diff --git a/static/app.js b/static/app.js
index 7bdcf01..50a6181 100644
--- a/static/app.js
+++ b/static/app.js
@@ -10977,20 +10977,19 @@ async function loadPlugins() {
             const nameDelta = String(a.name || a.id || '').localeCompare(String(b.name || b.id || ''));
             return nameDelta || String(a.id || '').localeCompare(String(b.id || ''));
         });
-        const livePluginIds = new Set(plugins.map((plugin) => plugin.id));
-        for (const [pluginId, contributions] of _pluginUiContributions) {
-            if (livePluginIds.has(pluginId)) continue;
-            const stalePlugin = { id: pluginId };
-            for (const contribution of contributions) {
-                await _commandUiDomain(contribution.domain, 'unmount', stalePlugin, contribution);
-            }
-            try {
-                window.feedBack?.capabilities?.unregisterParticipant?.(pluginId);
-            } catch (e) {
-                console.warn(`capability participant unregister failed for ${pluginId}:`, e);
-            }
-            _pluginUiContributions.delete(pluginId);
-        }
+        // NOTE deliberately NO stale-contribution sweep for plugins absent
+        // from this response. Absent ≠ uninstalled: the backend clears its
+        // plugin registry at the start of load_plugins() and repopulates it
+        // incrementally while HTTP stays up, so every backend restart serves a
+        // window of partial (even empty) responses. The old sweep unmounted UI
+        // contributions and unregistered capability participants on mere
+        // absence, permanently breaking still-loaded plugins — their scripts
+        // don't re-run (loadedScripts guard below), so nothing ever
+        // re-registered. A genuine mid-session uninstall now leaves the
+        // (already-evaluated, un-unloadable) script's contributions in place
+        // until reload; its nav entry still disappears because nav is rebuilt
+        // from the response each round. Same invariant as the settings/screen
+        // DOM wipe and _reconcilePluginStyles below.
         console.log('[feedBack] loadPlugins: got', plugins.length, 'plugins');
 
         try {
@@ -11132,17 +11131,23 @@ async function loadPlugins() {
             loadedStyles.set(plugin.id, wantedVersion);
         };
         const _reconcilePluginStyles = (currentPlugins) => {
-            // Drop stylesheets for plugins that vanished from /api/plugins or are
-            // no longer ready+styled this round. _injectPluginStyles below only
-            // visits plugins still returned by the API, so an uninstalled or
-            // newly-not-ready plugin would otherwise keep its <link> applying.
+            // Drop stylesheets for plugins the response KNOWS about but that
+            // are no longer ready+styled this round. _injectPluginStyles below
+            // only visits plugins still returned by the API, so a newly-not-
+            // ready or unstyled plugin would otherwise keep its <link>
+            // applying. Plugins merely ABSENT from the response keep their
+            // stylesheet — a transient partial response during a backend
+            // restart is not an uninstall (same invariant as the screen/
+            // settings wipe below), and stripping the <link> would leave a
+            // still-loaded plugin visible but unstyled.
+            const responded = new Set(currentPlugins.map((p) => p.id));
             const styled = new Set(
                 currentPlugins
                     .filter((p) => (p.status || 'ready') === 'ready' && p.has_styles && p.styles)
                     .map((p) => p.id),
             );
             for (const id of Array.from(loadedStyles.keys())) {
-                if (!styled.has(id)) {
+                if (responded.has(id) && !styled.has(id)) {
                     _removePluginStyleTags(id);
                     loadedStyles.delete(id);
                 }
@@ -11155,6 +11160,18 @@ async function loadPlugins() {
                 if (pid) existingSettingsByPluginId.set(pid, child);
             }
         }
+        // Plugins named in THIS response. A plugin can be transiently absent
+        // from /api/plugins — the backend clears its registry at the start of
+        // load_plugins() and repopulates it incrementally while HTTP stays up,
+        // so every backend restart serves a window of partial (even empty)
+        // responses. The wipe loops below must never treat that absence as an
+        // uninstall: stripping a still-loaded plugin's DOM while keeping its
+        // loadedScripts entry made the NEXT refetch fail the DOM check and
+        // re-evaluate its screen.js mid-session — which duplicated the desktop
+        // audio_engine's native signal chain (its init re-ran against the
+        // surviving engine chain). Absent plugins keep their DOM and script;
+        // they're re-reconciled when they reappear in a later response.
+        const respondedIds = new Set(plugins.map((p) => p.id));
         const alreadyHydrated = new Set();
         for (const p of plugins) {
             if (!p.has_script) continue;
@@ -11182,7 +11199,10 @@ async function loadPlugins() {
         for (const container of _pluginSettingsContainers()) {
             [...container.children].forEach((el) => {
                 const pid = el.dataset ? el.dataset.pluginId : null;
-                if (!pid || !alreadyHydrated.has(pid)) el.remove();
+                // Remove junk (no plugin id) and plugins the response KNOWS
+                // about but that failed hydration; leave plugins absent from
+                // the response untouched (see respondedIds above).
+                if (!pid || (respondedIds.has(pid) && !alreadyHydrated.has(pid))) el.remove();
             });
         }
         document.querySelectorAll('.screen[id^="plugin-"]').forEach((el) => {
@@ -11191,7 +11211,7 @@ async function loadPlugins() {
             // change shipped — both forms strip a single leading "plugin-".
             const pid = (el.dataset && el.dataset.pluginId)
                 || el.id.replace(/^plugin-/, '');
-            if (!alreadyHydrated.has(pid)) el.remove();
+            if (!pid || (respondedIds.has(pid) && !alreadyHydrated.has(pid))) el.remove();
         });
 
