diff --git a/app/library/Download.py b/app/library/Download.py
index f7b3b8f9..fff8db9f 100644
--- a/app/library/Download.py
+++ b/app/library/Download.py
@@ -107,6 +107,7 @@ class Download:
         self.temp_dir = info.temp_dir
         self.template = info.template
         self.template_chapter = info.template_chapter
+        self.download_info_expires = int(config.download_info_expires)
         self.preset = info.preset
         self.info = info
         self.id = info._id
@@ -226,7 +227,15 @@ class Download:
                     self.logger.error(err_msg)
                     raise ValueError(err_msg) from e
 
-            if not self.info_dict:
+            # Safe-guard incase downloading take too long and the info expires.
+            if self.info_dict and isinstance(self.info_dict, dict) and self.download_info_expires > 0:
+                _ts: int | None = self.info_dict.get("timestamp")
+                _ts = datetime.fromtimestamp(_ts, tz=UTC) if _ts else None
+                if not _ts or (datetime.now(tz=UTC) - _ts).total_seconds() > self.download_info_expires:
+                    self.info_dict = None
+                    self.logger.warning(f"Info for '{self.info.url}' has expired, re-extracting info.")
+
+            if not self.info_dict or not isinstance(self.info_dict, dict):
                 self.logger.info(f"Extracting info for '{self.info.url}'.")
                 self.logs = []
                 ie_params = params.copy()
diff --git a/app/library/config.py b/app/library/config.py
index 92cd489e..adf26c72 100644
--- a/app/library/config.py
+++ b/app/library/config.py
@@ -28,6 +28,9 @@ class Config:
     download_path_depth: int = 2
     """How many subdirectories to show in auto complete."""
 
+    download_info_expires: int = 10800
+    """How long (in seconds) the download info is valid before it needs to be re-extracted."""
+
     temp_path: str = "/tmp"
     """The path to the temporary directory."""
 
@@ -226,6 +229,7 @@ class Config:
         "debugpy_port",
         "playlist_items_concurrency",
         "download_path_depth",
+        "download_info_expires",
     )
     "The variables that are integers."
 
diff --git a/ui/app/components/History.vue b/ui/app/components/History.vue
index 73e056fb..02601d8f 100644
--- a/ui/app/components/History.vue
+++ b/ui/app/components/History.vue
@@ -351,7 +351,7 @@
                 </a>
               </div>
 
-              <div class="column">
+              <div class="column" v-if="!config.app.basic_mode">
                 <Dropdown icons="fa-solid fa-cogs" label="Actions">
                   <template v-if="'finished' === item.status && item.filename">
                     <NuxtLink @click="playVideo(item)" class="dropdown-item">
diff --git a/ui/app/components/InputAutocomplete.vue b/ui/app/components/InputAutocomplete.vue
index 5d020777..2588cb50 100644
--- a/ui/app/components/InputAutocomplete.vue
+++ b/ui/app/components/InputAutocomplete.vue
@@ -88,7 +88,16 @@ const setDropdownItemRef = (el: Element | ComponentPublicInstance | null, idx: n
   dropdownItemRefs.value[idx] = el instanceof HTMLElement ? el : null
 }
 
-watch(filteredOptions, () => dropdownItemRefs.value = Array(filteredOptions.value.length).fill(null))
+watch(filteredOptions, () => {
+  highlightedIndex.value = filteredOptions.value.length ? 0 : -1
+  dropdownItemRefs.value = Array(filteredOptions.value.length).fill(null)
+  nextTick(() => {
+    const dropdown = document.querySelector('.dropdown-content')
+    if (dropdown) {
+      dropdown.scrollTop = 0
+    }
+  })
+})
 
