diff --git a/decnet/bus/app.py b/decnet/bus/app.py
index ed8e8e87..129bf3c6 100644
--- a/decnet/bus/app.py
+++ b/decnet/bus/app.py
@@ -11,10 +11,17 @@ Failures during :meth:`BaseBus.connect` are swallowed and logged — a
 dead bus must never break request serving.  Publishers should treat a
 ``None`` return from :func:`get_app_bus` as "skip this notification",
 same as ``DECNET_BUS_ENABLED=false``.
+
+Connect is **retried with a short backoff** (not one-shot): a startup
+race where the API lifespan hits :func:`get_app_bus` before ``decnet
+bus`` is ready would otherwise poison the singleton for the entire
+process lifetime.  Instead we remember the last failure timestamp and
+let callers retry once ``_RETRY_BACKOFF`` seconds have passed.
 """
 from __future__ import annotations
 
 import asyncio
+import time
 
 from decnet.bus.base import BaseBus
 from decnet.bus.factory import get_bus
@@ -22,48 +29,62 @@ from decnet.logging import get_logger
 
 log = get_logger("bus.app")
 
+# Publishers in the hot path shouldn't pay connect-retry latency on every
+# call; the dashboard's own 5 s poll interval recovers within one tick
+# once the bus comes up.  A persistently-dead bus only gets a connect
+# attempt every 2 s, not once per request.
+_RETRY_BACKOFF: float = 2.0
+
 _lock = asyncio.Lock()
 _shared: BaseBus | None = None
-_tried = False
+_last_failure_ts: float = 0.0
 
 
 async def get_app_bus() -> BaseBus | None:
     """Return the process-wide connected bus, or ``None`` if unavailable.
 
     On first call, constructs a client via :func:`get_bus` and awaits
-    ``connect()``.  Subsequent calls return the cached instance.  If the
-    initial connect raises, we remember the failure and return ``None``
-    from here on — callers are expected to fall back cleanly.
+    ``connect()``.  Subsequent calls return the cached instance.  If a
+    connect attempt raises, the failure timestamp is recorded and
+    subsequent calls within ``_RETRY_BACKOFF`` seconds return ``None``
+    without re-attempting — after the backoff window, the next call
+    retries.  This is what lets the API recover from a
+    ``decnet bus``-started-after-API race without a full API restart.
     """
-    global _shared, _tried
+    global _shared, _last_failure_ts
     if _shared is not None:
         return _shared
-    if _tried:
+    if (time.monotonic() - _last_failure_ts) < _RETRY_BACKOFF:
         return None
     async with _lock:
         if _shared is not None:
             return _shared
-        if _tried:
+        if (time.monotonic() - _last_failure_ts) < _RETRY_BACKOFF:
             return None
-        _tried = True
         try:
             candidate = get_bus(client_name="api")
             await candidate.connect()
             _shared = candidate
+            _last_failure_ts = 0.0
+            return _shared
         except Exception as exc:  # noqa: BLE001
             log.warning("app bus unavailable: %s", exc)
+            _last_failure_ts = time.monotonic()
             return None
-    return _shared
 
 
 async def close_app_bus() -> None:
-    """Close the shared bus if one is open; reset the tried-once guard.
+    """Close the shared bus if one is open; clear the backoff window.
 
