across mounts. Everything
+ * per-mount (channels, imeta lookup, navigation callbacks) flows through
+ * `MarkdownRuntimeContext`, read at render time — a cached element never
+ * captures per-mount state. The `components` map passed in must be
+ * module-stable and fully identified by `variant` (see
+ * `getMarkdownComponents`) — the map itself is deliberately not part of the
+ * cache key.
+ *
+ * Recency-ordered via Map insertion order; capacity comfortably covers two
+ * window-ceiling channels' worth of rows.
+ */
+const MARKDOWN_NODE_CACHE_LIMIT = 1000;
+/** Oversized messages (large agent pastes) bypass the cache: they rarely
+ * repeat enough to benefit, and each entry would retain the full content in
+ * both the key and the element tree. Mirrors the searchQuery bypass. */
+const MARKDOWN_NODE_CACHE_MAX_CONTENT_LENGTH = 32_000;
+const markdownNodeCache = new Map<string, React.ReactElement>();
+
+/** Workspace switches swap relays; drop parses keyed against the old
+ * workspace's mention/channel-name space (see `resetWorkspaceState`). */
+export function clearMarkdownNodeCache() {
+  markdownNodeCache.clear();
+}
+
+let markdownParseCount = 0;
+
+/** Number of fresh react-markdown parses since app start (cache misses and
+ * bypasses). Exposed through the e2e bridge so specs can assert that warm
+ * channel switches are pure cache hits (zero fresh parses). */
+export function getMarkdownParseCount(): number {
+  return markdownParseCount;
+}
+
+/** Inputs that fully determine the parsed element tree. `variant` identifies
+ * the module-stable `components` map (see `getMarkdownComponents`); the two
+ * must always come from the same call so they cannot drift apart. */
+export type MarkdownParseInputs = {
+  channelNames?: string[];
+  components: Components;
+  content: string;
+  customEmoji?: CustomEmoji[];
+  mentionNames?: string[];
+  searchQuery?: string;
+  variant: string;
+};
+
+/** Length-prefix a segment so no value can forge a boundary — an injective
+ * encoding regardless of the bytes in relay-controlled names and URLs. */
+function segment(value: string): string {
+  return `${value.length}:${value}`;
+}
+
+function listSegment(values: readonly string[] | undefined): string {
+  return segment(values?.map(segment).join("") ?? "");
+}
+
+function buildMarkdownElement(input: MarkdownParseInputs): React.ReactElement {
+  markdownParseCount += 1;
+  // biome-ignore lint/suspicious/noExplicitAny: PluggableList type not directly importable
+  const rehypePlugins: any[] = [rehypeImageGallery];
+  if (input.searchQuery && input.searchQuery.trim().length >= 2) {
+    rehypePlugins.push([rehypeSearchHighlight, { query: input.searchQuery }]);
+  }
+  // Called as a plain function rather than rendered as <ReactMarkdown/>:
+  // react-markdown's `Markdown` is synchronous and hook-free (the hook
+  // variant is `MarkdownHooks`), so this returns the parsed element tree
+  // directly, which is what lets it live in a module-level cache.
+  return ReactMarkdown({
+    children: input.content,
+    components: input.components,
+    remarkPlugins: [
+      remarkGfm,
+      remarkBreaks,
+      remarkSpoilers,
+      remarkMessageLinks,
+      [remarkMentions, { mentionNames: input.mentionNames }],
+      [remarkChannelLinks, { channelNames: input.channelNames }],
+      [remarkCustomEmoji, { customEmoji: input.customEmoji }],
+      // biome-ignore lint/suspicious/noExplicitAny: PluggableList type not directly importable
+    ] as any[],
+    rehypePlugins,
+    urlTransform: messageLinkUrlTransform,
+  });
+}
+
+/** Return the parsed element tree for the given inputs, reusing a cached
+ * tree when an identical parse has been done before. See the module doc
+ * comment for why this is safe. */
+export function renderCachedMarkdown(
+  input: MarkdownParseInputs,
+): React.ReactElement {
+  // Search highlighting is transient and query-specific: parse fresh rather
+  // than churn the cache with per-query variants. Oversized content parses
+  // fresh too — see MARKDOWN_NODE_CACHE_MAX_CONTENT_LENGTH.
