diff --git a/frontend/packages/swarm-ui/src/shell/Shell.css b/frontend/packages/swarm-ui/src/shell/Shell.css
index 6eafd5c1..77e59c13 100644
--- a/frontend/packages/swarm-ui/src/shell/Shell.css
+++ b/frontend/packages/swarm-ui/src/shell/Shell.css
@@ -128,6 +128,16 @@
     width 140ms ease,
     background-color 140ms ease;
 }
+/* Suppresses the transition for exactly one render — the indicator's
+   very first real position, so it snaps into place instead of visibly
+   growing from the unmounted `left:0/width:0/transparent` fallback (see
+   Shell.tsx's `indicatorSettledOnce`). Two-class selector so it wins
+   over the plain `.shell-nav-indicator` rule above without `!important`,
+   same reasoning `:root[data-motion='reduce']`'s extra attribute
+   selector already relies on. */
+.shell-nav-indicator.shell-nav-indicator-instant {
+  transition: none;
+}
 .shell-body {
   max-width: 60em;
   margin: 0 auto;
diff --git a/frontend/packages/swarm-ui/src/shell/Shell.tsx b/frontend/packages/swarm-ui/src/shell/Shell.tsx
index 6117eae3..eb6ac85a 100644
--- a/frontend/packages/swarm-ui/src/shell/Shell.tsx
+++ b/frontend/packages/swarm-ui/src/shell/Shell.tsx
@@ -114,6 +114,14 @@ export function Shell({ children }: { children: ComponentChildren }) {
   // agree once every intermediate hop has landed. `-1` = not settled
   // anywhere yet (first mount) or on a route with no nav item (404).
   const settledIndexRef = useRef(-1);
+  // False until the indicator's very first real position has committed —
+  // gates `.shell-nav-indicator-instant` (see Shell.css) so that first
+  // placement snaps instead of *transitioning in* from the unmounted
+  // `left:0/width:0/transparent` fallback, which read as "no underline at
+  // all" on a fresh page load (reported live by mara, reproduced here with
+  // a zoomed pixel-level screenshot check — real, not a rendering fluke).
+  // Every subsequent change (a real navigation) still animates normally.
+  const [indicatorSettledOnce, setIndicatorSettledOnce] = useState(false);
 
   // Applied once here, not inside `SettingsMenu` — every route mounts
   // through this one `<Shell>`, so the override takes effect regardless
@@ -185,6 +193,16 @@ export function Shell({ children }: { children: ComponentChildren }) {
     };
   }, [location]);
 
+  // Fires the render *after* the indicator's first non-null commit —
+  // deliberately one tick behind, not folded into the effect above,
+  // because the instant/animated class has to still read "instant" on
+  // the very render where `indicator` itself first goes non-null (that's
+  // the snap this exists for); only from the render after that should
+  // transitions be armed.
+  useEffect(() => {
+    if (indicator && !indicatorSettledOnce) setIndicatorSettledOnce(true);
+  }, [indicator, indicatorSettledOnce]);
+
   // Re-measures the current (already-settled) position on resize — the
   // nav's own `flex-wrap` means a link's position genuinely changes at
   // narrow widths, not just its route. Not part of the hop effect above
@@ -249,7 +267,7 @@ export function Shell({ children }: { children: ComponentChildren }) {
               nav item (404), so it doesn't pop in with a stale position
               the next time a real nav item becomes active. */}
           <span
-            class="shell-nav-indicator"
+            class={'shell-nav-indicator' + (indicatorSettledOnce ? '' : ' shell-nav-indicator-instant')}
             style={{
               left: `${indicator?.left ?? 0}px`,
               top: `${indicator?.top ?? 0}px`,