         // Plugin settings area hosts both "Plugin Updates" and per-plugin
diff --git a/tests/js/plugin_hydration_wipe.test.js b/tests/js/plugin_hydration_wipe.test.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3d824cc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/js/plugin_hydration_wipe.test.js
@@ -0,0 +1,115 @@
+// Verify loadPlugins' plugin-DOM wipe loops in static/app.js: a plugin that is
+// merely ABSENT from the current /api/plugins response (transient partial
+// response while the backend's plugin registry is repopulating after a
+// restart) must keep its settings panel and screen DOM. Wiping it while its
+// _loadedPluginScripts entry survives made the next refetch fail the
+// DOM-existence check and re-evaluate the plugin's screen.js mid-session —
+// which duplicated the desktop audio_engine's native signal chain. Plugins
+// the response knows about but that failed hydration are still wiped, as is
+// junk DOM carrying no plugin id.
+
+const { test } = require('node:test');
+const assert = require('node:assert/strict');
+const fs = require('node:fs');
+const path = require('node:path');
+const vm = require('node:vm');
+
+const APP_JS = path.join(__dirname, '..', '..', 'static', 'app.js');
+
+// Slice the wipe block out of loadPlugins by its stable landmarks: from the
+// nav reset that opens it to the comment introducing the next section.
+function extractWipeBlock(src) {
+    const start = src.indexOf("navContainer.innerHTML = '';");
+    assert.ok(start !== -1, 'wipe block start (nav reset) not found');
+    const end = src.indexOf('// Plugin settings area hosts', start);
+    assert.ok(end !== -1, 'wipe block end marker not found');
+    return src.slice(start, end);
+}
+
+function makeEl(pluginId, id) {
+    return {
+        dataset: pluginId != null ? { pluginId } : {},
+        id: id || (pluginId != null ? `plugin-${pluginId}` : ''),
+        removed: false,
+        remove() {
+            this.removed = true;
+            const idx = this._parent ? this._parent.indexOf(this) : -1;
+            if (idx >= 0) this._parent.splice(idx, 1);
+        },
+    };
+}
+
+function runWipe({ respondedIds, alreadyHydrated, settingsChildren, screens }) {
+    const src = fs.readFileSync(APP_JS, 'utf8');
+    const block = extractWipeBlock(src);
+    settingsChildren.forEach((el) => { el._parent = settingsChildren; });
+    const container = { children: settingsChildren };
+    const sandbox = {
+        navContainer: { innerHTML: 'seed' },
+        mobileNavContainer: { innerHTML: 'seed' },
+        _pluginSettingsContainers: () => [container],
+        respondedIds,
+        alreadyHydrated,
+        document: {
+            querySelectorAll: (sel) => {
+                assert.equal(sel, '.screen[id^="plugin-"]');
+                return screens.slice();
+            },
+        },
+    };
+    vm.runInNewContext(block, sandbox, { filename: 'wipe-block.js' });
+    return sandbox;
+}
+
+test('plugin absent from the response keeps its settings + screen DOM', () => {
+    const settings = makeEl('audio_engine');
+    const screen = makeEl('audio_engine');
+    runWipe({
+        respondedIds: new Set(),               // partial response: plugin missing
+        alreadyHydrated: new Set(),            // scan loop never saw it either
+        settingsChildren: [settings],
+        screens: [screen],
+    });
+    assert.equal(settings.removed, false, 'settings panel must survive a partial response');
+    assert.equal(screen.removed, false, 'screen must survive a partial response');
+});
+
+test('plugin present in the response but not hydrated is wiped', () => {
+    const settings = makeEl('stale_plugin');
+    const screen = makeEl('stale_plugin');
+    runWipe({
+        respondedIds: new Set(['stale_plugin']),
+        alreadyHydrated: new Set(),
+        settingsChildren: [settings],
+        screens: [screen],
+    });
+    assert.equal(settings.removed, true);
+    assert.equal(screen.removed, true);
+});
+
+test('hydrated plugin present in the response is preserved', () => {
+    const settings = makeEl('audio_engine');
+    const screen = makeEl('audio_engine');
+    runWipe({
+        respondedIds: new Set(['audio_engine']),
+        alreadyHydrated: new Set(['audio_engine']),
+        settingsChildren: [settings],
+        screens: [screen],
+    });
+    assert.equal(settings.removed, false);
+    assert.equal(screen.removed, false);
+});
+
+test('junk DOM without a plugin id is still removed', () => {
+    const junkSettings = makeEl(null);
+    // Screen whose id strips to '' (no dataset.pluginId, bare "plugin-" id).
+    const junkScreen = makeEl(null, 'plugin-');
+    runWipe({
+        respondedIds: new Set(['whatever']),
+        alreadyHydrated: new Set(),
+        settingsChildren: [junkSettings],
+        screens: [junkScreen],
+    });
+    assert.equal(junkSettings.removed, true);
+    assert.equal(junkScreen.removed, true);
+});
diff --git a/tests/js/plugin_style_injection.test.js b/tests/js/plugin_style_injection.test.js
index d6dd9bb..7bf5ee6 100644
--- a/tests/js/plugin_style_injection.test.js
+++ b/tests/js/plugin_style_injection.test.js
@@ -204,15 +204,20 @@ test('does not collide tags across two different plugins', () => {
     assert.deepEqual(headLinks.map((l) => l.dataset.pluginId).sort(), ['a', 'b']);
 });
 