+  if (
+    (input.searchQuery && input.searchQuery.trim().length >= 2) ||
+    input.content.length > MARKDOWN_NODE_CACHE_MAX_CONTENT_LENGTH
+  ) {
+    return buildMarkdownElement(input);
+  }
+  // Everything that changes the parse output must be in the key. Arrays are
+  // keyed by value, not identity — callers rebuild them across mounts. Every
+  // field is length-prefixed, so relay-controlled values cannot collide two
+  // distinct input tuples. Content is last and needs no prefix: everything
+  // before it is self-delimiting.
+  const key =
+    segment(input.variant) +
+    listSegment(input.mentionNames) +
+    listSegment(input.channelNames) +
+    listSegment(
+      input.customEmoji?.map(
+        (emoji) => segment(emoji.shortcode) + segment(emoji.url),
+      ),
+    ) +
+    input.content;
+
+  const hit = markdownNodeCache.get(key);
+  if (hit) {
+    markdownNodeCache.delete(key);
+    markdownNodeCache.set(key, hit);
+    return hit;
+  }
+  const element = buildMarkdownElement(input);
+  markdownNodeCache.set(key, element);
+  if (markdownNodeCache.size > MARKDOWN_NODE_CACHE_LIMIT) {
+    const oldest = markdownNodeCache.keys().next().value;
+    if (oldest !== undefined) {
+      markdownNodeCache.delete(oldest);
+    }
+  }
+  return element;
+}
diff --git a/desktop/src/shared/ui/markdown/runtimeContext.ts b/desktop/src/shared/ui/markdown/runtimeContext.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..a067125a3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/desktop/src/shared/ui/markdown/runtimeContext.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+import * as React from "react";
+
+import type { MarkdownRuntime } from "./types";
+
+/**
+ * Per-mount runtime (channels, imeta lookup, navigation callbacks) flows
+ * through context for the same reason as `VideoReviewMarkdownContext` in
+ * markdown.tsx: the component map must stay identity-stable. Routing runtime
+ * through context (read at render time) rather than a closed-over ref
+ * additionally makes the map module-stable across mounts, which is what
+ * allows the parsed markdown element cache (`nodeCache.ts`) to reuse element
+ * trees across the timeline's per-channel-switch remount without capturing
+ * stale per-mount state.
+ */
+const INERT_MARKDOWN_RUNTIME: MarkdownRuntime = {
+  channels: [],
+  onOpenChannel: () => {},
+  onOpenMessageLink: () => {},
+};
+
+export const MarkdownRuntimeContext = React.createContext<MarkdownRuntime>(
+  INERT_MARKDOWN_RUNTIME,
+);
+
+export function useMarkdownRuntime(): MarkdownRuntime {
+  return React.useContext(MarkdownRuntimeContext);
+}
diff --git a/desktop/src/testing/e2eBridge.ts b/desktop/src/testing/e2eBridge.ts
index eff1708ee..12515cf0d 100644
--- a/desktop/src/testing/e2eBridge.ts
+++ b/desktop/src/testing/e2eBridge.ts
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import { parse as yamlParse } from "yaml";
 import { relayClient } from "@/shared/api/relayClient";
 import type { ConnectionState } from "@/shared/api/relayClientShared";
 import type { RelayEvent } from "@/shared/api/types";
+import { getMarkdownParseCount } from "@/shared/ui/markdown/nodeCache";
 import { syncAgentTurnsFromEvents } from "@/features/agents/activeAgentTurnsStore";
 import {
   injectObserverEventsForE2E,
@@ -754,6 +755,7 @@ declare global {
     __BUZZ_E2E_QUERY_CLIENT__?: {
       invalidateQueries: (filters: { queryKey: readonly unknown[] }) => unknown;
     };
+    __BUZZ_E2E_MD_PARSE_COUNT__?: () => number;
   }
 }
 
@@ -7855,6 +7857,7 @@ export function maybeInstallE2eTauriMocks() {
     window.dispatchEvent(new CustomEvent("buzz:e2e-home-feed-updated"));
     return item;
   };
+  window.__BUZZ_E2E_MD_PARSE_COUNT__ = getMarkdownParseCount;
   window.__BUZZ_E2E_EMIT_MOCK_READ_STATE__ = ({
     clientId,
     contexts,
diff --git a/desktop/tests/e2e/markdown-parse-cache.spec.ts b/desktop/tests/e2e/markdown-parse-cache.spec.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..6fdb1f431
--- /dev/null
+++ b/desktop/tests/e2e/markdown-parse-cache.spec.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,73 @@
+import { expect, test } from "@playwright/test";
+
+import { installMockBridge } from "../helpers/bridge";
+
+/**
+ * Regression gate for the markdown parse cache (shared/ui/markdown/nodeCache).
