diff --git a/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/apps/Soulseek/SearchResults.tsx b/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/apps/Soulseek/SearchResults.tsx
index 414b5770..a50695d5 100644
--- a/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/apps/Soulseek/SearchResults.tsx
+++ b/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/apps/Soulseek/SearchResults.tsx
@@ -1,8 +1,8 @@
-import { useState, useEffect, useMemo } from 'react';
+import { useState, useEffect, useMemo, useCallback, useRef } from 'react';
 import { useClient } from 'hooks/useClient';
 import { usePanelChannel } from 'hooks/usePanelChannel';
 import { toast } from 'sonner';
-import { ArrowLeft, Download, Lock, Loader2, Folder, Zap, Users, Search, X } from 'lucide-react';
+import { ArrowLeft, Download, Lock, Loader2, Folder, Zap, Users, Search, X, RefreshCw } from 'lucide-react';
 import { Card, CardHeader, CardBody, SubCard, SubCardHeader, RowList, Pill } from './Cards';
 import {
   SLSKD_REFRESH_CHANNEL,
@@ -21,12 +21,21 @@ import {
 // The results subpanel for one past search — loads its STORED responses (GET /searches/{id}/responses),
 // never re-runs the search. Presented the way slskd does: grouped by responder (user) → folder → files,
 // each user a collapsible card with its upload speed / free-slot / queue / file-count, and per-file plus
-// per-folder download actions. Grouped result is memoised per search id for the session (a proper cache
-// is a later step).
+// per-folder download actions.
+//
+// Caching is stale-while-revalidate: the cached grouping paints immediately, then we always re-fetch in
+// the background. Never serve the cache alone — opening a search before its first responses land used to
+// freeze that empty snapshot forever. While the search is still running we also poll, so results fill in
+// live; the header's refresh re-reads on demand.
 
 const MAX_USERS = 200;
+const POLL_MS = 2500;
+// Safety net: a search whose completion we can't confirm shouldn't poll forever (~2 min of polling).
+const MAX_POLLS = 48;
 const resultsCache = new Map<string, ResultUser[]>();
 
+export const dropCachedResults = (searchId: string) => resultsCache.delete(searchId);
+
 const fileKey = (username: string, filename: string) => `${username}::${filename}`;
 
 // Client-side filtering over already-loaded results (mirrors slskd's filter tokens, no re-query).
@@ -82,39 +91,88 @@ export const SearchResults = ({ search, onBack }: SearchResultsProps) => {
   const cachedInit = resultsCache.get(search.id) ?? null;
   const [users, setUsers] = useState<ResultUser[] | null>(cachedInit);
   const [error, setError] = useState<string | null>(null);
+  const [loading, setLoading] = useState(false);
+  const [isComplete, setIsComplete] = useState(search.isComplete);
   // Users start expanded; toggling collapses them.
   const [open, setOpen] = useState<Set<string>>(() => new Set(cachedInit?.map((u) => u.username)));
   const [queued, setQueued] = useState<Set<string>>(new Set());
   const [filters, setFilters] = useState<Filters>(EMPTY_FILTERS);
+  // Usernames we've already auto-expanded — lets a revalidation expand newcomers without re-opening
+  // the cards the reader deliberately collapsed.
+  const seenRef = useRef<Set<string>>(new Set(cachedInit?.map((u) => u.username) ?? []));
+  const aliveRef = useRef(true);
+  const pollsRef = useRef(0);
 
   const filtered = useMemo(() => (users ? applyFilters(users, filters) : null), [users, filters]);
 
   useEffect(() => {
-    const cached = resultsCache.get(search.id);
-    if (cached) {
-      setUsers(cached);
-      setOpen(new Set(cached.map((u) => u.username)));
-      return;
-    }
-    let cancelled = false;
-    setUsers(null);
-    setError(null);
-    client
-      .get<SlskdResponse[]>(`/slskd/api/v0/searches/${search.id}/responses`)
-      .then((responses) => {
-        if (cancelled) return;
+    aliveRef.current = true;
+    return () => {
+      aliveRef.current = false;
+    };
+  }, []);
+
+  const refresh = useCallback(
+    async (quiet: boolean) => {
+      if (!quiet) setLoading(true);
+      try {
+        // The summary tells us whether to keep polling; tolerate its absence rather than fail the load.
+        const [responses, meta] = await Promise.all([
+          client.get<SlskdResponse[]>(`/slskd/api/v0/searches/${search.id}/responses`),
+          client.get<SlskdSearchSummary>(`/slskd/api/v0/searches/${search.id}`).catch(() => null),
+        ]);
+        if (!aliveRef.current) return;
         const grouped = groupResponses(responses);
         resultsCache.set(search.id, grouped);
         setUsers(grouped);
-        setOpen(new Set(grouped.map((u) => u.username)));
-      })
-      .catch((err) => !cancelled && setError(err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err)));
-    return () => {
-      cancelled = true;
-    };
+        setError(null);
+        setOpen((prev) => {
+          const next = new Set(prev);
+          for (const u of grouped) {
+            if (!seenRef.current.has(u.username)) {
+              seenRef.current.add(u.username);
+              next.add(u.username);
+            }
+          }
+          return next;
+        });
+        if (meta) setIsComplete(meta.isComplete);
+      } catch (err) {
+        if (aliveRef.current) setError(err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err));
+      } finally {
+        if (aliveRef.current) setLoading(false);
+      }
+    },
     // useClient() returns a fresh object each render, so depend only on the search id.
     // eslint-disable-next-line react-hooks/exhaustive-deps
-  }, [search.id]);
+    [search.id],
+  );
+
+  useEffect(() => {
+    const cached = resultsCache.get(search.id) ?? null;
+    seenRef.current = new Set(cached?.map((u) => u.username) ?? []);
+    pollsRef.current = 0;
+    setUsers(cached);
+    setOpen(new Set(cached?.map((u) => u.username)));
+    setError(null);
+    setIsComplete(search.isComplete);
+    // Quiet when something is already on screen — no spinner flash over usable results.
+    refresh(Boolean(cached));
+    // eslint-disable-next-line react-hooks/exhaustive-deps
+  }, [search.id, refresh]);
+
+  useEffect(() => {
+    if (isComplete) return;
+    const timer = setInterval(() => {
+      pollsRef.current += 1;
+      if (pollsRef.current > MAX_POLLS) {
+        clearInterval(timer);
+        return;
+      }
+      refresh(true);
+    }, POLL_MS);
+    return () => clearInterval(timer);
+  }, [isComplete, refresh]);
 