-test('reconcile removes the <link> of a plugin that vanished from /api/plugins', () => {
+test('reconcile keeps the <link> of a plugin absent from a partial response', () => {
     const { inject, reconcile, headLinks } = setupSandbox();
     inject(plug({ id: 'a' }));
     inject(plug({ id: 'b' }));
     assert.equal(headLinks.length, 2);
-    // `a` is no longer returned (uninstalled) — its stylesheet must be dropped.
+    // `a` is missing from this response. That happens transiently during a
+    // backend restart (the plugin registry repopulates while HTTP stays up),
+    // so absence is NOT an uninstall signal — the still-loaded plugin must
+    // keep its stylesheet or it renders visible-but-unstyled until it
+    // reappears. Explicit removal still happens via the not-ready/unstyled
+    // paths (tests below).
     reconcile([plug({ id: 'b' })]);
-    assert.equal(headLinks.length, 1);
-    assert.equal(headLinks[0].dataset.pluginId, 'b');
+    assert.equal(headLinks.length, 2);
+    assert.deepEqual(headLinks.map((l) => l.dataset.pluginId).sort(), ['a', 'b']);
 });
 
 test('reconcile removes the <link> of a plugin that is no longer ready', () => {
diff --git a/tests/test_plugin_runtime_idempotence.py b/tests/test_plugin_runtime_idempotence.py
index e5b31f0..92a44e0 100644
--- a/tests/test_plugin_runtime_idempotence.py
+++ b/tests/test_plugin_runtime_idempotence.py
@@ -38,15 +38,25 @@ def test_plugin_loader_unmounts_previous_ui_contributions_before_reregistering()
     assert "await _commandUiDomain(contribution.domain, 'mount', plugin, contribution)" in source
 
 
-def test_plugin_loader_unmounts_contributions_for_removed_plugins():
+def test_plugin_loader_does_not_treat_response_absence_as_uninstall():
+    # A plugin transiently absent from /api/plugins (the backend clears its
+    # registry at the start of load_plugins() and repopulates incrementally
+    # while HTTP stays up, so restarts serve partial responses) must NOT be
+    # torn down: the old absence sweep unmounted UI contributions and
+    # unregistered the capability participant with no re-registration path
+    # (plugin scripts don't re-run), and the DOM/style wipes forced a
+    # mid-session screen.js re-evaluation that duplicated the desktop
+    # audio_engine's native signal chain.
     source = (ROOT / "static" / "app.js").read_text(encoding="utf-8")
 
-    assert "const livePluginIds = new Set(plugins.map((plugin) => plugin.id))" in source
-    assert "for (const [pluginId, contributions] of _pluginUiContributions)" in source
-    assert "const stalePlugin = { id: pluginId }" in source
-    assert "await _commandUiDomain(contribution.domain, 'unmount', stalePlugin, contribution)" in source
-    assert "window.feedBack?.capabilities?.unregisterParticipant?.(pluginId)" in source
-    assert "_pluginUiContributions.delete(pluginId)" in source
+    # The absence-triggered sweep is gone (rationale comment in its place)...
+    assert "const livePluginIds" not in source
+    assert "const stalePlugin = { id: pluginId }" not in source
+    assert "deliberately NO stale-contribution sweep" in source
+    # ...and the DOM/style reconcilers only act on plugins the response names.
+    assert "const respondedIds = new Set(plugins.map((p) => p.id))" in source
+    assert "respondedIds.has(pid) && !alreadyHydrated.has(pid)" in source
+    assert "responded.has(id) && !styled.has(id)" in source