diff --git a/ui/src/client.tsx b/ui/src/client.tsx
index da232592..4bdeadd3 100644
--- a/ui/src/client.tsx
+++ b/ui/src/client.tsx
@@ -3,9 +3,12 @@ import { StrictMode } from "react"
 import { hydrateRoot } from "react-dom/client"
 import { registerSW } from "virtual:pwa-register"
 
-// prompt mode: a new SW installs in the background and takes over on the next
-// load, so deploys never reload a tab mid-agent-run. Skip in dev — the SW
-// precaches production-only build artifacts that 404 against the dev server.
+// autoUpdate: vite-plugin-pwa generates a SW that calls skipWaiting and
+// clientsClaim, so a new deploy activates for existing tabs. Open dashboard
+// tabs may reload when the service worker takes over; this is acceptable for
+// a dev/internal dashboard where silent updates are preferred over stale
+// bundles. Skip in dev — the SW precaches production-only build artifacts that
+// 404 against the dev server.
 if (import.meta.env.PROD) {
   registerSW()
 }
diff --git a/ui/vite.config.ts b/ui/vite.config.ts
index 7b377067..4e2ea978 100644
--- a/ui/vite.config.ts
+++ b/ui/vite.config.ts
@@ -173,7 +173,7 @@ const config = defineConfig({
     tanstackStart({ spa: { enabled: true } }),
     VitePWA({
       injectRegister: false,
-      registerType: "prompt",
+      registerType: "autoUpdate",
       outDir: ".output/public",
       devOptions: {
         enabled: true,