diff --git a/src/hooks/useArticleLoader.ts b/src/hooks/useArticleLoader.ts
index 2b37f073..69e8cbbc 100644
--- a/src/hooks/useArticleLoader.ts
+++ b/src/hooks/useArticleLoader.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,10 @@
 import { useEffect, useRef, Dispatch, SetStateAction } from 'react'
 import { RelayPool } from 'applesauce-relay'
+import type { IEventStore } from 'applesauce-core'
+import { nip19 } from 'nostr-tools'
+import { AddressPointer } from 'nostr-tools/nip19'
+import { Helpers } from 'applesauce-core'
+import { queryEvents } from '../services/dataFetch'
 import { fetchArticleByNaddr } from '../services/articleService'
 import { fetchHighlightsForArticle } from '../services/highlightService'
 import { ReadableContent } from '../services/readerService'
@@ -10,6 +15,7 @@ import { UserSettings } from '../services/settingsService'
 interface UseArticleLoaderProps {
   naddr: string | undefined
   relayPool: RelayPool | null
+  eventStore?: IEventStore | null
   setSelectedUrl: (url: string) => void
   setReaderContent: (content: ReadableContent | undefined) => void
   setReaderLoading: (loading: boolean) => void
@@ -25,6 +31,7 @@ interface UseArticleLoaderProps {
 export function useArticleLoader({
   naddr,
   relayPool,
+  eventStore,
   setSelectedUrl,
   setReaderContent,
   setReaderLoading,
@@ -60,52 +67,128 @@ export function useArticleLoader({
       setIsCollapsed(true)
       
       try {
-        const article = await fetchArticleByNaddr(relayPool, naddr, false, settingsRef.current)
-        
-        if (!mountedRef.current) return
-        // Ignore if a newer request has started
-        if (currentRequestIdRef.current !== requestId) return
-        
-        setReaderContent({
-          title: article.title,
-          markdown: article.markdown,
-          image: article.image,
-          summary: article.summary,
-          published: article.published,
-          url: `nostr:${naddr}`
+        // Decode naddr to filter
+        const decoded = nip19.decode(naddr)
+        if (decoded.type !== 'naddr') {
+          throw new Error('Invalid naddr format')
+        }
+        const pointer = decoded.data as AddressPointer
+        const filter = {
+          kinds: [pointer.kind],
+          authors: [pointer.pubkey],
+          '#d': [pointer.identifier]
+        }
+
+        let firstEmitted = false
+        let latestEvent: NostrEvent | null = null
+
+        // Stream local-first via queryEvents; rely on EOSE (no timeouts)
+        const events = await queryEvents(relayPool, filter, {
+          onEvent: (evt) => {
+            if (!mountedRef.current) return
+            if (currentRequestIdRef.current !== requestId) return
+
+            // Store in event store for future local reads
+            try { eventStore?.add?.(evt as unknown as any) } catch {}
+
+            // Keep latest by created_at
+            if (!latestEvent || evt.created_at > latestEvent.created_at) {
+              latestEvent = evt
+            }
+
+            // Emit immediately on first event
+            if (!firstEmitted) {
+              firstEmitted = true
+              const title = Helpers.getArticleTitle(evt) || 'Untitled Article'
+              const image = Helpers.getArticleImage(evt)
+              const summary = Helpers.getArticleSummary(evt)
+              const published = Helpers.getArticlePublished(evt)
+              setReaderContent({
+                title,
+                markdown: evt.content,
+                image,
+                summary,
+                published,
+                url: `nostr:${naddr}`
+              })
+              const dTag = evt.tags.find(t => t[0] === 'd')?.[1] || ''
+              const articleCoordinate = `${evt.kind}:${evt.pubkey}:${dTag}`
+              setCurrentArticleCoordinate(articleCoordinate)
+              setCurrentArticleEventId(evt.id)
+              setCurrentArticle?.(evt)
+              setReaderLoading(false)
+            }
+          }
         })
-        
-        const dTag = article.event.tags.find(t => t[0] === 'd')?.[1] || ''
-        const articleCoordinate = `${article.event.kind}:${article.author}:${dTag}`
-        
-        setCurrentArticleCoordinate(articleCoordinate)
-        setCurrentArticleEventId(article.event.id)
