diff --git a/src-tauri/src/commands.rs b/src-tauri/src/commands.rs
index 65de8fc..fb16359 100644
--- a/src-tauri/src/commands.rs
+++ b/src-tauri/src/commands.rs
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ use crate::indexer;
 use crate::vector;
 use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};
 use std::path::PathBuf;
-use tauri::{AppHandle, Manager, State};
+use tauri::{AppHandle, State};
 
 pub type DbState = DbPool;
 
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ pub struct GetImagesParams {
     pub search: Option<String>,
     pub media_kind: Option<String>,
     pub favorites_only: Option<bool>,
+    pub embedding_failed_only: Option<bool>,
     pub sort: Option<String>,
     pub offset: Option<i64>,
     pub limit: Option<i64>,
@@ -124,8 +125,9 @@ pub async fn get_images(
     let search = params.search.as_deref();
     let media_kind = params.media_kind.as_deref();
     let favorites_only = params.favorites_only.unwrap_or(false);
+    let embedding_failed_only = params.embedding_failed_only.unwrap_or(false);
 
-    let total = db::count_images(&conn, params.folder_id, search, media_kind, favorites_only)
+    let total = db::count_images(&conn, params.folder_id, search, media_kind, favorites_only, embedding_failed_only)
         .map_err(|e| e.to_string())?;
 
     let images = db::get_images(
@@ -134,6 +136,7 @@ pub async fn get_images(
         search,
         media_kind,
         favorites_only,
+        embedding_failed_only,
         sort,
         offset,
         limit,
@@ -224,77 +227,109 @@ pub async fn semantic_search_images(
     Ok(images)
 }
 
-#[derive(Serialize)]
+#[derive(Serialize, Deserialize)]
 pub struct TagCloudEntry {
-    pub label: String,
     pub count: usize,
+    pub representative_image_id: i64,
+    pub thumbnail_path: Option<String>,
 }
 
-/// Clusters the library's image embeddings with k-means, then labels each cluster by
-/// finding the closest word in the vocabulary.  The vocabulary is loaded from
-/// `{app_data_dir}/vocabulary.txt` if present, otherwise from the bundled default.
-/// Vocabulary embeddings are cached to disk — only recomputed when the vocabulary changes.
+fn fnv_hash_ids(ids: &[i64]) -> u64 {
+    let mut h: u64 = 0xcbf29ce484222325;
+    for &id in ids {
+        for b in id.to_le_bytes() {
+            h = h.wrapping_mul(0x100000001b3) ^ (b as u64);
+        }
+    }
+    h
+}
+
+/// Clusters the library's image embeddings with k-means and returns one representative
+/// image per cluster — the member whose embedding is closest to its cluster centroid.
+/// Results are cached in SQLite keyed by a hash of the embedded image IDs, so repeated
+/// calls (including across app restarts) return instantly when the library hasn't changed.
 #[tauri::command]
 pub async fn get_tag_cloud(
-    app: AppHandle,
     db: State<'_, DbState>,
     folder_id: Option<i64>,
 ) -> Result<Vec<TagCloudEntry>, String> {
-    let app_data_dir = app.path().app_data_dir().map_err(|e| e.to_string())?;
-
-    let image_embeddings = {
+    let embeddings_with_ids = {
         let conn = db.get().map_err(|e| e.to_string())?;
-        vector::get_all_image_embeddings(&conn, folder_id).map_err(|e| e.to_string())?
+        vector::get_all_image_embeddings_with_ids(&conn, folder_id).map_err(|e| e.to_string())?
     };
 
-    let n = image_embeddings.len();
+    let n = embeddings_with_ids.len();
     if n < 5 {
         return Ok(vec![]);
     }
 
-    // Load vocabulary (custom file > bundled default)
-    let vocab = embedder::load_vocabulary(&app_data_dir);
+    // Compute a hash of the current embedded image IDs (sorted for stability)
+    let mut sorted_ids: Vec<i64> = embeddings_with_ids.iter().map(|(id, _)| *id).collect();
+    sorted_ids.sort_unstable();
+    let current_hash = fnv_hash_ids(&sorted_ids);
 
-    // Embed vocabulary — disk-cached, only recomputes when vocabulary changes
-    let vocab_refs: Vec<&str> = vocab.iter().map(|s| s.as_str()).collect();
-    let vocab_embeddings = embedder::embed_vocab_cached(&vocab, &app_data_dir)
-        .map_err(|e| e.to_string())?;
+    let folder_scope = match folder_id {
+        Some(id) => format!("folder_{}", id),
+        None => "all".to_string(),
+    };
 
-    // Choose k proportional to library size, capped at 30
-    let k = (n / 20).clamp(5, 30);
-
-    // Cluster image embeddings
-    let (centroids, cluster_counts) = kmeans_cosine(&image_embeddings, k, 40);
-
-    // Label each cluster with the nearest vocabulary word
-    let mut entries: Vec<TagCloudEntry> = Vec::new();
-    let mut used_labels = std::collections::HashSet::new();
-
-    let mut order: Vec<usize> = (0..k).collect();
-    order.sort_unstable_by(|&a, &b| cluster_counts[b].cmp(&cluster_counts[a]));
-
-    for ci in order {
-        let count = cluster_counts[ci];
-        if count == 0 { continue; }
-
-        let centroid = &centroids[ci];
-        let label = vocab_refs
-            .iter()
-            .zip(vocab_embeddings.iter())
-            .map(|(&word, emb)| {
-                let sim: f32 = centroid.iter().zip(emb.iter()).map(|(a, b)| a * b).sum();
-                (word, sim)
-            })
-            .max_by(|a, b| a.1.partial_cmp(&b.1).unwrap_or(std::cmp::Ordering::Equal))
-            .map(|(word, _)| word.to_string())
-            .unwrap_or_else(|| "other".to_string());
-
-        if used_labels.insert(label.clone()) {
-            entries.push(TagCloudEntry { label, count });
+    // Try to return a valid SQLite cache
+    {
+        let conn = db.get().map_err(|e| e.to_string())?;
+        if let Some(json) = db::get_tag_cloud_cache(&conn, &folder_scope, current_hash)
+            .map_err(|e| e.to_string())?
+        {
+            if let Ok(entries) = serde_json::from_str::<Vec<TagCloudEntry>>(&json) {
+                return Ok(entries);
+            }
         }
     }
 
