diff --git a/decnet/agent/app.py b/decnet/agent/app.py
index b6ca27d6..9af23ba3 100644
--- a/decnet/agent/app.py
+++ b/decnet/agent/app.py
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ from contextlib import asynccontextmanager
 from typing import Any, Optional
 
 from fastapi import FastAPI, HTTPException
+from fastapi.responses import JSONResponse
 from pydantic import BaseModel, Field
 
 import contextlib
@@ -198,15 +199,22 @@ async def status() -> dict:
 
 @app.post(
     "/deploy",
-    responses={500: {"description": "Deployer raised an exception materialising the config"}},
+    status_code=202,
+    responses={202: {"description": "Deploy accepted; runs in background; lifecycle deltas pushed via heartbeat"}},
 )
 async def deploy(req: DeployRequest) -> dict:
-    try:
-        await _exec.deploy(req.config, dry_run=req.dry_run, no_cache=req.no_cache)
-    except Exception as exc:
-        log.exception("agent.deploy failed")
-        raise HTTPException(status_code=500, detail=str(exc)) from exc
-    return {"status": "deployed", "deckies": len(req.config.deckies)}
+    """Spawn the deploy in the background and return 202 immediately.
+
+    The master tracks per-decky completion via lifecycle deltas pushed on
+    the next heartbeat (one immediate push on completion, plus the
+    scheduled 30 s ticks as a fallback).  Holding the request open across
+    a multi-minute compose build was the previous source of the wizard
+    API-hang."""
+    asyncio.create_task(
+        _exec.deploy_async(req.config, dry_run=req.dry_run, no_cache=req.no_cache),
+        name=f"deploy-{id(req)}",
+    )
+    return {"status": "accepted", "deckies": [d.name for d in req.config.deckies]}
 
 
 @app.post(
@@ -308,51 +316,50 @@ async def topology_state() -> dict:
 
 @app.post(
     "/mutate",
+    status_code=202,
     responses={
-        404: {"description": "No active deployment, or unknown decky_id"},
-        500: {"description": "Compose rewrite or container restart failed"},
+        202: {"description": "Mutate accepted; runs in background; lifecycle delta pushed via heartbeat"},
+        404: {"description": "No active deployment, or unknown decky_id (dry_run validation only)"},
     },
 )
-async def mutate(req: MutateRequest) -> dict:
-    import time
-    from decnet.composer import write_compose
-    from decnet.config import load_state, save_state
-    from decnet.engine import _compose_with_retry
-
-    state = load_state()
-    if state is None:
-        raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail="no active deployment on this worker")
-    cfg, compose_path = state
-
-    decky = next((d for d in cfg.deckies if d.name == req.decky_id), None)
-    if decky is None:
-        raise HTTPException(
-            status_code=404, detail=f"decky {req.decky_id!r} not found in worker state",
-        )
-
-    decky.services = list(req.services)
-    decky.last_mutated = time.time()
+async def mutate(req: MutateRequest) -> Any:
+    """Spawn the mutate in the background and return 202 immediately.
 
+    Master tracks completion via a lifecycle delta pushed on the next
+    heartbeat (immediate push on completion).  ``dry_run`` is still
+    synchronous — it validates against the worker's current state and
+    returns the would-be services without spawning a task or touching
+    docker, so the wizard's preview path stays cheap."""
     if req.dry_run:
-        return {
-            "status": "dry_run",
-            "decky_id": decky.name,
-            "services": list(decky.services),
-        }
-
-    try:
-        save_state(cfg, compose_path)
-        write_compose(cfg, compose_path)
-        await asyncio.to_thread(
-            _compose_with_retry, "up", "-d", "--remove-orphans",
-            compose_file=compose_path,
+        from decnet.config import load_state
+        state = load_state()
+        if state is None:
+            raise HTTPException(
+                status_code=404,
+                detail="no active deployment on this worker",
+            )
+        cfg, _ = state
+        decky = next((d for d in cfg.deckies if d.name == req.decky_id), None)
+        if decky is None:
+            raise HTTPException(
+                status_code=404,
+                detail=f"decky {req.decky_id!r} not found in worker state",
+            )
+        return JSONResponse(
+            status_code=200,
+            content={
+                "status": "dry_run",
+                "decky_id": req.decky_id,
+                "services": list(req.services),
+            },
         )
-    except Exception as exc:
-        log.exception("agent.mutate failed")
-        raise HTTPException(status_code=500, detail=str(exc)) from exc
 
