diff --git a/lib/dlc_paths.py b/lib/dlc_paths.py
index 0202a25..1c61041 100644
--- a/lib/dlc_paths.py
+++ b/lib/dlc_paths.py
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ import os
 from pathlib import Path
 
 import appstate
+from safepath import resolved_root
 
 
 def _get_dlc_dir(cfg: dict | None = None) -> Path | None:
@@ -86,7 +87,14 @@ def _resolve_dlc_path(dlc: Path, filename: str) -> Path | None:
             or PureWindowsPath(safe).drive):
         return None
     try:
-        root = dlc.resolve()
+        # The library root is fixed for the life of the process, but this
+        # function runs once per song / art fetch / scanned row — and
+        # `.resolve()` lstats every path component. Re-resolving here was
+        # ~23,500 stat calls/sec on a 50,944-song library, which pins a core
+        # when the library sits on a FUSE mount (NTFS-3G, SMB, sshfs) where each
+        # stat is a userspace round trip. Resolve the root once; see
+        # safepath.resolved_root for the caching contract.
+        root = resolved_root(dlc)
         # normpath collapses `.`/`..`/duplicate separators purely lexically —
         # it never touches the filesystem, so an in-library junction component
         # is preserved (allowed) while `..`/absolute segments still escape and
diff --git a/lib/safepath.py b/lib/safepath.py
index 4442e11..d1eefc0 100644
--- a/lib/safepath.py
+++ b/lib/safepath.py
@@ -4,9 +4,34 @@ under a server-owned root.
 
