diff --git a/server/shell.ts b/server/shell.ts
index 9201888..4c38a7c 100644
--- a/server/shell.ts
+++ b/server/shell.ts
@@ -844,6 +844,15 @@ export function renderShell(opts: ShellOptions): string {
 
       // Reconcile remote layer changes (shared by BroadcastChannel + Automerge)
       function reconcileRemoteLayers(remoteLayers) {
+        // Guard: never let remote sync wipe all tabs when we have an active module.
+        // Empty remote layers indicate a CRDT initial state or sync race, not
+        // an intentional "close everything" action.
+        if (remoteLayers.length === 0 && currentModuleId) {
+          // Keep local layers intact — remote has nothing useful
+          tabBar.setLayers(layers);
+          return;
+        }
+
         const prev = new Set(layers.map(l => l.moduleId));
         const next = new Set(remoteLayers.map(l => l.moduleId));
 
@@ -854,35 +863,14 @@ export function renderShell(opts: ShellOptions): string {
 
         layers = deduplicateLayers(remoteLayers);
 
+        // Always ensure the current module stays in the tab list
         if (currentModuleId && !layers.find(l => l.moduleId === currentModuleId)) {
-          // Active tab was closed remotely — switch to nearest
-          if (layers.length > 0) {
-            const nearest = layers[layers.length - 1];
-            currentModuleId = nearest.moduleId;
-            tabBar.setLayers(layers);
-            tabBar.setAttribute('active', 'layer-' + currentModuleId);
-            if (tabCache) {
-              tabCache.switchTo(currentModuleId).then(ok => {
-                if (!ok) window.location.href = window.__rspaceNavUrl(spaceSlug, currentModuleId);
-              });
-            }
-          } else {
-            // No tabs left — show dashboard
-            const dashboard = document.querySelector('rstack-user-dashboard');
-            if (dashboard && dashboard.setOpenTabs) dashboard.setOpenTabs([...layers]);
-            tabBar.setLayers([]);
-            tabBar.setAttribute('active', '');
-            currentModuleId = '';
-            if (tabCache) tabCache.hideAllPanes();
-            if (dashboard) { dashboard.style.display = ''; if (dashboard.refresh) dashboard.refresh(); }
-            const app = document.getElementById('app');
-            if (app) app.classList.remove('canvas-layout');
-            history.pushState({ dashboard: true, spaceSlug: spaceSlug }, '', '/' + spaceSlug);
-          }
-        } else {
-          tabBar.setLayers(layers);
+          layers.push(makeLayer(currentModuleId, layers.length));
         }
 
+        tabBar.setLayers(layers);
+        tabBar.setAttribute('active', 'layer-' + currentModuleId);
+
         localStorage.setItem(TABS_KEY, JSON.stringify(layers));
       }
 
diff --git a/shared/tab-cache.ts b/shared/tab-cache.ts
index 1c89977..71353e0 100644
--- a/shared/tab-cache.ts
+++ b/shared/tab-cache.ts
@@ -194,6 +194,7 @@ export class TabCache {
 		try {
 			const resp = await fetch(fetchUrl, {
 				headers: { "Accept": "text/html" },
+				signal: AbortSignal.timeout(10_000),
 			});
 			if (!resp.ok) {
 				loadingPane.remove();