diff --git a/decnet_web/src/components/DeckyFleet/DeployWizard.test.tsx b/decnet_web/src/components/DeckyFleet/DeployWizard.test.tsx
index d5e6c338..5f6a5b6c 100644
--- a/decnet_web/src/components/DeckyFleet/DeployWizard.test.tsx
+++ b/decnet_web/src/components/DeckyFleet/DeployWizard.test.tsx
@@ -128,4 +128,44 @@ describe('DeployWizard', () => {
     await new Promise((r) => setTimeout(r, 1200));
     expect(onComplete).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
   });
+
+  it('still closes when re-renders land during the 700ms close countdown', async () => {
+    // Regression: the close timer must survive re-renders inside its window.
+    // A naive completedRef guard whose effect cleanup cleared the timer would
+    // cancel the pending onComplete on the first in-window re-render and the
+    // wizard would never close. The timer lives in a ref to prevent that.
+    (api.post as Mock).mockResolvedValue({
+      data: { lifecycle_ids: ['lc-1'], message: 'ok', mode: 'unihost' },
+    });
+    (api.get as Mock).mockResolvedValue({
+      data: { rows: [{
+        id: 'lc-1', decky_name: 'qa-01', host_uuid: null, operation: 'deploy',
+        status: 'succeeded', error: null,
+        started_at: '2026-01-01T00:00:00', updated_at: '2026-01-01T00:00:00',
+        completed_at: '2026-01-01T00:00:00',
+      }] },
+    });
+
+    const onComplete = vi.fn();
+    const user = userEvent.setup();
+    const props = { open: true, onClose: () => {}, archetypes, fleetSize: 0 };
+    const { rerender } = render(
+      <DeployWizard {...props} onComplete={() => onComplete()} />,
+    );
+
+    await user.click(screen.getByText('Web Server'));
+    await user.click(screen.getByText('NEXT →'));
+    await user.click(screen.getByText('NEXT →'));
+    await user.click(screen.getByText('NEXT →'));
+    await user.click(screen.getByText('ESTABLISH FLEET'));
+
+    // Hammer fresh-onComplete re-renders across the close countdown window.
+    for (let i = 0; i < 8; i++) {
+      rerender(<DeployWizard {...props} onComplete={() => onComplete()} />);
+      await new Promise((r) => setTimeout(r, 40));
+    }
+
+    // The close must still fire exactly once despite the in-window churn.
+    await waitFor(() => expect(onComplete).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1), { timeout: 3000 });
+  });
 });
diff --git a/decnet_web/src/components/DeckyFleet/DeployWizard.tsx b/decnet_web/src/components/DeckyFleet/DeployWizard.tsx
index 45f56c42..cf7ff779 100644
--- a/decnet_web/src/components/DeckyFleet/DeployWizard.tsx
+++ b/decnet_web/src/components/DeckyFleet/DeployWizard.tsx
@@ -177,12 +177,24 @@ export const DeployWizard: React.FC<Props> = ({
   // Atmospheric backdrop (one-shot, decoupled from real progress now
   // that the lifecycle rows carry truth).  Runs once when DEPLOYING
   // begins so the operator sees activity before the first poll lands.
+  // The guard is load-bearing: effectiveServices is recomputed each render
+  // (and lifecycle polling re-renders every 2s during deploy), so without it
+  // the effect re-ran and restarted the line sequence mid-stream, duplicating
+  // the transcript. Reset in startDeploy. (Effect deps kept for lint; the ref
+  // is what enforces once-per-deploy.)
+  const placeholderStartedRef = useRef(false);
   useEffect(() => {
     if (step !== 3 || !deploying || lifecycleIds.length === 0) return;
+    if (placeholderStartedRef.current) return;
+    placeholderStartedRef.current = true;
     const msgs = PLACEHOLDER_LINES(effectiveArchetypeName, effectiveServices, count, fleetSize);
     let i = 0;
     const t = window.setInterval(() => {
-      setLog((prev) => [...prev, msgs[i]]);
+      // Capture the line NOW. React 18 auto-batches setInterval updaters, so a
+      // `prev => [...prev, msgs[i]]` updater runs after i++ has advanced i,
+      // reading the wrong index — skipping some lines and duplicating others.
+      const line = msgs[i];
+      setLog((prev) => [...prev, line]);
       i++;
       if (i >= msgs.length) window.clearInterval(t);
     }, 420);
@@ -197,12 +209,16 @@ export const DeployWizard: React.FC<Props> = ({
   );
   const deployOk = lifecycleDone && deployFailures.length === 0;
 
-  // Fire onComplete exactly once per deploy. onComplete is an inline arrow in
-  // the parent (new ref every render) and it triggers a parent refresh, so
-  // without this guard the effect re-runs on every re-render and reschedules
-  // onComplete forever — a runaway loop of /deckies refetches + toasts. Reset
-  // in startDeploy so a subsequent deploy can complete again.
+  // Schedule the auto-close exactly once per deploy. onComplete is an inline
+  // arrow in the parent (new ref every render) and it triggers a parent
+  // refresh, so the effect re-runs on every re-render. completedRef gates
+  // re-entry so we never reschedule (which would loop /deckies refetches +
+  // toasts). Crucially, the timer lives in a ref — NOT the effect's cleanup —
+  // so a re-render inside the 700ms window (e.g. the [OK] terminal-log
+  // append) can't clear the pending close and leave the wizard stuck open.
+  // Reset in startDeploy so a subsequent deploy can complete again.
   const completedRef = useRef(false);
+  const closeTimerRef = useRef<number | undefined>(undefined);
 
   // When every row reaches terminal status, auto-close on full success
   // (or stay open so the operator can read failures).
@@ -210,11 +226,16 @@ export const DeployWizard: React.FC<Props> = ({
     if (!lifecycleDone || completedRef.current) return;
     if (deployFailures.length === 0) {
       completedRef.current = true;
-      const t = window.setTimeout(() => onComplete(count), 700);
-      return () => window.clearTimeout(t);
+      closeTimerRef.current = window.setTimeout(() => onComplete(count), 700);
     }
   }, [lifecycleDone, deployFailures.length, count, onComplete]);
 
+  // Clear a pending auto-close only on unmount (e.g. CANCEL mid-countdown),
+  // never on the re-renders that would otherwise cancel a successful close.
+  useEffect(() => () => {
+    if (closeTimerRef.current !== undefined) window.clearTimeout(closeTimerRef.current);
+  }, []);
+
   const canNext = step === 0
     ? (pickMode === 'archetype' ? !!archetype : selectedServices.length > 0)
     : true;
@@ -224,6 +245,7 @@ export const DeployWizard: React.FC<Props> = ({
     setLog([]);
     setLifecycleIds([]);
     completedRef.current = false;
+    placeholderStartedRef.current = false;
     setDeploying(true);
     // Roll the per-service forms into the compact payload the server
     // expects — empty values dropped, types coerced where the schema