-    entries.sort_unstable_by(|a, b| b.count.cmp(&a.count));
+    // Cache miss — run k-means
+    let ids: Vec<i64> = embeddings_with_ids.iter().map(|(id, _)| *id).collect();
+    let points: Vec<Vec<f32>> = embeddings_with_ids.into_iter().map(|(_, emb)| emb).collect();
+
+    let k = (n / 20).clamp(5, 30);
+    let (centroids, cluster_counts, assignments) = kmeans_cosine(&points, k, 40);
+
+    let mut entries: Vec<TagCloudEntry> = Vec::new();
+    let mut order: Vec<usize> = (0..k).collect();
+    order.sort_unstable_by(|&a, &b| cluster_counts[b].cmp(&cluster_counts[a]));
+
+    let conn = db.get().map_err(|e| e.to_string())?;
+
+    for ci in order {
+        let count = cluster_counts[ci];
+        if count == 0 {
+            continue;
+        }
+
+        let centroid = &centroids[ci];
+        let best_id = points
+            .iter()
+            .enumerate()
+            .filter(|(i, _)| assignments[*i] == ci)
+            .map(|(i, p)| (ids[i], dot(centroid, p)))
+            .max_by(|a, b| a.1.partial_cmp(&b.1).unwrap_or(std::cmp::Ordering::Equal))
+            .map(|(id, _)| id)
+            .unwrap_or(0);
+
+        let thumbnail_path = db::get_image_by_id(&conn, best_id)
+            .ok()
+            .and_then(|img| img.thumbnail_path);
+
+        entries.push(TagCloudEntry {
+            count,
+            representative_image_id: best_id,
+            thumbnail_path,
+        });
+    }
+
+    // Persist to SQLite — ignore write errors (cache is best-effort)
+    if let Ok(json) = serde_json::to_string(&entries) {
+        let _ = db::set_tag_cloud_cache(&conn, &folder_scope, current_hash, &json);
+    }
+
     Ok(entries)
 }
 
@@ -315,7 +350,7 @@ fn kmeans_cosine(
     points: &[Vec<f32>],
     k: usize,
     max_iter: usize,
-) -> (Vec<Vec<f32>>, Vec<usize>) {
+) -> (Vec<Vec<f32>>, Vec<usize>, Vec<usize>) {
     let n = points.len();
     let dim = points[0].len();
 
@@ -375,7 +410,31 @@ fn kmeans_cosine(
     let mut counts = vec![0usize; k];
     for &a in &assignments { counts[a] += 1; }
 
-    (centroids, counts)
+    (centroids, counts, assignments)
+}
+
+#[derive(Serialize)]
+pub struct FailedEmbeddingItem {
+    pub image_id: i64,
+    pub filename: String,
+    pub error: Option<String>,
+}
+
+#[tauri::command]
+pub async fn get_failed_embedding_images(
+    db: State<'_, DbState>,
+    folder_id: i64,
+) -> Result<Vec<FailedEmbeddingItem>, String> {
+    let conn = db.get().map_err(|e| e.to_string())?;
+    let rows = db::get_failed_embedding_images(&conn, folder_id).map_err(|e| e.to_string())?;
+    Ok(rows
+        .into_iter()
+        .map(|(image_id, filename, error)| FailedEmbeddingItem {
+            image_id,
+            filename,
+            error,
+        })
+        .collect())
 }
 
 #[derive(Serialize)]
diff --git a/src-tauri/src/db.rs b/src-tauri/src/db.rs
index 3c44d2d..7fe7ead 100644
--- a/src-tauri/src/db.rs
+++ b/src-tauri/src/db.rs
@@ -172,6 +172,13 @@ pub fn migrate(conn: &Connection) -> Result<()> {
             updated_at  TEXT NOT NULL DEFAULT (datetime('now'))
         );
 
+        CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS tag_cloud_cache (
+            folder_scope    TEXT PRIMARY KEY,
+            image_ids_hash  INTEGER NOT NULL,
+            entries_json    TEXT NOT NULL,
+            created_at      TEXT NOT NULL DEFAULT (datetime('now'))
+        );
+
         CREATE INDEX IF NOT EXISTS idx_images_folder_id ON images(folder_id);
         CREATE INDEX IF NOT EXISTS idx_images_modified_at ON images(modified_at);
         CREATE INDEX IF NOT EXISTS idx_embedding_jobs_status ON embedding_jobs(status);
@@ -301,11 +308,16 @@ pub fn backfill_embedding_jobs(conn: &Connection) -> Result<usize> {
 }
 
 pub fn retry_failed_embedding_jobs(conn: &Connection, folder_id: i64) -> Result<usize> {
+    // Only re-queue images that are actually embeddable right now.
+    // Videos without a thumbnail would just fail again immediately, so skip them —
+    // they will be re-queued automatically once their thumbnail is generated.
     let updated = conn.execute(
         "INSERT INTO embedding_jobs (image_id, status, attempts, last_error, created_at, updated_at)
          SELECT id, 'pending', 0, NULL, datetime('now'), datetime('now')
          FROM images
-         WHERE folder_id = ?1 AND embedding_status = 'failed'
+         WHERE folder_id = ?1
+           AND embedding_status = 'failed'
+           AND NOT (media_kind = 'video' AND thumbnail_path IS NULL)
          ON CONFLICT(image_id) DO UPDATE SET
              status = 'pending',
              last_error = NULL,
@@ -315,7 +327,9 @@ pub fn retry_failed_embedding_jobs(conn: &Connection, folder_id: i64) -> Result<
     conn.execute(
         "UPDATE images
          SET embedding_status = 'pending', embedding_error = NULL
-         WHERE folder_id = ?1 AND embedding_status = 'failed'",
+         WHERE folder_id = ?1
+           AND embedding_status = 'failed'
+           AND NOT (media_kind = 'video' AND thumbnail_path IS NULL)",
         [folder_id],
     )?;
     Ok(updated)
@@ -802,6 +816,7 @@ pub fn get_images(
     search: Option<&str>,
     media_kind: Option<&str>,
     favorites_only: bool,
+    embedding_failed_only: bool,
     sort: &str,
     offset: i64,
     limit: i64,
@@ -820,6 +835,7 @@ pub fn get_images(
 
     let search_pattern = search.map(|value| format!("%{}%", value));
     let favorites_flag = i64::from(favorites_only);
+    let embedding_failed_flag = i64::from(embedding_failed_only);
     let sql = format!(
         "SELECT id, folder_id, path, filename, thumbnail_path, width, height, file_size, created_at, modified_at, mime_type,
                 media_kind, duration_ms, video_codec, audio_codec, metadata_updated_at, metadata_error,
@@ -829,8 +845,9 @@ pub fn get_images(
            AND (?2 IS NULL OR filename LIKE ?2)
            AND (?3 IS NULL OR media_kind = ?3)
            AND (?4 = 0 OR favorite = 1)
+           AND (?5 = 0 OR embedding_status = 'failed')
          ORDER BY {}
-         LIMIT ?5 OFFSET ?6",
+         LIMIT ?6 OFFSET ?7",
         order
     );
     let mut stmt = conn.prepare(&sql)?;
@@ -840,6 +857,7 @@ pub fn get_images(
             search_pattern,
             media_kind,
             favorites_flag,
+            embedding_failed_flag,
             limit,
             offset
         ],
@@ -854,23 +872,52 @@ pub fn count_images(
     search: Option<&str>,
     media_kind: Option<&str>,
     favorites_only: bool,
+    embedding_failed_only: bool,
 ) -> Result<i64> {
     let search_pattern = search.map(|value| format!("%{}%", value));
 