+ *
+ * The timeline's per-channel-switch remount used to re-run every row's
+ * react-markdown parse; the cache makes warm re-entries pure element reuse.
+ * This spec asserts the deterministic invariant behind that win: a warm
+ * channel switch performs ZERO fresh parses. Unlike the wall-clock
+ * benchmark (warm-switch-markdown.perf.ts, instrument-only), this is
+ * machine-independent and safe to gate CI on — if someone disconnects
+ * MarkdownInner from the cache or breaks the key, this fails.
+ */
+
+async function parseCount(page: import("@playwright/test").Page) {
+  return page.evaluate(() => window.__BUZZ_E2E_MD_PARSE_COUNT__?.() ?? -1);
+}
+
+async function settleChannel(
+  page: import("@playwright/test").Page,
+  title: string,
+) {
+  await expect(page.getByTestId("chat-title")).toHaveText(title);
+  await expect(page.locator('[data-render-pending="true"]')).toHaveCount(0);
+  await expect(
+    page.getByTestId("message-timeline").locator("[data-message-id]").first(),
+  ).toBeVisible();
+  // Let any trailing deferred commits flush before reading the counter.
+  await page.waitForTimeout(300);
+}
+
+test("warm channel switches trigger zero fresh markdown parses", async ({
+  page,
+}) => {
+  await installMockBridge(page);
+  await page.goto("/");
+  await page.waitForFunction(
+    () => typeof window.__BUZZ_E2E_MD_PARSE_COUNT__ === "function",
+  );
+
+  // Cold visits populate the query caches and the markdown node cache.
+  await page.getByTestId("channel-deep-history").click();
+  await settleChannel(page, "deep-history");
+  await page.getByTestId("channel-general").click();
+  await settleChannel(page, "general");
+
+  const afterCold = await parseCount(page);
+  // Sanity: the cold visits really parsed rows (counter is wired up).
+  expect(afterCold).toBeGreaterThan(10);
+
+  // Warm switches: every row must be a cache hit.
+  let previous = afterCold;
+  for (let round = 0; round < 2; round += 1) {
+    await page.getByTestId("channel-deep-history").click();
+    await settleChannel(page, "deep-history");
+    const inDeepHistory = await parseCount(page);
+    expect(
+      inDeepHistory - previous,
+      `warm switch into deep-history (round ${round}) re-parsed markdown`,
+    ).toBe(0);
+
+    await page.getByTestId("channel-general").click();
+    await settleChannel(page, "general");
+    const inGeneral = await parseCount(page);
+    expect(
+      inGeneral - inDeepHistory,
+      `warm switch into general (round ${round}) re-parsed markdown`,
+    ).toBe(0);
+    previous = inGeneral;
+  }
+});
diff --git a/desktop/tests/e2e/warm-switch-markdown.perf.ts b/desktop/tests/e2e/warm-switch-markdown.perf.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..291a052f1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/desktop/tests/e2e/warm-switch-markdown.perf.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,293 @@
+import { expect, test } from "@playwright/test";
+
+import { installMockBridge } from "../helpers/bridge";
+
+/**
+ * Warm-channel-switch benchmark.