+    asyncio.create_task(
+        _exec.mutate_async(req.decky_id, list(req.services)),
+        name=f"mutate-{req.decky_id}",
+    )
     return {
-        "status": "mutated",
-        "decky_id": decky.name,
-        "services": list(decky.services),
+        "status": "accepted",
+        "decky_id": req.decky_id,
+        "services": list(req.services),
     }
diff --git a/decnet/agent/executor.py b/decnet/agent/executor.py
index 9f0a20aa..32b5221c 100644
--- a/decnet/agent/executor.py
+++ b/decnet/agent/executor.py
@@ -80,6 +80,99 @@ async def deploy(config: DecnetConfig, dry_run: bool = False, no_cache: bool = F
     await asyncio.to_thread(_deployer.deploy, config, dry_run, no_cache, False)
 
 
+async def deploy_async(
+    config: DecnetConfig, *, dry_run: bool = False, no_cache: bool = False,
+) -> None:
+    """Background-task body for /deploy: run the deploy, then push a
+    lifecycle delta to the master so it observes terminal transitions
+    immediately rather than waiting for the next scheduled heartbeat.
+
+    Per-decky lifecycle deltas — master pivots them onto the matching
+    open DeckyLifecycle rows via the heartbeat handler.  Errors are
+    captured and pushed as ``failed`` deltas; the task itself never
+    raises (a crashed task would just leave master rows wedged).
+    """
+    from datetime import datetime, timezone
+    from decnet.agent.heartbeat import push_lifecycle_delta
+
+    decky_names = [d.name for d in config.deckies]
+    try:
+        await deploy(config, dry_run=dry_run, no_cache=no_cache)
+    except Exception as exc:  # noqa: BLE001
+        log.exception("agent.deploy_async failed")
+        err = f"{type(exc).__name__}: {exc}"
+        deltas = [
+            {
+                "decky_name": name, "operation": "deploy",
+                "status": "failed", "error": err[:2000],
+                "completed_at": datetime.now(timezone.utc).isoformat(),
+            }
+            for name in decky_names
+        ]
+        await push_lifecycle_delta(deltas)
+        return
+    deltas = [
+        {
+            "decky_name": name, "operation": "deploy",
+            "status": "succeeded",
+            "completed_at": datetime.now(timezone.utc).isoformat(),
+        }
+        for name in decky_names
+    ]
+    await push_lifecycle_delta(deltas)
+
+
+async def mutate_async(decky_id: str, services: list[str]) -> None:
+    """Background-task body for /mutate.  Same shape as deploy_async:
+    perform the work, then push a single lifecycle delta on
+    completion (success or failure)."""
+    import time
+    from datetime import datetime, timezone
+    from decnet.composer import write_compose
+    from decnet.config import load_state, save_state
+    from decnet.engine import _compose_with_retry
+    from decnet.agent.heartbeat import push_lifecycle_delta
+
+    def _delta(status: str, error: str | None = None) -> dict:
+        out = {
+            "decky_name": decky_id, "operation": "mutate",
+            "status": status,
+            "completed_at": datetime.now(timezone.utc).isoformat(),
+        }
+        if error is not None:
+            out["error"] = error[:2000]
+        return out
+
+    try:
+        state = load_state()
+        if state is None:
+            await push_lifecycle_delta(
+                [_delta("failed", "no active deployment on this worker")],
+            )
+            return
+        cfg, compose_path = state
+        decky = next((d for d in cfg.deckies if d.name == decky_id), None)
+        if decky is None:
+            await push_lifecycle_delta(
+                [_delta("failed", f"decky {decky_id!r} not found in worker state")],
+            )
+            return
+        decky.services = list(services)
+        decky.last_mutated = time.time()
+        save_state(cfg, compose_path)
+        write_compose(cfg, compose_path)
+        await asyncio.to_thread(
+            _compose_with_retry, "up", "-d", "--remove-orphans",
+            compose_file=compose_path,
+        )
+    except Exception as exc:  # noqa: BLE001
+        log.exception("agent.mutate_async failed decky=%s", decky_id)
+        err = f"{type(exc).__name__}: {exc}"
+        await push_lifecycle_delta([_delta("failed", err)])
+        return
+    await push_lifecycle_delta([_delta("succeeded")])
+
+
 async def teardown(decky_id: str | None = None) -> None:
     log.info("agent.teardown decky_id=%s", decky_id)
     await asyncio.to_thread(_deployer.teardown, decky_id)
diff --git a/decnet/agent/heartbeat.py b/decnet/agent/heartbeat.py
index b7e36e66..dbd731f8 100644
--- a/decnet/agent/heartbeat.py
+++ b/decnet/agent/heartbeat.py
@@ -50,7 +50,11 @@ def _resolve_agent_dir() -> pathlib.Path:
     return pki.DEFAULT_AGENT_DIR
 
