diff --git a/desktop/src/features/sidebar/lib/wholeBlobSync.shared.test.mjs b/desktop/src/features/sidebar/lib/wholeBlobSync.shared.test.mjs
index f6efbc33dd..99338227e2 100644
--- a/desktop/src/features/sidebar/lib/wholeBlobSync.shared.test.mjs
+++ b/desktop/src/features/sidebar/lib/wholeBlobSync.shared.test.mjs
@@ -839,3 +839,242 @@ test("P2b decrypt gap: watermark advances synchronously; lastRemoteHead advances
     mock.reset();
   }
 });
+
+// ── P2a queue-until-bootstrap regressions ────────────────────────────────────
+//
+// Three causal regressions covering the queue-until-bootstrap contract.
+//
+// Shared mutation target A (tests 1 and 2): removing the `bootstrapStarted`
+// guard from `publish()` lets the debounce timer fire while bootstrap is still
+// in-flight. `publishBaseline` is `{0,""}` at that point, so
+// `remoteAdvancedSince(head, {0,""})` = true and `fetchOwnBlobBeforePublish`
+// adopts the edit away — exactly the Kalvin P2a click-loss.
+//
+// Shared mutation target B (test 3): removing the `bootstrapFailed` exception
+// from `fetchOwnBlobBeforePublish` causes a hard-adopt against `{0,""}` when
+// bootstrap failed, dropping the queued edit even though no baseline was ever
+// established.
+
+// Test 1 (load-bearing): fresh device (watermark=0), relay HAS a pre-existing
+// head, user clicks during unresolved bootstrap → bootstrap succeeds → edit
+// publishes above the relay head, never adopted away.
+// Failing mutation: remove `this.bootstrapStarted &&` from the publish() guard
+// (i.e. revert to unconditional timer scheduling) → debounce fires against
+// {0,""} baseline → remoteAdvancedSince returns true → adopt fires instead.
+test("P2a queue-until-bootstrap: click during unresolved bootstrap on fresh device publishes above the relay head, never adopted", async () => {
+  let releaseBootstrap = null;
+  let publishCalls = 0;
+  const { fireDelay, restore } = makeTimerBed();
+  const remoteStore = makeStore([{ id: "remote", name: "Remote", order: 0 }]);
+  const tauri = installEchoTauri("pk-p2a-1");
+
+  // storedHead tracks what the relay retains. Initially the pre-existing head;
+  // updated to our published event once we publish successfully.
+  let storedHead = [tauri.mintHead(remoteStore, 200, "evt-relay-head")];
+
+  // Fetch call 1 (bootstrap): blocks until released, returns the pre-existing
+  // relay head. Subsequent calls (pre-publish fetch, confirmation) return
+  // storedHead — which after our publish will be our own event.
+  let fetchCalls = 0;
+  mock.method(relayClient, "fetchEvents", () => {
+    fetchCalls++;
+    if (fetchCalls === 1)
+      return new Promise((res) => {
+        releaseBootstrap = () => res(storedHead);
+      });
+    return Promise.resolve(storedHead);
+  });
+  mock.method(relayClient, "publishEvent", (e) => {
+    publishCalls++;
+    storedHead = [e]; // relay retains our event
+    return Promise.resolve();
+  });
+
+  try {
+    const manager = new SyntheticWholeBlobManager("pk-p2a-1", RELAY);
+    const adopted = [];
+    manager.setOnRemoteAdopted((r) => adopted.push(r));
+
+    // Start bootstrap (blocked on fetch call 1).
+    const bootstrapPromise = manager.bootstrap(nonEmptyStore());
+
+    // User clicks during unresolved bootstrap. With the fix: no timer fires yet.
+    // Without the fix (mutation): timer fires immediately against {0,""} baseline.
+    manager.publishSections(
+      makeStore([{ id: "click", name: "Click", order: 0 }]),
+    );
+
+    // Release bootstrap → head is recorded (200,"evt-relay-head"), bootstrapResolved=true,
+    // releaseDeferred() re-freezes publishBaseline to {200,"evt-relay-head"} and
+    // schedules the 2s debounce.
