diff --git a/plugins/folder_library/CLAUDE.md b/plugins/folder_library/CLAUDE.md
index c77ffc8..22733f5 100644
--- a/plugins/folder_library/CLAUDE.md
+++ b/plugins/folder_library/CLAUDE.md
@@ -153,14 +153,15 @@ Each song object (built by `_meta()`):
   "added": 1748132400.0,
   "arrangements": ["Lead", "Rhythm", "Bass"],
   "stems": ["Drums", "Bass", "Vocals"],
-  "lyrics": true
+  "lyrics": true,
+  "has_preview": true
 }
 ```
 
 - `filename` is the full relative path from the DLC root — pass it directly to `window.playSong()`.
 - `added` is a Unix timestamp (float, seconds) from `stat().st_mtime` — convert with `new Date(added * 1000)`. Always recomputed fresh (it changes when a file moves), even on a metadata-cache hit.
 - `arrangements` / `stems` are flat lists of **strings**, even though `extract_meta()` returns them as objects.
-- Hover-preview audio is **not** resolved here — it delegates to the `song_preview` plugin (see Preview on Hover), so the tree carries no audio member.
+- `has_preview` is set from the pack's manifest `preview:` key (via core `load_manifest`) — `true` iff `song_preview` will actually serve a preview. The frontend previews **only** `has_preview` songs, so hover never requests (and 404-logs) a preview-less pack. Hover-preview audio itself is **not** resolved here — it comes from the `song_preview` endpoint (see Preview on Hover).
 
 ### extract_meta returns arrangements/stems as objects, not strings
 
@@ -334,7 +335,7 @@ Drag-and-drop uses **pointer events** (mousedown/mousemove/mouseup), not the HTM
 
 Hovering a song for `_HOVER_PREVIEW_DELAY_MS` (800 ms) plays a short audio preview in place — no navigation to the player. Toggled by a play-icon toolbar button (`_injectToolbar`); **on by default** (`_previewHover`, persisted per surface under `<cfg.storePrefix>previewHover` — only an explicit stored `'false'` disables it).
 
-- **Audio** — a dedicated `_previewAudio` `<audio>` element (never the main player's), played **from 0**. The URL (`_previewUrl`) **delegates to the `song_preview` plugin** — `/api/plugins/song_preview/audio?file=<filename>` — the canonical preview subsystem. It resolves the clip **strictly** from the pack's manifest `preview:` key (a short baked clip) with Range support; there is **no stem fallback by design** (a full-length stem isn't a preview), so a pack without a baked preview — hand-authored packs, most tutorials — returns **404** and simply doesn't preview until `song_preview`'s backfill generates a clip. Don't resolve pack members here — reading the manifest is the spec-faithful way, guessing filenames (and playing a full-length stem as a "preview") is not. If `song_preview` isn't installed the endpoint 404s too, and either way `onerror` clears the indicator so preview no-ops. Don't seek by `song.duration` — the clip is short, so a full-song offset lands past its end and nothing plays.
+- **Audio** — a dedicated `_previewAudio` `<audio>` element (never the main player's), played **from 0**. `_startPreview` runs **only when `song.has_preview`** (a backend flag from the manifest `preview:` key), so a preview-less pack is never requested — that's what keeps hover from logging 404s (a HEAD/`<audio>` request to `song_preview`'s 404 shows in the console even via `fetch`, because a plugin wraps `window.fetch`). The URL (`_previewUrl`) points at the **`song_preview` plugin** — `/api/plugins/song_preview/audio?file=<filename>` — the same endpoint the grid/list previews use. `song_preview` serves the clip **strictly** from the manifest `preview:` key (short baked clip, Range); there is **no stem fallback by design** (a full-length stem isn't a preview), so packs without a baked preview — hand-authored, most tutorials — don't preview until `song_preview`'s backfill generates one. Don't seek by `song.duration` — the clip is short, so a full-song offset lands past its end and nothing plays.
 - **Sequence guard** — `_previewSeq` is bumped on every start/stop, so a slow load that resolves after the pointer has moved on is ignored.
 - **Drag / click safety** — `mouseenter` skips arming while a drag is in progress (`_dragState` non-null); `mousedown` clears the pending dwell timer **and** `_stopPreview()`s any already-playing one, so grabbing a song to drag (or clicking to play) never leaves a preview running.