 
-async def _tick(client: httpx.AsyncClient, url: str, host_uuid: str, agent_version: str) -> None:
+async def _build_body(
+    host_uuid: str,
+    agent_version: str,
+    lifecycle: Optional[list[dict]] = None,
+) -> dict:
     snap = await _exec.status()
     body: dict = {
         "host_uuid": host_uuid,
@@ -70,7 +74,13 @@ async def _tick(client: httpx.AsyncClient, url: str, host_uuid: str, agent_versi
             store.close()
     except Exception:
         log.debug("heartbeat: topology state unavailable", exc_info=True)
+    if lifecycle:
+        body["lifecycle"] = lifecycle
+    return body
 
+
+async def _tick(client: httpx.AsyncClient, url: str, host_uuid: str, agent_version: str) -> None:
+    body = await _build_body(host_uuid, agent_version)
     resp = await client.post(url, json=body)
     # 403 / 404 are terminal-ish — we still keep looping because an
     # operator may re-enrol the host mid-session, but we log loudly so
@@ -134,6 +144,59 @@ def start() -> Optional[asyncio.Task]:
     return _task
 
 
+async def push_lifecycle_delta(deltas: list[dict]) -> None:
+    """Fire a one-off heartbeat POST carrying *deltas* in the
+    ``lifecycle`` field.  Each delta: ``{decky_name, operation, status,
+    error?, completed_at?}``.
+
+    Called by the agent executor on /deploy and /mutate completion so
+    the master observes the terminal transition immediately rather than
+    waiting up to ``INTERVAL_S`` for the next scheduled tick.  Failures
+    are logged and swallowed; the next scheduled heartbeat carries the
+    same deltas via DB-side reconciliation, since the worker has no
+    durable per-row state to lose.
+    """
+    from decnet.env import (
+        DECNET_HOST_UUID,
+        DECNET_MASTER_HOST,
+        DECNET_SWARMCTL_PORT,
+    )
+
+    if not deltas:
+        return
+    if not DECNET_HOST_UUID or not DECNET_MASTER_HOST:
+        log.debug("push_lifecycle_delta: identity unconfigured — skipping")
+        return
+
+    agent_dir = _resolve_agent_dir()
+    try:
+        ssl_ctx = build_worker_ssl_context(agent_dir)
+    except Exception:
+        log.exception("push_lifecycle_delta: SSL context unavailable")
+        return
+
+    try:
+        from decnet import __version__ as _v  # type: ignore[attr-defined]
+        agent_version = _v
+    except Exception:
+        agent_version = "unknown"
+
+    url = f"https://{DECNET_MASTER_HOST}:{DECNET_SWARMCTL_PORT}/swarm/heartbeat"
+    try:
+        async with httpx.AsyncClient(verify=ssl_ctx, timeout=_TIMEOUT) as client:
+            body = await _build_body(
+                DECNET_HOST_UUID, agent_version, lifecycle=deltas,
+            )
+            resp = await client.post(url, json=body)
+            if resp.status_code not in (200, 204):
+                log.warning(
+                    "lifecycle delta push rejected status=%d body=%s",
+                    resp.status_code, resp.text[:200],
+                )
+    except Exception:
+        log.exception("push_lifecycle_delta failed — next scheduled tick will retry")
+
+
 async def stop() -> None:
     global _task
     if _task is None:
diff --git a/decnet/swarm/client.py b/decnet/swarm/client.py
index bcb699d2..adb460c2 100644
--- a/decnet/swarm/client.py
+++ b/decnet/swarm/client.py
@@ -246,13 +246,11 @@ class AgentClient:
             "dry_run": dry_run,
             "no_cache": no_cache,
         }
-        # Swap in a long-deploy timeout for this call only.
-        old = self._require_client().timeout
-        self._require_client().timeout = _TIMEOUT_DEPLOY
-        try:
-            resp = await self._require_client().post("/deploy", json=body)
-        finally:
-            self._require_client().timeout = old
+        # Worker /deploy is async (202 fire-and-forget): the response only
+        # acks acceptance; the real work runs in the agent's event loop
+        # and reports terminal state via heartbeat lifecycle deltas.  No
+        # need for the long deploy timeout here.
+        resp = await self._require_client().post("/deploy", json=body)
         resp.raise_for_status()
         return resp.json()
 
