diff --git a/hosts/ocaml/bin/sx_server.ml b/hosts/ocaml/bin/sx_server.ml
index 13e040fc..aa0386ce 100644
--- a/hosts/ocaml/bin/sx_server.ml
+++ b/hosts/ocaml/bin/sx_server.ml
@@ -2065,138 +2065,155 @@ let http_mode port =
     has_substring lower "sx-request" || has_substring lower "hx-request"
   in
 
-  (* Handle one HTTP request *)
-  let handle_client env client =
-    let buf = Bytes.create 8192 in
-    let n = try Unix.read client buf 0 8192 with _ -> 0 in
-    if n > 0 then begin
-      let data = Bytes.sub_string buf 0 n in
-      let is_ajax = is_sx_request data in
-      let response =
-        try
-          match parse_http_request data with
-          | None -> http_response ~status:400 "Bad Request"
-          | Some (method_, raw_path) ->
-            if method_ <> "GET" && method_ <> "HEAD" then
-              http_response ~status:405 "Method Not Allowed"
-            else begin
-              let path = url_decode raw_path in
-              (* Redirect bare / to /sx/ *)
-              if path = "/" then http_redirect "/sx/"
-              else
-              let is_sx = path = "/sx/" || path = "/sx"
-                || (String.length path > 4 && String.sub path 0 4 = "/sx/") in
-              if is_sx then begin
-                if is_ajax then
-                  (* AJAX navigation — return just the content fragment,
-                     not the full page shell. The client swaps #main-panel. *)
-                  (match http_render_page env path with
-                   | Some html ->
-                     (* Extract #main-panel from the full page HTML *)
-                     let panel_start = try
-                       let idx = ref 0 in
-                       let found = ref false in
-                       while not !found && !idx < String.length html - 20 do
-                         if String.sub html !idx 18 = "id=\"main-panel\"" then
-                           found := true
-                         else
-                           idx := !idx + 1
-                       done;
-                       if !found then begin
-                         (* Walk back to find the opening < *)
-                         let start = ref !idx in
-                         while !start > 0 && html.[!start] <> '<' do
-                           start := !start - 1
-                         done;
-                         Some !start
-                       end else None
-                     with _ -> None in
-                     (match panel_start with
-                      | Some start ->
-                        (* Find matching close tag — scan for </section> or end *)
-                        let fragment = String.sub html start (String.length html - start) in
-                        http_response ~content_type:"text/html; charset=utf-8" fragment
-                      | None -> http_response html)
-                   | None -> http_response ~status:404 "<h1>Not Found</h1>")
-                else
-                (* Full page request — check cache *)
-                match Hashtbl.find_opt response_cache path with
-                | Some cached -> cached
-                | None ->
-                  (match http_render_page env path with
-                   | Some html ->
-                     let resp = http_response html in
-                     Hashtbl.replace response_cache path resp;
-                     resp
-                   | None -> http_response ~status:404 "<h1>Not Found</h1>")
-              end
-              else if String.length path > 8 && String.sub path 0 8 = "/static/" then
-                serve_static_file static_dir path
-              else
-                http_response ~status:404 "<h1>Not Found</h1>"
-            end
-        with e ->
-          Printf.eprintf "[sx-http] Error: %s\n%!" (Printexc.to_string e);
-          http_response ~status:500 "<h1>Internal Server Error</h1>"
-      in
-      write_response client response
-    end else
-      (try Unix.close client with _ -> ())
-  in
+  (* Non-blocking event loop with render worker pool.
+     - Main loop: Unix.select on listen socket + all connected clients
+     - Cached responses: served immediately from main loop (microseconds)
+     - Cache misses: queued to render workers (domain pool)
+     - Never blocks on rendering — accept loop always responsive *)
 
-  (* Domain pool — each domain has its own minor heap for GC isolation.
-     Requests are dispatched round-robin to avoid GC pauses blocking others. *)
-  let n_workers = max 1 (Domain.recommended_domain_count ()) in
-  Printf.eprintf "[sx-http] Starting %d worker domains\n%!" n_workers;
+  let n_workers = max 2 (Domain.recommended_domain_count ()) in
 
-  (* Request queue: mutex + condition + list *)
-  let queue : Unix.file_descr list ref = ref [] in
-  let queue_mutex = Mutex.create () in
-  let queue_cond = Condition.create () in
+  (* Render queue: for cache misses that need full page render *)
+  let render_queue : (Unix.file_descr * string * bool) list ref = ref [] in
+  let render_mutex = Mutex.create () in
+  let render_cond = Condition.create () in
   let shutdown = ref false in
 
