diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index 3313342..1805eda 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -386,6 +386,26 @@ version = "0.22.1"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "72b3254f16251a8381aa12e40e3c4d2f0199f8c6508fbecb9d91f575e0fbb8c6"
 
+[[package]]
+name = "bincode"
+version = "2.0.1"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "36eaf5d7b090263e8150820482d5d93cd964a81e4019913c972f4edcc6edb740"
+dependencies = [
+ "bincode_derive",
+ "serde",
+ "unty",
+]
+
+[[package]]
+name = "bincode_derive"
+version = "2.0.1"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "bf95709a440f45e986983918d0e8a1f30a9b1df04918fc828670606804ac3c09"
+dependencies = [
+ "virtue",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "bit-set"
 version = "0.8.0"
@@ -799,6 +819,15 @@ dependencies = [
  "cfg-if",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "crossbeam-channel"
+version = "0.5.15"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "82b8f8f868b36967f9606790d1903570de9ceaf870a7bf9fbbd3016d636a2cb2"
+dependencies = [
+ "crossbeam-utils",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "crossbeam-deque"
 version = "0.8.6"
@@ -861,6 +890,15 @@ version = "0.3.1"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "5c297a1c74b71ae29df00c3e22dd9534821d60eb9af5a0192823fa2acea70c2a"
 
+[[package]]
+name = "deranged"
+version = "0.5.8"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "7cd812cc2bc1d69d4764bd80df88b4317eaef9e773c75226407d9bc0876b211c"
+dependencies = [
+ "powerfmt",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "dirs"
 version = "6.0.0"
@@ -2267,6 +2305,7 @@ dependencies = [
 name = "k-launcher"
 version = "0.1.0"
 dependencies = [
+ "dirs",
  "iced",
  "k-launcher-config",
  "k-launcher-kernel",
@@ -2279,6 +2318,8 @@ dependencies = [
  "plugin-cmd",
  "plugin-files",
  "tokio",
+ "tracing",
+ "tracing-appender",
  "tracing-subscriber",
 ]
 
@@ -2299,6 +2340,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "futures",
  "serde",
  "tokio",
+ "tracing",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -2870,6 +2912,12 @@ dependencies = [
  "num-traits",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "num-conv"
+version = "0.2.0"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "cf97ec579c3c42f953ef76dbf8d55ac91fb219dde70e49aa4a6b7d74e9919050"
+
 [[package]]
 name = "num-derive"
 version = "0.4.2"
@@ -3474,6 +3522,8 @@ name = "plugin-apps"
 version = "0.1.0"
 dependencies = [
  "async-trait",
+ "bincode",
+ "dirs",
  "k-launcher-kernel",
  "linicon",
  "nucleo-matcher",
@@ -3584,6 +3634,12 @@ dependencies = [
  "zerovec",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "powerfmt"
+version = "0.2.0"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "439ee305def115ba05938db6eb1644ff94165c5ab5e9420d1c1bcedbba909391"
+
 [[package]]
 name = "ppv-lite86"
 version = "0.2.21"
@@ -4541,6 +4597,37 @@ dependencies = [
  "zune-jpeg 0.4.21",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "time"
+version = "0.3.47"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "743bd48c283afc0388f9b8827b976905fb217ad9e647fae3a379a9283c4def2c"
+dependencies = [
+ "deranged",
+ "itoa",
+ "num-conv",
+ "powerfmt",
+ "serde_core",
+ "time-core",
+ "time-macros",
+]
+
+[[package]]
+name = "time-core"
+version = "0.1.8"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "7694e1cfe791f8d31026952abf09c69ca6f6fa4e1a1229e18988f06a04a12dca"
+
+[[package]]
+name = "time-macros"
+version = "0.2.27"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "2e70e4c5a0e0a8a4823ad65dfe1a6930e4f4d756dcd9dd7939022b5e8c501215"
+dependencies = [
+ "num-conv",
+ "time-core",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "tiny-skia"
 version = "0.11.4"
@@ -4694,6 +4781,18 @@ dependencies = [
  "tracing-core",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "tracing-appender"
+version = "0.2.4"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "786d480bce6247ab75f005b14ae1624ad978d3029d9113f0a22fa1ac773faeaf"
+dependencies = [
+ "crossbeam-channel",
+ "thiserror 2.0.18",
+ "time",
+ "tracing-subscriber",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "tracing-attributes"
 version = "0.1.31"
@@ -4845,6 +4944,12 @@ version = "0.2.6"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "ebc1c04c71510c7f702b52b7c350734c9ff1295c464a03335b00bb84fc54f853"
 
