diff --git a/src/lib/components/PrereqBanner.svelte b/src/lib/components/PrereqBanner.svelte
index 6fe8a31..efc5228 100644
--- a/src/lib/components/PrereqBanner.svelte
+++ b/src/lib/components/PrereqBanner.svelte
@@ -8,11 +8,12 @@
 
   onMount(() => {
     void prerequisites.load();
-    // Re-probe when the user returns to the app while a prerequisite is still missing —
-    // e.g. after finishing the async Command Line Tools installer — so the banner clears
-    // and the editing controls re-enable without a restart. Stops once everything's met.
+    // Re-probe when the user returns to the app and prerequisites aren't confirmed met —
+    // after finishing the async Command Line Tools installer, OR to retry a probe that
+    // transiently failed (check === null) — so the banner clears and the editing controls
+    // re-enable without a restart. Stops once everything's met (check set + editable).
     const onReturn = () => {
-      if (prerequisites.check && !prerequisites.canEditHistory) void prerequisites.refresh();
+      if (!prerequisites.check || !prerequisites.canEditHistory) void prerequisites.refresh();
     };
     window.addEventListener("focus", onReturn);
     return () => window.removeEventListener("focus", onReturn);
diff --git a/src/lib/github/activity.test.ts b/src/lib/github/activity.test.ts
index 2893dc7..65426a6 100644
--- a/src/lib/github/activity.test.ts
+++ b/src/lib/github/activity.test.ts
@@ -15,14 +15,12 @@ describe("sparklinePoints", () => {
 });
 
 describe("isRetryableActivityError", () => {
-  it("retries cold-stats / transient failures", () => {
-    for (const kind of ["Other", "RateLimited", "Forbidden"]) {
-      expect(isRetryableActivityError({ kind })).toBe(true);
-    }
+  it("retries only transient cold-cache failures", () => {
+    expect(isRetryableActivityError({ kind: "Other", message: "parse activity" })).toBe(true);
     expect(isRetryableActivityError("network blip")).toBe(true); // non-GithubError → retry
   });
-  it("does not retry permanent failures", () => {
-    for (const kind of ["NotFound", "NotAuthed", "NoRemote", "NotInstalled"]) {
+  it("does not retry explicit rate limits or permanent failures", () => {
+    for (const kind of ["RateLimited", "Forbidden", "NotFound", "NotAuthed", "NoRemote", "NotInstalled"]) {
       expect(isRetryableActivityError({ kind })).toBe(false);
     }
   });
@@ -70,15 +68,17 @@ describe("fetchActivityWithRetry", () => {
     expect(fetchOnce).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(3);
   });
 
-  it("aborts immediately on a PERMANENT error without burning retries", async () => {
-    const fetchOnce = vi.fn().mockRejectedValue({ kind: "NotFound" });
-    await expect(fetchActivityWithRetry(fetchOnce, noSleep, 5)).rejects.toEqual({ kind: "NotFound" });
-    expect(fetchOnce).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+  it("aborts immediately on a non-retryable error (permanent OR explicit rate limit)", async () => {
+    for (const kind of ["NotFound", "RateLimited"]) {
+      const fetchOnce = vi.fn().mockRejectedValue({ kind });
+      await expect(fetchActivityWithRetry(fetchOnce, noSleep, 5)).rejects.toEqual({ kind });
+      expect(fetchOnce).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    }
   });
 
-  it("propagates the last error when a transient failure never clears", async () => {
-    const fetchOnce = vi.fn().mockRejectedValue({ kind: "RateLimited" });
-    await expect(fetchActivityWithRetry(fetchOnce, noSleep, 3)).rejects.toEqual({ kind: "RateLimited" });
+  it("propagates the last error when a transient (Other) failure never clears", async () => {
+    const fetchOnce = vi.fn().mockRejectedValue({ kind: "Other", message: "parse activity" });
+    await expect(fetchActivityWithRetry(fetchOnce, noSleep, 3)).rejects.toMatchObject({ kind: "Other" });
     expect(fetchOnce).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(3);
   });
 });
diff --git a/src/lib/github/activity.ts b/src/lib/github/activity.ts
index cf4b41a..1531e5d 100644
--- a/src/lib/github/activity.ts
+++ b/src/lib/github/activity.ts
@@ -11,19 +11,18 @@ export function sparklinePoints(values: number[], w: number, h: number): string
     .join(" ");
 }
 