+ *
+ * Measures the felt cost of switching INTO a channel whose messages are
+ * already in the React Query cache (the everyday alt-tab-between-channels
+ * motion). The timeline subtree is keyed by channel id — required so TanStack
+ * Router's scroll restoration never writes a stale scrollTop into a reused
+ * scroll node — so every switch unmounts and remounts all rows, and each
+ * `MessageRow` re-runs the synchronous react-markdown parse pipeline from
+ * scratch. This spec is the instrument for that cost.
+ *
+ * TWO SCENARIOS, one per axis of the cost:
+ *   plain-text  — `deep-history` (600 seeded one-line rows; the initial
+ *                 channel window mounts ~50 of them, verified by parse
+ *                 count): isolates the per-row remount floor.
+ *   markdown    — `random` + 60 injected markdown-heavy rows (code fences,
+ *                 tables, lists, mentions, links): isolates the parse cost the
+ *                 markdown cache is meant to remove.
+ *
+ * WHAT A "SWITCH" MEASURES: performance.now() immediately before an in-page
+ * .click() on the sidebar link, until (chat title flipped) AND (>= 1 message
+ * row committed) AND (no [data-render-pending="true"], i.e. the deferred
+ * timeline snapshot caught up to the live one) AND a double-rAF so a frame
+ * actually painted. The click and the polling both run in-page so CDP
+ * round-trip latency never pollutes the numbers. Longtask totals are captured
+ * per switch as the "UI froze" axis (see cold-switch-longtask.perf.ts for the
+ * rationale).
+ *
+ * WARM means every measured entry is a RE-entry: each scenario does one
+ * untimed round-trip first so both channels' queries are cached and code
+ * paths are jitted. 4x CPU throttle for the same reason as the cold spec —
+ * absolute ms are not portable across machines, but before/after deltas on
+ * the same machine are.
+ *
+ * Run it (from desktop/):
+ *   pnpm build
+ *   npx playwright test --config=playwright.perf.config.ts warm-switch-markdown.perf.ts
+ *
+ * NOTE: the perf web server reuses an existing server on :4173 — if one is
+ * already running, kill it or make sure `dist/` is freshly built, otherwise
+ * you measure stale code.
+ */
+
+const MEASURED_SWITCHES = 8;
+const THROTTLE_RATE = 4;
+const MARKDOWN_MESSAGE_COUNT = 60;
+
+/** One representative agent-style message: fence, table, list, mention,
+ * emphasis, inline code, and a link — the mix real Buzz channels carry. */
+function markdownBody(index: number): string {
+  return [
+    `**Update ${index}** from the build agent — _step ${index} of ${MARKDOWN_MESSAGE_COUNT}_ :tada:`,
+    "",
+    "```rust",
+    `fn step_${index}() -> Result<Status, Error> {`,
+    '    let plan = load_plan("release")?;',
+    `    plan.execute(${index})`,
+    "}",
+    "```",
+    "",
+    "| check | result | took |",
+    "|-------|--------|------|",
+    `| clippy | ok | ${index}ms |`,
+    `| fmt | ok | ${index + 1}ms |`,
+    "",
+    `- [x] compile stage ${index}`,
+    "- [ ] publish artifacts",
+    `- see [pipeline](https://example.com/build/${index}) or ask @alice`,
+    "",
+    `Inline \`cargo build -p step-${index}\` finished.`,
+  ].join("\n");
+}
+
+type SwitchSample = {
+  ms: number;
+  longtaskTotal: number;
+  longtaskMax: number;
+  longtaskCount: number;
+};
+
+function median(values: number[]): number {
+  const sorted = [...values].sort((a, b) => a - b);
+  const mid = Math.floor(sorted.length / 2);
+  return sorted.length % 2 === 0
+    ? (sorted[mid - 1] + sorted[mid]) / 2
+    : sorted[mid];
+}
+
+async function waitForMockLiveSubscription(
+  page: import("@playwright/test").Page,
+  channelName: string,
+) {
+  await expect
+    .poll(() =>
+      page.evaluate(
+        (ch) =>
+          window.__BUZZ_E2E_HAS_MOCK_LIVE_SUBSCRIPTION__?.({
+            channelName: ch,
+          }) ?? false,
+        channelName,