   const toggle = (username: string) =>
     setOpen((prev) => {
@@ -169,7 +227,14 @@ export const SearchResults = ({ search, onBack }: SearchResultsProps) => {
           <ArrowLeft className="h-4 w-4" />
         </button>
         <div className="min-w-0 flex-1">
-          <div className="truncate text-sm font-semibold">{search.searchText}</div>
+          <div className="flex items-center gap-2">
+            <span className="truncate text-sm font-semibold">{search.searchText}</span>
+            {!isComplete && (
+              <span className="inline-flex shrink-0 items-center gap-1 text-xs text-muted-foreground">
+                <Loader2 className="h-3 w-3 animate-spin" /> searching
+              </span>
+            )}
+          </div>
           <div className="text-xs text-muted-foreground">
             {users === null && !error
               ? 'Loading results…'
@@ -178,6 +243,15 @@ export const SearchResults = ({ search, onBack }: SearchResultsProps) => {
                 }${filtered && filtered.length > shown.length ? ` — showing top ${shown.length}` : ''}`}
           </div>
         </div>
+        <button
+          type="button"
+          onClick={() => refresh(false)}
+          disabled={loading}
+          title="Reload results"
+          className="flex h-8 w-8 shrink-0 items-center justify-center rounded-md text-muted-foreground transition hover:bg-muted hover:text-foreground disabled:opacity-40"
+        >
+          <RefreshCw className={`h-4 w-4 ${loading ? 'animate-spin' : ''}`} />
+        </button>
       </div>
 
       {/* Filter bar — text tokens plus one-click pills, applied client-side to loaded results */}
@@ -240,7 +314,17 @@ export const SearchResults = ({ search, onBack }: SearchResultsProps) => {
             <Loader2 className="h-4 w-4 animate-spin" /> Loading results…
           </div>
         )}
-        {!error && users && users.length === 0 && <p className="p-1 text-sm text-muted-foreground">No results stored.</p>}
+        {!error && users && users.length === 0 && (
+          <p className="flex items-center gap-2 p-1 text-sm text-muted-foreground">
+            {isComplete ? (
+              'No results stored.'
+            ) : (
+              <>
+                <Loader2 className="h-4 w-4 animate-spin" /> Waiting for responses…
+              </>
+            )}
+          </p>
+        )}
         {!error && users && users.length > 0 && filtered && filtered.length === 0 && (
           <p className="p-1 text-sm text-muted-foreground">No files match the current filters.</p>
         )}
diff --git a/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/apps/Soulseek/SearchView.tsx b/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/apps/Soulseek/SearchView.tsx
index 2e02e7ae..0166c0ea 100644
--- a/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/apps/Soulseek/SearchView.tsx
+++ b/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/apps/Soulseek/SearchView.tsx
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ import { useState, useEffect, useCallback } from 'react';
 import { useClient } from 'hooks/useClient';
 import { toast } from 'sonner';
 import { Search, Loader2, RefreshCw, X, History, FileAudio, Users, ChevronRight } from 'lucide-react';
-import { SearchResults } from './SearchResults';
+import { SearchResults, dropCachedResults } from './SearchResults';
 import { formatWhen, type SlskdSearchSummary } from './shared';
 
 // The 'search' section — a search input plus the history of past searches (GET /searches). Submitting
@@ -48,6 +48,7 @@ export const SearchView = () => {
 
   const remove = async (id: string) => {
     setHistory((prev) => prev?.filter((s) => s.id !== id) ?? prev);
+    dropCachedResults(id);
     client.delete(`/slskd/api/v0/searches/${id}`).catch(() => load());
   };