+    while (releaseBootstrap === null) await Promise.resolve();
+    releaseBootstrap();
+    await bootstrapPromise;
+    for (let i = 0; i < 50; i++) await Promise.resolve();
+
+    // Fire the debounce released by bootstrap.
+    await fireDelay(2000);
+    for (let i = 0; i < 100; i++) await Promise.resolve();
+
+    // The edit must have published. publishBaseline was {200,"evt-relay-head"};
+    // pre-publish fetch returns the same head → remoteAdvancedSince = false → publish.
+    // After our publish, storedHead = our event; confirmation fetch confirms us.
+    // Without the fix: baseline was {0,""} → remoteAdvancedSince = true → adopt.
+    assert.equal(adopted.length, 0, "click must not be adopted away");
+    assert.ok(publishCalls >= 1, "click must publish above the relay head");
+    assert.equal(
+      manager.getPendingStore(),
+      null,
+      "pending cleared after publish",
+    );
+    manager.destroy();
+  } finally {
+    tauri.restore();
+    restore();
+    mock.reset();
+  }
+});
+
+// Test 2: click during unresolved bootstrap, bootstrap succeeds, then a peer
+// posts a genuinely newer head BEFORE the debounce fires → edit adopts (normal LWW).
+// Failing mutation: same as test 1 — without the guard, the debounce fires during
+// bootstrap with baseline {0,""}. The pre-publish fetch returns a {0,""}-relative
+// advance but for the wrong reason (before the bootstrap head was established).
+// With the fix, publishBaseline = {200,"evt-boot"} and the peer head at ts=400
+// is a genuine advance → adopt fires correctly.
+test("P2a queue-until-bootstrap: genuinely newer peer head that arrives after bootstrap adopt via normal LWW", async () => {
+  let releaseBootstrap = null;
+  let publishCalls = 0;
+  const { fireDelay, restore } = makeTimerBed();
+  const bootstrapStore = makeStore([{ id: "boot", name: "Boot", order: 0 }]);
+  const peerStore = makeStore([{ id: "peer", name: "Peer", order: 0 }]);
+  const tauri = installEchoTauri("pk-p2a-2");
+
+  const bootHead = tauri.mintHead(bootstrapStore, 200, "evt-boot");
+  const peerHead = tauri.mintHead(peerStore, 400, "evt-peer");
+
+  // Bootstrap returns the boot head. Pre-publish fetch returns the peer-newer
+  // head (simulating a peer publishing between bootstrap and doPublish).
+  let fetchCalls = 0;
+  mock.method(relayClient, "fetchEvents", () => {
+    fetchCalls++;
+    if (fetchCalls === 1)
+      return new Promise((res) => {
+        releaseBootstrap = () => res([bootHead]);
+      });
+    return Promise.resolve([peerHead]);
+  });
+  mock.method(relayClient, "publishEvent", () => {
+    publishCalls++;
+    return Promise.resolve();
+  });
+
+  try {
+    const manager = new SyntheticWholeBlobManager("pk-p2a-2", RELAY);
+    const adopted = [];
+    manager.setOnRemoteAdopted((r) => adopted.push(r));
+
+    const bootstrapPromise = manager.bootstrap(nonEmptyStore());
+
+    // Click during unresolved bootstrap.
+    manager.publishSections(
+      makeStore([{ id: "click-2", name: "Click", order: 0 }]),
+    );
+
+    while (releaseBootstrap === null) await Promise.resolve();
+    releaseBootstrap();
+    await bootstrapPromise;
+    // After bootstrap: publishBaseline = {200,"evt-boot"} (re-frozen by releaseDeferred).
+    for (let i = 0; i < 50; i++) await Promise.resolve();
+
+    await fireDelay(2000);
+    for (let i = 0; i < 100; i++) await Promise.resolve();
+
+    // Pre-publish fetch returns {400,"evt-peer"}: remoteAdvancedSince({400,...},{200,...})=true
+    // → adopt fires correctly. Normal LWW: peer truly posted after bootstrap baseline.
+    assert.equal(
+      publishCalls,
+      0,
+      "edit must not publish over the newer peer head",
+    );
+    assert.equal(
+      adopted.length,
+      1,
+      "newer peer head must be adopted (normal LWW)",
+    );
+    manager.destroy();
+  } finally {
+    tauri.restore();
+    restore();
+    mock.reset();
+  }
+});
+
+// Test 3 (Kalvin's original P2a sequence): bootstrap FAILS, user clicks,
+// pre-publish fetch finds a pre-existing head → edit publishes above it.
