diff --git a/frontend/src/service-worker.js b/frontend/src/service-worker.js
index 0a5f17f..9d5daed 100644
--- a/frontend/src/service-worker.js
+++ b/frontend/src/service-worker.js
@@ -1,14 +1,30 @@
 /// <reference types="@sveltejs/kit" />
-// Minimal, calm service worker: precache the app shell + static assets so the
-// site is installable (PWA) and the shell opens fast / works offline. Live data
-// (the API and server-rendered /a/ pages) is always fetched fresh, never staled.
+// Calm service worker: precache the app shell + static assets so the site is
+// installable (PWA), fast, and resilient to transient network blips. Live data
+// (the API and server-rendered pages) is always fetched fresh, never cached.
 import { build, files, version } from '$service-worker';
 
 const CACHE = `upbeat-${version}`;
 const SHELL = [...build, ...files];
 
+// Paths the FastAPI server owns — the SW must NOT intercept or cache these
+// (matches Caddy's @api matcher: docs, server-rendered article/brief pages,
+// health, sitemap). Everything else is the static SvelteKit SPA.
+function isServerPath(p) {
+  if (p.startsWith('/api/') || p.startsWith('/a/') || p.startsWith('/docs')) return true;
+  return p === '/openapi.json' || p === '/healthz' || p === '/today' || p === '/sitemap.xml';
+}
+
 self.addEventListener('install', (event) => {
-  event.waitUntil(caches.open(CACHE).then((c) => c.addAll(SHELL)).then(() => self.skipWaiting()));
+  event.waitUntil(
+    caches.open(CACHE).then(async (c) => {
+      await c.addAll(SHELL);
+      // Cache the SPA shell so a failed navigation has a real page to fall back
+      // to (best-effort; it's also refreshed on every successful navigation).
+      try { await c.add('/'); } catch { /* refreshed on first online navigation */ }
+      await self.skipWaiting();
+    })
+  );
 });
 
 self.addEventListener('activate', (event) => {
@@ -25,16 +41,25 @@ self.addEventListener('fetch', (event) => {
   if (request.method !== 'GET') return;
   const url = new URL(request.url);
   if (url.origin !== location.origin) return;
+  if (isServerPath(url.pathname)) return; // let the network/server handle these
 
-  // Always-fresh, never cached: the API and the server-rendered article pages.
-  if (url.pathname.startsWith('/api/') || url.pathname.startsWith('/a/')) return;
-
-  // Navigations: serve the cached app shell when offline (SPA fallback).
+  // Navigations: network-first. On success, keep the freshest *real HTML shell*
+  // as the offline fallback; on failure, serve that cached shell (never blank).
   if (request.mode === 'navigate') {
-    event.respondWith(fetch(request).catch(() => caches.match('/') || caches.match('/index.html')));
+    event.respondWith(
+      fetch(request)
+        .then((res) => {
+          if (res && res.ok && (res.headers.get('content-type') || '').includes('text/html')) {
+            const copy = res.clone();
+            caches.open(CACHE).then((c) => c.put('/', copy)).catch(() => {});
+          }
+          return res;
+        })
+        .catch(() => caches.match('/'))
+    );
     return;
   }
 
-  // Static assets (JS/CSS/icons/fonts): cache-first, fall back to network.
+  // Static assets (hashed JS/CSS, fonts, icons, word lists): cache-first.
   event.respondWith(caches.match(request).then((cached) => cached || fetch(request)));
 });