 const handleKeydown = (e: KeyboardEvent) => {
   if (!filteredOptions.value.length) {
diff --git a/ui/app/components/NewDownload.vue b/ui/app/components/NewDownload.vue
index 4521ef55..53ed1eb6 100644
--- a/ui/app/components/NewDownload.vue
+++ b/ui/app/components/NewDownload.vue
@@ -121,7 +121,8 @@
                   <span class="icon"><i class="fa-solid fa-terminal" /></span>
                   <span>Command options for yt-dlp</span>
                 </label>
-                <TextareaAutocomplete id="cli_options" v-model="form.cli" :options="ytDlpOpt" />
+                <TextareaAutocomplete id="cli_options" v-model="form.cli" :options="ytDlpOpt"
+                  :disabled="!socket.isConnected || addInProgress" />
                 <span class="help is-bold">
                   <span class="icon"><i class="fa-solid fa-info" /></span>
                   <span>
diff --git a/ui/app/components/TextareaAutocomplete.vue b/ui/app/components/TextareaAutocomplete.vue
index d833d3a8..ca0d7535 100644
--- a/ui/app/components/TextareaAutocomplete.vue
+++ b/ui/app/components/TextareaAutocomplete.vue
@@ -77,10 +77,22 @@ const appendFlag = (flag: string) => {
 }
 
 const onInput = () => {
-  showList.value = true
-  highlightedIndex.value = filteredOptions.value.length ? 0 : -1
+  const lastWord = localValue.value.split(/\s+/).pop() || ''
+  showList.value = lastWord.length > 0
+  highlightedIndex.value = (showList.value && filteredOptions.value.length && lastWord.length > 0) ? 0 : -1
 }
 
+// Reset scroll position when filtered options change
+watch(filteredOptions, () => {
+  highlightedIndex.value = filteredOptions.value.length > 0 && showList.value ? 0 : -1
+  nextTick(() => {
+    const dropdown = document.querySelector('.dropdown-content')
+    if (dropdown) {
+      dropdown.scrollTop = 0
+    }
+  })
+})
+
 const hideList = () => setTimeout(() => { showList.value = false; highlightedIndex.value = -1 }, 100)
 
 const onKeydown = (e: KeyboardEvent) => {
@@ -119,9 +131,11 @@ const onKeydown = (e: KeyboardEvent) => {
       if (el) el.scrollIntoView({ block: 'nearest' })
     })
   } else if (e.key === 'Enter' || e.key === 'Tab') {
+    const lastWord = localValue.value.split(/\s+/).pop() || ''
     const selected = highlightedIndex.value >= 0 && highlightedIndex.value < filteredOptions.value.length ?
       filteredOptions.value[highlightedIndex.value] : undefined
-    if (selected) {
+    // Only autocomplete if there's a partial word being typed
+    if (selected && lastWord.trim().length > 0) {
       e.preventDefault()
       appendFlag(selected.value)
     }
diff --git a/ui/app/layouts/default.vue b/ui/app/layouts/default.vue
index 0b8e5a3c..492b5307 100644
--- a/ui/app/layouts/default.vue
+++ b/ui/app/layouts/default.vue
@@ -104,7 +104,15 @@
     <div>
       <Settings v-if="show_settings" :isLoading="loadingImage" @reload_bg="() => loadImage(true)" />
       <NuxtLoadingIndicator />
-      <NuxtPage />
+      <NuxtPage v-if="config.is_loaded" />
+      <Message v-else class="has-background-info-90 has-text-dark mt-5" title="Loading Configuration"
+        icon="fas fa-spinner fa-spin">
+        <p>Loading application configuration. This usually takes less than a second.</p>
+        <p v-if="!socket.isConnected" class="mt-2">
+          If this is taking too long, please check that the backend server is running and that the WebSocket
+          connection is functional.
+        </p>
+      </Message>
     </div>
 
     <div class="columns mt-3 is-mobile">
diff --git a/ui/app/pages/browser/[...slug].vue b/ui/app/pages/browser/[...slug].vue
index c70ac7a0..f1e06e18 100644
--- a/ui/app/pages/browser/[...slug].vue
+++ b/ui/app/pages/browser/[...slug].vue
@@ -221,6 +221,14 @@ const table_container = ref<boolean>(false)
 const search = ref<string>('')
 const show_filter = ref<boolean>(false)
 
+watch(() => config.app.basic_mode, async v => {
+  if (!config.isLoaded() || !v) {
+    return
+  }
+  await navigateTo('/')
+},{ immediate: true })
+
+
 const filteredItems = computed<FileItem[]>(() => {
   if (!search.value) {
     return sortedItems(items.value)
diff --git a/ui/app/pages/conditions.vue b/ui/app/pages/conditions.vue
index 97fa328e..64cf6964 100644
--- a/ui/app/pages/conditions.vue
+++ b/ui/app/pages/conditions.vue
@@ -131,12 +131,12 @@ const initialLoad = ref(true)
 const addInProgress = ref(false)
 const remove_keys = ['in_progress', 'raw']
 