+      ),
+    )
+    .toBe(true);
+}
+
+/** Click the sidebar link and poll — all in-page — until the target channel's
+ * rows are committed, the deferred snapshot has caught up, and a frame
+ * painted. Returns wall-clock ms plus the longtasks observed in the window. */
+async function measureSwitch(
+  page: import("@playwright/test").Page,
+  input: { targetTestId: string; targetTitle: string; rowSelector: string },
+): Promise<SwitchSample> {
+  return page.evaluate(async (args) => {
+    const store = window as unknown as { __LONGTASKS__: number[] };
+    store.__LONGTASKS__ = [];
+    const link = document.querySelector<HTMLElement>(
+      `[data-testid="${args.targetTestId}"]`,
+    );
+    if (!link) throw new Error(`missing sidebar link ${args.targetTestId}`);
+
+    const start = performance.now();
+    link.click();
+
+    await new Promise<void>((resolve, reject) => {
+      const deadline = start + 30_000;
+      const check = () => {
+        const title = document.querySelector(
+          '[data-testid="chat-title"]',
+        )?.textContent;
+        const ready =
+          title === args.targetTitle &&
+          document.querySelector(args.rowSelector) !== null &&
+          document.querySelector('[data-render-pending="true"]') === null;
+        if (ready) {
+          requestAnimationFrame(() => requestAnimationFrame(() => resolve()));
+          return;
+        }
+        if (performance.now() > deadline) {
+          reject(new Error(`switch to ${args.targetTitle} timed out`));
+          return;
+        }
+        requestAnimationFrame(check);
+      };
+      requestAnimationFrame(check);
+    });
+
+    const elapsed = performance.now() - start;
+    const tasks = store.__LONGTASKS__ ?? [];
+    return {
+      ms: elapsed,
+      longtaskTotal: tasks.reduce((sum, duration) => sum + duration, 0),
+      longtaskMax: tasks.length ? Math.max(...tasks) : 0,
+      longtaskCount: tasks.length,
+    };
+  }, input);
+}
+
+async function runScenario(
+  page: import("@playwright/test").Page,
+  input: {
+    label: string;
+    targetTestId: string;
+    targetTitle: string;
+    rowSelector: string;
+  },
+): Promise<SwitchSample[]> {
+  const back = {
+    targetTestId: "channel-general",
+    targetTitle: "general",
+    rowSelector: "[data-message-id]",
+  };
+
+  // Untimed warmup round-trip: caches both channels' queries.
+  await measureSwitch(page, input);
+  await measureSwitch(page, back);
+
+  const samples: SwitchSample[] = [];
+  for (let run = 0; run < MEASURED_SWITCHES; run += 1) {
+    samples.push(await measureSwitch(page, input));
+    await measureSwitch(page, back);
+  }
+
+  const times = samples.map((sample) => sample.ms);
+  const longtaskTotals = samples.map((sample) => sample.longtaskTotal);
+  /* eslint-disable no-console */
+  console.log(`\n=== WARM SWITCH: ${input.label} ===`);
+  console.log(`CPU throttle:            ${THROTTLE_RATE}x`);
+  console.log(
+    `per-switch wall ms:      [${times.map((v) => v.toFixed(1)).join(", ")}]`,
+  );
+  console.log(
+    `per-switch longtask ms:  [${longtaskTotals.map((v) => v.toFixed(1)).join(", ")}]`,
+  );
+  console.log(`MEDIAN wall ms:          ${median(times).toFixed(1)}`);
+  console.log(
+    `MEDIAN longtask total:   ${median(longtaskTotals).toFixed(1)}ms`,
+  );
+  console.log(
+    `worst single longtask:   ${Math.max(...samples.map((sample) => sample.longtaskMax)).toFixed(1)}ms`,
+  );
+  /* eslint-enable no-console */
+  return samples;
+}
+
+test("MEASURE: warm channel-switch cost (plain 300-row + markdown-heavy)", async ({
+  page,
+}) => {
+  test.setTimeout(300_000);
+  await installMockBridge(page);
+  await page.goto("/");
+  await page.waitForFunction(
+    () => typeof window.__BUZZ_E2E_EMIT_MOCK_MESSAGE__ === "function",
+  );
+
+  // Arm the longtask observer; addInitScript applies on next navigation.