     let favorites_flag = i64::from(favorites_only);
+    let embedding_failed_flag = i64::from(embedding_failed_only);
     let count = conn.query_row(
         "SELECT COUNT(*) FROM images
          WHERE (?1 IS NULL OR folder_id = ?1)
            AND (?2 IS NULL OR filename LIKE ?2)
            AND (?3 IS NULL OR media_kind = ?3)
-           AND (?4 = 0 OR favorite = 1)",
-        params![folder_id, search_pattern, media_kind, favorites_flag],
+           AND (?4 = 0 OR favorite = 1)
+           AND (?5 = 0 OR embedding_status = 'failed')",
+        params![
+            folder_id,
+            search_pattern,
+            media_kind,
+            favorites_flag,
+            embedding_failed_flag
+        ],
         |row| row.get(0),
     )?;
 
     Ok(count)
 }
 
+pub fn get_failed_embedding_images(
+    conn: &Connection,
+    folder_id: i64,
+) -> Result<Vec<(i64, String, Option<String>)>> {
+    let mut stmt = conn.prepare(
+        "SELECT id, filename, embedding_error
+         FROM images
+         WHERE folder_id = ?1 AND embedding_status = 'failed'
+         ORDER BY filename",
+    )?;
+    let rows = stmt.query_map([folder_id], |row| {
+        Ok((
+            row.get::<_, i64>(0)?,
+            row.get::<_, String>(1)?,
+            row.get::<_, Option<String>>(2)?,
+        ))
+    })?;
+    Ok(rows.collect::<rusqlite::Result<Vec<_>>>()?)
+}
+
 pub fn delete_folder(conn: &Connection, folder_id: i64) -> Result<()> {
     conn.execute("DELETE FROM folders WHERE id = ?1", params![folder_id])?;
     Ok(())
@@ -904,6 +951,44 @@ fn map_image_row(row: &Row<'_>) -> rusqlite::Result<ImageRecord> {
     })
 }
 
+/// Returns cached tag-cloud entries if the stored hash matches `current_hash`.
+pub fn get_tag_cloud_cache(
+    conn: &Connection,
+    folder_scope: &str,
+    current_hash: u64,
+) -> Result<Option<String>> {
+    let result: rusqlite::Result<(i64, String)> = conn.query_row(
+        "SELECT image_ids_hash, entries_json FROM tag_cloud_cache WHERE folder_scope = ?1",
+        params![folder_scope],
+        |row| Ok((row.get(0)?, row.get(1)?)),
+    );
+    match result {
+        Ok((stored_hash, json)) if stored_hash as u64 == current_hash => Ok(Some(json)),
+        Ok(_) => Ok(None),
+        Err(rusqlite::Error::QueryReturnedNoRows) => Ok(None),
+        Err(e) => Err(e.into()),
+    }
+}
+
+/// Upserts the tag-cloud cache for the given scope.
+pub fn set_tag_cloud_cache(
+    conn: &Connection,
+    folder_scope: &str,
+    image_ids_hash: u64,
+    entries_json: &str,
+) -> Result<()> {
+    conn.execute(
+        "INSERT INTO tag_cloud_cache (folder_scope, image_ids_hash, entries_json, created_at)
+         VALUES (?1, ?2, ?3, datetime('now'))
+         ON CONFLICT(folder_scope) DO UPDATE SET
+             image_ids_hash = excluded.image_ids_hash,
+             entries_json   = excluded.entries_json,
+             created_at     = excluded.created_at",
+        params![folder_scope, image_ids_hash as i64, entries_json],
+    )?;
+    Ok(())
+}
+
 fn ensure_column(conn: &Connection, table: &str, column: &str, definition: &str) -> Result<()> {
     let mut stmt = conn.prepare(&format!("PRAGMA table_info({})", table))?;
     let mut rows = stmt.query([])?;
diff --git a/src-tauri/src/embedder.rs b/src-tauri/src/embedder.rs
index ac0c104..532417d 100644
--- a/src-tauri/src/embedder.rs
+++ b/src-tauri/src/embedder.rs
@@ -1,173 +1,24 @@
-use anyhow::{Context, Result};
+use anyhow::Result;
 use candle_core::{DType, Device, Tensor};
 use candle_nn::VarBuilder;
 use candle_transformers::models::clip::{self, ClipModel};
 use hf_hub::{api::sync::Api, Repo, RepoType};
-use std::io::{Read, Write};
 use std::path::{Path, PathBuf};
 use std::sync::{Mutex, OnceLock};
 use tokenizers::Tokenizer;
 
 static TEXT_SEARCH_EMBEDDER: OnceLock<Mutex<Option<ClipImageEmbedder>>> = OnceLock::new();
-/// In-process cache so the disk file is only read/written once per session.
-static VOCAB_EMBED_CACHE: OnceLock<Mutex<Option<Vec<Vec<f32>>>>> = OnceLock::new();
-
-/// Default vocabulary bundled with the binary.
-pub const DEFAULT_VOCABULARY: &str = include_str!("../data/vocabulary.txt");
 
 /// Embed a text query using a lazily-initialized, cached CLIP embedder.
 pub fn embed_text_query(query: &str) -> Result<Vec<f32>> {
     with_text_embedder(|e| e.embed_text(query))
 }
 
