diff --git a/frontend/src/context/AppContext.test.tsx b/frontend/src/context/AppContext.test.tsx
index 465d44e471..7df0556b7f 100644
--- a/frontend/src/context/AppContext.test.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/context/AppContext.test.tsx
@@ -4,6 +4,10 @@ import ReactDOM from 'react-dom/client';
 import TestUtils from 'react-dom/test-utils';
 import { AppProvider, useAppContext } from './AppContext';
 
+jest.mock('./AuthContext', () => ({
+  useAuth: () => ({ currentUser: null, loading: false }),
+}));
+
 jest.mock('axios', () => ({ get: jest.fn(), post: jest.fn(), put: jest.fn() }));
 
 const TestComponent = () => {
diff --git a/frontend/src/context/AppContext.tsx b/frontend/src/context/AppContext.tsx
index bdb788fae3..dfe69cc823 100644
--- a/frontend/src/context/AppContext.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/context/AppContext.tsx
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import React, { createContext, useState, useContext, useEffect, useCallback } from 'react';
 import axios from 'axios';
+import { useAuth } from './AuthContext';
 
 interface Post {
   _id: string;
@@ -16,7 +17,6 @@ interface User {
 
 interface AppContextValue {
   currentUser: User | null;
-  setCurrentUser: React.Dispatch<React.SetStateAction<User | null>>;
   posts: Post[];
   setPosts: React.Dispatch<React.SetStateAction<Post[]>>;
   loading: boolean;
@@ -35,10 +35,10 @@ interface AppProviderProps {
 }
 
 export const AppProvider: React.FC<AppProviderProps> = ({ children }) => {
-  const [currentUser, setCurrentUser] = useState<User | null>(null);
+  // AuthProvider already owns this request and wraps AppProvider in App.tsx.
+  const { currentUser, loading: userLoading } = useAuth();
   const [posts, setPosts] = useState<Post[]>([]);
   const [loading, setLoading] = useState(false);
-  const [userLoading, setUserLoading] = useState(true);
   const [postsLoading, setPostsLoading] = useState(true);
   const [refreshTrigger, setRefreshTrigger] = useState(0);
 
@@ -62,25 +62,6 @@ export const AppProvider: React.FC<AppProviderProps> = ({ children }) => {
     setPosts((currentPosts) => currentPosts.filter((post) => post._id !== postId));
   }, []);
 
-  useEffect(() => {
-    const fetchCurrentUser = async () => {
-      setUserLoading(true);
-      try {
-        const token = localStorage.getItem('token');
-        if (!token) { setUserLoading(false); return; }
-        const response = await axios.get<User>('/api/auth/user', {
-          headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${token}` },
-        });
-        setCurrentUser(response.data);
-      } catch (error) {
-        console.error('Error fetching current user:', error);
-      } finally {
-        setUserLoading(false);
-      }
-    };
-    fetchCurrentUser();
-  }, [refreshTrigger]);
-
   useEffect(() => {
     const fetchPosts = async () => {
       if (!currentUser) return;
@@ -107,7 +88,6 @@ export const AppProvider: React.FC<AppProviderProps> = ({ children }) => {
     <AppContext.Provider
       value={{
         currentUser,
-        setCurrentUser,
         posts,
         setPosts,
         loading,
diff --git a/frontend/src/v2/V2App.tsx b/frontend/src/v2/V2App.tsx
index b1e3d15a1b..9aed2483f6 100644
--- a/frontend/src/v2/V2App.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/v2/V2App.tsx
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import React from 'react';
-import { Routes, Route, Navigate, useLocation, useParams } from 'react-router-dom';
+import { Routes, Route, Navigate, useLocation, useMatch, useParams } from 'react-router-dom';
 import V2Layout from './components/V2Layout';
 import V2FeaturePage from './components/V2FeaturePage';
 import { useAuth } from '../context/AuthContext';
@@ -118,24 +118,35 @@ const V2RequireAuth: React.FC<{ children: React.ReactNode }> = ({ children }) =>
   return <V2AuthenticatedShell>{children}</V2AuthenticatedShell>;
 };
 
