diff --git a/CLAUDE.md b/CLAUDE.md
index cf0442b0..2ab87f59 100644
--- a/CLAUDE.md
+++ b/CLAUDE.md
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ The PR checklist is `typecheck` / `lint` / `cargo fmt --check` / `cargo check`.
 React 19 + TypeScript. Entry: `src/main.tsx` → `src/App.tsx`.
 
 - **Contexts** (provider tree in `App.tsx`): `ThemeContext`, `PlayerContext`, `LibraryContext`, `PlaylistContext`, `ProfileContext`. `PageScrollContext` mounts lower (in `AppLayout`) and exposes the main scrollable area to virtualized tables — one page-driven scrollbar.
-- **Hooks** wrap each context: `useTheme`, `usePlayer`, `useLibrary`, `usePlaylist`, `useProfile`, `usePageScroll`.
+- **Hooks** wrap each context: `useTheme`, `usePlayer`, `useLibrary`, `usePlaylist`, `useProfile`, `usePageScroll`. The playback position is the exception: it ticks at 4 Hz, so it lives outside `PlayerContext` in [`usePlayerPosition`](src/hooks/usePlayerPosition.ts) ([why](docs/architecture/invariants.md#events)).
 - **Tauri wrappers** (`src/lib/tauri/`): one typed `invoke()` per backend command.
 - **Views**: `HomeView`, `LibraryView`, `PlaylistView`, `AlbumDetailView`, `ArtistDetailView`, `LikedView`, `HistoryView`, `StatisticsView`, `WrappedView`, `SettingsView`, …
 - **Layout**: Apple-Music-style sidebar, TopBar with search, PlayerBar at the bottom, right-edge panels (`NowPlayingPanel` / `QueuePanel` / `LyricsPanel`) mutex'd via `PlayerContext`. A second `WebviewWindow` (label `mini`, `?mini=1`) ships the always-on-top mini-player — [`docs/features/ui.md`](docs/features/ui.md#mini-player) — and a third (label `lyrics`, `?lyrics=1`, created by the backend) the transparent desktop lyrics overlay — [`#desktop-lyrics`](docs/features/ui.md#desktop-lyrics).
diff --git a/docs/architecture/invariants.md b/docs/architecture/invariants.md
index 92e7832b..d9b64b7d 100644
--- a/docs/architecture/invariants.md
+++ b/docs/architecture/invariants.md
@@ -53,6 +53,8 @@ The backend emits Tauri events; the frontend listens via `listen()` from `@tauri
 
 `player:state` · `player:position` · `player:track-changed` · `player:queue-changed` · `player:options-changed` · `player:volume-changed` · `player:error` · `player:ab-loop` · `player:spectrum` · `track:updated` · `track:liked-changed` · `artist:updated` · `profile-setting:changed` · `library:rescanned` · `scan:progress` · `lyrics:updated` · …
 
+**The playback position is not context state.** `player:position` ticks four times a second; held in `PlayerContext`, each tick re-rendered every `usePlayer()` consumer (38 of them, the library view included) to redraw the handful that show it. It lives in a small external store instead, [`usePlayerPosition`](../../src/hooks/usePlayerPosition.ts): a component that renders the position calls `usePlayerPosition()`, and code that only needs it in a handler calls `getPlayerPosition()` and does not re-render at all. `PlayerProvider` is the store's only writer. Putting `positionMs` back in the context value brings back the 4 Hz re-render of the whole tree.
+
 **Shared state needs an event, because there is more than one window.** The mini-player is a second webview with its own provider tree, so anything a user can change from both places has to be broadcast or the two copies drift — the engine stays right, the two UIs disagree, and the user "fixes" the one that looks wrong and breaks the one that was. `player:options-changed` (repeat + shuffle), `player:volume-changed` and `track:liked-changed` all exist for that reason, and are emitted by the in-app commands too, not only by external surfaces like MPD (#523).
 