-/// Parse vocabulary text: strip comment lines (starting with `#`) and blank lines.
-pub fn parse_vocabulary(text: &str) -> Vec<String> {
-    text.lines()
-        .map(|l| l.trim())
-        .filter(|l| !l.is_empty() && !l.starts_with('#'))
-        .map(|l| l.to_string())
-        .collect()
-}
-
-/// Load the vocabulary from `{cache_dir}/vocabulary.txt` if it exists,
-/// otherwise fall back to the binary-bundled default.
-pub fn load_vocabulary(cache_dir: &Path) -> Vec<String> {
-    let custom_path = cache_dir.join("vocabulary.txt");
-    if custom_path.exists() {
-        if let Ok(text) = std::fs::read_to_string(&custom_path) {
-            let words = parse_vocabulary(&text);
-            if !words.is_empty() {
-                println!("Using custom vocabulary from {:?} ({} words)", custom_path, words.len());
-                return words;
-            }
-        }
-    }
-    parse_vocabulary(DEFAULT_VOCABULARY)
-}
-
-/// Embed the vocabulary, using a disk cache so CLIP is only called when the vocabulary
-/// actually changes.  Cache file: `{cache_dir}/vocab_embeddings.bin`.
-///
-/// Format: `[u64 hash][u32 n_words][u32 dim][(n_words × dim) × f32 LE]`
-pub fn embed_vocab_cached(vocab: &[String], cache_dir: &Path) -> Result<Vec<Vec<f32>>> {
-    // In-process cache hit
-    {
-        let guard = VOCAB_EMBED_CACHE
-            .get_or_init(|| Mutex::new(None))
-            .lock()
-            .map_err(|_| anyhow::anyhow!("Vocab cache lock poisoned"))?;
-        if let Some(cached) = guard.as_ref() {
-            return Ok(cached.clone());
-        }
-    }
-
-    let vocab_hash = fnv_hash(vocab);
-    let disk_path = cache_dir.join("vocab_embeddings.bin");
-
-    // Try loading from disk
-    if let Ok(embeddings) = load_disk_cache(&disk_path, vocab_hash) {
-        let mut guard = VOCAB_EMBED_CACHE
-            .get_or_init(|| Mutex::new(None))
-            .lock()
-            .map_err(|_| anyhow::anyhow!("Vocab cache lock poisoned"))?;
-        *guard = Some(embeddings.clone());
-        println!("Vocabulary embeddings loaded from disk cache ({} words).", embeddings.len());
-        return Ok(embeddings);
-    }
-
-    // Compute embeddings
-    println!("Computing vocabulary embeddings ({} words) — this is cached after the first run.", vocab.len());
-    let prompts: Vec<String> = vocab.iter().map(|w| format!("a photo of {}", w)).collect();
-    let prompt_refs: Vec<&str> = prompts.iter().map(|s| s.as_str()).collect();
-
-    let embeddings = with_text_embedder(|e| {
-        let mut all = Vec::with_capacity(vocab.len());
-        for chunk in prompt_refs.chunks(64) {
-            all.extend(e.embed_texts_batch(chunk)?);
-        }
-        Ok(all)
-    })?;
-
-    // Save to disk
-    if let Err(e) = save_disk_cache(&disk_path, vocab_hash, &embeddings) {
-        eprintln!("Warning: could not write vocab cache: {e}");
-    }
-
-    let mut guard = VOCAB_EMBED_CACHE
-        .get_or_init(|| Mutex::new(None))
-        .lock()
-        .map_err(|_| anyhow::anyhow!("Vocab cache lock poisoned"))?;
-    *guard = Some(embeddings.clone());
-    Ok(embeddings)
-}
-
-fn fnv_hash(words: &[String]) -> u64 {
-    let mut h: u64 = 0xcbf29ce484222325;
-    for w in words {
-        for b in w.bytes() {
-            h = h.wrapping_mul(0x100000001b3) ^ (b as u64);
-        }
-        h = h.wrapping_mul(0x100000001b3) ^ 0x0A; // newline separator
-    }
-    h
-}
-
-fn load_disk_cache(path: &Path, expected_hash: u64) -> Result<Vec<Vec<f32>>> {
-    let mut f = std::fs::File::open(path).context("no cache file")?;
-    let mut buf = Vec::new();
-    f.read_to_end(&mut buf)?;
-
-    if buf.len() < 16 {
-        anyhow::bail!("cache too short");
-    }
-
-    let hash = u64::from_le_bytes(buf[0..8].try_into()?);
-    if hash != expected_hash {
-        anyhow::bail!("vocab hash mismatch — recomputing");
-    }
-    let n = u32::from_le_bytes(buf[8..12].try_into()?) as usize;
-    let dim = u32::from_le_bytes(buf[12..16].try_into()?) as usize;
-
-    let expected_len = 16 + n * dim * 4;
-    if buf.len() != expected_len {
-        anyhow::bail!("cache size mismatch");
-    }
-
-    let mut embeddings = Vec::with_capacity(n);
-    let data = &buf[16..];
-    for i in 0..n {
-        let start = i * dim * 4;
-        let emb: Vec<f32> = data[start..start + dim * 4]
-            .chunks_exact(4)
-            .map(|b| f32::from_le_bytes([b[0], b[1], b[2], b[3]]))
-            .collect();
-        embeddings.push(emb);
-    }
-    Ok(embeddings)
-}
-
-fn save_disk_cache(path: &Path, hash: u64, embeddings: &[Vec<f32>]) -> Result<()> {
-    let n = embeddings.len();
-    let dim = embeddings.first().map(|e| e.len()).unwrap_or(0);
-
-    let mut buf = Vec::with_capacity(16 + n * dim * 4);
-    buf.extend_from_slice(&hash.to_le_bytes());
-    buf.extend_from_slice(&(n as u32).to_le_bytes());
-    buf.extend_from_slice(&(dim as u32).to_le_bytes());
-    for emb in embeddings {
-        for &v in emb {
-            buf.extend_from_slice(&v.to_le_bytes());
-        }
-    }
-
-    std::fs::write(path, buf)?;
-    println!("Vocabulary embeddings cached to disk ({n} words, {dim} dims).");
-    Ok(())
-}
-
 fn with_text_embedder<T>(f: impl FnOnce(&ClipImageEmbedder) -> Result<T>) -> Result<T> {
     let lock = TEXT_SEARCH_EMBEDDER.get_or_init(|| Mutex::new(None));
-    let mut guard = lock.lock().map_err(|_| anyhow::anyhow!("Text embedder lock poisoned"))?;
+    let mut guard = lock
+        .lock()
+        .map_err(|_| anyhow::anyhow!("Text embedder lock poisoned"))?;
     if guard.is_none() {
         println!("Initializing CLIP text embedder...");
         *guard = Some(ClipImageEmbedder::new()?);
@@ -319,16 +170,28 @@ fn load_images(paths: &[PathBuf], image_size: usize) -> Result<Tensor> {
     Ok(Tensor::stack(&images, 0)?)
 }
 