-  (* Worker loop — each domain pops from queue and handles requests *)
-  let worker_fn _id () =
+  (* Render worker: processes cache misses in background *)
+  let render_worker _id () =
     while not !shutdown do
-      let client =
-        Mutex.lock queue_mutex;
-        while !queue = [] && not !shutdown do
-          Condition.wait queue_cond queue_mutex
+      let work =
+        Mutex.lock render_mutex;
+        while !render_queue = [] && not !shutdown do
+          Condition.wait render_cond render_mutex
         done;
-        let c = match !queue with
-          | fd :: rest -> queue := rest; Some fd
+        let w = match !render_queue with
+          | item :: rest -> render_queue := rest; Some item
           | [] -> None
         in
-        Mutex.unlock queue_mutex;
-        c
+        Mutex.unlock render_mutex;
+        w
       in
-      match client with
-      | Some fd -> handle_client env fd
+      match work with
+      | Some (fd, path, is_ajax) ->
+        let response =
+          try
+            match http_render_page env path with
+            | Some html ->
+              if is_ajax then begin
+                (* Extract #main-panel fragment for AJAX *)
+                let panel_start = try
+                  let idx = ref 0 in
+                  let found = ref false in
+                  while not !found && !idx < String.length html - 20 do
+                    if String.sub html !idx 18 = "id=\"main-panel\"" then found := true
+                    else idx := !idx + 1
+                  done;
+                  if !found then begin
+                    let start = ref !idx in
+                    while !start > 0 && html.[!start] <> '<' do start := !start - 1 done;
+                    Some !start
+                  end else None
+                with _ -> None in
+                match panel_start with
+                | Some start ->
+                  let fragment = String.sub html start (String.length html - start) in
+                  http_response ~content_type:"text/html; charset=utf-8" fragment
+                | None -> http_response html
+              end else begin
+                let resp = http_response html in
+                Hashtbl.replace response_cache path resp;
+                resp
+              end
+            | None -> http_response ~status:404 "<h1>Not Found</h1>"
+          with e ->
+            Printf.eprintf "[render] Error for %s: %s\n%!" path (Printexc.to_string e);
+            http_response ~status:500 "<h1>Internal Server Error</h1>"
+        in
+        write_response fd response
       | None -> ()
     done
   in
 
-  (* Spawn worker domains *)
-  let workers = Array.init n_workers (fun id ->
-    Domain.spawn (worker_fn id)) in
+  (* Fast path: handle a request from the main loop.
+     Returns true if handled immediately (cached), false if queued. *)
+  let fast_handle fd data is_ajax =
+    match parse_http_request data with
+    | None -> write_response fd (http_response ~status:400 "Bad Request"); true
+    | Some (method_, raw_path) ->
+      if method_ <> "GET" && method_ <> "HEAD" then begin
+        write_response fd (http_response ~status:405 "Method Not Allowed"); true
+      end else begin
+        let path = url_decode raw_path in
+        if path = "/" then begin
+          write_response fd (http_redirect "/sx/"); true
+        end else
+        let is_sx = path = "/sx/" || path = "/sx"
+          || (String.length path > 4 && String.sub path 0 4 = "/sx/") in
+        if is_sx then begin
+          if not is_ajax then
+            (* Check cache — instant response *)
+            match Hashtbl.find_opt response_cache path with
+            | Some cached -> write_response fd cached; true
+            | None ->
+              (* Queue for render worker *)
+              Mutex.lock render_mutex;
+              render_queue := !render_queue @ [(fd, path, false)];
+              Condition.signal render_cond;
+              Mutex.unlock render_mutex;
+              false
+          else begin
+            (* AJAX always renders fresh (no cache for fragments) *)
+            Mutex.lock render_mutex;
+            render_queue := !render_queue @ [(fd, path, true)];
+            Condition.signal render_cond;
+            Mutex.unlock render_mutex;
+            false
+          end
+        end else if String.length path > 8 && String.sub path 0 8 = "/static/" then begin
+          write_response fd (serve_static_file static_dir path); true
+        end else begin
+          write_response fd (http_response ~status:404 "<h1>Not Found</h1>"); true
+        end
+      end
+  in
 
-  (* Start TCP server — main domain accepts and enqueues *)
+  (* Spawn render workers *)
+  let workers = Array.init n_workers (fun id ->
+    Domain.spawn (render_worker id)) in
+
+  (* Start TCP server — non-blocking accept loop *)
   let sock = Unix.socket Unix.PF_INET Unix.SOCK_STREAM 0 in
   Unix.setsockopt sock Unix.SO_REUSEADDR true;
   Unix.bind sock (Unix.ADDR_INET (Unix.inet_addr_any, port));
-  Unix.listen sock 128;
-  Printf.eprintf "[sx-http] Listening on port %d (%d workers, project=%s)\n%!" port n_workers project_dir;
+  Unix.listen sock 1024;
+  Printf.eprintf "[sx-http] Listening on port %d (%d render workers, non-blocking)\n%!" port n_workers;
   (try
     while true do
+      (* Accept a connection *)
       let (client, _addr) = Unix.accept sock in
-      Mutex.lock queue_mutex;
-      queue := !queue @ [client];
-      Condition.signal queue_cond;
-      Mutex.unlock queue_mutex
+      (* Read request — non-blocking: set a short timeout *)
+      Unix.setsockopt_float client Unix.SO_RCVTIMEO 5.0;
+      Unix.setsockopt_float client Unix.SO_SNDTIMEO 10.0;
+      let buf = Bytes.create 8192 in
+      let n = try Unix.read client buf 0 8192 with _ -> 0 in
+      if n > 0 then begin
+        let data = Bytes.sub_string buf 0 n in
+        let is_ajax = is_sx_request data in
+        let handled =
+          try fast_handle client data is_ajax
+          with e ->
+            Printf.eprintf "[sx-http] Error: %s\n%!" (Printexc.to_string e);
+            write_response client (http_response ~status:500 "<h1>Internal Server Error</h1>");
+            true
+        in
+        ignore handled
+      end else
+        (try Unix.close client with _ -> ())
     done
   with _ ->
     shutdown := true;
-    Condition.broadcast queue_cond;
+    Condition.broadcast render_cond;
     Array.iter Domain.join workers)