diff --git a/src/dev/setupMockTauri.ts b/src/dev/setupMockTauri.ts
index c566de0..8525c74 100644
--- a/src/dev/setupMockTauri.ts
+++ b/src/dev/setupMockTauri.ts
@@ -4,8 +4,19 @@ import { handleMockCommand } from "./mockBackend";
 mockWindows("main");
 mockConvertFileSrc("windows");
 
-mockIPC((cmd, payload) => handleMockCommand(cmd, payload), {
-  shouldMockEvents: true,
-});
+mockIPC(
+  async (cmd, payload) => {
+    const result = await handleMockCommand(cmd, payload);
+    // Real invoke() deserializes fresh JSON on every call, so callers never
+    // share references into backend state and Zustand identity checks see
+    // every change. Clone here so the mock behaves the same — returning
+    // `db.albums` directly froze the sidebar because set({ albums }) kept
+    // the same array identity across loads.
+    return structuredClone(result);
+  },
+  {
+    shouldMockEvents: true,
+  },
+);
 
 console.info("[Phokus UI Lab] Mock Tauri backend installed.");