+// Failing mutation: remove the `this.bootstrapFailed &&` check from
+// fetchOwnBlobBeforePublish — the hard-adopt against {0,""} baseline fires.
+test("P2a failed bootstrap: click after failed bootstrap publishes above the relay head, never adopts against empty baseline", async () => {
+  let publishCalls = 0;
+  const { fireDelay, restore } = makeTimerBed();
+  const relayStore = makeStore([{ id: "relay", name: "Relay", order: 0 }]);
+  const tauri = installEchoTauri("pk-p2a-3");
+
+  // storedHead starts as the pre-existing relay head; updated to our event on publish.
+  let storedHead = [tauri.mintHead(relayStore, 100, "evt-existing")];
+
+  // Bootstrap fetch: call 1 rejects. Subsequent calls: return storedHead.
+  let fetchCalls = 0;
+  mock.method(relayClient, "fetchEvents", () => {
+    fetchCalls++;
+    if (fetchCalls === 1) return Promise.reject(new Error("relay timeout"));
+    return Promise.resolve(storedHead);
+  });
+  mock.method(relayClient, "publishEvent", (e) => {
+    publishCalls++;
+    storedHead = [e]; // relay retains our event
+    return Promise.resolve();
+  });
+
+  try {
+    const manager = new SyntheticWholeBlobManager("pk-p2a-3", RELAY);
+    const adopted = [];
+    manager.setOnRemoteAdopted((r) => adopted.push(r));
+
+    // Bootstrap fails: bootstrapFailed=true, bootstrapResolved=true.
+    // No releaseDeferred edit to schedule (nothing was queued during bootstrap).
+    await manager.bootstrap(nonEmptyStore());
+
+    // User clicks after failed bootstrap — publish() sees bootstrapResolved=true
+    // so it schedules immediately with publishBaseline={0,""} (lastRemoteHead
+    // was never advanced because bootstrap failed).
+    manager.publishSections(
+      makeStore([{ id: "click-3", name: "Click", order: 0 }]),
+    );
+
+    await fireDelay(2000);
+    for (let i = 0; i < 100; i++) await Promise.resolve();
+
+    // Pre-publish fetch returns {100,"evt-existing"}: remoteAdvancedSince(true).
+    // bootstrapFailed+empty-baseline exception: fold the head in and publish
+    // above it instead of adopting. After publish, storedHead = our event;
+    // confirmation confirms us.
+    // Without the fix: hard-adopt fires, publishCalls=0, adopted.length=1.
+    assert.equal(
+      adopted.length,
+      0,
+      "click must not be adopted against empty baseline",
+    );
+    assert.ok(publishCalls >= 1, "click must publish above the relay head");
+    assert.equal(
+      manager.getPendingStore(),
+      null,
+      "pending cleared after publish",
+    );
+    manager.destroy();
+  } finally {
+    tauri.restore();
+    restore();
+    mock.reset();
+  }
+});
diff --git a/desktop/src/features/sidebar/lib/wholeBlobSyncManager.ts b/desktop/src/features/sidebar/lib/wholeBlobSyncManager.ts
index f56a89e05b..9a912f1b76 100644
--- a/desktop/src/features/sidebar/lib/wholeBlobSyncManager.ts
+++ b/desktop/src/features/sidebar/lib/wholeBlobSyncManager.ts
@@ -198,6 +198,25 @@ export class WholeBlobSyncManager<S> {
   // touching shared manager state, so a stale generation can never sign or
   // publish after a newer edit exists.
   private publishInFlight = false;
+  // Whether bootstrap() has been called (started) and whether it has completed.
+  // publish() defers the debounce timer only when bootstrap was started but has
+  // not yet resolved. When bootstrap() is never called (e.g. standalone tests
+  // or managers used without the standard hook lifecycle), both flags stay false
+  // and publish() behaves as before — schedules the timer immediately.