 The window that made the change has already updated optimistically, so it receives an echo of what it holds — a no-op. With one exception: volume is pushed through a 60 ms debounce, so a returning value can be one the user has already dragged past. That window therefore ignores `player:volume-changed` for 500 ms after its own last change. Discrete toggles need no such guard.
diff --git a/src/components/common/LyricsEditorModal.tsx b/src/components/common/LyricsEditorModal.tsx
index 80e8ebbb..97edf354 100644
--- a/src/components/common/LyricsEditorModal.tsx
+++ b/src/components/common/LyricsEditorModal.tsx
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ import {
 } from "lucide-react";
 import { save as showSaveDialog } from "@tauri-apps/plugin-dialog";
 import { usePlayer } from "../../hooks/usePlayer";
+import { usePlayerPosition } from "../../hooks/usePlayerPosition";
 import { useModalA11y } from "../../hooks/useModalA11y";
 import { AnimatedModalContent, AnimatedModalShell } from "./AnimatedModalShell";
 import {
@@ -93,7 +94,8 @@ export function LyricsEditorModal({
   trackFilePath,
 }: LyricsEditorModalProps) {
   const { t } = useTranslation();
-  const { isPlaying, togglePlayback, seek, positionMs } = usePlayer();
+  const { isPlaying, togglePlayback, seek } = usePlayer();
+  const positionMs = usePlayerPosition();
   const dialogRef = useModalA11y<HTMLDivElement>(isOpen, onClose);
 
   const [mode, setMode] = useState<Mode>("plain");
diff --git a/src/components/player/AbLoopButton.tsx b/src/components/player/AbLoopButton.tsx
index 0d5eff60..7c6ed0f7 100644
--- a/src/components/player/AbLoopButton.tsx
+++ b/src/components/player/AbLoopButton.tsx
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ import { useTranslation } from "react-i18next";
 import { Repeat2 } from "lucide-react";
 import { listen } from "@tauri-apps/api/event";
 import { usePlayer } from "../../hooks/usePlayer";
+import { getPlayerPosition } from "../../hooks/usePlayerPosition";
 import {
   playerClearAbLoop,
   playerGetAbLoop,
@@ -23,7 +24,7 @@ import {
  */
 export function AbLoopButton() {
   const { t } = useTranslation();
-  const { positionMs, currentTrack } = usePlayer();
+  const { currentTrack } = usePlayer();
   const [snap, setSnap] = useState<AbLoopSnapshot>({ a_ms: null, b_ms: null });
 
   useEffect(() => {
@@ -55,7 +56,7 @@ export function AbLoopButton() {
       }
       // Use position - 1 ms to avoid the loop firing on the same
       // sample we just captured B at (would cause an immediate seek).
-      const ms = Math.max(0, Math.floor(positionMs));
+      const ms = Math.max(0, Math.floor(getPlayerPosition()));
       if (!hasA) {
         const next = await playerSetAbLoop(ms, null);
         setSnap(next);
diff --git a/src/components/player/HeldNote.tsx b/src/components/player/HeldNote.tsx
index f5fb973a..cf12d936 100644
--- a/src/components/player/HeldNote.tsx
+++ b/src/components/player/HeldNote.tsx
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import { Fragment, useState, type CSSProperties } from "react";
 