@@ -268,14 +266,8 @@ class AgentClient:
             "services": list(services),
             "dry_run": dry_run,
         }
-        # Worker /mutate runs `compose up -d` which can pull/build; same
-        # long-tail latency as /deploy. Swap the deploy timeout in.
-        old = self._require_client().timeout
-        self._require_client().timeout = _TIMEOUT_DEPLOY
-        try:
-            resp = await self._require_client().post("/mutate", json=body)
-        finally:
-            self._require_client().timeout = old
+        # Worker /mutate is async (202): control-timeout is right.
+        resp = await self._require_client().post("/mutate", json=body)
         resp.raise_for_status()
         return resp.json()
 
diff --git a/tests/swarm/test_agent_app.py b/tests/swarm/test_agent_app.py
index 2ef78b3e..787f9bf7 100644
--- a/tests/swarm/test_agent_app.py
+++ b/tests/swarm/test_agent_app.py
@@ -65,80 +65,67 @@ def _seed_state(monkeypatch, tmp_path):
     return cell
 
 
-def test_mutate_success(monkeypatch, tmp_path) -> None:
-    cell = _seed_state(monkeypatch, tmp_path)
-    compose_calls: list[tuple] = []
-    write_compose_calls: list[tuple] = []
+def test_mutate_returns_202_and_spawns_task(monkeypatch, tmp_path) -> None:
+    _seed_state(monkeypatch, tmp_path)
+    spawned: list = []
+    real_create_task = __import__("asyncio").create_task
 
-    monkeypatch.setattr(
-        "decnet.composer.write_compose",
-        lambda c, p: write_compose_calls.append((c, p)) or p,
-    )
-    monkeypatch.setattr(
-        "decnet.engine._compose_with_retry",
-        lambda *a, **kw: compose_calls.append((a, kw)),
-    )
+    def _capture_create_task(coro, **kw):
+        spawned.append(kw.get("name", ""))
+        # Run the coro so it doesn't leak as a never-awaited warning,
+        # but swap its body out for a no-op.
+        coro.close()
+        # Return something task-like for the handler.
+        async def _noop():
+            return None
+        return real_create_task(_noop())
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr("decnet.agent.app.asyncio.create_task", _capture_create_task)
 
     client = TestClient(app)
     resp = client.post(
         "/mutate",
         json={"decky_id": "decky-01", "services": ["http", "ftp"]},
     )
-    assert resp.status_code == 200, resp.text
+    assert resp.status_code == 202, resp.text
     body = resp.json()
-    assert body == {"status": "mutated", "decky_id": "decky-01", "services": ["http", "ftp"]}
-    assert cell["cfg"].deckies[0].services == ["http", "ftp"]
-    assert cell["cfg"].deckies[0].last_mutated > 0
-    assert len(write_compose_calls) == 1
-    assert len(compose_calls) == 1
-    assert compose_calls[0][0] == ("up", "-d", "--remove-orphans")
+    assert body == {
+        "status": "accepted",
+        "decky_id": "decky-01",
+        "services": ["http", "ftp"],
+    }
+    assert spawned and spawned[0].startswith("mutate-")
 
 
-def test_mutate_unknown_decky_returns_404(monkeypatch, tmp_path) -> None:
-    _seed_state(monkeypatch, tmp_path)
-    compose_calls: list = []
-    monkeypatch.setattr(
-        "decnet.engine._compose_with_retry",
-        lambda *a, **kw: compose_calls.append((a, kw)),
-    )
-
-    client = TestClient(app)
-    resp = client.post(
-        "/mutate", json={"decky_id": "ghost", "services": ["ssh"]},
-    )
-    assert resp.status_code == 404
-    assert compose_calls == []
-
-
-def test_mutate_no_state_returns_404(monkeypatch) -> None:
+def test_mutate_dry_run_404_when_no_state(monkeypatch) -> None:
     monkeypatch.setattr("decnet.config.load_state", lambda: None)
     client = TestClient(app)
     resp = client.post(
-        "/mutate", json={"decky_id": "decky-01", "services": ["ssh"]},
+        "/mutate",
+        json={"decky_id": "decky-01", "services": ["ssh"], "dry_run": True},
     )
     assert resp.status_code == 404
 
