diff --git a/web_interface/app.py b/web_interface/app.py
index 42568ce0..cf2a58a3 100644
--- a/web_interface/app.py
+++ b/web_interface/app.py
@@ -726,4 +726,6 @@ def check_health_monitor():
             _threading.Thread(target=_run_startup_reconciliation, daemon=True).start()
 
 if __name__ == '__main__':
-    app.run(host='0.0.0.0', port=5000, debug=True)
+    # threaded=True is Flask's default since 1.0 but stated explicitly so that
+    # long-lived /api/v3/stream/* SSE connections don't starve other requests.
+    app.run(host='0.0.0.0', port=5000, debug=True, threaded=True)
diff --git a/web_interface/start.py b/web_interface/start.py
index c2562954..885bd136 100644
--- a/web_interface/start.py
+++ b/web_interface/start.py
@@ -120,7 +120,11 @@ def main():
     
     # Run the web server with error handling for client disconnections
     try:
-        app.run(host='0.0.0.0', port=5000, debug=False)
+        # threaded=True is Flask's default since 1.0, but set it explicitly
+        # so it's self-documenting: the two /api/v3/stream/* SSE endpoints
+        # hold long-lived connections and would starve other requests under
+        # a single-threaded server.
+        app.run(host='0.0.0.0', port=5000, debug=False, threaded=True)
     except (OSError, BrokenPipeError) as e:
         # Suppress non-critical socket errors (client disconnections)
         if isinstance(e, OSError) and e.errno in (113, 32, 104):  # No route to host, Broken pipe, Connection reset
diff --git a/web_interface/static/v3/plugins_manager.js b/web_interface/static/v3/plugins_manager.js
index e75aee32..0f15b33c 100644
--- a/web_interface/static/v3/plugins_manager.js
+++ b/web_interface/static/v3/plugins_manager.js
@@ -7161,6 +7161,13 @@ window.getSchemaProperty = getSchemaProperty;
 window.escapeHtml = escapeHtml;
 window.escapeAttribute = escapeAttribute;
 
+// Expose GitHub install handlers. These must be assigned inside the IIFE —
+// from outside the IIFE, `typeof attachInstallButtonHandler` evaluates to
+// 'undefined' and the fallback path at the bottom of this file fires a
+// [FALLBACK] attachInstallButtonHandler not available on window warning.
+window.attachInstallButtonHandler = attachInstallButtonHandler;
+window.setupGitHubInstallHandlers = setupGitHubInstallHandlers;
+
 })(); // End IIFE
 
 // Functions to handle array-of-objects
@@ -7390,16 +7397,8 @@ if (typeof loadInstalledPlugins !== 'undefined') {
 if (typeof renderInstalledPlugins !== 'undefined') {
     window.renderInstalledPlugins = renderInstalledPlugins;
 }
-// Expose GitHub install handlers for debugging and manual testing
-if (typeof setupGitHubInstallHandlers !== 'undefined') {
-    window.setupGitHubInstallHandlers = setupGitHubInstallHandlers;
-    console.log('[GLOBAL] setupGitHubInstallHandlers exposed to window');
-}
-if (typeof attachInstallButtonHandler !== 'undefined') {
-    window.attachInstallButtonHandler = attachInstallButtonHandler;
-    console.log('[GLOBAL] attachInstallButtonHandler exposed to window');
-}
-// searchPluginStore is now exposed inside the IIFE after its definition
+// GitHub install handlers are now exposed inside the IIFE (see above).
+// searchPluginStore is also exposed inside the IIFE after its definition.
 
 // Verify critical functions are available
 if (_PLUGIN_DEBUG_EARLY) {
diff --git a/web_interface/templates/v3/base.html b/web_interface/templates/v3/base.html
index e3da43d3..e4dbf5ff 100644
--- a/web_interface/templates/v3/base.html
+++ b/web_interface/templates/v3/base.html
@@ -786,56 +786,25 @@
         })();
     </script>
 
-    <!-- Alpine.js for reactive components -->
-    <!-- Use local file when in AP mode (192.168.4.x) to avoid CDN dependency -->
+    <!-- Alpine.js for reactive components.
+         Load the local copy first (always works, no CDN round-trip, no AP-mode
+         branch needed). `defer` on an HTML-parsed <script> is honored and runs
+         after DOM parse but before DOMContentLoaded, which is exactly what
+         Alpine wants — so no deferLoadingAlpine gymnastics are needed.
+         The inline rescue below only fires if the local file is missing. -->
+    <script defer src="{{ url_for('static', filename='v3/js/alpinejs.min.js') }}"></script>
     <script>
-        (function() {
-            // Prevent Alpine from auto-initializing by setting deferLoadingAlpine before it loads
-            window.deferLoadingAlpine = function(callback) {
-                // Wait for DOM to be ready
-                function waitForReady() {
-                    if (document.readyState === 'loading') {
-                        document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', waitForReady);
-                        return;
-                    }
-                    
-                    // app() is already defined in head, so we can initialize Alpine
-                    if (callback && typeof callback === 'function') {
-                        callback();
-                    } else if (window.Alpine && typeof window.Alpine.start === 'function') {
-                        // If callback not provided but Alpine is available, start it
-                        try {
-                            window.Alpine.start();
-                        } catch (e) {
-                            // Alpine may already be initialized, ignore
-                            console.warn('Alpine start error (may already be initialized):', e);
-                        }
-                    }
-                }
-                
-                waitForReady();
-            };
-            
-            // Detect AP mode by IP address
-            const isAPMode = window.location.hostname === '192.168.4.1' || 
-                           window.location.hostname.startsWith('192.168.4.');
-            
-            const alpineSrc = isAPMode ? '/static/v3/js/alpinejs.min.js' : 'https://unpkg.com/alpinejs@3.x.x/dist/cdn.min.js';
-            const alpineFallback = isAPMode ? 'https://unpkg.com/alpinejs@3.x.x/dist/cdn.min.js' : '/static/v3/js/alpinejs.min.js';
-            
-            const script = document.createElement('script');
-            script.defer = true;
-            script.src = alpineSrc;
-            script.onerror = function() {
-                if (alpineSrc !== alpineFallback) {
-                    const fallback = document.createElement('script');
-                    fallback.defer = true;
-                    fallback.src = alpineFallback;
-                    document.head.appendChild(fallback);
-                }
-            };
-            document.head.appendChild(script);
-        })();
+        // Rescue: if the local Alpine didn't load for any reason, pull the CDN
+        // copy once on window load. This is a last-ditch fallback, not the
+        // primary path.
+        window.addEventListener('load', function() {
+            if (typeof window.Alpine === 'undefined') {
+                console.warn('[Alpine] Local file failed to load, falling back to CDN');
+                const s = document.createElement('script');
+                s.src = 'https://unpkg.com/alpinejs@3.x.x/dist/cdn.min.js';
+                document.head.appendChild(s);
+            }
+        });
     </script>
 
     <!-- CodeMirror for JSON editing - lazy loaded when needed -->