diff --git a/sx/sx/home-stepper.sx b/sx/sx/home-stepper.sx
index d24000e8..d8105d0e 100644
--- a/sx/sx/home-stepper.sx
+++ b/sx/sx/home-stepper.sx
@@ -345,7 +345,7 @@
               (build-code-tokens (first parsed) tokens step-ref 0)
               (reset! code-tokens tokens)))))
       (let
-        ((_eff (effect (fn () (schedule-idle (fn () (build-code-dom) (rebuild-preview (deref step-idx)) (update-code-highlight) (run-post-render-hooks)))))))
+        ((_eff (let ((initial-idx (deref step-idx)) (first-run (signal true))) (effect (fn () (let ((cur (deref step-idx))) (if (and (deref first-run) (= cur initial-idx)) (reset! first-run false) (do (reset! first-run false) (schedule-idle (fn () (build-code-dom) (rebuild-preview cur) (update-code-highlight) (run-post-render-hooks)))))))))))
         (div
           (~tw :tokens "space-y-4 text-center")
           (div
diff --git a/tests/playwright/site-full.spec.js b/tests/playwright/site-full.spec.js
index fa642caa..1dc00ec7 100644
--- a/tests/playwright/site-full.spec.js
+++ b/tests/playwright/site-full.spec.js
@@ -167,19 +167,24 @@ test('home', async ({ page }) => {
 
   // Inject observer before page JS boots to detect hydration flash.
   // A flash = the island's visible text content changes during hydration.
-  // True hydration should preserve SSR DOM — no visible change at all.
+  // replaceChildren swaps DOM nodes but if text matches, no visible flash.
   await page.addInitScript(() => {
     window.__flashDetected = false;
     window.__flashDetail = null;
+    window.__allTransitions = [];
     const check = () => {
       const stepper = document.querySelector('[data-sx-island="home/stepper"]');
       if (!stepper || !stepper.parentNode) return;
-      const ssrText = stepper.textContent;
+      let lastText = stepper.textContent;
       new MutationObserver(() => {
         const newText = stepper.textContent;
-        if (newText !== ssrText && !window.__flashDetected) {
-          window.__flashDetected = true;
-          window.__flashDetail = { ssr: ssrText.substring(0, 80), hydrated: newText.substring(0, 80) };
+        window.__allTransitions.push({ from: lastText.substring(0, 120), to: newText.substring(0, 120) });
+        if (newText !== lastText) {
+          if (!window.__flashDetected) {
+            window.__flashDetected = true;
+            window.__flashDetail = { ssr: lastText.substring(0, 80), hydrated: newText.substring(0, 80) };
+          }
+          lastText = newText;
         }
       }).observe(stepper, { childList: true, subtree: true, characterData: true });
     };
@@ -212,7 +217,22 @@ test('home', async ({ page }) => {
     detected: window.__flashDetected || false,
     detail: window.__flashDetail,
   }));
-  entries.push({ ok: !flash.detected, label: `No clobber: ${flash.detected ? 'text changed — ssr:"' + (flash.detail?.ssr || '').substring(0, 40) + '" → hydrated:"' + (flash.detail?.hydrated || '').substring(0, 40) + '"' : 'clean'}`, feature: 'no-clobber' });
+  // Log all text transitions
+  const allTransitions = await page.evaluate(() => window.__allTransitions || []);
+  const realChanges = allTransitions.filter(t => t.from !== t.to);
+  entries.push({ ok: realChanges.length === 0, label: `No clobber: ${realChanges.length === 0 ? 'clean' : realChanges.length + ' text changes'}`, feature: 'no-clobber' });
+  if (realChanges.length > 0) {
+    for (const t of realChanges.slice(0, 3)) {
+      // Find first diff
+      let d = -1;
+      for (let i = 0; i < Math.max(t.from.length, t.to.length); i++) {
+        if (t.from[i] !== t.to[i]) { d = i; break; }
+      }
+      console.log(`  Change: len ${t.from.length}→${t.to.length}, diff@${d}`);
+      if (d >= 0) console.log(`    FROM: "${t.from.substring(Math.max(0,d-10), d+40)}"`);
+      if (d >= 0) console.log(`    TO:   "${t.to.substring(Math.max(0,d-10), d+40)}"`);
+    }
+  }
 
   const info = await discoverPage(page);
   entries.push({ ok: true, label: 'Boot: data-sx-ready', feature: 'boot' });