+[[package]]
+name = "unty"
+version = "0.0.4"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "6d49784317cd0d1ee7ec5c716dd598ec5b4483ea832a2dced265471cc0f690ae"
+
 [[package]]
 name = "url"
 version = "2.5.8"
@@ -4924,6 +5029,12 @@ version = "0.9.5"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "0b928f33d975fc6ad9f86c8f283853ad26bdd5b10b7f1542aa2fa15e2289105a"
 
+[[package]]
+name = "virtue"
+version = "0.0.18"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "051eb1abcf10076295e815102942cc58f9d5e3b4560e46e53c21e8ff6f3af7b1"
+
 [[package]]
 name = "walkdir"
 version = "2.5.0"
diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index 4d353bd..f55a585 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ resolver = "2"
 
 [workspace.dependencies]
 async-trait = "0.1"
+bincode = { version = "2", features = ["serde"] }
 dirs = "6.0"
 futures = "0.3"
 iced = { version = "0.14", features = ["image", "svg", "tokio", "tiny-skia"] }
diff --git a/crates/k-launcher-kernel/Cargo.toml b/crates/k-launcher-kernel/Cargo.toml
index fb11492..a6fda6d 100644
--- a/crates/k-launcher-kernel/Cargo.toml
+++ b/crates/k-launcher-kernel/Cargo.toml
@@ -8,3 +8,4 @@ async-trait = { workspace = true }
 futures = { workspace = true }
 serde = { workspace = true }
 tokio = { workspace = true }
+tracing = { workspace = true }
diff --git a/crates/k-launcher-kernel/src/lib.rs b/crates/k-launcher-kernel/src/lib.rs
index 3558460..497a29b 100644
--- a/crates/k-launcher-kernel/src/lib.rs
+++ b/crates/k-launcher-kernel/src/lib.rs
@@ -97,6 +97,17 @@ pub trait SearchEngine: Send + Sync {
     async fn search(&self, query: &str) -> Vec<SearchResult>;
 }
 
+// --- NullSearchEngine ---
+
+pub struct NullSearchEngine;
+
+#[async_trait]
+impl SearchEngine for NullSearchEngine {
+    async fn search(&self, _query: &str) -> Vec<SearchResult> {
+        vec![]
+    }
+}
+
 // --- Kernel (Application use case) ---
 
 pub struct Kernel {
@@ -113,9 +124,25 @@ impl Kernel {
     }
 
     pub async fn search(&self, query: &str) -> Vec<SearchResult> {
-        let futures = self.plugins.iter().map(|p| p.search(query));
-        let nested: Vec<Vec<SearchResult>> = join_all(futures).await;
-        let mut flat: Vec<SearchResult> = nested.into_iter().flatten().collect();
+        use futures::FutureExt;
+        use std::panic::AssertUnwindSafe;
+
+        let futures = self
+            .plugins
+            .iter()
+            .map(|p| AssertUnwindSafe(p.search(query)).catch_unwind());
+        let outcomes = join_all(futures).await;
+        let mut flat: Vec<SearchResult> = outcomes
+            .into_iter()
+            .zip(self.plugins.iter())
+            .flat_map(|(outcome, plugin)| match outcome {
+                Ok(results) => results,
+                Err(_) => {
+                    tracing::error!(plugin = plugin.name(), "plugin panicked during search");
+                    vec![]
+                }
+            })
+            .collect();
         flat.sort_by(|a, b| b.score.cmp(&a.score));
         flat.truncate(self.max_results);
         flat
@@ -203,6 +230,29 @@ mod tests {
         assert_eq!(results[2].score.value(), 5);
     }
 