-// Index gate at `/v2`. Logged-out visitors see the public landing (the front
-// door); authenticated users drop straight into the app shell. Deep routes
-// stay behind V2RequireAuth (the `*` branch below), so an unauthenticated
-// deep link still bounces through /v2/login?next=… and lands where it meant to.
-const V2Home: React.FC = () => {
+// One gate owns both `/v2` and `/v2/pods/:podId`, so auto-selection changes
+// the URL without remounting the shell. Other deep routes stay behind
+// V2RequireAuth (the `*` branch below).
+const V2PodShellGate: React.FC = () => {
   const { isAuthenticated, loading } = useAuth();
+  const location = useLocation();
+  const podRoute = useMatch('/v2/pods/:podId');
 
   if (loading) {
     return <V2Boot />;
   }
 
   if (!isAuthenticated) {
-    return <Navigate to="/" replace />;
+    return location.pathname === '/v2' || location.pathname === '/v2/'
+      ? <Navigate to="/" replace />
+      : <Navigate to="/v2/login" state={{ from: location }} replace />;
   }
 
-  return <V2AuthenticatedShell><V2Layout selectionMode="auto" /></V2AuthenticatedShell>;
+  // Reject legacy pod-type paths before mounting V2Layout, which otherwise
+  // remembers the type name as the last selected pod.
+  if (podRoute?.params.podId && podTypeRoutes.has(podRoute.params.podId)) {
+    return <Navigate to="/v2" replace />;
+  }
+
+  return <V2AuthenticatedShell><V2Layout /></V2AuthenticatedShell>;
 };
 
+const podTypeRoutes = new Set(['chat', 'study', 'games', 'gaming', 'agent-admin', 'agent-room']);
+
 const V2UseCaseRedirect: React.FC = () => {
   const { useCaseId } = useParams<{ useCaseId: string }>();
   return <Navigate to={useCaseId ? `/use-cases/${encodeURIComponent(useCaseId)}/` : '/'} replace />;
@@ -165,15 +176,6 @@ const V2LegacyChatRedirect: React.FC = () => {
   return <Navigate to={podId ? `/v2/pods/chat/${podId}` : '/v2'} replace />;
 };
 
