diff --git a/src/components/SearchResult/FullTextSearchByRelay.tsx b/src/components/SearchResult/FullTextSearchByRelay.tsx
index b1aaa497..99e58b91 100644
--- a/src/components/SearchResult/FullTextSearchByRelay.tsx
+++ b/src/components/SearchResult/FullTextSearchByRelay.tsx
@@ -242,15 +242,20 @@ export default function FullTextSearchByRelay({
     relayRows.length > 0 && relayRows.every((r) => r.phase === 'done' || r.phase === 'error')
 
   useEffect(() => {
+    const abort = new AbortController()
     const myRun = ++runGeneration.current
+    const cleanupInvalidatePreviousRun = () => {
+      runGeneration.current += 1
+    }
+    const dispose = () => {
+      abort.abort()
+      cleanupInvalidatePreviousRun()
+    }
+
     if (!q || normalizedRelays.length === 0) {
       setRelayRows([])
       setMergedHits([])
-      return
-    }
-
-    const cleanupInvalidatePreviousRun = () => {
-      runGeneration.current += 1
+      return dispose
     }
 
     const filter: Filter = {
@@ -311,7 +316,7 @@ export default function FullTextSearchByRelay({
         const { events: raw, connectionError } = await client.fetchEventsFromSingleRelay(
           relayUrl,
           filter,
-          { globalTimeout: FULL_TEXT_SEARCH_PER_RELAY_TIMEOUT_MS }
+          { globalTimeout: FULL_TEXT_SEARCH_PER_RELAY_TIMEOUT_MS, signal: abort.signal }
         )
         if (myRun !== runGeneration.current) return
 
@@ -375,7 +380,7 @@ export default function FullTextSearchByRelay({
       }
     })()
 
-    return cleanupInvalidatePreviousRun
+    return dispose
   }, [q, normalizedRelays, kinds])
 
   if (!q) {
diff --git a/src/components/SearchResult/index.tsx b/src/components/SearchResult/index.tsx
index cafe7b01..4f5db6b3 100644
--- a/src/components/SearchResult/index.tsx
+++ b/src/components/SearchResult/index.tsx
@@ -7,8 +7,9 @@ import { ProfileListBySearch } from '../ProfileListBySearch'
 import Relay from '../Relay'
 import { useNostr } from '@/providers/NostrProvider'
 import { useFavoriteRelays } from '@/providers/FavoriteRelaysProvider'
+import client from '@/services/client.service'
 import { normalizeUrl } from '@/lib/url'
-import { useMemo } from 'react'
+import { useLayoutEffect, useMemo } from 'react'
 
 function relayDedupeKey(url: string): string {
   return (normalizeUrl(url) || url.trim()).toLowerCase()
@@ -18,6 +19,13 @@ export default function SearchResult({ searchParams }: { searchParams: TSearchPa
   const { pubkey, relayList } = useNostr()
   const { favoriteRelays, blockedRelays } = useFavoriteRelays()
 
+  /** Before child effects (e.g. NIP-50) open REQs, tear down idle feed / prefetch queries so search gets the pool. */
+  useLayoutEffect(() => {
+    if (!searchParams) return
+    if (searchParams.type === 'relay') return
+    client.interruptBackgroundQueries()
+  }, [searchParams?.type, searchParams?.search, searchParams?.input])
+
   /** NIP-50 / index relays — always queried first on their own shard so dead personal relays cannot zero out search. */
   const searchableUrls = useMemo(
     () =>
@@ -34,7 +42,7 @@ export default function SearchResult({ searchParams }: { searchParams: TSearchPa
 
   // User stack + defaults (hashtag search uses the non-searchable slice as a second shard)
   const combinedRelays = useMemo(() => {
-    let relays: string[] = []
+    const relays: string[] = []
 
     if (relayList) {
       relays.push(...(relayList.read || []), ...(relayList.write || []))
diff --git a/src/providers/NostrProvider/index.tsx b/src/providers/NostrProvider/index.tsx
index f6d38189..594e4299 100644
--- a/src/providers/NostrProvider/index.tsx
+++ b/src/providers/NostrProvider/index.tsx
@@ -1537,6 +1537,7 @@ export function NostrProvider({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) {
       }
     }
 