     Call from the API lifespan shutdown.  Safe to call multiple times.
+    Resetting ``_last_failure_ts`` means the next ``get_app_bus()``
+    after shutdown-and-restart-within-the-same-process (rare, but
+    tests do this) retries immediately instead of honouring a stale
+    backoff.
     """
-    global _shared, _tried
+    global _shared, _last_failure_ts
     bus, _shared = _shared, None
-    _tried = False
+    _last_failure_ts = 0.0
     if bus is not None:
         try:
             await bus.close()
diff --git a/tests/bus/test_app_singleton.py b/tests/bus/test_app_singleton.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..0df9a424
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/bus/test_app_singleton.py
@@ -0,0 +1,135 @@
+"""Tests for the process-wide app-bus singleton.
+
+Covers the retry-with-backoff behaviour of ``get_app_bus()`` — the
+regression guard against the "one-shot veto" bug where a startup race
+between ``decnet bus`` and the API's lifespan poisoned the singleton
+for the entire process lifetime.
+"""
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import asyncio
+import time
+from typing import Any
+from unittest.mock import AsyncMock, MagicMock
+
+import pytest
+
+import decnet.bus.app as app_module
+
+
+@pytest.fixture(autouse=True)
+def _reset_singleton() -> Any:
+    """Reset the module-level singleton state between tests."""
+    app_module._shared = None
+    app_module._last_failure_ts = 0.0
+    yield
+    app_module._shared = None
+    app_module._last_failure_ts = 0.0
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_first_call_succeeds_when_bus_connectable(
+    monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch,
+) -> None:
+    """Happy path: connect succeeds, shared instance returned thereafter."""
+    fake_bus = MagicMock()
+    fake_bus.connect = AsyncMock()
+    monkeypatch.setattr(app_module, "get_bus", lambda **_kw: fake_bus)
+
+    result = await app_module.get_app_bus()
+    assert result is fake_bus
+    fake_bus.connect.assert_awaited_once()
+
+    # Subsequent call returns cached instance, no second connect.
+    result2 = await app_module.get_app_bus()
+    assert result2 is fake_bus
+    assert fake_bus.connect.await_count == 1
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_connect_failure_backoff_prevents_hot_retry(
+    monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch,
+) -> None:
+    """After a failed connect, subsequent calls within the backoff
+    window return None WITHOUT re-attempting connect — the cost of
+    failure stays bounded."""
+    fake_bus = MagicMock()
+    fake_bus.connect = AsyncMock(side_effect=ConnectionError("socket gone"))
+    monkeypatch.setattr(app_module, "get_bus", lambda **_kw: fake_bus)
+
+    assert await app_module.get_app_bus() is None
+    assert fake_bus.connect.await_count == 1
+
+    # Second immediate call: still within backoff, no retry.
+    assert await app_module.get_app_bus() is None
+    assert fake_bus.connect.await_count == 1
+
+    # Third immediate call: same thing.
+    assert await app_module.get_app_bus() is None
+    assert fake_bus.connect.await_count == 1
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_connect_retried_after_backoff_expires(
+    monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch,
+) -> None:
+    """Once the backoff window expires, the next call tries connect()
+    again. This is the regression guard for the original 'one-shot veto'
+    bug — the whole point of the fix."""
+    fake_bus = MagicMock()
+    # First attempt fails, second succeeds.
+    fake_bus.connect = AsyncMock(
+        side_effect=[ConnectionError("socket gone"), None]
+    )
+    monkeypatch.setattr(app_module, "get_bus", lambda **_kw: fake_bus)
+
+    assert await app_module.get_app_bus() is None
+    assert fake_bus.connect.await_count == 1
+
+    # Simulate the backoff window elapsing by rewinding the recorded
+    # failure timestamp into the past.
+    app_module._last_failure_ts = time.monotonic() - (app_module._RETRY_BACKOFF + 0.1)
+
+    result = await app_module.get_app_bus()
+    assert result is fake_bus
+    assert fake_bus.connect.await_count == 2
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_close_app_bus_clears_backoff_window(
+    monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch,
+) -> None:
+    """close_app_bus() after a failure (or after a successful bus) must
+    reset _last_failure_ts so the next get_app_bus() retries immediately
+    — otherwise tests that bring the app-bus up/down/up in one process
+    would see stale backoff."""
+    fake_bus = MagicMock()
+    fake_bus.connect = AsyncMock(side_effect=ConnectionError("x"))
+    fake_bus.close = AsyncMock()
+    monkeypatch.setattr(app_module, "get_bus", lambda **_kw: fake_bus)
+
+    assert await app_module.get_app_bus() is None
+    assert app_module._last_failure_ts > 0.0
+
+    await app_module.close_app_bus()
+    assert app_module._last_failure_ts == 0.0
+    # Next call retries immediately (no backoff wait).
+    fake_bus.connect.side_effect = None  # make it succeed this time
+    assert await app_module.get_app_bus() is fake_bus
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_concurrent_callers_do_not_stampede_connect(
+    monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch,
+) -> None:
+    """The lock must serialise concurrent callers so a just-started bus
+    doesn't get hammered with N parallel connect attempts."""
+    fake_bus = MagicMock()
+    fake_bus.connect = AsyncMock()
+    monkeypatch.setattr(app_module, "get_bus", lambda **_kw: fake_bus)
+
+    results = await asyncio.gather(
+        *[app_module.get_app_bus() for _ in range(10)]
+    )
+    assert all(r is fake_bus for r in results)
+    assert fake_bus.connect.await_count == 1