 from __future__ import annotations
 
+from functools import lru_cache
 from pathlib import Path
 
 
+@lru_cache(maxsize=16)
+def resolved_root(root: Path) -> Path:
+    """Canonical (link-resolved) form of a server-owned root directory.
+
+    ``Path.resolve()`` is a filesystem call: it lstats every component of the
+    path. The roots we join against — the DLC library, a plugin's asset dir —
+    are fixed for the life of the process, but the containment helpers below
+    (and ``dlc_paths._resolve_dlc_path``) were re-resolving them on EVERY call,
+    and those are called once per song, per art fetch, per scanned row.
+
+    On a real 50,944-song library that cost ~23,500 stat/lstat calls per second,
+    pinning a core. It is brutal when the library lives on a FUSE mount
+    (NTFS-3G, SMB, sshfs), where every stat is a userspace round trip: the same
+    three parent directories were being walked over and over.
+
+    Cached because a root is a constant here, not because resolution is cheap.
+    Consequence: if a root's symlink/junction is re-pointed at a NEW target
+    while the server is running, the old target stays in effect until restart.
+    That is fine for a library path fixed at startup, and the cache is keyed on
+    the Path, so switching to a different library dir is a different key.
+    """
+    return root.resolve()
+
+
 def safe_join(root: Path, name: str) -> Path | None:
     """Resolve ``name`` under ``root`` and return the resolved Path, or
     ``None`` if it would escape ``root`` or is unrepresentable.
@@ -35,9 +60,12 @@ def safe_join(root: Path, name: str) -> Path | None:
         return None
     safe = name.replace("\\", "/")
     try:
-        root_resolved = root.resolve()
-        candidate = (root_resolved / safe).resolve()
-        if not candidate.is_relative_to(root_resolved):
+        # The ROOT is a constant — resolve it once (see resolved_root). The
+        # CANDIDATE must still be resolved on every call: following its symlinks
+        # is exactly the zip-slip / traversal defence, so it is never cached.
+        root_res = resolved_root(root)
+        candidate = (root_res / safe).resolve()
+        if not candidate.is_relative_to(root_res):
             return None
     except (ValueError, OSError):
         return None
diff --git a/tests/test_resolved_root_cache.py b/tests/test_resolved_root_cache.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..41b1782
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_resolved_root_cache.py
@@ -0,0 +1,103 @@
+"""The library root must be resolved ONCE, not on every path check.
+
+`Path.resolve()` lstats every component of a path. `_resolve_dlc_path` and
+`safe_join` run once per song / art fetch / scanned row, and both used to
+re-resolve their root every single call.
+
+Measured on a real 50,944-song library sitting on an NTFS-3G (FUSE) mount:
+~23,500 stat/lstat calls per second, re-walking the same three parent
+directories, pinning a core of the server. Every stat crosses into userspace on
+FUSE, so the constant re-resolution — not the work itself — was the cost.
+
+These tests pin the fix (root resolved once) AND that caching it did not weaken
+containment, which is the thing that matters: `safe_join` is the zip-slip guard.
+"""
+
+from pathlib import Path
+
+import pytest
+
+from dlc_paths import _resolve_dlc_path
+from safepath import resolved_root, safe_join
+
+
+@pytest.fixture(autouse=True)
+def _clear_cache():
+    resolved_root.cache_clear()
+    yield
+    resolved_root.cache_clear()
+
+
+def test_dlc_root_is_resolved_once_across_many_lookups(tmp_path):
+    """The regression: 500 lookups must not mean 500 root resolutions."""
+    (tmp_path / "a.feedpak").write_bytes(b"x")
+
+    for i in range(500):
+        assert _resolve_dlc_path(tmp_path, f"song{i}.feedpak") is not None
+
+    info = resolved_root.cache_info()
+    assert info.misses == 1, (
+        f"the library root must be resolved ONCE, not per call "
+        f"(got {info.misses} resolutions for 500 lookups)"
+    )
+    assert info.hits == 499
+
+
+def test_safe_join_resolves_its_root_once_too(tmp_path):
+    for i in range(200):
+        assert safe_join(tmp_path, f"asset{i}.png") is not None
+    assert resolved_root.cache_info().misses == 1
+
+
+def test_a_different_root_is_a_different_cache_entry(tmp_path):
+    other = tmp_path / "other"
+    other.mkdir()
+    _resolve_dlc_path(tmp_path, "a.feedpak")
+    _resolve_dlc_path(other, "a.feedpak")
+    assert resolved_root.cache_info().misses == 2, "switching library dir must re-resolve"
+
+
+# ── containment must be unchanged (the part that matters) ───────────────────
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("evil", [
+    "../etc/passwd",
+    "..\\etc\\passwd",
+    "a/../../etc/passwd",
+    "/etc/passwd",
+    "C:/Windows/system.ini",
+    "",
+])
+def test_resolve_dlc_path_still_rejects_escapes(tmp_path, evil):
+    assert _resolve_dlc_path(tmp_path, evil) is None
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("evil", [
+    "../outside.txt",
+    "..\\outside.txt",
+    "a/../../outside.txt",
+    "",
+])
+def test_safe_join_still_rejects_escapes(tmp_path, evil):
+    assert safe_join(tmp_path, evil) is None
+
+
+def test_safe_join_still_follows_symlinks_out(tmp_path):
+    """safe_join's candidate resolution is the zip-slip defence and is NOT cached:
+    a symlink pointing outside the root must still be refused."""
+    outside = tmp_path.parent / "outside_secret"
+    outside.mkdir(exist_ok=True)
+    (outside / "secret.txt").write_text("x")
+
+    root = tmp_path / "root"
+    root.mkdir()
+    (root / "escape").symlink_to(outside)
+
+    assert safe_join(root, "escape/secret.txt") is None, (
+        "a symlink escaping the root must still be rejected — caching the ROOT "
+        "must not disable resolution of the CANDIDATE"
+    )
+
+
+def test_in_library_paths_still_resolve(tmp_path):
+    assert _resolve_dlc_path(tmp_path, "sub/song.feedpak") == tmp_path / "sub" / "song.feedpak"
+    assert safe_join(tmp_path, "art/cover.png") == (tmp_path / "art" / "cover.png").resolve()