+/// Returns the path that should be fed to the CLIP image embedder for a given media file.
+///
+/// For videos the thumbnail image is used (because CLIP only understands still images).
+/// If a video has no thumbnail yet, an error is returned — the caller should mark the
+/// embedding job as failed rather than trying to decode the raw video file.
 pub fn embedding_source_path(
     path: &str,
     thumbnail_path: Option<&str>,
     media_kind: &str,
-) -> PathBuf {
+) -> Result<PathBuf> {
     if media_kind == "video" {
-        thumbnail_path
-            .map(PathBuf::from)
-            .unwrap_or_else(|| PathBuf::from(path))
+        match thumbnail_path {
+            Some(thumb) => Ok(PathBuf::from(thumb)),
+            None => Err(anyhow::anyhow!(
+                "No thumbnail available yet for video '{}' — embedding deferred until thumbnail is generated",
+                std::path::Path::new(path)
+                    .file_name()
+                    .map(|n| n.to_string_lossy())
+                    .unwrap_or_default()
+            )),
+        }
     } else {
-        PathBuf::from(path)
+        Ok(PathBuf::from(path))
     }
 }
diff --git a/src-tauri/src/indexer.rs b/src-tauri/src/indexer.rs
index 34ed185..cd7e8a2 100644
--- a/src-tauri/src/indexer.rs
+++ b/src-tauri/src/indexer.rs
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-use crate::db::{self, DbPool, FolderJobProgress, ImageRecord, IndexedMediaEntry};
+use crate::db::{self, DbPool, EmbeddingJob, FolderJobProgress, ImageRecord, IndexedMediaEntry};
 use crate::embedder::{embedding_source_path, ClipImageEmbedder};
 use crate::media::{probe_video_metadata, MediaTools};
 use crate::storage::{detect_storage_profile, RuntimeAdaptiveProfile, StorageProfile};
@@ -539,27 +539,59 @@ fn process_embedding_batch(
     let embedder = embedder.as_ref().expect("embedder should be initialized");
 
     let infer_started_at = Instant::now();
-    let source_paths = jobs
+    // Resolve the source path for each job. Videos without a thumbnail produce an Err
+    // here — those jobs are marked failed immediately without going to the embedder.
+    let source_results: Vec<Result<PathBuf>> = jobs
         .iter()
         .map(|job| embedding_source_path(&job.path, job.thumbnail_path.as_deref(), &job.media_kind))
-        .collect::<Vec<_>>();
+        .collect();
 
-    let results = match embedder.embed_images(&source_paths) {
-        Ok(embeddings) => jobs
-            .into_iter()
-            .zip(embeddings.into_iter().map(Ok))
-            .collect::<Vec<_>>(),
-        Err(batch_error) => {
-            eprintln!(
-                "Embedding batch fallback to per-image mode: {}",
-                batch_error
-            );
-            jobs.into_iter()
-                .zip(source_paths.into_iter())
-                .map(|(job, source_path)| (job, embedder.embed_image(&source_path)))
-                .collect::<Vec<_>>()
+    // Separate jobs with a valid source from those that fail early (e.g. video with no thumbnail).
+    let mut embeddable_indices: Vec<usize> = Vec::new();
+    let mut embeddable_paths: Vec<PathBuf> = Vec::new();
+    // image_id -> early error message for jobs that cannot be embedded yet
+    let mut pre_failed: HashMap<i64, String> = HashMap::new();
+
+    for (i, (job, result)) in jobs.iter().zip(source_results.into_iter()).enumerate() {
+        match result {
+            Ok(path) => {
+                embeddable_indices.push(i);
+                embeddable_paths.push(path);
+            }
+            Err(e) => {
+                pre_failed.insert(job.image_id, e.to_string());
+            }
         }
-    };
+    }
+
+    // Run CLIP only on the jobs that have a valid source image.
+    // image_id -> embedding result
+    let mut embed_results: HashMap<i64, Result<Vec<f32>>> = HashMap::new();
+
+    if !embeddable_indices.is_empty() {
+        let embeddable_jobs: Vec<&EmbeddingJob> =
+            embeddable_indices.iter().map(|&i| &jobs[i]).collect();
+
+        match embedder.embed_images(&embeddable_paths) {
+            Ok(embeddings) => {
+                for (job, embedding) in embeddable_jobs.iter().zip(embeddings.into_iter()) {
+                    embed_results.insert(job.image_id, Ok(embedding));
+                }
+            }
+            Err(batch_error) => {
+                eprintln!(
+                    "Embedding batch fallback to per-image mode: {}",
+                    batch_error
+                );
+                for (job, source_path) in embeddable_jobs
+                    .into_iter()
+                    .zip(embeddable_paths.into_iter())
+                {
+                    embed_results.insert(job.image_id, embedder.embed_image(&source_path));
+                }
+            }
+        }
+    }
     let infer_elapsed = infer_started_at.elapsed();
 
     let write_started_at = Instant::now();
@@ -568,7 +600,16 @@ fn process_embedding_batch(
         let tx = conn.transaction()?;
         let mut updated_images = Vec::new();
 
-        for (job, embedding_result) in results {
+        for job in &jobs {
+            let embedding_result: Result<Vec<f32>> =
+                if let Some(err) = pre_failed.remove(&job.image_id) {
+                    Err(anyhow::anyhow!("{}", err))
+                } else if let Some(r) = embed_results.remove(&job.image_id) {
+                    r
+                } else {
+                    Err(anyhow::anyhow!("no result for image {}", job.image_id))
+                };
+
             match embedding_result {
                 Ok(embedding) => {
                     vector::upsert_embedding(&tx, job.image_id, &embedding)?;
diff --git a/src-tauri/src/lib.rs b/src-tauri/src/lib.rs
index de5b311..3592fbf 100644
--- a/src-tauri/src/lib.rs
+++ b/src-tauri/src/lib.rs
@@ -78,6 +78,7 @@ pub fn run() {
             commands::set_worker_paused,
             commands::get_worker_states,
             commands::get_tag_cloud,
+            commands::get_failed_embedding_images,
         ])
         .run(tauri::generate_context!())
         .expect("error while running tauri application");
diff --git a/src-tauri/src/vector.rs b/src-tauri/src/vector.rs
index befeae8..61217d5 100644
--- a/src-tauri/src/vector.rs
+++ b/src-tauri/src/vector.rs
@@ -78,32 +78,42 @@ pub fn find_similar_image_ids(conn: &Connection, image_id: i64, limit: usize) ->
     Ok(ids)
 }
 