+    client.interruptBackgroundQueries()
     noteStatsService.beginPublishPriority()
     try {
       logger.debug('[Publish] Determining target relays...', { kind: event.kind, pubkey: event.pubkey?.substring(0, 8) })
@@ -1658,6 +1659,8 @@ export function NostrProvider({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) {
 
     const deletionRequest = await signEvent(createDeletionRequestDraftEvent(targetEvent))
 
+    client.interruptBackgroundQueries()
+
     // Privacy: Only use user's own relays, never connect to "seen on" relays
     const favUrls = favoriteRelayUrlsForPublish(favoriteRelaysEvent, account?.pubkey ?? null)
     const relays = await client.determineTargetRelays(targetEvent, {
diff --git a/src/services/client-query.service.ts b/src/services/client-query.service.ts
index e75313b9..c9c4e95b 100644
--- a/src/services/client-query.service.ts
+++ b/src/services/client-query.service.ts
@@ -222,6 +222,16 @@ export interface QueryOptions {
   firstRelayResultGraceMs?: number | false
   /** Label for {@link RelaySubscribeOpBatch} when this query opens REQs. */
   relayOpSource?: string
+  /**
+   * When aborted (e.g. React effect cleanup / HMR), closes WS + HTTP index work promptly instead of waiting for
+   * {@link globalTimeout}. Prevents overlapping NIP-50 shards from stacking until the tab OOMs.
+   */
+  signal?: AbortSignal
+  /**
+   * When true, this query ignores {@link QueryService.interruptBackgroundQueries} (e.g. NIP-50 shard with its own
+   * AbortController, or other foreground work that must not be tied to the global background token).
+   */
+  foreground?: boolean
 }
 
 export interface SubscribeCallbacks {
@@ -255,6 +265,21 @@ export class QueryService {
   private globalRelayConnectionSlotsInUse = 0
   private globalRelayConnectionWaitQueue: Array<() => void> = []
 
+  /**
+   * Aborted whenever {@link interruptBackgroundQueries} runs. Default {@link query} runs listen until close so
+   * feed / prefetch / replaceable fetches yield to search and publish.
+   */
+  private backgroundInterruptController = new AbortController()
+
+  /**
+   * Best-effort: abort in-flight {@link query} calls that did not pass `foreground: true`, then reset the token so
+   * new background work uses a fresh signal.
+   */
+  interruptBackgroundQueries(): void {
+    this.backgroundInterruptController.abort()
+    this.backgroundInterruptController = new AbortController()
+  }
+
   async acquireGlobalRelayConnectionSlot(): Promise<void> {
     if (this.globalRelayConnectionSlotsInUse < MAX_CONCURRENT_RELAY_CONNECTIONS) {
       this.globalRelayConnectionSlotsInUse++
@@ -359,6 +384,7 @@ export class QueryService {
   ): Promise<NEvent[]> {
     const sanitizedFilters = sanitizeFiltersBeforeReq(filter)
     if (sanitizedFilters.length === 0) return []
+    if (options?.signal?.aborted) return []
 
     const maxFilters = RELAY_REQ_MAX_FILTERS_PER_MESSAGE
     if (sanitizedFilters.length > maxFilters) {
@@ -418,10 +444,12 @@ export class QueryService {
     const reqId = ++queryReqSeq
     const source = options?.relayOpSource ?? 'QueryService.query'
     const inputRelaysOrdered = Array.from(new Set(urls.map((u) => normalizeUrl(u) || u).filter(Boolean)))
-    const wsRelayCandidates = Array.from(new Set(wsQueryUrls.map((u) => normalizeUrl(u) || u).filter(Boolean)))
+
+    const foreground = options?.foreground === true
 