-const V2PodIdRoute: React.FC = () => {
-  const { podId } = useParams<{ podId: string }>();
-  const podTypeRoutes = new Set(['chat', 'study', 'games', 'gaming', 'agent-admin', 'agent-room']);
-  if (podId && podTypeRoutes.has(podId)) {
-    return <Navigate to="/v2" replace />;
-  }
-  return <V2Layout selectionMode="param" />;
-};
-
 const V2App: React.FC = () => {
   // The daily digest's 08:00 is the person's own (TASK-257 Phase 2b).
   useTimeZoneCapture();
@@ -199,7 +201,10 @@ const V2App: React.FC = () => {
       <V2ErrorBoundary>
         <React.Suspense fallback={<V2Boot />}>
         <Routes>
-          <Route index element={<V2Home />} />
+          <Route element={<V2PodShellGate />}>
+            <Route index element={null} />
+            <Route path="pods/:podId" element={null} />
+          </Route>
           <Route path="landing" element={<Navigate to="/" replace />} />
           {/* Public read-only agent profile — the "meet the agent" identity card.
               Singular /v2/agent/... so it never collides with the authed plural
@@ -231,7 +236,6 @@ const V2App: React.FC = () => {
             element={(
               <V2RequireAuth>
                 <Routes>
-                <Route path="/" element={<V2Layout selectionMode="auto" />} />
                 {/* Board must precede the param routes: the static "board"
                     segment outranks both pods/:podId and pods/:podType/:roomId
                     in v6 matching, but keeping it first makes intent legible. */}
@@ -246,7 +250,6 @@ const V2App: React.FC = () => {
                     false,
                   )}
                 />
-                <Route path="pods/:podId" element={<V2PodIdRoute />} />
                 <Route
                   path="pods/:podType/:roomId"
                   element={feature(
diff --git a/frontend/src/v2/__tests__/V2ShellInitialLoad.test.tsx b/frontend/src/v2/__tests__/V2ShellInitialLoad.test.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..d9a35a070e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/src/v2/__tests__/V2ShellInitialLoad.test.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,109 @@
+import React from 'react';
+import { render, screen, waitFor } from '@testing-library/react';
+import { MemoryRouter, Route, Routes, useLocation } from 'react-router-dom';
+import axios from 'axios';
+import { AuthProvider } from '../../context/AuthContext';
+import { AppProvider } from '../../context/AppContext';
+import V2App from '../V2App';
+
+jest.mock('axios', () => {
+  const client = {
+    get: jest.fn(), post: jest.fn(), patch: jest.fn(), put: jest.fn(), delete: jest.fn(),
+    defaults: { baseURL: '', headers: { common: {} } },
+    interceptors: {
+      request: { use: jest.fn(), eject: jest.fn() },
+      response: { use: jest.fn(), eject: jest.fn() },
+    },
+  };
+  return { __esModule: true, default: client, ...client };
+});
+
+jest.mock('../hooks/useV2PodDetail', () => ({
+  useV2PodDetail: () => ({ pod: null, members: [], messages: [], agents: [], loading: false, error: null }),
+}));
+jest.mock('../hooks/useV2PodAttention', () => ({
+  useV2PodAttention: () => ({ items: [], count: 0, countByPod: {} }),
+  notifyAttentionChanged: jest.fn(),
+}));
+jest.mock('../hooks/useV2Pinned', () => ({
+  useV2Pinned: () => ({ pinned: [], toggle: jest.fn() }),
+}));
+jest.mock('../components/V2NavRail', () => () => null);
+jest.mock('../components/V2Thread', () => () => null);
+jest.mock('../components/V2Inspector', () => () => null);
+jest.mock('../components/V2InviteModal', () => () => null);
+jest.mock('../components/V2FirstRunHero', () => () => null);
+jest.mock('../components/V2MobileTabs', () => () => null);
+
+const Path = () => {
+  const location = useLocation();
+  return <span data-testid="path">{location.pathname}</span>;
+};
+
+const renderShell = (path: string) => render(
+  <AuthProvider>
+    <AppProvider>
+      <MemoryRouter initialEntries={[path]}>
+        <Path />
+        <Routes>
+          <Route path="/v2/*" element={<V2App />} />
+        </Routes>
+      </MemoryRouter>
+    </AppProvider>
+  </AuthProvider>,
+);
+
+describe('first desktop shell load', () => {
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    localStorage.clear();
+    localStorage.setItem('token', 'test-token');
+    jest.clearAllMocks();
+    Object.defineProperty(window, 'matchMedia', {
+      configurable: true,
+      value: jest.fn(() => ({ matches: false, addEventListener: jest.fn(), removeEventListener: jest.fn() })),
+    });
+    (axios.get as jest.Mock).mockImplementation((url: string) => {
+      if (url === '/api/auth/user') {
+        return Promise.resolve({ data: { _id: 'human-1', username: 'human', email: 'human@example.test', verified: true } });
+      }
+      if (url === '/api/pods') {
+        return Promise.resolve({ data: [{
+          _id: 'workspace', name: 'Workspace', joinPolicy: 'invite-only', createdBy: { _id: 'human-1' },
+        }] });
+      }
+      if (url === '/api/posts') return Promise.resolve({ data: [] });
+      return Promise.resolve({ data: {} });
+    });
+    (axios.post as jest.Mock).mockResolvedValue({ data: {} });
+  });
+
+  afterEach(() => localStorage.clear());
+
+  test('auto-select navigation keeps one layout fetch and one auth fetch', async () => {
+    renderShell('/v2');
+
+    await waitFor(() => expect(screen.getByTestId('path')).toHaveTextContent('/v2/pods/workspace'));
+    await waitFor(() => expect(axios.get).toHaveBeenCalledWith('/api/pods', expect.anything()));
+    expect((axios.get as jest.Mock).mock.calls.filter(([url]) => url === '/api/pods')).toHaveLength(1);
+    expect((axios.get as jest.Mock).mock.calls.filter(([url]) => url === '/api/auth/user')).toHaveLength(1);
+  });
+
+  test('direct pod link uses the same single-fetch shell', async () => {
+    renderShell('/v2/pods/workspace');
+
+    await waitFor(() => expect(axios.get).toHaveBeenCalledWith('/api/pods', expect.anything()));
+    expect(screen.getByTestId('path')).toHaveTextContent('/v2/pods/workspace');
+    expect((axios.get as jest.Mock).mock.calls.filter(([url]) => url === '/api/pods')).toHaveLength(1);
+    expect((axios.get as jest.Mock).mock.calls.filter(([url]) => url === '/api/auth/user')).toHaveLength(1);
+  });
+
+  test('legacy pod-type path redirects before the shell stores a selected pod', async () => {
+    const store = jest.spyOn(Storage.prototype, 'setItem');
+    renderShell('/v2/pods/chat');
+
+    await waitFor(() => expect(screen.getByTestId('path')).toHaveTextContent('/v2/pods/workspace'));
+    expect((axios.get as jest.Mock).mock.calls.filter(([url]) => url === '/api/pods')).toHaveLength(1);
+    expect(store).not.toHaveBeenCalledWith('v2:lastPodId', 'chat');
+    store.mockRestore();
+  });
+});
diff --git a/frontend/src/v2/components/V2Layout.tsx b/frontend/src/v2/components/V2Layout.tsx
index 82d3cc0af1..4bb0d30445 100644
--- a/frontend/src/v2/components/V2Layout.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/v2/components/V2Layout.tsx
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import React, { useEffect, useState, useCallback, useRef } from 'react';
-import { useLocation, useNavigate, useParams } from 'react-router-dom';
+import { useLocation, useMatch, useNavigate } from 'react-router-dom';
 import V2NavRail from './V2NavRail';
 import V2PodsSidebar from './V2PodsSidebar';
 import V2Thread from './V2Thread';
@@ -70,7 +70,9 @@ const createdAtTime = (createdAt?: string): number => {
 };
 