-/// Returns all stored image embeddings, optionally filtered to one folder.
-/// Each embedding is returned as a normalized f32 vector.
-pub fn get_all_image_embeddings(conn: &Connection, folder_id: Option<i64>) -> Result<Vec<Vec<f32>>> {
-    let packed_rows: Vec<Vec<u8>> = match folder_id {
+/// Returns all stored image embeddings with their image IDs, optionally filtered to one folder.
+/// Each entry is `(image_id, normalized_f32_embedding)`.
+pub fn get_all_image_embeddings_with_ids(
+    conn: &Connection,
+    folder_id: Option<i64>,
+) -> Result<Vec<(i64, Vec<f32>)>> {
+    let packed_rows: Vec<(i64, Vec<u8>)> = match folder_id {
         Some(fid) => {
             let mut stmt = conn.prepare(
-                "SELECT embedding FROM image_vec
+                "SELECT image_id, embedding FROM image_vec
                  WHERE image_id IN (SELECT id FROM images WHERE folder_id = ?1)",
             )?;
-            let rows: Vec<Vec<u8>> = stmt
-                .query_map([fid], |row| row.get::<_, Vec<u8>>(0))?
+            let rows: Vec<(i64, Vec<u8>)> = stmt
+                .query_map([fid], |row| {
+                    Ok((row.get::<_, i64>(0)?, row.get::<_, Vec<u8>>(1)?))
+                })?
                 .filter_map(|r| r.ok())
                 .collect();
             rows
         }
         None => {
-            let mut stmt = conn.prepare("SELECT embedding FROM image_vec")?;
-            let rows: Vec<Vec<u8>> = stmt
-                .query_map([], |row| row.get::<_, Vec<u8>>(0))?
+            let mut stmt = conn.prepare("SELECT image_id, embedding FROM image_vec")?;
+            let rows: Vec<(i64, Vec<u8>)> = stmt
+                .query_map([], |row| {
+                    Ok((row.get::<_, i64>(0)?, row.get::<_, Vec<u8>>(1)?))
+                })?
                 .filter_map(|r| r.ok())
                 .collect();
             rows
         }
     };
 
-    Ok(packed_rows.iter().map(|b| unpack_f32(b)).collect())
+    Ok(packed_rows
+        .into_iter()
+        .map(|(id, b)| (id, unpack_f32(&b)))
+        .collect())
 }
 
 fn unpack_f32(bytes: &[u8]) -> Vec<f32> {
diff --git a/src/components/BackgroundTasks.tsx b/src/components/BackgroundTasks.tsx
index eb8232e..0433f63 100644
--- a/src/components/BackgroundTasks.tsx
+++ b/src/components/BackgroundTasks.tsx
@@ -29,6 +29,12 @@ interface Task {
   snapshot: string;
 }
 
+interface FailedEmbeddingItem {
+  image_id: number;
+  filename: string;
+  error: string | null;
+}
+
 export function BackgroundTasks() {
   const folders = useGalleryStore((state) => state.folders);
   const indexingProgress = useGalleryStore((state) => state.indexingProgress);
@@ -41,6 +47,7 @@ export function BackgroundTasks() {
     metadata: false,
     embedding: false,
   });
+  const [failedItems, setFailedItems] = useState<Record<number, FailedEmbeddingItem[]>>({});
 
   useEffect(() => {
     invoke<{ thumbnail_paused: boolean; metadata_paused: boolean; embedding_paused: boolean }>(
@@ -54,6 +61,28 @@ export function BackgroundTasks() {
     });
   }, []);
 
+  // Fetch failed embedding filenames whenever the expanded panel opens or failure counts change.
+  const failedCounts = useMemo(
+    () =>
+      Object.fromEntries(
+        Object.entries(mediaJobProgress).map(([id, p]) => [id, p?.embedding_failed ?? 0]),
+      ),
+    [mediaJobProgress],
+  );
+
+  useEffect(() => {
+    if (!expanded) return;
+    for (const [folderId, count] of Object.entries(failedCounts)) {
+      if (count > 0) {
+        invoke<FailedEmbeddingItem[]>("get_failed_embedding_images", {
+          folderId: Number(folderId),
+        })
+          .then((items) => setFailedItems((prev) => ({ ...prev, [folderId]: items })))
+          .catch(() => undefined);
+      }
+    }
+  }, [expanded, failedCounts]);
+
   const toggleWorker = (worker: WorkerKey) => {
     const next = !paused[worker];
     setPaused((prev) => ({ ...prev, [worker]: next }));
@@ -374,6 +403,26 @@ export function BackgroundTasks() {
                     {task.currentFile}
                   </p>
                 )}
+
+                {/* Failed embedding file list */}
+                {taskHasFailed && failedItems[task.id] && failedItems[task.id].length > 0 && (
+                  <div className="mt-2 pl-[calc(7rem+0.75rem)] space-y-0.5">
+                    {failedItems[task.id].map((item) => (
+                      <div key={item.image_id} className="flex items-start gap-1.5 min-w-0">
+                        <svg className="h-2.5 w-2.5 text-amber-500 shrink-0 mt-px" fill="none" viewBox="0 0 24 24" stroke="currentColor">
+                          <path strokeLinecap="round" strokeLinejoin="round" strokeWidth={2.5}
+                            d="M12 9v2m0 4h.01M10.29 3.86L1.82 18a2 2 0 001.71 3h16.94a2 2 0 001.71-3L13.71 3.86a2 2 0 00-3.42 0z" />
+                        </svg>
+                        <div className="min-w-0">
+                          <p className="text-[10px] text-amber-400/80 truncate font-medium">{item.filename}</p>
+                          {item.error && (
+                            <p className="text-[9px] text-gray-600 truncate">{item.error}</p>
+                          )}
+                        </div>
+                      </div>
+                    ))}
+                  </div>
+                )}
               </div>
             );
           })}
diff --git a/src/components/Gallery.tsx b/src/components/Gallery.tsx
index 05735d0..95a5710 100644
--- a/src/components/Gallery.tsx
+++ b/src/components/Gallery.tsx
@@ -188,6 +188,21 @@ function ImageTile({
         )}
       </div>
 
+      {/* Embedding failed badge — top-left */}
+      {image.embedding_status === "failed" && (
+        <div
+          className="absolute top-2 left-2 pointer-events-none"
+          title={image.embedding_error ?? "Embedding failed"}
+        >
+          <div className="flex items-center gap-1 rounded-md bg-black/60 px-1.5 py-0.5 text-[10px] font-medium text-amber-400 backdrop-blur-sm">
+            <svg className="h-2.5 w-2.5 shrink-0" fill="none" viewBox="0 0 24 24" stroke="currentColor">
+              <path strokeLinecap="round" strokeLinejoin="round" strokeWidth={2.5}
+                d="M12 9v2m0 4h.01M10.29 3.86L1.82 18a2 2 0 001.71 3h16.94a2 2 0 001.71-3L13.71 3.86a2 2 0 00-3.42 0z" />
+            </svg>
+          </div>
+        </div>
+      )}
+
       {/* Hover overlay — slides up from bottom */}
       <div className="absolute inset-0 bg-gradient-to-t from-black/85 via-black/30 to-transparent opacity-0 group-hover:opacity-100 transition-opacity duration-200 pointer-events-none" />
 
diff --git a/src/components/TagCloud.tsx b/src/components/TagCloud.tsx
index 5234622..7c6d3f6 100644
--- a/src/components/TagCloud.tsx
+++ b/src/components/TagCloud.tsx
@@ -1,17 +1,18 @@
 import { useEffect } from "react";
 import { motion } from "framer-motion";
+import { convertFileSrc } from "@tauri-apps/api/core";
 import { useGalleryStore, TagCloudEntry } from "../store";
 