+    struct PanicPlugin;
+
+    #[async_trait]
+    impl Plugin for PanicPlugin {
+        fn name(&self) -> &str {
+            "panic-plugin"
+        }
+
+        async fn search(&self, _query: &str) -> Vec<SearchResult> {
+            panic!("test panic");
+        }
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn kernel_continues_after_plugin_panic() {
+        let panic_plugin = Arc::new(PanicPlugin);
+        let normal_plugin = Arc::new(MockPlugin::returns(vec![("survivor", 5)]));
+        let k = Kernel::new(vec![panic_plugin, normal_plugin], 8);
+        let results = k.search("q").await;
+        assert_eq!(results.len(), 1);
+        assert_eq!(results[0].title.as_str(), "survivor");
+    }
+
     #[tokio::test]
     async fn kernel_truncates_at_max_results() {
         let plugin = Arc::new(MockPlugin::returns(vec![
diff --git a/crates/k-launcher/Cargo.toml b/crates/k-launcher/Cargo.toml
index bdcc2e2..1deff96 100644
--- a/crates/k-launcher/Cargo.toml
+++ b/crates/k-launcher/Cargo.toml
@@ -34,5 +34,8 @@ plugin-apps = { path = "../plugins/plugin-apps" }
 plugin-calc = { path = "../plugins/plugin-calc" }
 plugin-cmd = { path = "../plugins/plugin-cmd" }
 plugin-files = { path = "../plugins/plugin-files" }
+dirs = { workspace = true }
 tokio = { workspace = true }
+tracing = { workspace = true }
+tracing-appender = "0.2"
 tracing-subscriber = { version = "0.3", features = ["env-filter"] }
diff --git a/crates/k-launcher/src/main.rs b/crates/k-launcher/src/main.rs
index 73ef394..355b36d 100644
--- a/crates/k-launcher/src/main.rs
+++ b/crates/k-launcher/src/main.rs
@@ -10,8 +10,30 @@ use plugin_calc::CalcPlugin;
 use plugin_cmd::CmdPlugin;
 use plugin_files::FilesPlugin;
 
+fn init_logging() -> tracing_appender::non_blocking::WorkerGuard {
+    use tracing_subscriber::{EnvFilter, layer::SubscriberExt, util::SubscriberInitExt};
+
+    let log_dir = dirs::data_local_dir()
+        .map(|d| d.join("k-launcher/logs"))
+        .unwrap_or_else(|| std::path::PathBuf::from("/tmp/k-launcher/logs"));
+    std::fs::create_dir_all(&log_dir).ok();
+
+    let file_appender = tracing_appender::rolling::daily(&log_dir, "k-launcher.log");
+    let (non_blocking, guard) = tracing_appender::non_blocking(file_appender);
+
+    let env_filter = EnvFilter::try_from_default_env().unwrap_or_else(|_| EnvFilter::new("info"));
+
+    tracing_subscriber::registry()
+        .with(env_filter)
+        .with(tracing_subscriber::fmt::layer().with_writer(std::io::stderr))
+        .with(tracing_subscriber::fmt::layer().with_writer(non_blocking))
+        .init();
+
+    guard
+}
+
 fn main() {
-    tracing_subscriber::fmt::init();
+    let _guard = init_logging();
 
     if let Err(e) = run_ui() {
         eprintln!("error: UI: {e}");
@@ -19,11 +41,8 @@ fn main() {
     }
 }
 
-fn run_ui() -> iced::Result {
-    let cfg = k_launcher_config::load();
-    let launcher = Arc::new(UnixAppLauncher::new());
+fn build_engine(cfg: Arc<k_launcher_config::Config>) -> Arc<dyn k_launcher_kernel::SearchEngine> {
     let frecency = FrecencyStore::load();
-
     let mut plugins: Vec<Arc<dyn k_launcher_kernel::Plugin>> = vec![];
     if cfg.plugins.cmd {
         plugins.push(Arc::new(CmdPlugin::new()));
@@ -47,9 +66,14 @@ fn run_ui() -> iced::Result {
             ext.args.clone(),
         )));
     }
-
-    let kernel: Arc<dyn k_launcher_kernel::SearchEngine> =
-        Arc::new(Kernel::new(plugins, cfg.search.max_results));
-
-    k_launcher_ui::run(kernel, launcher, &cfg.window, cfg.appearance)
+    Arc::new(Kernel::new(plugins, cfg.search.max_results))
+}
+
+fn run_ui() -> iced::Result {
+    let cfg = Arc::new(k_launcher_config::load());
+    let launcher = Arc::new(UnixAppLauncher::new());
+    let factory_cfg = cfg.clone();
+    let factory: Arc<dyn Fn() -> Arc<dyn k_launcher_kernel::SearchEngine> + Send + Sync> =
+        Arc::new(move || build_engine(factory_cfg.clone()));
+    k_launcher_ui::run(factory, launcher, &cfg.window, cfg.appearance.clone())
 }
diff --git a/crates/plugins/plugin-apps/Cargo.toml b/crates/plugins/plugin-apps/Cargo.toml
index d7a2531..e1549e8 100644
--- a/crates/plugins/plugin-apps/Cargo.toml
+++ b/crates/plugins/plugin-apps/Cargo.toml
@@ -9,6 +9,8 @@ path = "src/lib.rs"
 
