diff --git a/org/channel-tui-main.org b/org/channel-tui-main.org
index 9561234..6be2fae 100644
--- a/org/channel-tui-main.org
+++ b/org/channel-tui-main.org
@@ -757,23 +757,18 @@ supplied (e.g. \"/\"), pre-fill the select filter with it."
 ** Connection
 #+BEGIN_SRC lisp :tangle /home/user/.local/share/passepartout/lisp/channel-tui-main.lisp
 (defun connect-daemon (&optional (host "127.0.0.1") (start-port 9105) (end-port 9115))
-  "Connect to daemon, trying ports START-PORT to END-PORT."
-  (add-msg :system (format nil "* Connecting to daemon... *"))
+  "Try to connect to daemon once across START-PORT to END-PORT.
+Returns T on success, nil on failure. Does NOT wait or retry."
   (loop for port from start-port to end-port
         do (handler-case
                (let ((s (usocket:socket-connect host port :timeout 2)))
                  (setf (st :stream) (usocket:socket-stream s)
                        (st :connected) t)
-                 (add-msg :system (format nil "* Connected to daemon on port ~d *" port))
-                  (bt:make-thread (lambda () (reader-loop (st :stream)))
-                                 :name "tui-reader")
-                  (return-from connect-daemon t))
-             (usocket:connection-refused-error ()
-               (when (= port end-port)
-                 (add-msg :system (format nil "* No daemon on ports ~d-~d *" start-port end-port))))
-             (error (c)
-               (when (= port end-port)
-                 (add-msg :system (format nil "* No daemon on ports ~d-~d (error: ~a) *" start-port end-port c))))))
+                 (bt:make-thread (lambda () (reader-loop (st :stream)))
+                                :name "tui-reader")
+                 (return-from connect-daemon t))
+             (usocket:connection-refused-error () nil)
+             (error (c) nil)))
   nil)
 
 (defun disconnect-daemon ()
@@ -884,7 +879,10 @@ supplied (e.g. \"/\"), pre-fill the select filter with it."
                            (parse-integer (uiop:getenv "TUI_SWANK_PORT")))
                          4006)))
     (setf (st :dirty) (list t t t))
-    (connect-daemon)
+    ;; Quick sync connect attempt (just 3 ports, 6s max)
+    (let ((connected (connect-daemon "127.0.0.1" 9105 9107)))
+      (unless connected
+        (add-msg :system "* Daemon not found — will retry in background... *")))
     (when (> swank-port 0)
       (handler-case
           (progn
@@ -902,10 +900,19 @@ supplied (e.g. \"/\"), pre-fill the select filter with it."
           (add-msg :system (format nil "* ~a backend ~dx~d *"
                                    (if (typep be 'cl-tty.backend:modern-backend) "modern" "simple")
                                    w h))
-          ;; Initial dirty all to trigger first redraw in loop
+           ;; Initial dirty all to trigger first redraw in loop
            (setq w (or (and (numberp w) (> w 0) w) 80)
                  h (or (and (numberp h) (> h 0) h) 24))
-          (loop while (st :running) do
+           ;; Retry daemon connection in background if sync attempt failed
+           (unless (st :connected)
+             (add-msg :system "* Connecting to daemon... *")
+             (bt:make-thread
+                 (lambda ()
+                   (loop while (and (st :running) (not (st :connected)))
+                         do (connect-daemon)
+                         (unless (st :connected) (sleep 5))))
+                 :name "daemon-auto-connect"))
+           (loop while (st :running) do
                (dolist (ev (drain-queue))
                  (cond
                    ((eq (getf ev :type) :daemon)
@@ -1077,8 +1084,8 @@ supplied (e.g. \"/\"), pre-fill the select filter with it."
                                                 (format nil "> ~a" (or filter ""))
                                                 (theme-color :input-prompt) nil))
                     (cl-tty.backend:end-sync be))
-                 (sleep 0.1))
-               (progn (disconnect-daemon))))))
+                 (sleep 0.1)))
+               (progn (disconnect-daemon)))))
 #+END_SRC
 
 * Test Suite
diff --git a/passepartout b/passepartout
index 3d9de1e..3866d7f 100755
--- a/passepartout
+++ b/passepartout
@@ -378,8 +378,9 @@ case "$COMMAND" in
         check_dependencies
         export PASSEPARTOUT_DATA_DIR="${PASSEPARTOUT_DATA_DIR:-$SCRIPT_DIR}"
         if ! ss -tln 2>/dev/null | grep -q 9105 && ! netstat -tln 2>/dev/null | grep -q 9105; then
-            echo "Starting daemon first..."
-            $0 daemon
+            echo "Starting daemon..."
+            # Start daemon in background — don't block TUI startup
+            $0 daemon &>/dev/null &
         fi
         # Build TUI load script with proper paths
         cat > /tmp/tui-load.lisp << LISPEOF