 import { usePlayer } from "../../hooks/usePlayer";
+import { usePlayerPosition } from "../../hooks/usePlayerPosition";
 import { usePrefersReducedMotion } from "../../hooks/usePrefersReducedMotion";
 import { heldNoteLetters, isLetterSegment } from "../../lib/heldNote";
 import type { LyricsWord } from "../../lib/tauri/lyrics";
@@ -46,7 +47,8 @@ export function HeldNoteText({
   word: LyricsWord;
   glow?: boolean;
 }) {
-  const { positionMs, isPlaying, playbackSpeed } = usePlayer();
+  const { isPlaying, playbackSpeed } = usePlayer();
+  const positionMs = usePlayerPosition();
   const reduceMotion = usePrefersReducedMotion();
   // Fixed when the word comes on screen: re-reading the position every
   // render would shift the running animations by a quarter second at a
diff --git a/src/components/player/ProgressBar.tsx b/src/components/player/ProgressBar.tsx
index a2ed97f0..829697be 100644
--- a/src/components/player/ProgressBar.tsx
+++ b/src/components/player/ProgressBar.tsx
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ import {
 import { listen } from "@tauri-apps/api/event";
 import { useTranslation } from "react-i18next";
 import { usePlayer } from "../../hooks/usePlayer";
+import { usePlayerPosition } from "../../hooks/usePlayerPosition";
 import { isRadioTrack } from "../../lib/playerSources";
 import { formatDuration } from "../../lib/tauri/track";
 import { playerGetAbLoop, type AbLoopSnapshot } from "../../lib/tauri/player";
@@ -21,8 +22,8 @@ import { playerGetAbLoop, type AbLoopSnapshot } from "../../lib/tauri/player";
  */
 export function ProgressBar() {
   const { t } = useTranslation();
-  const { positionMs, durationMs, seek, setSeeking, currentTrack } =
-    usePlayer();
+  const { durationMs, seek, setSeeking, currentTrack } = usePlayer();
+  const positionMs = usePlayerPosition();
   const [dragMs, setDragMs] = useState<number | null>(null);
   const trackRef = useRef<HTMLDivElement | null>(null);
 
diff --git a/src/components/views/MiniPlayer.tsx b/src/components/views/MiniPlayer.tsx
index c331bdf5..cc7c0111 100644
--- a/src/components/views/MiniPlayer.tsx
+++ b/src/components/views/MiniPlayer.tsx
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@ import { getCurrentWindow } from "@tauri-apps/api/window";
 import { Window as TauriWindow } from "@tauri-apps/api/window";
 import { listen, type UnlistenFn } from "@tauri-apps/api/event";
 import { usePlayer } from "../../hooks/usePlayer";
+import { usePlayerPosition } from "../../hooks/usePlayerPosition";
 import { useLikedTracks } from "../../hooks/useLikedTracks";
 import { useTrackLyrics } from "../../hooks/useTrackLyrics";
 import { useKaraokeWordFill } from "../../hooks/useKaraokeWordFill";
@@ -97,7 +98,6 @@ export function MiniPlayer() {
     togglePlayback,
     next,
     previous,
-    positionMs,
     durationMs,
     repeatMode,
     cycleRepeatMode,
@@ -110,6 +110,7 @@ export function MiniPlayer() {
     setVolume,
     toggleMute,
   } = usePlayer();
+  const positionMs = usePlayerPosition();
   // Live radio has no seekable timeline — the seek bar + timestamps are
   // hidden (matching the PlayerBar / immersive ProgressBar).
   const isRadio = isRadioTrack(currentTrack);
diff --git a/src/contexts/PlayerContext.tsx b/src/contexts/PlayerContext.tsx
index d07a8a7e..6ba00d6b 100644
--- a/src/contexts/PlayerContext.tsx
+++ b/src/contexts/PlayerContext.tsx
@@ -48,6 +48,7 @@ import {
 import type { PluginFavorite } from "../lib/tauri/plugins";
 import { enrichArtistDeezer } from "../lib/tauri/detail";
 import { remoteArtwork } from "../lib/tauri/remoteServer";
+import { setPlayerPosition } from "../hooks/usePlayerPosition";
 import {
   isRadioTrack,
   isRemoteTrack,
@@ -168,7 +169,6 @@ export function PlayerProvider({ children }: { children: ReactNode }) {
   // track plays or playback goes idle.
   const [currentRadioStation, setCurrentRadioStation] =
     useState<PluginFavorite | null>(null);
-  const [positionMs, setPositionMs] = useState(0);
   const [durationMs, setDurationMs] = useState(0);
 