-watch(() => config.app.basic_mode, async () => {
-  if (!config.app.basic_mode) {
+watch(() => config.app.basic_mode, async v => {
+  if (!config.isLoaded() || !v) {
     return
   }
   await navigateTo("/")
-})
+}, { immediate: true })
 
 watch(() => socket.isConnected, async () => {
   if (socket.isConnected && initialLoad.value) {
diff --git a/ui/app/pages/console.vue b/ui/app/pages/console.vue
index 466849a9..de8309e8 100644
--- a/ui/app/pages/console.vue
+++ b/ui/app/pages/console.vue
@@ -82,11 +82,11 @@ watch(() => isLoading.value, async value => {
 }, { immediate: true })
 
 watch(() => config.app.basic_mode, async () => {
-  if (!config.app.basic_mode) {
+  if (!config.isLoaded() || !config.app.basic_mode) {
     return
   }
   await navigateTo('/')
-})
+}, { immediate: true })
 
 watch(() => config.app.console_enabled, async () => {
   if (config.app.console_enabled) {
diff --git a/ui/app/pages/logs.vue b/ui/app/pages/logs.vue
index 3950f042..a61c22d1 100644
--- a/ui/app/pages/logs.vue
+++ b/ui/app/pages/logs.vue
@@ -156,11 +156,11 @@ watch(toggleFilter, () => {
 });
 
 watch(() => config.app.basic_mode, async v => {
-  if (!v) {
+  if (!config.isLoaded() || !v) {
     return
   }
   await navigateTo('/')
-})
+}, { immediate: true })
 
 watch(() => config.app.file_logging, async v => {
   if (v) {
diff --git a/ui/app/pages/notifications.vue b/ui/app/pages/notifications.vue
index cbcf0638..a7325da6 100644
--- a/ui/app/pages/notifications.vue
+++ b/ui/app/pages/notifications.vue
@@ -223,12 +223,12 @@ const isLoading = ref(false)
 const initialLoad = ref(true)
 const addInProgress = ref(false)
 
-watch(() => config.app.basic_mode, async () => {
-  if (!config.app.basic_mode) {
+watch(() => config.app.basic_mode, async v => {
+  if (!config.isLoaded() || !v) {
     return
   }
   await navigateTo('/')
-})
+}, { immediate: true })
 
 watch(() => socket.isConnected, async () => {
   if (socket.isConnected && initialLoad.value) {
diff --git a/ui/app/pages/presets.vue b/ui/app/pages/presets.vue
index 6600dcca..a66dec20 100644
--- a/ui/app/pages/presets.vue
+++ b/ui/app/pages/presets.vue
@@ -226,15 +226,12 @@ const remove_keys = ['raw', 'toggle_description']
 
 const presetsNoDefault = computed(() => presets.value.filter((t) => !t.default))
 
-watch(
-  () => config.app.basic_mode,
-  async () => {
-    if (!config.app.basic_mode) {
-      return
-    }
-    await navigateTo('/')
-  },
-)
+watch(() => config.app.basic_mode, async v => {
+  if (!config.isLoaded() || !v) {
+    return
+  }
+  await navigateTo('/')
+}, { immediate: true })
 
 watch(() => socket.isConnected, async () => {
   if (socket.isConnected && initialLoad.value) {
diff --git a/ui/app/pages/tasks.vue b/ui/app/pages/tasks.vue
index 4ced6601..f7b21fb4 100644
--- a/ui/app/pages/tasks.vue
+++ b/ui/app/pages/tasks.vue
@@ -423,12 +423,12 @@ watch(masterSelectAll, value => {
   }
 })
 
-watch(() => config.app.basic_mode, async () => {
-  if (!config.app.basic_mode) {
+watch(() => config.app.basic_mode, async v => {
+  if (!config.isLoaded() || !v) {
     return
   }
   await navigateTo('/')
-})
+},{ immediate: true })
 
 watch(() => socket.isConnected, async () => {
   if (socket.isConnected && initialLoad.value) {