-/** A cold-stats failure is worth retrying; a missing repo / auth / remote problem is not.
- *  GitHub computes /stats/commit_activity lazily (HTTP 202 the first time), so the initial
- *  request can fail transiently — a rate limit, a 202 surfaced as an error, an unparseable
- *  placeholder body. Those clear on their own; NotFound/NotAuthed/NoRemote/NotInstalled won't. */
+/** Only a transient cold-cache failure is worth the short fixed backoff. GitHub computes
+ *  /stats/commit_activity lazily (HTTP 202 the first time), which can surface as an
+ *  unparseable placeholder body — an `Other`/parse error — or a non-GithubError network
+ *  blip. Explicit terminal states are NOT retried: `RateLimited` won't clear inside the
+ *  backoff window (and re-hitting it prolongs the throttle), and Forbidden / NotFound /
+ *  NotAuthed / NoRemote / NotInstalled are permanent. Reserve the retries for the
+ *  computing/parse case; a real rate limit should surface (and wait for its reset) instead. */
 export function isRetryableActivityError(e: unknown): boolean {
-  const kind =
-    e && typeof e === "object" && "kind" in e ? (e as GithubError).kind : "Other";
-  return (
-    kind !== "NotFound" &&
-    kind !== "NotAuthed" &&
-    kind !== "NoRemote" &&
-    kind !== "NotInstalled"
-  );
+  if (e && typeof e === "object" && "kind" in e) {
+    return (e as GithubError).kind === "Other";
+  }
+  return true; // non-GithubError throw → treat as a transient blip
 }
 
 /** Fetch commit activity, retrying through GitHub's lazy-computation window.
diff --git a/src/lib/prerequisites.svelte.ts b/src/lib/prerequisites.svelte.ts
index c42c375..522e224 100644
--- a/src/lib/prerequisites.svelte.ts
+++ b/src/lib/prerequisites.svelte.ts
@@ -6,15 +6,34 @@
 import { api } from "./api";
 import type { PrerequisiteCheck } from "./types";
 
+function isTauri(): boolean {
+  return typeof window !== "undefined" && "__TAURI_INTERNALS__" in window;
+}
+
 function makePrerequisites() {
   let check = $state<PrerequisiteCheck | null>(null);
   let loading: Promise<void> | null = null;
+  // Monotonic probe id. refresh() can start a probe while another is still in flight, so
+  // only the LATEST probe may commit its result — otherwise a stale/out-of-order completion
+  // (e.g. an older failure resolving after a newer success) would clobber the current state
+  // and wrongly re-disable editing.
+  let probeSeq = 0;
 
   async function probe() {
+    // Non-Tauri (browser preview) has no backend to probe — leave the state "unknown"
+    // (not a failure) so canEditHistory stays optimistic there.
+    if (!isTauri()) return;
+    const seq = ++probeSeq;
     try {
-      check = await api.checkPrerequisites();
+      const result = await api.checkPrerequisites();
+      if (seq !== probeSeq) return; // superseded by a newer probe — drop this result
+      check = result;
     } catch {
+      if (seq !== probeSeq) return; // superseded by a newer probe — drop this stale failure
       check = null;
+      // Clear the cached promise so a later load()/refresh() re-probes a transient failure
+      // instead of no-op'ing on this (resolved) promise for the rest of the session.
+      loading = null;
     }
   }
 
@@ -22,11 +41,14 @@ function makePrerequisites() {
     get check() {
       return check;
     },
-    // Commit-time editing needs git + python3 + a working bundled filter-repo. Unknown
-    // (not yet probed / non-Tauri) → treated as available so we never block prematurely;
-    // a genuinely-missing tool still fails loudly at run time.
+    // Commit-time editing needs a SUCCESSFUL probe confirming git + python3 + a working
+    // bundled filter-repo. Until one arrives, the DESKTOP app keeps the destructive "Rewrite
+    // history" action DISABLED — a slow OR failed probe must never leave it invokable on
+    // unverified prerequisites. A non-Tauri preview has nothing to verify (editing is inert
+    // there anyway), so it stays optimistic. A later successful probe enables it.
     get canEditHistory() {
-      return check ? check.git && check.python3 && check.filterRepo : true;
+      if (check) return check.git && check.python3 && check.filterRepo;
+      return !isTauri();
     },
     // Probe once, then share the result — deduped so the banner and ApplyPanel don't
     // double-invoke.