-        setCurrentArticle?.(article.event)
-        setReaderLoading(false)
-        
-        // Fetch highlights asynchronously without blocking article display
+
+        if (!mountedRef.current || currentRequestIdRef.current !== requestId) return
+
+        // Finalize with newest version if it's newer than what we first rendered
+        const finalEvent = (events.sort((a, b) => b.created_at - a.created_at)[0]) || latestEvent
+        if (finalEvent) {
+          const title = Helpers.getArticleTitle(finalEvent) || 'Untitled Article'
+          const image = Helpers.getArticleImage(finalEvent)
+          const summary = Helpers.getArticleSummary(finalEvent)
+          const published = Helpers.getArticlePublished(finalEvent)
+          setReaderContent({
+            title,
+            markdown: finalEvent.content,
+            image,
+            summary,
+            published,
+            url: `nostr:${naddr}`
+          })
+
+          const dTag = finalEvent.tags.find(t => t[0] === 'd')?.[1] || ''
+          const articleCoordinate = `${finalEvent.kind}:${finalEvent.pubkey}:${dTag}`
+          setCurrentArticleCoordinate(articleCoordinate)
+          setCurrentArticleEventId(finalEvent.id)
+          setCurrentArticle?.(finalEvent)
+        } else {
+          // As a last resort, fall back to the legacy helper (which includes cache)
+          const article = await fetchArticleByNaddr(relayPool, naddr, false, settingsRef.current)
+          if (!mountedRef.current || currentRequestIdRef.current !== requestId) return
+          setReaderContent({
+            title: article.title,
+            markdown: article.markdown,
+            image: article.image,
+            summary: article.summary,
+            published: article.published,
+            url: `nostr:${naddr}`
+          })
+          const dTag = article.event.tags.find(t => t[0] === 'd')?.[1] || ''
+          const articleCoordinate = `${article.event.kind}:${article.author}:${dTag}`
+          setCurrentArticleCoordinate(articleCoordinate)
+          setCurrentArticleEventId(article.event.id)
+          setCurrentArticle?.(article.event)
+        }
+
+        // Fetch highlights after content is shown
         try {
           if (!mountedRef.current) return
-          
           setHighlightsLoading(true)
           setHighlights([])
-          
-          await fetchHighlightsForArticle(
-            relayPool, 
-            articleCoordinate, 
-            article.event.id,
-            (highlight) => {
-              if (!mountedRef.current) return
-              // Ignore highlights from stale request
-              if (currentRequestIdRef.current !== requestId) return
-              setHighlights((prev: Highlight[]) => {
-                if (prev.some((h: Highlight) => h.id === highlight.id)) return prev
-                const next = [highlight, ...prev]
-                return next.sort((a, b) => b.created_at - a.created_at)
-              })
-            },
-            settings
-          )
+          const le = latestEvent as NostrEvent | null
+          const dTag = le ? (le.tags.find((t: string[]) => t[0] === 'd')?.[1] || '') : ''
+          const coord = le && dTag ? `${le.kind}:${le.pubkey}:${dTag}` : undefined
+          const eventId = le ? le.id : undefined
+          if (coord && eventId) {
+            await fetchHighlightsForArticle(
+              relayPool,
+              coord,
+              eventId,
+              (highlight) => {
+                if (!mountedRef.current) return
+                if (currentRequestIdRef.current !== requestId) return
+                setHighlights((prev: Highlight[]) => {
+                  if (prev.some((h: Highlight) => h.id === highlight.id)) return prev
+                  const next = [highlight, ...prev]
+                  return next.sort((a, b) => b.created_at - a.created_at)
+                })
+              },
+              settings
+            )
+          }
         } catch (err) {
           console.error('Failed to fetch highlights:', err)
         } finally {
@@ -134,6 +217,7 @@ export function useArticleLoader({
   }, [
     naddr,
     relayPool,
+    eventStore,
     setSelectedUrl,
     setReaderContent,
     setReaderLoading,