diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 3f68c96..768a914 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -44,3 +44,8 @@ logs/
 
 # macOS
 .DS_Store
+
+# OTHER
+.just/
+journalapp.exe
+Journal.App/node_modules.old/@rollup/.rollup-win32-x64-msvc-IjiZshxL/rollup.win32-x64-msvc.node
diff --git a/Journal.App/package-lock.json b/Journal.App/package-lock.json
index cd7af70..c9c5ff0 100644
--- a/Journal.App/package-lock.json
+++ b/Journal.App/package-lock.json
@@ -906,6 +906,7 @@
       "integrity": "sha512-NXsZLvalgI3HrHG6ogoEVzjyV7bSFQNqQeekfU7nNufQFrRyV3EBDfQKEwxx50peu7spZR42JuC1PFhwxuvBrg==",
       "dev": true,
       "license": "MIT",
+      "peer": true,
       "dependencies": {
         "@standard-schema/spec": "^1.0.0",
         "@sveltejs/acorn-typescript": "^1.0.5",
@@ -948,6 +949,7 @@
       "integrity": "sha512-Y1Cs7hhTc+a5E9Va/xwKlAJoariQyHY+5zBgCZg4PFWNYQ1nMN9sjK1zhw1gK69DuqVP++sht/1GZg1aRwmAXQ==",
       "dev": true,
       "license": "MIT",
+      "peer": true,
       "dependencies": {
         "@sveltejs/vite-plugin-svelte-inspector": "^4.0.1",
         "debug": "^4.4.1",
@@ -1254,6 +1256,7 @@
       "integrity": "sha512-UVJyE9MttOsBQIDKw1skb9nAwQuR5wuGD3+82K6JgJlm/Y+KI92oNsMNGZCYdDsVtRHSak0pcV5Dno5+4jh9sw==",
       "dev": true,
       "license": "MIT",
+      "peer": true,
       "bin": {
         "acorn": "bin/acorn"
       },
@@ -1540,6 +1543,7 @@
       "integrity": "sha512-5gTmgEY/sqK6gFXLIsQNH19lWb4ebPDLA4SdLP7dsWkIXHWlG66oPuVvXSGFPppYZz8ZDZq0dYYrbHfBCVUb1Q==",
       "dev": true,
       "license": "MIT",
+      "peer": true,
       "engines": {
         "node": ">=12"
       },
@@ -1686,6 +1690,7 @@
       "integrity": "sha512-pRUBr6j6uQDgBi208gHnGRMykw0Rf2Yr1HmLyRucsvcaYgIUxswJkT93WZJflsmezu5s8Lq+q78EoyLv2yaFCg==",
       "dev": true,
       "license": "MIT",
+      "peer": true,
       "dependencies": {
         "@jridgewell/remapping": "^2.3.4",
         "@jridgewell/sourcemap-codec": "^1.5.0",
@@ -1765,6 +1770,7 @@
       "integrity": "sha512-hjcS1mhfuyi4WW8IWtjP7brDrG2cuDZukyrYrSauoXGNgx0S7zceP07adYkJycEr56BOUTNPzbInooiN3fn1qw==",
       "dev": true,
       "license": "Apache-2.0",
+      "peer": true,
       "bin": {
         "tsc": "bin/tsc",
         "tsserver": "bin/tsserver"
@@ -1779,6 +1785,7 @@
       "integrity": "sha512-+Oxm7q9hDoLMyJOYfUYBuHQo+dkAloi33apOPP56pzj+vsdJDzr+j1NISE5pyaAuKL4A3UD34qd0lx5+kfKp2g==",
       "dev": true,
       "license": "MIT",
+      "peer": true,
       "dependencies": {
         "esbuild": "^0.25.0",
         "fdir": "^6.4.4",
diff --git a/devtool.json b/devtool.json
index f3b888a..62106d6 100644
--- a/devtool.json
+++ b/devtool.json
@@ -245,6 +245,23 @@
             "workingDir": ".",
             "dependsOn": []
         }
+        ,
+        {
+            "id": "npm-clean",
+            "label": "Clean Node Modules",
+            "description": "Remove Journal.App node_modules (kills node/tauri first)",
+            "group": "System",
+            "command": "pwsh",
+            "args": [
+                "-NoProfile",
+                "-ExecutionPolicy",
+                "Bypass",
+                "-File",
+                "scripts/npm-clean.ps1"
+            ],
+            "workingDir": ".",
+            "dependsOn": []
+        }
     ],
     "env": [
         {
@@ -298,4 +315,4 @@
             "options": []
         }
     ]
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+}
diff --git a/package-lock.json b/package-lock.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1a303e4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/package-lock.json
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+{
+  "name": "journal",
+  "lockfileVersion": 3,
+  "requires": true,
+  "packages": {}
+}
diff --git a/scripts/npm-clean.ps1 b/scripts/npm-clean.ps1
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ce838cd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/npm-clean.ps1
@@ -0,0 +1,62 @@
+param(
+    [switch]$RemoveLockfile,
+    [switch]$Force
+)
+
+$commonScript = Join-Path $PSScriptRoot "script-common.ps1"
+if (-not (Test-Path $commonScript)) {
+    throw "Missing helper script: $commonScript"
+}
+. $commonScript
+
+$repoRoot = Resolve-JournalRepoRoot -StartPath $PSScriptRoot
+$appRoot = Resolve-JournalAppRoot -RepoRoot $repoRoot
+
+Write-Host "Cleaning npm artifacts for Journal.App" -ForegroundColor Cyan
+Write-Host "Using app root: $appRoot" -ForegroundColor DarkGray
+
+$processNames = @("node", "journalapp", "tauri")
+Get-Process -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue |
+    Where-Object { $processNames -contains $_.ProcessName } |
+    ForEach-Object {
+        try {
+            Stop-Process -Id $_.Id -Force -ErrorAction Stop
+            Write-Host "Stopped process: $($_.ProcessName) ($($_.Id))" -ForegroundColor DarkGray
+        }
+        catch {
+            Write-Warning "Failed to stop process $($_.ProcessName) ($($_.Id)): $($_.Exception.Message)"
+        }
+    }
+
+Push-Location $appRoot
+try {
+    $nodeModulesPath = Join-Path $appRoot "node_modules"
+    $lockfilePath = Join-Path $appRoot "package-lock.json"
+
+    if (Test-Path $nodeModulesPath) {
+        if (-not $Force) {
+            Write-Host "Removing node_modules (use -Force to suppress prompt)..." -ForegroundColor Yellow
+        }
+        Remove-Item -Recurse -Force $nodeModulesPath
+        Write-Host "Removed node_modules." -ForegroundColor Green
+    }
+    else {
+        Write-Host "node_modules not found; nothing to remove." -ForegroundColor DarkGray
+    }
+
+    if ($RemoveLockfile) {
+        if (Test-Path $lockfilePath) {
+            Remove-Item -Force $lockfilePath
+            Write-Host "Removed package-lock.json." -ForegroundColor Green
+        }
+        else {
+            Write-Host "package-lock.json not found; nothing to remove." -ForegroundColor DarkGray
+        }
+    }
+    else {
+        Write-Host "Keeping package-lock.json (pass -RemoveLockfile to delete)." -ForegroundColor DarkGray
+    }
+}
+finally {
+    Pop-Location
+}
diff --git a/scripts/publish-app.ps1 b/scripts/publish-app.ps1
index 0fbd131..7d3a783 100644
--- a/scripts/publish-app.ps1
+++ b/scripts/publish-app.ps1
@@ -40,10 +40,59 @@ if (-not (Get-Command npm -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue)) {
 }
 