+  //
+  // The P2a queue-until-bootstrap contract: no publish debounce fires between
+  // bootstrap starting and bootstrap resolving, so a click during an unresolved
+  // bootstrap is never silently adopted away against an empty `{0,""}` baseline.
+  private bootstrapStarted = false;
+  private bootstrapResolved = false;
+  // True when bootstrap completed with a failed fetch — no remote head was ever
+  // established. Used by the P2a failed-bootstrap exception in
+  // fetchOwnBlobBeforePublish so an edit whose baseline is {0,""} because
+  // bootstrap failed still publishes ABOVE the first head it discovers rather
+  // than adopting it away. (For a successful bootstrap, releaseDeferred re-freezes
+  // publishBaseline to lastRemoteHead, so the baseline is not {0,""} at doPublish
+  // and this flag is never consulted.)
+  private bootstrapFailed = false;
   // Event ids we signed and sent to the relay but whose ACK never arrived (the
   // publish promise rejected as a timeout/socket error after the frame left).
   // The relay MAY have accepted such a write, so if a later cycle's pre-publish
@@ -318,10 +337,12 @@ export class WholeBlobSyncManager<S> {
    * would be published over instead of adopted (Carl P1). Waking the existing
    * generation keeps the frozen baseline, so the debounced cycle's pre-publish
    * check still adopts a genuinely-advanced remote. No-op when nothing is
-   * pending.
+   * pending or when bootstrap has not yet resolved (the deferred-release path
+   * handles that case once bootstrap completes).
    */
   retryPendingPublish(): void {
     if (this.pendingStore === null) return;
+    if (this.bootstrapStarted && !this.bootstrapResolved) return;
     this.cancelPendingPublish();
     this.startCycle();
   }
@@ -331,6 +352,42 @@ export class WholeBlobSyncManager<S> {
     return this.pendingStore !== null;
   }
 
+  /**
+   * Release any edit that was deferred until bootstrap resolved. Called by
+   * bootstrap() after it sets bootstrapResolved=true. If a pending edit exists
+   * with no timer or in-flight cycle, re-freeze publishBaseline from the
+   * now-established lastRemoteHead and schedule the normal 2s debounce.
+   *
+   * Re-freezing the baseline here (rather than leaving it at the {0,""} it had
+   * when publish() was called during unresolved bootstrap) is the P2a fix for
+   * the success path: the edit's comparison point becomes the head that
+   * bootstrap just established, so the pre-publish fetch for the same head
+   * returns "not advanced" and the edit publishes above it correctly. A peer
+   * head that arrives BETWEEN bootstrap resolution and doPublish is correctly
+   * seen as a genuine advance (its timestamp exceeds the just-frozen baseline)
+   * and is adopted per normal LWW. For a failed bootstrap, lastRemoteHead stays
+   * {0,""} and the bootstrapFailed flag enables the doPublish-time exception.
+   */
+  private releaseDeferred(): void {
+    if (
+      !this.destroyed &&
+      this.pendingStore !== null &&
+      this.debounceTimer === null &&
+      this.retryTimer === null &&
+      !this.publishInFlight
+    ) {
+      // Re-freeze the baseline to the head now known from bootstrap. For a
+      // successful bootstrap this is the fetched head; for a failed bootstrap
+      // lastRemoteHead is still {0,""} (the bootstrapFailed exception handles
+      // that case separately in fetchOwnBlobBeforePublish).
+      this.publishBaseline = { ...this.lastRemoteHead };
+      this.debounceTimer = window.setTimeout(() => {
+        this.debounceTimer = null;
+        this.startCycle();
+      }, DEBOUNCE_MS);
+    }
+  }
+
   /**
    * When the current `publishBaseline` was frozen against one of our own
    * attempted (but non-retained) event ids and `remote` is the same-second
@@ -441,6 +498,7 @@ export class WholeBlobSyncManager<S> {
     const durable = this.config.writeOutbox(this.pubkey, store, this.relayUrl);
     if (this.debounceTimer !== null) {
       window.clearTimeout(this.debounceTimer);
+      this.debounceTimer = null;
     }
     // A fresh edit supersedes any retry scheduled for the previous generation.
     if (this.retryTimer !== null) {
@@ -448,10 +506,19 @@ export class WholeBlobSyncManager<S> {
       this.retryTimer = null;
     }
     this.retryDelayMs = RETRY_BASE_MS;
-    this.debounceTimer = window.setTimeout(() => {
-      this.debounceTimer = null;
-      this.startCycle();
-    }, DEBOUNCE_MS);
+    // Do not start the debounce timer until bootstrap resolves. The intent is
+    // durably held (outbox write + pendingStore set above) — it will be released
+    // by releaseDeferred() once bootstrap completes. This prevents doPublish
+    // from running against the empty `{0,""}` baseline and adopting the edit
+    // away on a fresh device whose bootstrap fetch hasn't returned yet.
