diff --git a/api/main.py b/api/main.py
index 5b1794f..97a7102 100644
--- a/api/main.py
+++ b/api/main.py
@@ -257,6 +257,11 @@ class DashboardHandler(BaseHTTPRequestHandler):
         self.send_response(200)
         self.send_header("Content-Type", "text/html; charset=utf-8")
         self.send_header("Content-Length", str(len(body)))
+        # never cache the dashboard shell — a stale cached page was serving old
+        # JS/CSS, so pushed fixes (and live-vs-cached behaviour) didn't reach the
+        # browser. The page is tiny and the data is fetched separately anyway.
+        self.send_header("Cache-Control", "no-store, no-cache, must-revalidate")
+        self.send_header("Pragma", "no-cache")
         self.end_headers()
         self.wfile.write(body)
 
diff --git a/api/static/dashboard.html b/api/static/dashboard.html
index 2d92ec2..a89ddbe 100644
--- a/api/static/dashboard.html
+++ b/api/static/dashboard.html
@@ -793,13 +793,18 @@ function setConn(ok, msg) {
   $("stamp").textContent = msg;
 }
 function startStream() {
+  // Render immediately from a plain fetch (the same reliable path the date
+  // selector uses) so LIVE shows data even if EventSource never connects in
+  // this browser/proxy. SSE then layers on for low-latency pushes.
+  pollOnce();
+  if (typeof EventSource === "undefined") { startPolling(); return; }
   try {
     es = new EventSource("/api/stream");
     es.addEventListener("snapshot", (ev) => {
       try { render(JSON.parse(ev.data)); setConn(true, "live · " + new Date().toLocaleTimeString()); }
-      catch (e) {}
+      catch (e) { console.error("render failed:", e); setConn(false, "render error (see console)"); }
     });
-    es.onerror = () => { setConn(false, "stream lost — polling"); es.close(); es = null; startPolling(); };
+    es.onerror = () => { setConn(false, "stream lost — polling"); if (es) es.close(); es = null; startPolling(); };
   } catch (e) { startPolling(); }
 }
 async function pollOnce() {