 
-def test_mutate_dry_run_does_not_touch_docker_or_state(monkeypatch, tmp_path) -> None:
-    cell = _seed_state(monkeypatch, tmp_path)
-    saved: list = []
-    written: list = []
-    composed: list = []
+def test_mutate_dry_run_404_for_unknown_decky(monkeypatch, tmp_path) -> None:
+    _seed_state(monkeypatch, tmp_path)
+    client = TestClient(app)
+    resp = client.post(
+        "/mutate",
+        json={"decky_id": "ghost", "services": ["ssh"], "dry_run": True},
+    )
+    assert resp.status_code == 404
 
-    monkeypatch.setattr(
-        "decnet.config.save_state",
-        lambda c, p: saved.append((c, p)),
-    )
-    monkeypatch.setattr(
-        "decnet.composer.write_compose",
-        lambda c, p: written.append((c, p)),
-    )
+
+def test_mutate_dry_run_returns_services_without_touching_docker(
+    monkeypatch, tmp_path,
+) -> None:
+    _seed_state(monkeypatch, tmp_path)
+    composed: list = []
     monkeypatch.setattr(
         "decnet.engine._compose_with_retry",
         lambda *a, **kw: composed.append((a, kw)),
     )
-
-    original_services = list(cell["cfg"].deckies[0].services)
     client = TestClient(app)
     resp = client.post(
         "/mutate",
@@ -146,14 +133,39 @@ def test_mutate_dry_run_does_not_touch_docker_or_state(monkeypatch, tmp_path) ->
     )
     assert resp.status_code == 200
     assert resp.json()["status"] == "dry_run"
-    # No persistence, no compose render, no docker.
-    assert saved == []
-    assert written == []
     assert composed == []
-    # State on the in-memory cell was touched (handler mutated the loaded
-    # DeckyConfig) but never persisted — load_state is shared by reference,
-    # so we only assert that no save/render happened above.
-    del original_services
+
+
+def test_deploy_returns_202_and_spawns_task(monkeypatch) -> None:
+    from decnet.config import DecnetConfig, DeckyConfig
+    cfg = DecnetConfig(
+        mode="unihost", interface="eth0",
+        subnet="10.66.0.0/24", gateway="10.66.0.1",
+        deckies=[DeckyConfig(
+            name="decky-01", ip="10.66.0.10",
+            services=["ssh"], distro="debian",
+            base_image="debian:bookworm-slim", hostname="d01",
+        )],
+    )
+    spawned: list = []
+    real_create_task = __import__("asyncio").create_task
+
+    def _capture_create_task(coro, **kw):
+        spawned.append(kw.get("name", ""))
+        coro.close()
+        async def _noop():
+            return None
+        return real_create_task(_noop())
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr("decnet.agent.app.asyncio.create_task", _capture_create_task)
+
+    client = TestClient(app)
+    resp = client.post("/deploy", json={"config": cfg.model_dump(mode="json")})
+    assert resp.status_code == 202, resp.text
+    body = resp.json()
+    assert body["status"] == "accepted"
+    assert body["deckies"] == ["decky-01"]
+    assert spawned and spawned[0].startswith("deploy-")
 
 
 def test_deploy_rejects_malformed_body() -> None:
diff --git a/tests/swarm/test_client_mutate.py b/tests/swarm/test_client_mutate.py
index 777fd963..c3a2e0a9 100644
--- a/tests/swarm/test_client_mutate.py
+++ b/tests/swarm/test_client_mutate.py
@@ -142,8 +142,11 @@ async def test_client_mutate_unknown_decky_404(
         async with swarm_client.AgentClient(
             address="127.0.0.1", agent_port=port, identity=master_id,
         ) as agent:
+            # Only dry_run can surface 404 synchronously; the live path is
+            # 202 fire-and-forget and would surface failure via the
+            # heartbeat lifecycle delta.
             with pytest.raises(httpx.HTTPStatusError) as ei:
-                await agent.mutate("ghost", ["ssh"])
+                await agent.mutate("ghost", ["ssh"], dry_run=True)
             assert ei.value.response.status_code == 404
     finally:
         server.should_exit = True