+    // When bootstrap() has not been called at all, bootstrapStarted is false
+    // and the timer is scheduled immediately (preserving prior behavior).
+    if (!this.bootstrapStarted || this.bootstrapResolved) {
+      this.debounceTimer = window.setTimeout(() => {
+        this.debounceTimer = null;
+        this.startCycle();
+      }, DEBOUNCE_MS);
+    }
     return durable;
   }
 
@@ -536,6 +603,27 @@ export class WholeBlobSyncManager<S> {
         if (this.foldSupersedingAttemptWinner(remote)) {
           return { kind: "publish", store, fetchedRemote: remote };
         }
+        // Failed-bootstrap exception (P2a): the edit was queued while bootstrap
+        // was in-flight and bootstrap subsequently FAILED — no head was ever
+        // fetched, so publishBaseline and lastRemoteHead were never advanced.
+        // releaseDeferred() re-freezes publishBaseline from lastRemoteHead, but
+        // when bootstrap failed that is still {0,""}. Any head the relay returns
+        // here is the TRUE first established baseline; publish above it rather
+        // than adopting it away. (When bootstrap SUCCEEDS, releaseDeferred sets
+        // publishBaseline to the fetched head before scheduling the timer, so
+        // this branch is not reached for successful bootstraps whose head was
+        // already known when the debounce fired.)
+        if (
+          this.bootstrapFailed &&
+          this.publishBaseline.createdAt === 0 &&
+          this.publishBaseline.eventId === ""
+        ) {
+          this.publishBaseline = canonicalMax(this.publishBaseline, {
+            createdAt: remote.createdAt,
+            eventId: remote.eventId,
+          });
+          return { kind: "publish", store, fetchedRemote: remote };
+        }
         return { kind: "adopt", remote };
       }
       return { kind: "publish", store, fetchedRemote: remote };
@@ -794,16 +882,37 @@ export class WholeBlobSyncManager<S> {
   /**
    * Fetches the remote blob on first mount, records the remote head, and
    * delegates the seed/hold/apply-remote decision to `runBootstrap`.
+   *
+   * Sets `bootstrapResolved` before returning so the hook's `.then()` callback
+   * (which may call publish() for outbox replay) sees the flag as true and
+   * schedules the debounce timer immediately. Then releases any edit that was
+   * queued BEFORE the hook's callback runs (callers who called publish() from
+   * another code path during the async fetch).
    */
   async bootstrap(localStore: S) {
+    // Set bootstrapStarted synchronously (before the first await) so any
+    // publish() call that races the async fetch defers its debounce timer.
+    this.bootstrapStarted = true;
     const fetchResult = await this.fetchRemoteBlob();
-    return runBootstrap({
+    // Track whether the bootstrap fetch failed so the P2a failed-bootstrap
+    // exception in fetchOwnBlobBeforePublish can fire when appropriate.
+    if (fetchResult.status === "failed") {
+      this.bootstrapFailed = true;
+    }
+    const result = runBootstrap({
       fetchResult,
       lastHead: this.lastRemoteCreatedAt,
       localStore,
       isLocalNonEmpty: this.config.isLocalNonEmpty,
       publishFn: (s) => this.publish(s),
     });
+    // Mark bootstrap resolved BEFORE returning. The hook's .then() runs
+    // synchronously on the resolved promise, so any publish() it calls will
+    // already see bootstrapResolved=true and schedule the debounce normally.
+    // releaseDeferred() covers edits queued via other paths during the fetch.
+    this.bootstrapResolved = true;
+    this.releaseDeferred();
+    return result;
   }
 
   destroy(): void {