   // Volume: local + debounced backend push
@@ -373,7 +373,7 @@ export function PlayerProvider({ children }: { children: ReactNode }) {
     setPlaybackState("idle");
     setCurrentTrack(null);
     setCurrentRadioStation(null);
-    setPositionMs(0);
+    setPlayerPosition(0);
     setDurationMs(0);
     // Close the immersive view on profile switch — otherwise `immersiveOpen`
     // would linger true through the `currentTrack` null window and reopen
@@ -386,7 +386,7 @@ export function PlayerProvider({ children }: { children: ReactNode }) {
         const snap = await playerGetState();
         if (cancelled) return;
         setPlaybackState(snap.state);
-        setPositionMs(snap.position_ms);
+        setPlayerPosition(snap.position_ms);
         // Volume arrives as 0..1 from the snapshot; UI uses 0..100.
         setVolumeState(Math.round(snap.volume * 100));
         previousVolumeRef.current = Math.round(snap.volume * 100);
@@ -459,7 +459,7 @@ export function PlayerProvider({ children }: { children: ReactNode }) {
         unlisten.push(
           await listen<PlayerPositionPayload>("player:position", (e) => {
             if (!isSeekingRef.current) {
-              setPositionMs(e.payload.ms);
+              setPlayerPosition(e.payload.ms);
             }
           }),
         );
@@ -522,7 +522,7 @@ export function PlayerProvider({ children }: { children: ReactNode }) {
             // session, so the favorite-station star disappears.
             setCurrentRadioStation(null);
             setDurationMs(e.payload.duration_ms);
-            setPositionMs(0);
+            setPlayerPosition(0);
             // Refresh the device-side fields from the engine: WASAPI
             // exclusive mode may have reopened the stream at the new
             // track's native rate, and we want the AudioQualityFooter
@@ -562,7 +562,7 @@ export function PlayerProvider({ children }: { children: ReactNode }) {
               e.payload.is_remote ? null : radioStationFromMetadata(e.payload),
             );
             setDurationMs(e.payload.duration_ms ?? 0);
-            setPositionMs(0);
+            setPlayerPosition(0);
             // A remote track has a real cover behind a Bearer endpoint;
             // radio only carries the station favicon, so fetch the song's
             // album cover from Deezer instead. Either swaps in async.
@@ -704,7 +704,7 @@ export function PlayerProvider({ children }: { children: ReactNode }) {
       // so the PlayerBar doesn't lag the invoke round-trip.
       setCurrentTrack(chosen);
       setDurationMs(chosen.duration_ms);
-      setPositionMs(0);
+      setPlayerPosition(0);
       setPlaybackState("loading");
 
       try {
@@ -759,7 +759,7 @@ export function PlayerProvider({ children }: { children: ReactNode }) {
   const seek = useCallback(async (ms: number) => {
     // Optimistic: update the UI position immediately; the backend
     // will also emit player:position after the seek lands.
-    setPositionMs(ms);
+    setPlayerPosition(ms);
     try {
       await playerSeek(ms);
     } catch (err) {
@@ -923,7 +923,6 @@ export function PlayerProvider({ children }: { children: ReactNode }) {
         isPlaying,
         currentTrack,
         currentRadioStation,
-        positionMs,
         durationMs,
         volume,
         setVolume,
diff --git a/src/hooks/useKaraokeWordFill.ts b/src/hooks/useKaraokeWordFill.ts
index 47093863..5a02ff34 100644
--- a/src/hooks/useKaraokeWordFill.ts
+++ b/src/hooks/useKaraokeWordFill.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import { useCallback, useEffect, useRef } from "react";
 import { usePlayer } from "./usePlayer";
+import { usePlayerPosition } from "./usePlayerPosition";
 import { usePrefersReducedMotion } from "./usePrefersReducedMotion";
 import type { LyricsWord } from "../lib/tauri/lyrics";
 