 $nodeModulesPath = Join-Path $appRoot "node_modules"
+$packageJsonPath = Join-Path $appRoot "package.json"
 $packageLockPath = Join-Path $appRoot "package-lock.json"
+$depsHashPath = Join-Path $appRoot "node_modules\.journal-deps.sha256"
+
+function Get-JournalNodeDepsHash {
+    param(
+        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)]
+        [string[]]$Paths
+    )
+
+    $hashLines = foreach ($path in $Paths) {
+        if (-not (Test-Path $path)) {
+            continue
+        }
+        (Get-FileHash -Algorithm SHA256 -Path $path).Hash
+    }
+    return ($hashLines -join "`n").Trim()
+}
+
+$hashInputs = @()
+if (Test-Path $packageJsonPath) {
+    $hashInputs += $packageJsonPath
+}
+if (Test-Path $packageLockPath) {
+    $hashInputs += $packageLockPath
+}
+if ($hashInputs.Count -eq 0) {
+    throw "package.json not found under $appRoot."
+}
+
+$expectedDepsHash = Get-JournalNodeDepsHash -Paths $hashInputs
 $shouldInstall = $InstallDeps -or (-not (Test-Path $nodeModulesPath))
+$installReason = $null
+
+if (-not $shouldInstall -and -not $SkipInstall) {
+    if (-not (Test-Path $depsHashPath)) {
+        $shouldInstall = $true
+        $installReason = "dependency hash missing"
+    }
+    else {
+        $currentDepsHash = (Get-Content $depsHashPath -Raw).Trim()
+        if ($currentDepsHash -ne $expectedDepsHash) {
+            $shouldInstall = $true
+            $installReason = "package.json/lockfile changed"
+        }
+    }
+}
+
 if ($SkipInstall) {
     $shouldInstall = $false
+    if ($installReason) {
+        Write-Host "SkipInstall set; dependencies may be stale ($installReason)." -ForegroundColor Yellow
+    }
 }
 
 Write-Host "Building Journal.App target '$Target' ($Configuration)..." -ForegroundColor Cyan
@@ -59,16 +108,26 @@ try {
             @("install", "--no-audit", "--fund=false")
         }
 
+        if ($installReason) {
+            Write-Host "Dependencies changed ($installReason). Installing..." -ForegroundColor Yellow
+        }
+
         Write-Host "> npm $($installArgs -join ' ')" -ForegroundColor DarkGray
         if (-not $DryRun) {
             & npm @installArgs
             if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0) {
                 throw "Dependency install failed with exit code $LASTEXITCODE."
             }
+
+            $depsDir = Split-Path $depsHashPath -Parent
+            if (-not (Test-Path $depsDir)) {
+                New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force -Path $depsDir | Out-Null
+            }
+            $expectedDepsHash | Set-Content -Path $depsHashPath -NoNewline
         }
     }
     else {
-        Write-Host "Skipping dependency install (node_modules already present)." -ForegroundColor DarkGray
+        Write-Host "Skipping dependency install (node_modules present and deps unchanged)." -ForegroundColor DarkGray
     }
 
     if ($Target -eq "web") {