diff --git a/src/ratatoskr/web/server.py b/src/ratatoskr/web/server.py
index 72fee00..433306e 100644
--- a/src/ratatoskr/web/server.py
+++ b/src/ratatoskr/web/server.py
@@ -112,11 +112,16 @@ def _static_dir() -> str:
 
 
 def _root_endpoint(request: Request) -> FileResponse:
-    """GET / → index.html. Per FN root_endpoint POST-001."""
+    """GET / → index.html. Per FN root_endpoint POST-001.
+
+    no-store: this is an actively-iterated dev console — never let a browser serve a
+    stale cached page (which silently hid the streaming-TTS / autoplay-unlock updates
+    during debugging). The HTML is small; a re-fetch per load is free on the LAN."""
     from pathlib import Path
     return FileResponse(
         Path(_static_dir()) / "index.html",
         media_type="text/html",
+        headers={"Cache-Control": "no-store"},
     )
 
 
diff --git a/src/ratatoskr/web/static/index.html b/src/ratatoskr/web/static/index.html
index 292170d..24a104b 100644
--- a/src/ratatoskr/web/static/index.html
+++ b/src/ratatoskr/web/static/index.html
@@ -2031,6 +2031,12 @@ function _unlockTtsAudio() {
     }).catch(() => {});
   } catch (_) {}
 }
+// Unlock on the FIRST user interaction ANYWHERE on the page — not just toggle/submit —
+// so the element has autoplay permission before the delayed speak-on-done play(), no
+// matter how the operator first touches the page. _unlockTtsAudio self-guards, so these
+// are no-ops once granted.
+document.addEventListener("pointerdown", _unlockTtsAudio, true);
+document.addEventListener("keydown", _unlockTtsAudio, true);
 function cancelTts() {
   // Stop + drop the current <audio> src; load() aborts the in-flight GET stream, which
   // drops the server proxy (releasing its synth lock). No object URLs to revoke — the
@@ -2053,7 +2059,9 @@ function speakOnDone(text, agentId, pad) {
   // play() may be refused by the autoplay policy in this async callback; the prompt/toggle
   // gesture unlock (_unlockTtsAudio) satisfies it, and the catch keeps a refusal non-fatal.
   a.play().then(() => tickerAdd("ok", "tts", "▶ voiced"))
-          .catch(() => tickerAdd("err", "tts", "playback blocked"));
+          .catch((e) => tickerAdd("err", "tts", "blocked: " + ((e && e.name) || "?")));
+  // NotAllowedError = autoplay (unlock didn't take); NotSupportedError = the browser
+  // refused the streaming WAV; AbortError = a new turn superseded it.
 }
 // ---- 🔊 toggle (mirrors theme / cot-toggle; default OFF, persisted) ----
 (function () {