 [dependencies]
 async-trait = { workspace = true }
+bincode = { workspace = true }
+dirs = { workspace = true }
 k-launcher-kernel = { path = "../../k-launcher-kernel" }
 nucleo-matcher = "0.3"
 serde = { workspace = true }
diff --git a/crates/plugins/plugin-apps/src/lib.rs b/crates/plugins/plugin-apps/src/lib.rs
index e000a57..0208d4e 100644
--- a/crates/plugins/plugin-apps/src/lib.rs
+++ b/crates/plugins/plugin-apps/src/lib.rs
@@ -2,7 +2,11 @@ pub mod frecency;
 #[cfg(target_os = "linux")]
 pub mod linux;
 
-use std::{collections::HashMap, sync::Arc};
+use std::{
+    collections::HashMap,
+    path::{Path, PathBuf},
+    sync::{Arc, RwLock},
+};
 
 use async_trait::async_trait;
 use k_launcher_kernel::{LaunchAction, Plugin, ResultId, ResultTitle, Score, SearchResult};
@@ -75,46 +79,139 @@ struct CachedEntry {
     on_select: Arc<dyn Fn() + Send + Sync>,
 }
 
+// --- Serializable cache data (no closures) ---
+
+#[derive(serde::Serialize, serde::Deserialize)]
+struct CachedEntryData {
+    id: String,
+    name: String,
+    keywords_lc: Vec<String>,
+    category: Option<String>,
+    icon: Option<String>,
+    exec: String,
+}
+
+fn cache_path() -> Option<PathBuf> {
+    #[cfg(test)]
+    return None;
+    #[cfg(not(test))]
+    dirs::cache_dir().map(|d| d.join("k-launcher/apps.bin"))
+}
+
+fn load_from_path(path: &Path, frecency: &Arc<FrecencyStore>) -> Option<HashMap<String, CachedEntry>> {
+    let data = std::fs::read(path).ok()?;
+    let (entries_data, _): (Vec<CachedEntryData>, _) =
+        bincode::serde::decode_from_slice(&data, bincode::config::standard()).ok()?;
+    let map = entries_data
+        .into_iter()
+        .map(|e| {
+            let store = Arc::clone(frecency);
+            let record_id = e.id.clone();
+            let on_select: Arc<dyn Fn() + Send + Sync> = Arc::new(move || {
+                store.record(&record_id);
+            });
+            let cached = CachedEntry {
+                id: e.id.clone(),
+                name: AppName::new(e.name),
+                keywords_lc: e.keywords_lc,
+                category: e.category,
+                icon: e.icon,
+                exec: e.exec,
+                on_select,
+            };
+            (e.id, cached)
+        })
+        .collect();
+    Some(map)
+}
+
+fn save_to_path(path: &Path, entries: &HashMap<String, CachedEntry>) {
+    if let Some(dir) = path.parent() {
+        std::fs::create_dir_all(dir).ok();
+    }
+    let data: Vec<CachedEntryData> = entries
+        .values()
+        .map(|e| CachedEntryData {
+            id: e.id.clone(),
+            name: e.name.as_str().to_string(),
+            keywords_lc: e.keywords_lc.clone(),
+            category: e.category.clone(),
+            icon: e.icon.clone(),
+            exec: e.exec.clone(),
+        })
+        .collect();
+    if let Ok(encoded) = bincode::serde::encode_to_vec(&data, bincode::config::standard()) {
+        std::fs::write(path, encoded).ok();
+    }
+}
+
+fn build_entries(source: &impl DesktopEntrySource, frecency: &Arc<FrecencyStore>) -> HashMap<String, CachedEntry> {
+    source
+        .entries()
+        .into_iter()
+        .map(|e| {
+            let id = format!("app-{}", e.name.as_str());
+            let keywords_lc = e.keywords.iter().map(|k| k.to_lowercase()).collect();
+            #[cfg(target_os = "linux")]
+            let icon = e
+                .icon
+                .as_ref()
+                .and_then(|p| linux::resolve_icon_path(p.as_str()));
+            #[cfg(not(target_os = "linux"))]
+            let icon: Option<String> = None;
+            let exec = e.exec.as_str().to_string();
+            let store = Arc::clone(frecency);
+            let record_id = id.clone();
+            let on_select: Arc<dyn Fn() + Send + Sync> = Arc::new(move || {
+                store.record(&record_id);
+            });
+            let cached = CachedEntry {
+                id: id.clone(),
+                keywords_lc,
+                category: e.category,
+                icon,
+                exec,
+                on_select,
+                name: e.name,
+            };
+            (id, cached)
+        })
+        .collect()
+}
+
 // --- Plugin ---
 
