diff --git a/flutter_client/lib/app.dart b/flutter_client/lib/app.dart
index a456dcd3..58073049 100644
--- a/flutter_client/lib/app.dart
+++ b/flutter_client/lib/app.dart
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
 import 'package:flutter_riverpod/flutter_riverpod.dart';
 
+import 'cache/metadata_prefetcher.dart';
 import 'cache/prefetcher.dart';
 import 'cache/sync_controller.dart';
 import 'shared/routing.dart';
@@ -27,6 +28,11 @@ class _MinstrelAppState extends ConsumerState<MinstrelApp> {
       // ignore: unawaited_futures
       ref.read(syncControllerProvider.notifier).sync();
       ref.read(prefetcherProvider);
+      // Metadata prefetcher: when /api/home returns, fire background
+      // albumProvider/artistProvider reads for the top-N items in
+      // each section so subsequent taps are drift hits, not network
+      // round trips.
+      ref.read(metadataPrefetcherProvider);
     });
   }
 
diff --git a/flutter_client/lib/cache/metadata_prefetcher.dart b/flutter_client/lib/cache/metadata_prefetcher.dart
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..d1bea408
--- /dev/null
+++ b/flutter_client/lib/cache/metadata_prefetcher.dart
@@ -0,0 +1,77 @@
+import 'package:flutter/foundation.dart' show debugPrint;
+import 'package:flutter_riverpod/flutter_riverpod.dart';
+
+import '../library/library_providers.dart';
+import '../models/home_data.dart';
+
+/// Pre-warms the drift cache for entities the user is most likely to
+/// tap. When /api/home returns its sections, fire one albumProvider /
+/// artistProvider read per top-of-section item in the background. The
+/// reads trigger the existing cold-cache path, which writes drift.
+/// By the time the user actually taps a tile, it's a drift hit and
+/// the detail screen renders instantly.
+///
+/// All reads are unawaited and idempotent — providers that already
+/// have a cached value short-circuit. Readers/writers don't conflict
+/// because each provider de-duplicates concurrent subscribers.
+class MetadataPrefetcher {
+  MetadataPrefetcher(this._ref) {
+    _ref.listen<AsyncValue<HomeData>>(homeProvider, (_, next) {
+      next.whenData(_warmHome);
+    });
+  }
+
+  final Ref _ref;
+
+  /// Cap per section so a 50-album recently-added row doesn't fan
+  /// out 50 fetches the moment the screen appears. Top-N covers what
+  /// the user can see without scrolling on a typical phone.
+  static const _topN = 8;
+
+  void _warmHome(HomeData h) {
+    final albumIds = <String>{};
+    final artistIds = <String>{};
+
+    for (final a in h.recentlyAddedAlbums.take(_topN)) {
+      if (a.id.isNotEmpty) albumIds.add(a.id);
+      if (a.artistId.isNotEmpty) artistIds.add(a.artistId);
+    }
+    for (final a in h.rediscoverAlbums.take(_topN)) {
+      if (a.id.isNotEmpty) albumIds.add(a.id);
+      if (a.artistId.isNotEmpty) artistIds.add(a.artistId);
+    }
+    for (final ar in h.rediscoverArtists.take(_topN)) {
+      if (ar.id.isNotEmpty) artistIds.add(ar.id);
+    }
+    for (final ar in h.lastPlayedArtists.take(_topN)) {
+      if (ar.id.isNotEmpty) artistIds.add(ar.id);
+    }
+    for (final t in h.mostPlayedTracks.take(_topN)) {
+      if (t.albumId.isNotEmpty) albumIds.add(t.albumId);
+      if (t.artistId.isNotEmpty) artistIds.add(t.artistId);
+    }
+
+    debugPrint(
+        'metadataPrefetcher: warming ${albumIds.length} albums + ${artistIds.length} artists');
+
+    for (final id in albumIds) {
+      _swallow(_ref.read(albumProvider(id).future));
+    }
+    for (final id in artistIds) {
+      _swallow(_ref.read(artistProvider(id).future));
+    }
+  }
+
+  /// Discards the return value and any error from a fire-and-forget
+  /// provider read. We don't care about the value here — we only want
+  /// the side effect of writing drift.
+  void _swallow(Future<Object?> f) {
+    f.then<void>((_) {}).onError((_, __) {});
+  }
+}
+
+/// Read once at app start to activate the prefetcher (e.g. wire it
+/// from a top-level Consumer or main.dart container override).
+final metadataPrefetcherProvider = Provider<MetadataPrefetcher>((ref) {
+  return MetadataPrefetcher(ref);
+});