+  await page.addInitScript(() => {
+    const store = window as unknown as { __LONGTASKS__?: number[] };
+    store.__LONGTASKS__ = [];
+    new PerformanceObserver((list) => {
+      for (const entry of list.getEntries()) {
+        store.__LONGTASKS__?.push(entry.duration);
+      }
+    }).observe({ type: "longtask", buffered: true });
+  });
+  await page.reload();
+  await page.waitForFunction(
+    () =>
+      typeof window.__BUZZ_E2E_EMIT_MOCK_MESSAGE__ === "function" &&
+      Array.isArray(
+        (window as unknown as { __LONGTASKS__?: number[] }).__LONGTASKS__,
+      ),
+  );
+
+  // Seed `random` with markdown-heavy rows. Live emits need an active
+  // subscription, so enter the channel first; the mock store keeps the rows
+  // for every later re-entry via get_channel_window.
+  await page.getByTestId("channel-random").click();
+  await expect(page.getByTestId("chat-title")).toHaveText("random");
+  await waitForMockLiveSubscription(page, "random");
+  await page.evaluate(
+    ({ count, bodies }) => {
+      const base = Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000) - count - 10;
+      for (let index = 0; index < count; index += 1) {
+        window.__BUZZ_E2E_EMIT_MOCK_MESSAGE__?.({
+          channelName: "random",
+          content: bodies[index],
+          createdAt: base + index,
+        });
+      }
+    },
+    {
+      count: MARKDOWN_MESSAGE_COUNT,
+      bodies: Array.from({ length: MARKDOWN_MESSAGE_COUNT }, (_, index) =>
+        markdownBody(index),
+      ),
+    },
+  );
+  // All injected rows committed before anything is timed.
+  await expect(
+    page.locator(`text=Update ${MARKDOWN_MESSAGE_COUNT - 1}`).first(),
+  ).toBeVisible();
+
+  await page.getByTestId("channel-general").click();
+  await expect(page.getByTestId("chat-title")).toHaveText("general");
+
+  const client = await page.context().newCDPSession(page);
+  await client.send("Emulation.setCPUThrottlingRate", { rate: THROTTLE_RATE });
+
+  const plain = await runScenario(page, {
+    label: "plain-text ~50-row window (deep-history)",
+    targetTestId: "channel-deep-history",
+    targetTitle: "deep-history",
+    rowSelector: '[data-message-id^="mock-deep-history-"]',
+  });
+  const markdown = await runScenario(page, {
+    label: `markdown-heavy x${MARKDOWN_MESSAGE_COUNT} (random)`,
+    targetTestId: "channel-random",
+    targetTitle: "random",
+    rowSelector: "[data-message-id]",
+  });
+
+  await client.send("Emulation.setCPUThrottlingRate", { rate: 1 });
+
+  // Instrument, not a gate: assert the harness measured real work.
+  expect(plain.length).toBe(MEASURED_SWITCHES);
+  expect(markdown.length).toBe(MEASURED_SWITCHES);
+  expect(plain.every((sample) => sample.ms > 0)).toBe(true);
+  expect(markdown.every((sample) => sample.ms > 0)).toBe(true);
+});