@@ -43,7 +44,8 @@ function now(): number {
  * playback is paused mid-word.
  */
 export function useKaraokeWordFill(word: LyricsWord | null | undefined) {
-  const { positionMs, isPlaying, playbackSpeed } = usePlayer();
+  const { isPlaying, playbackSpeed } = usePlayer();
+  const positionMs = usePlayerPosition();
   const reduceMotion = usePrefersReducedMotion();
 
   const elRef = useRef<HTMLElement | null>(null);
diff --git a/src/hooks/usePlayer.ts b/src/hooks/usePlayer.ts
index a43523bb..809885a6 100644
--- a/src/hooks/usePlayer.ts
+++ b/src/hooks/usePlayer.ts
@@ -83,7 +83,6 @@ interface PlayerContextValue {
    *  star can save the station even after an ICY title overwrote the
    *  track line. `null` when the current source isn't Web Radio. */
   currentRadioStation: PluginFavorite | null;
-  positionMs: number;
   durationMs: number;
 
   // Volume: UI-owned slider (0-100) debounced into the backend.
diff --git a/src/hooks/usePlayerPosition.ts b/src/hooks/usePlayerPosition.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..e9cefd8a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/hooks/usePlayerPosition.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+import { useSyncExternalStore } from "react";
+
+/**
+ * The playback position, kept outside `PlayerContext`.
+ *
+ * The backend emits `player:position` four times a second. While the
+ * position lived in the context value, every one of those ticks re-rendered
+ * each of the context's consumers — the whole library view among them — to
+ * redraw what a handful of components show. Here only the components that
+ * call {@link usePlayerPosition} re-render on a tick; everything else that
+ * reads the player sees a context that changes when the player does.
+ *
+ * Module state, one per webview: the main window, the mini-player and the
+ * lyrics overlay each run their own `PlayerProvider`, which is the only
+ * writer of its window's copy.
+ */
+let positionMs = 0;
+const listeners = new Set<() => void>();
+
+/** Written by `PlayerProvider` only: the backend's ticks, seeks, resets. */
+export function setPlayerPosition(ms: number): void {
+  if (ms === positionMs) return;
+  positionMs = ms;
+  for (const listener of listeners) listener();
+}
+
+/** The position now, for code that needs it in a handler, not a render. */
+export function getPlayerPosition(): number {
+  return positionMs;
+}
+
+function subscribe(listener: () => void): () => void {
+  listeners.add(listener);
+  return () => {
+    listeners.delete(listener);
+  };
+}
+
+/** The playback position in ms; re-renders the caller on every tick. */
+export function usePlayerPosition(): number {
+  return useSyncExternalStore(subscribe, getPlayerPosition);
+}
diff --git a/src/hooks/useTrackLyrics.ts b/src/hooks/useTrackLyrics.ts
index c87c459e..89f0eac4 100644
--- a/src/hooks/useTrackLyrics.ts
+++ b/src/hooks/useTrackLyrics.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import { useCallback, useEffect, useMemo, useRef, useState } from "react";
 import { useTranslation } from "react-i18next";
 import { usePlayer } from "./usePlayer";
+import { usePlayerPosition } from "./usePlayerPosition";
 import { useEstimatedKaraoke } from "./useEstimatedKaraoke";
 import { estimateLineWords } from "../lib/lyricsWordEstimate";
 import { isRadioTrack, isRemoteTrack } from "../lib/playerSources";
@@ -113,7 +114,8 @@ export interface TrackLyrics {
 
 export function useTrackLyrics(): TrackLyrics {
   const { t } = useTranslation();
-  const { currentTrack, positionMs, seek } = usePlayer();
+  const { currentTrack, seek } = usePlayer();
+  const positionMs = usePlayerPosition();
 
   const [payload, setPayload] = useState<LyricsPayload | null>(null);
   const [isFetching, setIsFetching] = useState(false);