diff --git a/extension/src/background.ts b/extension/src/background.ts
index 58bcc74a..177f0329 100644
--- a/extension/src/background.ts
+++ b/extension/src/background.ts
@@ -181,8 +181,27 @@ async function getAutomationWindow(workspace: string, initialUrl?: string): Prom
   automationSessions.set(workspace, session);
   console.log(`[opencli] Created automation window ${session.windowId} (${workspace}, start=${startUrl})`);
   resetWindowIdleTimer(workspace);
-  // Brief delay to let Chrome load the initial tab
-  await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, 200));
+  // Wait for the initial tab to finish loading instead of a fixed 200ms sleep.
+  const tabs = await chrome.tabs.query({ windowId: win.id! });
+  if (tabs[0]?.id) {
+    await new Promise<void>((resolve) => {
+      const timeout = setTimeout(resolve, 500); // fallback cap
+      const listener = (tabId: number, info: chrome.tabs.TabChangeInfo) => {
+        if (tabId === tabs[0].id && info.status === 'complete') {
+          chrome.tabs.onUpdated.removeListener(listener);
+          clearTimeout(timeout);
+          resolve();
+        }
+      };
+      // Check if already complete before listening
+      if (tabs[0].status === 'complete') {
+        clearTimeout(timeout);
+        resolve();
+      } else {
+        chrome.tabs.onUpdated.addListener(listener);
+      }
+    });
+  }
   return session.windowId;
 }
 
diff --git a/extension/src/cdp.ts b/extension/src/cdp.ts
index 83c0e2f7..4e37179b 100644
--- a/extension/src/cdp.ts
+++ b/extension/src/cdp.ts
@@ -121,11 +121,14 @@ export async function evaluate(tabId: number, expression: string, aggressiveRetr
     } catch (e) {
       const msg = e instanceof Error ? e.message : String(e);
       // Only retry on attach/debugger errors, not on JS eval errors
-      const isAttachError = msg.includes('attach failed') || msg.includes('Debugger is not attached')
-        || msg.includes('chrome-extension://') || msg.includes('Target closed');
+      const isNavigateError = msg.includes('Inspected target navigated') || msg.includes('Target closed');
+      const isAttachError = isNavigateError || msg.includes('attach failed') || msg.includes('Debugger is not attached')
+        || msg.includes('chrome-extension://');
       if (isAttachError && attempt < MAX_EVAL_RETRIES) {
         attached.delete(tabId); // Force re-attach on next attempt
-        await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, 1000));
+        // SPA navigations recover quickly; debugger detach needs longer
+        const retryMs = isNavigateError ? 200 : 500;
+        await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, retryMs));
         continue;
       }
       throw e;
diff --git a/src/browser/bridge.ts b/src/browser/bridge.ts
index c92e578a..f62c3293 100644
--- a/src/browser/bridge.ts
+++ b/src/browser/bridge.ts
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ import * as fs from 'node:fs';
 import type { IPage } from '../types.js';
 import type { IBrowserFactory } from '../runtime.js';
 import { Page } from './page.js';
-import { isDaemonRunning, isExtensionConnected } from './daemon-client.js';
+import { fetchDaemonStatus, isExtensionConnected } from './daemon-client.js';
 import { DEFAULT_DAEMON_PORT } from '../constants.js';
 
 const DAEMON_SPAWN_TIMEOUT = 10000; // 10s to wait for daemon + extension
@@ -60,11 +60,14 @@ export class BrowserBridge implements IBrowserFactory {
     const effectiveSeconds = (timeoutSeconds && timeoutSeconds > 0) ? timeoutSeconds : Math.ceil(DAEMON_SPAWN_TIMEOUT / 1000);
     const timeoutMs = effectiveSeconds * 1000;
 
+    // Single status check instead of two separate fetchDaemonStatus() calls
+    const status = await fetchDaemonStatus();
+
     // Fast path: extension already connected
-    if (await isExtensionConnected()) return;
+    if (status?.extensionConnected) return;
 
     // Daemon running but no extension — wait for extension with progress
-    if (await isDaemonRunning()) {
+    if (status !== null) {
       if (process.env.OPENCLI_VERBOSE || process.stderr.isTTY) {
         process.stderr.write('⏳ Waiting for Chrome extension to connect...\n');
         process.stderr.write('   Make sure Chrome is open and the OpenCLI extension is enabled.\n');
@@ -110,7 +113,7 @@ export class BrowserBridge implements IBrowserFactory {
       if (await isExtensionConnected()) return;
     }
 
-    if (await isDaemonRunning()) {
+    if ((await fetchDaemonStatus()) !== null) {
       throw new Error(
         'Daemon is running but the Browser Extension is not connected.\n' +
         'Please install and enable the opencli Browser Bridge extension in Chrome.',
diff --git a/src/browser/page.ts b/src/browser/page.ts
index ab341686..73db6b44 100644
--- a/src/browser/page.ts
+++ b/src/browser/page.ts
@@ -58,25 +58,17 @@ export class Page extends BasePage {
       this._tabId = result.tabId;
     }
     this._lastUrl = url;
-    // Inject stealth anti-detection patches (guard flag prevents double-injection).
-    try {
-      await sendCommand('exec', {
-        code: generateStealthJs(),
-        ...this._cmdOpts(),
-      });
-    } catch {
-      // Non-fatal: stealth is best-effort
-    }
-    // Smart settle: use DOM stability detection instead of fixed sleep.
-    // settleMs is now a timeout cap (default 1000ms), not a fixed wait.
+    // Inject stealth + settle in a single round-trip instead of two sequential exec calls.
+    // The stealth guard flag prevents double-injection; settle uses DOM stability detection.
     if (options?.waitUntil !== 'none') {
       const maxMs = options?.settleMs ?? 1000;
-      const settleOpts = {
-        code: waitForDomStableJs(maxMs, Math.min(500, maxMs)),
+      const combinedCode = `${generateStealthJs()};\n${waitForDomStableJs(maxMs, Math.min(500, maxMs))}`;
+      const combinedOpts = {
+        code: combinedCode,
         ...this._cmdOpts(),
       };
       try {
-        await sendCommand('exec', settleOpts);
+        await sendCommand('exec', combinedOpts);
       } catch (err) {
         if (!isRetryableSettleError(err)) throw err;
         // SPA client-side redirects can invalidate the CDP target after
@@ -84,14 +76,21 @@ export class Page extends BasePage {
         // to load, then retry the settle probe once.
         try {
           await new Promise((r) => setTimeout(r, 200));
-          await sendCommand('exec', settleOpts);
+          await sendCommand('exec', combinedOpts);
         } catch (retryErr) {
           if (!isRetryableSettleError(retryErr)) throw retryErr;
-          // Retry also failed — give up silently. Settle is best-effort
-          // after successful navigation; the next real command will surface
-          // any persistent target error immediately.
         }
       }
+    } else {
+      // Even with waitUntil='none', still inject stealth (best-effort)
+      try {
+        await sendCommand('exec', {
+          code: generateStealthJs(),
+          ...this._cmdOpts(),
+        });
+      } catch {
+        // Non-fatal: stealth is best-effort
+      }
     }
   }