diff --git a/src/main.tsx b/src/main.tsx
index 114a209..80a79fb 100644
--- a/src/main.tsx
+++ b/src/main.tsx
@@ -40,6 +40,41 @@ export {};
 
 const GA_ID = import.meta.env.VITE_GA_ID as string | undefined;
 
+class RootErrorBoundary extends React.Component<
+    { children: React.ReactNode },
+    { hasError: boolean; error?: unknown }
+> {
+    state = { hasError: false as boolean, error: undefined as unknown };
+
+    static getDerivedStateFromError(error: unknown) {
+        return { hasError: true, error };
+    }
+
+    componentDidCatch(error: unknown) {
+        console.error("[HPL] Uncaught render error:", error);
+    }
+
+    render() {
+        if (this.state.hasError) {
+            return (
+                <div className="min-h-screen bg-slate-950 text-slate-100 flex items-center justify-center p-6">
+                    <div className="max-w-xl space-y-3 rounded-xl border border-slate-800 bg-slate-900/30 p-6">
+                        <div className="text-xs font-mono uppercase tracking-widest text-slate-400">
+                            HPL Recovery Mode
+                        </div>
+                        <div className="text-lg font-semibold">Something crashed during render.</div>
+                        <div className="text-sm text-slate-300">
+                            Check the console for details. If this is production, we can add a safer fallback path.
+                        </div>
+                    </div>
+                </div>
+            );
+        }
+        return this.props.children;
+    }
+}
+
+
 function initGA(measurementId: string) {
     // 1) Create dataLayer + gtag stub immediately
     window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer ?? [];
@@ -70,6 +105,8 @@ if (GA_ID) initGA(GA_ID);
 
 ReactDOM.createRoot(document.getElementById("root")!).render(
     <React.StrictMode>
-        <RouterProvider router={router} />
+        <RootErrorBoundary>
+            <RouterProvider router={router} />
+        </RootErrorBoundary>
     </React.StrictMode>
 );
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/pages/admin/pages/AdminNotesPage.tsx b/src/pages/admin/pages/AdminNotesPage.tsx
index 3972e57..b411e6e 100644
--- a/src/pages/admin/pages/AdminNotesPage.tsx
+++ b/src/pages/admin/pages/AdminNotesPage.tsx
@@ -152,6 +152,10 @@ export function AdminNotesPage() {
         await refreshNotes();
     };
 
+    const EXCERPT_SOFT_LIMIT = 280;
+    const excerptLength = form.excerpt.length;
+    const overLimit = excerptLength > EXCERPT_SOFT_LIMIT;
+
     return (
         <div className="space-y-6">
             {/* Header */}
@@ -317,16 +321,39 @@ export function AdminNotesPage() {
                         </div>
 
                         <div className="space-y-2">
-                            <label className="text-xs uppercase tracking-widest text-zinc-500">
-                                Excerpt
+                            <label className="block space-y-1">
+                                  <span className="text-xs font-mono uppercase tracking-widest text-zinc-400">
+                                    Excerpt (preview surface)
+                                  </span>
+
+                                <textarea
+                                    name="excerpt"
+                                    value={form.excerpt}
+                                    onChange={handleChange}
+                                    className={`
+                              h-24 w-full resize-y rounded-lg
+                              border bg-zinc-950/40 px-3 py-2 text-zinc-100
+                              ${overLimit ? "border-vesper/60 ring-1 ring-vesper/40" : "border-zinc-800"}
+                            `}
+                                                            placeholder="Short summary shown in lists"
+                                                        />
+
+                                                        <div
+                                                            className={`
+                              flex justify-between text-xs font-mono
+                              ${overLimit ? "text-vesper" : "text-zinc-500"}
+                            `}
+                                                        >
+                            <span>
+                              Used on cards and previews. Full body lives in MD source.
+                            </span>
+
+                                                            <span>
+                              {excerptLength} / {EXCERPT_SOFT_LIMIT}
+                                                                {overLimit && " · preview overflow"}
+                            </span>
+                                </div>
                             </label>
-                            <textarea
-                                name="excerpt"
-                                value={form.excerpt}
-                                onChange={handleChange}
-                                className="h-24 w-full rounded-lg border border-zinc-800 bg-zinc-950/40 px-3 py-2 text-zinc-100"
-                                placeholder="Short summary shown in lists"
-                            />
                         </div>
 
                         <div className="flex flex-wrap gap-2">