 - **Indicator** — a waveform overlay (`.fl-wf`, 9 bars) over the art, drawn via a one-time injected `<style>` (`_ensurePreviewStyle`). It **fades in** (`fl-in`) to avoid an abrupt pop, and the bars animate only once audio actually fires (the `.playing` class, set on the `playing` event). Perf: bars animate with `transform: scaleY` + `will-change: transform` (GPU-composited, no per-frame JS), only while playing. `_showIndicator` / `_markIndicatorPlaying` / `_clearIndicator` manage it against `_previewIndHost`.
diff --git a/plugins/folder_library/routes.py b/plugins/folder_library/routes.py
index 6163f9c..d01c37f 100644
--- a/plugins/folder_library/routes.py
+++ b/plugins/folder_library/routes.py
@@ -12,6 +12,14 @@ from fastapi.responses import JSONResponse
 import shutil
 import re
 
+# Core manifest reader — used only to tell the frontend which packs actually
+# carry a baked preview (manifest `preview:` key), so hover never requests a
+# preview-less pack and logs a 404. Guarded so the plugin still loads without it.
+try:
+    from sloppak import load_manifest as _load_manifest
+except Exception:
+    _load_manifest = None
+
 
 # ── Pure, testable helpers ─────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
@@ -136,7 +144,13 @@ def setup(app, context):
 
         # Cache miss — run the expensive extract.
         m = {"title": None, "artist": None, "album": None, "duration": None,
-             "year": None, "tuning": None, "arrangements": [], "stems": [], "lyrics": False}
+             "year": None, "tuning": None, "arrangements": [], "stems": [], "lyrics": False,
+             "has_preview": False}
+        if _load_manifest is not None:
+            try:
+                m["has_preview"] = bool((_load_manifest(p) or {}).get("preview"))
+            except Exception:
+                pass
         try:
             raw = context["extract_meta"](p)
             if raw:
diff --git a/plugins/folder_library/screen.js b/plugins/folder_library/screen.js
index 77c0a01..bbbfb34 100644
--- a/plugins/folder_library/screen.js
+++ b/plugins/folder_library/screen.js
@@ -742,7 +742,6 @@ function createFolderSurface(cfg) {
     // calls playSong or touches the main player's <audio> element.
     var _HOVER_PREVIEW_DELAY_MS = 800;   // dwell before preview — long enough that a click/drag doesn't trigger it
     var _previewIndHost = null;             // art element currently showing the indicator
-    var _previewMissing = {};               // filenames song_preview has no preview for (don't re-request)
 
     // Delegate to the song_preview plugin (the canonical preview subsystem): it
     // resolves the clip from the pack's manifest `preview:` key (falling back to
@@ -809,24 +808,20 @@ function createFolderSurface(cfg) {
         }
     }
     function _startPreview(song, host) {
+        // Only packs the backend flagged with a baked preview are requested at
+        // all — so hover never hits song_preview's 404 for a preview-less pack
+        // (which would log a console error). Play from 0; the clip is short.
+        if (!song || !song.has_preview) return;
         var url = _previewUrl(song);
-        if (!url || _previewMissing[song.filename]) return;   // no URL, or known no-preview → silent skip
+        if (!url) return;
         var a   = _previewEl();
         var seq = ++_previewSeq;
-        // HEAD-probe first: song_preview 404s for packs with no baked preview, and
-        // pointing <audio> at a 404 logs a console error (a fetch 404 is silent).
-        // Remember misses so re-hovering the same song doesn't re-request. Play
-        // from 0 — the clip is already short (don't seek by song.duration).
-        fetch(url, { method: 'HEAD' }).then(function (res) {
-            if (seq !== _previewSeq) return;                  // hover moved on before it resolved
-            if (!res.ok) { _previewMissing[song.filename] = true; return; }
-            _showIndicator(host);
-            a.onerror          = function () { if (seq === _previewSeq) _clearIndicator(); };
-            a.onloadedmetadata = function () { if (seq === _previewSeq) a.play().catch(function () {}); };
-            a.onplaying        = function () { if (seq === _previewSeq) _markIndicatorPlaying(); };
-            a.src = url;
-            a.load();
-        }).catch(function () {});                             // network error → no-op, no noise
+        _showIndicator(host);
+        a.onerror          = function () { if (seq === _previewSeq) _clearIndicator(); };
+        a.onloadedmetadata = function () { if (seq === _previewSeq) a.play().catch(function () {}); };
+        a.onplaying        = function () { if (seq === _previewSeq) _markIndicatorPlaying(); };
+        a.src = url;
+        a.load();
     }
     function _armHoverPreview(el, song, host) {
         el.addEventListener('mouseenter', function () {