-// Accent color pairs: [rest, hover, glow]
-const ACCENTS: [string, string, string][] = [
-  ["rgba(96,165,250,0.5)",  "#93c5fd", "rgba(59,130,246,0.3)"],
-  ["rgba(192,132,252,0.5)", "#d8b4fe", "rgba(168,85,247,0.3)"],
-  ["rgba(52,211,153,0.5)",  "#6ee7b7", "rgba(16,185,129,0.3)"],
-  ["rgba(251,191,36,0.5)",  "#fcd34d", "rgba(245,158,11,0.3)"],
-  ["rgba(249,168,212,0.5)", "#fbcfe8", "rgba(236,72,153,0.3)"],
-  ["rgba(103,232,249,0.5)", "#a5f3fc", "rgba(6,182,212,0.3)"],
-  ["rgba(253,186,116,0.5)", "#fed7aa", "rgba(249,115,22,0.3)"],
-  ["rgba(167,243,208,0.5)", "#bbf7d0", "rgba(34,197,94,0.3)"],
+// Accent glow colours for the hover ring — cycled by index
+const GLOWS: string[] = [
+  "rgba(59,130,246,0.5)",
+  "rgba(168,85,247,0.5)",
+  "rgba(16,185,129,0.5)",
+  "rgba(245,158,11,0.5)",
+  "rgba(236,72,153,0.5)",
+  "rgba(6,182,212,0.5)",
+  "rgba(249,115,22,0.5)",
+  "rgba(34,197,94,0.5)",
 ];
 
 function pseudoRandom(seed: number): number {
@@ -19,24 +20,17 @@ function pseudoRandom(seed: number): number {
   return x - Math.floor(x);
 }
 
-function getWeight(count: number, maxCount: number): 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 {
-  if (maxCount === 0) return 1;
+// Map cluster size to a tile size bucket (px)
+function getTileSize(count: number, maxCount: number): number {
+  if (maxCount === 0) return 72;
   const ratio = count / maxCount;
-  if (ratio > 0.75) return 5;
-  if (ratio > 0.45) return 4;
-  if (ratio > 0.22) return 3;
-  if (ratio > 0.08) return 2;
-  return 1;
+  if (ratio > 0.75) return 160;
+  if (ratio > 0.45) return 128;
+  if (ratio > 0.22) return 104;
+  if (ratio > 0.08) return 88;
+  return 72;
 }
 
-const FONT_SIZE: Record<1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5, number> = { 1: 11, 2: 14, 3: 19, 4: 30, 5: 46 };
-const FONT_WEIGHT: Record<1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5, number> = { 1: 400, 2: 400, 3: 500, 4: 700, 5: 800 };
-const LETTER_SPACING: Record<1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5, number> = { 1: 0.8, 2: 0.4, 3: 0, 4: -0.5, 5: -1.5 };
-const PADDING: Record<1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5, string> = {
-  1: "3px 8px", 2: "4px 10px", 3: "5px 13px", 4: "8px 18px", 5: "10px 22px",
-};
-const MAX_ROTATION: Record<1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5, number> = { 1: 14, 2: 11, 3: 7, 4: 3, 5: 0 };
-
 function TagButton({
   entry,
   index,
@@ -46,66 +40,108 @@ function TagButton({
   entry: TagCloudEntry;
   index: number;
   maxCount: number;
-  onSearch: (label: string) => void;
+  onSearch: (imageId: number) => void;
 }) {
-  const weight = getWeight(entry.count, maxCount);
-  const accentIndex = (index * 3 + weight) % ACCENTS.length;
-  const [restColor, hoverColor, glowColor] = ACCENTS[accentIndex];
-  const rotation = (pseudoRandom(index * 7) - 0.5) * 2 * MAX_ROTATION[weight];
+  const size = getTileSize(entry.count, maxCount);
+  const glow = GLOWS[index % GLOWS.length];
 
-  const mt = Math.floor(pseudoRandom(index * 3) * 14) + 3;
-  const mr = Math.floor(pseudoRandom(index * 5) * 20) + 6;
-  const mb = Math.floor(pseudoRandom(index * 11) * 14) + 3;
-  const ml = Math.floor(pseudoRandom(index * 13) * 20) + 6;
+  // Small random rotation for organic feel — larger tiles stay flatter
+  const maxRot = size >= 128 ? 0 : size >= 104 ? 3 : size >= 88 ? 6 : 10;
+  const rotation = (pseudoRandom(index * 7) - 0.5) * 2 * maxRot;
+
+  const mt = Math.floor(pseudoRandom(index * 3) * 10) + 4;
+  const mr = Math.floor(pseudoRandom(index * 5) * 12) + 4;
+  const mb = Math.floor(pseudoRandom(index * 11) * 10) + 4;
+  const ml = Math.floor(pseudoRandom(index * 13) * 12) + 4;
+
+  const src = entry.thumbnail_path ? convertFileSrc(entry.thumbnail_path) : null;
 