 pub struct AppsPlugin {
-    entries: HashMap<String, CachedEntry>,
+    entries: Arc<RwLock<HashMap<String, CachedEntry>>>,
     frecency: Arc<FrecencyStore>,
 }
 
 impl AppsPlugin {
-    pub fn new(source: impl DesktopEntrySource, frecency: Arc<FrecencyStore>) -> Self {
-        let entries = source
-            .entries()
-            .into_iter()
-            .map(|e| {
-                let id = format!("app-{}", e.name.as_str());
-                let keywords_lc = e.keywords.iter().map(|k| k.to_lowercase()).collect();
-                #[cfg(target_os = "linux")]
-                let icon = e
-                    .icon
-                    .as_ref()
-                    .and_then(|p| linux::resolve_icon_path(p.as_str()));
-                #[cfg(not(target_os = "linux"))]
-                let icon: Option<String> = None;
-                let exec = e.exec.as_str().to_string();
-                let store = Arc::clone(&frecency);
-                let record_id = id.clone();
-                let on_select: Arc<dyn Fn() + Send + Sync> = Arc::new(move || {
-                    store.record(&record_id);
-                });
-                let cached = CachedEntry {
-                    id: id.clone(),
-                    keywords_lc,
-                    category: e.category,
-                    icon,
-                    exec,
-                    on_select,
-                    name: e.name,
-                };
-                (id, cached)
-            })
-            .collect();
+    pub fn new(source: impl DesktopEntrySource + 'static, frecency: Arc<FrecencyStore>) -> Self {
+        let cached = cache_path().and_then(|p| load_from_path(&p, &frecency));
+
+        let entries = if let Some(from_cache) = cached {
+            // Serve cache immediately; refresh in background.
+            let map = Arc::new(RwLock::new(from_cache));
+            let entries_bg = Arc::clone(&map);
+            let frecency_bg = Arc::clone(&frecency);
+            std::thread::spawn(move || {
+                let fresh = build_entries(&source, &frecency_bg);
+                if let Some(path) = cache_path() {
+                    save_to_path(&path, &fresh);
+                }
+                *entries_bg.write().unwrap() = fresh;
+            });
+            map
+        } else {
+            // No cache: build synchronously, then persist.
+            let initial = build_entries(&source, &frecency);
+            if let Some(path) = cache_path() {
+                save_to_path(&path, &initial);
+            }
+            Arc::new(RwLock::new(initial))
+        };
+
         Self { entries, frecency }
     }
 }
@@ -171,13 +268,14 @@ impl Plugin for AppsPlugin {
     }
 
     async fn search(&self, query: &str) -> Vec<SearchResult> {
+        let entries = self.entries.read().unwrap();
         if query.is_empty() {
             return self
                 .frecency
                 .top_ids(5)
                 .iter()
                 .filter_map(|id| {
-                    let e = self.entries.get(id)?;
+                    let e = entries.get(id)?;
                     let score = self.frecency.frecency_score(id).max(1);
                     Some(SearchResult {
                         id: ResultId::new(id),
@@ -193,7 +291,7 @@ impl Plugin for AppsPlugin {
         }
 
         let query_lc = query.to_lowercase();
-        self.entries
+        entries
             .values()
             .filter_map(|e| {
                 let score = score_match(e.name.as_str(), query).or_else(|| {
@@ -396,4 +494,22 @@ mod tests {
         assert_eq!(results.len(), 2);
         assert_eq!(results[0].title.as_str(), "Code");
     }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn apps_loads_from_cache_when_source_is_empty() {
+        let frecency = ephemeral_frecency();
+        let cache_file = std::env::temp_dir()
+            .join(format!("k-launcher-test-{}.bin", std::process::id()));
+
+        // Build entries from a real source and save to temp path
+        let source = MockSource::with(vec![("Firefox", "firefox")]);
+        let entries = build_entries(&source, &frecency);
+        save_to_path(&cache_file, &entries);
+
+        // Load from temp path — should contain Firefox
+        let loaded = load_from_path(&cache_file, &frecency).unwrap();
+        assert!(loaded.contains_key("app-Firefox"));
+
+        std::fs::remove_file(&cache_file).ok();
+    }
 }