 const V2Layout: React.FC<V2LayoutProps> = ({ selectionMode = 'auto' }) => {
-  const { podId: paramPodId } = useParams<{ podId: string }>();
+  // This layout is shared by the index and pod routes. Read the URL directly:
+  // parent route params do not include a matched child's :podId.
+  const paramPodId = useMatch('/v2/pods/:podId')?.params.podId;
   const location = useLocation();
   const navigate = useNavigate();
   const { currentUser } = useAuth();
diff --git a/frontend/src/v2/components/V2PodsSidebar.tsx b/frontend/src/v2/components/V2PodsSidebar.tsx
index ca55c45953..9e54f814ac 100644
--- a/frontend/src/v2/components/V2PodsSidebar.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/v2/components/V2PodsSidebar.tsx
@@ -201,7 +201,7 @@ const V2PodsSidebar: React.FC<V2PodsSidebarProps> = ({
   const navigate = useNavigate();
   const { currentUser } = useAuth();
   const { pinned, toggle: togglePin } = useV2Pinned();
-  const ownPodsState = useV2Pods();
+  const ownPodsState = useV2Pods(!podsState);
   const {
     pods, loading, error, createPod, refresh: refreshPods,
   } = podsState || ownPodsState;
diff --git a/frontend/src/v2/hooks/useV2Pods.ts b/frontend/src/v2/hooks/useV2Pods.ts
index 23cb827480..43e53d2c0c 100644
--- a/frontend/src/v2/hooks/useV2Pods.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/v2/hooks/useV2Pods.ts
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ export interface UseV2PodsResult {
   patchLastMessage: (podId: string, last: V2PodLastMessage) => void;
 }
 
-export const useV2Pods = (): UseV2PodsResult => {
+export const useV2Pods = (enabled = true): UseV2PodsResult => {
   const api = useV2Api();
   const [pods, setPods] = useState<V2Pod[]>([]);
   const [loading, setLoading] = useState(true);
@@ -143,8 +143,8 @@ export const useV2Pods = (): UseV2PodsResult => {
   }, [api]);
 
   useEffect(() => {
-    refresh();
-  }, [refresh]);
+    if (enabled) void refresh();
+  }, [enabled, refresh]);
 
   return { pods, loading, error, refresh, createPod, deletePod, patchLastMessage };
 };