diff --git a/packages/chat-client/src/App.jsx b/packages/chat-client/src/App.jsx
index 2847d57..2e267fc 100644
--- a/packages/chat-client/src/App.jsx
+++ b/packages/chat-client/src/App.jsx
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ import InfoPanel from './components/InfoPanel';
 import { useSession } from './hooks/useSession';
 import { useChat } from './hooks/useChat';
 
-const DEFAULT_MODEL = 'companion:latest';
+import { DEFAULT_MODEL } from './config/constants';
 
 export default function App() {
   const [leftOpen, setLeftOpen] = useState(true);
diff --git a/packages/chat-client/src/api/orchestration.js b/packages/chat-client/src/api/orchestration.js
index 10cddc2..4876111 100644
--- a/packages/chat-client/src/api/orchestration.js
+++ b/packages/chat-client/src/api/orchestration.js
@@ -1,14 +1,16 @@
+import { API_DEFAULTS } from "../config/constants";
+
 const BASE_URL = import.meta.env.VITE_ORCHESTRATION_URL ?? '';
 
 // ── Sessions ────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
-export async function fetchSessions(limit = 20, offset = 0) {
+export async function fetchSessions(limit = API_DEFAULTS.SESSIONS_LIMIT, offset = API_DEFAULTS.OFFSET) {
   const res = await fetch(`${BASE_URL}/sessions?limit=${limit}&offset=${offset}`);
   if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`Failed to fetch sessions: ${res.status}`);
   return res.json();
 }
 
-export async function fetchSessionHistory(sessionId, limit = 50, offset = 0) {
+export async function fetchSessionHistory(sessionId, limit = API_DEFAULTS.HISTORY_LIMIT, offset = API_DEFAULTS.OFFSET) {
   const res = await fetch(`${BASE_URL}/sessions/${sessionId}/history?limit=${limit}&offset=${offset}`);
   if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`Failed to fetch history: ${res.status}`);
   return res.json();
diff --git a/packages/chat-client/src/components/InfoPanel.jsx b/packages/chat-client/src/components/InfoPanel.jsx
index 65aa63f..acf4009 100644
--- a/packages/chat-client/src/components/InfoPanel.jsx
+++ b/packages/chat-client/src/components/InfoPanel.jsx
@@ -1,11 +1,5 @@
 import React from 'react';
-
-const MODELS = [
-  { value: 'companion:latest',    label: 'Companion' },
-  { value: 'mistral-nemo:latest', label: 'Mistral Nemo' },
-  { value: 'coder:latest',        label: 'Coder' },
-  { value: 'qwen2.5-coder:14b',   label: 'Qwen 2.5 Coder 14B' },
-];
+import { MODELS } from '../config/constants';
 
 export default function InfoPanel({ isOpen, onToggle, activeSession, lastModel, lastTokenCount, selectedModel, onModelChange }) {
 
diff --git a/packages/chat-client/src/config/constants.js b/packages/chat-client/src/config/constants.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0c76bab
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/chat-client/src/config/constants.js
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+export const MODELS = [
+    { value: 'companion:latest',    label: 'Companion' },
+    { value: 'mistral-nemo:latest', label: 'Mistral Nemo' },
+    { value: 'coder:latest',        label: 'Coder' },
+    { value: 'qwen2.5-coder:14b',   label: 'Qwen 2.5 Coder 14B' },
+];
+
+export const DEFAULT_MODEL = MODELS[0].value;
+
+export const API_DEFAULTS = {
+    SESSIONS_LIMIT: 20,
+    HISTORY_LIMIT:  50,
+    OFFSET:          0,
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/packages/chat-client/src/hooks/useSession.js b/packages/chat-client/src/hooks/useSession.js
index 3070f34..bb95307 100644
--- a/packages/chat-client/src/hooks/useSession.js
+++ b/packages/chat-client/src/hooks/useSession.js
@@ -9,18 +9,27 @@ export function useSession() {
   const [loadingHistory, setLoadingHistory] = useState(false);
   const [error, setError] = useState(null);
 
-  // Load session list on mount
-  useEffect(() => {
-    loadSessions();
-  }, []);
 
-  async function loadSessions() {
+    // Called by useChat after a message completes — keeps session list fresh
+  const refreshSessions = useCallback(async () => {
     try {
       const data = await fetchSessions();
       setSessions(data);
-    } catch (err) {
-      setError(err.message);
+    } catch {
+      // non-critical — sidebar just won't update
     }
+  }, []);
+
+  // Load session list on mount
+  useEffect(() => {
+    refreshSessions();
+  }, [refreshSessions]);
+
+  function episodesToMessages(episodes) {
+      return [...episodes].reverse().flatMap(ep => [
+          { id: `${ep.id}-user`, role: 'user',      text: ep.user_message },
+          { id: `${ep.id}-ai`,   role: 'assistant', text: ep.ai_response  },
+      ]);
   }
 
   // Switch to an existing session and load its history
@@ -32,10 +41,7 @@ export function useSession() {
     try {
       const data = await fetchSessionHistory(session.external_id);
       // History comes back newest-first — reverse for display
-      const history = data.episodes.reverse().map(ep => ([
-        { id: `${ep.id}-user`, role: 'user',      text: ep.user_message },
-        { id: `${ep.id}-ai`,   role: 'assistant', text: ep.ai_response  },
-      ])).flat();
+      const history = episodesToMessages(data.episodes);
 
       setMessages(history);
     } catch (err) {
@@ -58,15 +64,7 @@ export function useSession() {
     setMessages([]);
   }, []);
 
-  // Called by useChat after a message completes — keeps session list fresh
-  const refreshSessions = useCallback(async () => {
-    try {
-      const data = await fetchSessions();
-      setSessions(data);
-    } catch {
-      // non-critical — sidebar just won't update
-    }
-  }, []);
+
 
   // Append a message to the current thread (used by useChat)
   const appendMessage = useCallback((message) => {
diff --git a/packages/chat-client/src/index.css b/packages/chat-client/src/index.css
index 9d196aa..0f46ee8 100644
--- a/packages/chat-client/src/index.css
+++ b/packages/chat-client/src/index.css
@@ -23,4 +23,9 @@ html, body, #root {
   background: var(--bg-base);
   color: var(--text-primary);
   font-size: 15px;
+}
+
+@keyframes blink {
+    0%, 100% { opacity: 1; }
+    50%       { opacity: 0; }
 }
\ No newline at end of file