     return await new Promise<NEvent[]>((resolve) => {
       const events: NEvent[] = []
+      const cancelAbortRegistrations: Array<() => void> = []
       const abortHttp = new AbortController()
       let resolveTimeout: ReturnType<typeof setTimeout> | null = null
       let firstResultGraceTimeoutId: ReturnType<typeof setTimeout> | null = null
@@ -523,6 +551,10 @@ export class QueryService {
          */
         const finalizeOnce = () => {
           if (resolved) return
+          for (const detach of cancelAbortRegistrations) {
+            detach()
+          }
+          cancelAbortRegistrations.length = 0
           resolved = true
           if (resolveTimeout) clearTimeout(resolveTimeout)
           if (firstResultGraceTimeoutId) clearTimeout(firstResultGraceTimeoutId)
@@ -664,6 +696,29 @@ export class QueryService {
         }
       }
 
+      const onAbortQuery = () => {
+        sub.close()
+        resolveWithEvents()
+      }
+      const registerQueryAbort = (sig: AbortSignal) => {
+        if (sig.aborted) {
+          queueMicrotask(() => {
+            onAbortQuery()
+          })
+          return
+        }
+        sig.addEventListener('abort', onAbortQuery, { once: true })
+        cancelAbortRegistrations.push(() => {
+          sig.removeEventListener('abort', onAbortQuery)
+        })
+      }
+      if (!foreground) {
+        registerQueryAbort(this.backgroundInterruptController.signal)
+      }
+      if (options?.signal) {
+        registerQueryAbort(options.signal)
+      }
+
       globalTimeoutId = setTimeout(() => resolveWithEvents(), globalTimeout)
     })
   }
diff --git a/src/services/client-replaceable-events.service.ts b/src/services/client-replaceable-events.service.ts
index 1cb9f9bd..c68625f8 100644
--- a/src/services/client-replaceable-events.service.ts
+++ b/src/services/client-replaceable-events.service.ts
@@ -185,8 +185,6 @@ export class ReplaceableEventService {
     d?: string,
     containingEventRelays: string[] = []
   ): Promise<NEvent | undefined> {
-    const cacheKey = d ? `${kind}:${pubkey}:${d}` : `${kind}:${pubkey}`
-
     try {
       if (kind === kinds.Metadata && !d) {
         const sessionEv = client.eventService.getSessionMetadataForPubkey(pubkey)
diff --git a/src/services/client.service.ts b/src/services/client.service.ts
index 60b0048d..fb19920e 100644
--- a/src/services/client.service.ts
+++ b/src/services/client.service.ts
@@ -3136,6 +3136,11 @@ class ClientService extends EventTarget {
     set.add(relay)
   }
 
+  /** Yield relay pool / HTTP index capacity to search or publish by aborting default {@link QueryService.query} work. */
+  interruptBackgroundQueries(): void {
+    this.queryService.interruptBackgroundQueries()
+  }
+
   // Delegate to QueryService
   private async query(
     urls: string[], 
@@ -3228,7 +3233,7 @@ class ClientService extends EventTarget {
   async fetchEventsFromSingleRelay(
     url: string,
     filter: Filter | Filter[],
-    options?: { globalTimeout?: number }
+    options?: { globalTimeout?: number; signal?: AbortSignal }
   ): Promise<{ events: NEvent[]; connectionError?: string }> {
     const normalized = normalizeAnyRelayUrl(url) || url
     if (!normalized) {
@@ -3236,7 +3241,9 @@ class ClientService extends EventTarget {
     }
     const queryOpts = {
       globalTimeout: options?.globalTimeout ?? 25_000,
-      relayOpSource: 'fetchEventsFromSingleRelay' as const
+      relayOpSource: 'fetchEventsFromSingleRelay' as const,
+      foreground: true as const,
+      ...(options?.signal ? { signal: options.signal } : {})
     }
 
     if (isHttpRelayUrl(normalized)) {