   return (
     <motion.button
-      initial={{ opacity: 0, scale: 0.4, rotate: rotation * 2 }}
+      initial={{ opacity: 0, scale: 0.5, rotate: rotation * 2 }}
       animate={{ opacity: 1, scale: 1, rotate: rotation }}
       transition={{
-        delay: index * 0.014,
+        delay: index * 0.025,
         type: "spring",
-        stiffness: 180,
-        damping: 16,
+        stiffness: 200,
+        damping: 18,
       }}
       whileHover={{
-        scale: 1.2,
+        scale: 1.12,
         rotate: 0,
         transition: { type: "spring", stiffness: 400, damping: 22 },
       }}
-      whileTap={{ scale: 0.9 }}
+      whileTap={{ scale: 0.92 }}
+      onClick={() => onSearch(entry.representative_image_id)}
+      title={`${entry.count} similar ${entry.count === 1 ? "photo" : "photos"}`}
       style={{
-        fontSize: FONT_SIZE[weight],
-        fontWeight: FONT_WEIGHT[weight],
-        letterSpacing: LETTER_SPACING[weight],
-        padding: PADDING[weight],
+        width: size,
+        height: size,
         margin: `${mt}px ${mr}px ${mb}px ${ml}px`,
-        color: restColor,
-        borderRadius: 10,
-        border: "1px solid transparent",
-        background: "transparent",
+        borderRadius: 12,
+        border: "2px solid rgba(255,255,255,0.08)",
+        background: "rgba(255,255,255,0.04)",
         cursor: "pointer",
-        userSelect: "none",
-        transition: "color 0.15s, text-shadow 0.15s, background 0.15s, border-color 0.15s",
+        padding: 0,
+        overflow: "hidden",
+        position: "relative",
+        flexShrink: 0,
+        boxShadow: "none",
+        transition: "border-color 0.15s, box-shadow 0.15s",
       }}
       onMouseEnter={(e) => {
         const el = e.currentTarget;
-        el.style.color = hoverColor;
-        el.style.textShadow = `0 0 20px ${glowColor}, 0 0 40px ${glowColor}`;
-        el.style.background = glowColor.replace("0.3", "0.1");
-        el.style.borderColor = glowColor.replace("0.3", "0.25");
+        el.style.borderColor = glow;
+        el.style.boxShadow = `0 0 16px ${glow}, 0 0 32px ${glow.replace("0.5", "0.25")}`;
       }}
       onMouseLeave={(e) => {
         const el = e.currentTarget;
-        el.style.color = restColor;
-        el.style.textShadow = "none";
-        el.style.background = "transparent";
-        el.style.borderColor = "transparent";
+        el.style.borderColor = "rgba(255,255,255,0.08)";
+        el.style.boxShadow = "none";
       }}
-      onClick={() => onSearch(entry.label)}
-      title={`${entry.count} matching ${entry.count === 1 ? "photo" : "photos"}`}
     >
-      {entry.label}
+      {src ? (
+        <img
+          src={src}
+          alt=""
+          draggable={false}
+          style={{
+            width: "100%",
+            height: "100%",
+            objectFit: "cover",
+            display: "block",
+          }}
+        />
+      ) : (
+        // Fallback placeholder when no thumbnail exists yet
+        <div
+          style={{
+            width: "100%",
+            height: "100%",
+            background: "rgba(255,255,255,0.06)",
+          }}
+        />
+      )}
+
+      {/* Count badge — bottom-right corner */}
+      <div
+        style={{
+          position: "absolute",
+          bottom: 5,
+          right: 5,
+          background: "rgba(0,0,0,0.6)",
+          color: "rgba(255,255,255,0.85)",
+          fontSize: 10,
+          fontWeight: 600,
+          lineHeight: 1,
+          padding: "3px 6px",
+          borderRadius: 6,
+          backdropFilter: "blur(4px)",
+          pointerEvents: "none",
+        }}
+      >
+        {entry.count}
+      </div>
     </motion.button>
   );
 }
@@ -121,9 +157,10 @@ export function TagCloud() {
     void loadTagCloud();
   }, [selectedFolderId]);
 
-  const maxCount = tagCloudEntries.length > 0
-    ? Math.max(...tagCloudEntries.map((e) => e.count))
-    : 1;
+  const maxCount =
+    tagCloudEntries.length > 0
+      ? Math.max(...tagCloudEntries.map((e) => e.count))
+      : 1;
 
   return (
     <div className="flex-1 flex flex-col items-center min-h-0 overflow-y-auto">
@@ -138,7 +175,7 @@ export function TagCloud() {
           Explore your library
         </h2>
         <p className="text-[13px] text-white/25">
-          Topics found in your photos — sized by how many match
+          Visual clusters from your photos — sized by how many match
         </p>
       </motion.div>
 
@@ -152,10 +189,22 @@ export function TagCloud() {
             animate={{ rotate: 360 }}
             transition={{ duration: 1, repeat: Infinity, ease: "linear" }}
           >
-            <circle cx="12" cy="12" r="10" stroke="currentColor" strokeWidth="2" strokeOpacity="0.2" />
-            <path d="M4 12a8 8 0 018-8" stroke="currentColor" strokeWidth="2" strokeLinecap="round" />
+            <circle
+              cx="12"
+              cy="12"
+              r="10"
+              stroke="currentColor"
+              strokeWidth="2"
+              strokeOpacity="0.2"
+            />
+            <path
+              d="M4 12a8 8 0 018-8"
+              stroke="currentColor"
+              strokeWidth="2"
+              strokeLinecap="round"
+            />
           </motion.svg>
-          <p className="text-[12px] text-white/20">Analysing your library with CLIP…</p>
+          <p className="text-[12px] text-white/20">Clustering your library…</p>
         </div>
       )}
 
@@ -163,18 +212,18 @@ export function TagCloud() {
       {!tagCloudLoading && tagCloudEntries.length === 0 && (
         <div className="flex-1 flex items-center justify-center">
           <p className="text-[13px] text-white/25 text-center max-w-xs leading-relaxed">
-            No embeddings yet. Add a folder and wait for the embedding worker to finish,
-            then come back here.
+            No embeddings yet. Add a folder and wait for the embedding worker to
+            finish, then come back here.
           </p>
         </div>
       )}
 
-      {/* Cloud */}
+      {/* Cluster grid */}
       {!tagCloudLoading && tagCloudEntries.length > 0 && (
         <div className="flex flex-wrap justify-center px-12 pb-16 max-w-5xl w-full">
           {tagCloudEntries.map((entry, index) => (
             <TagButton
-              key={entry.label}
+              key={entry.representative_image_id}
               entry={entry}
               index={index}
               maxCount={maxCount}
@@ -186,7 +235,7 @@ export function TagCloud() {
 
       {!tagCloudLoading && tagCloudEntries.length > 0 && (
         <p className="shrink-0 pb-8 text-[11px] text-white/12 text-center">
-          Ranked by visual similarity · CLIP ViT-B/32
+          Grouped by visual similarity · CLIP ViT-B/32
         </p>
       )}
     </div>
diff --git a/src/components/Toolbar.tsx b/src/components/Toolbar.tsx
index a34e272..88cedee 100644
--- a/src/components/Toolbar.tsx
+++ b/src/components/Toolbar.tsx
@@ -91,16 +91,22 @@ function FilterPill({
   label,
   active,
   onClick,
+  variant = "default",
 }: {
   label: string;
   active: boolean;
   onClick: () => void;
+  variant?: "default" | "amber";
 }) {
+  const activeClass =
+    variant === "amber"
+      ? "bg-amber-500/15 text-amber-300 border border-amber-500/30"
+      : "bg-white/10 text-white";
   return (
     <button
       className={`rounded-lg px-3 py-1.5 text-xs font-medium transition-all duration-150 ${
         active
-          ? "bg-white/10 text-white"
+          ? activeClass
           : "text-gray-500 hover:text-gray-200 hover:bg-white/5"
       }`}
       onClick={onClick}
@@ -127,12 +133,21 @@ export function Toolbar() {
   const setMediaFilter = useGalleryStore((state) => state.setMediaFilter);
   const favoritesOnly = useGalleryStore((state) => state.favoritesOnly);
   const setFavoritesOnly = useGalleryStore((state) => state.setFavoritesOnly);
+  const failedEmbeddingsOnly = useGalleryStore((state) => state.failedEmbeddingsOnly);
+  const setFailedEmbeddingsOnly = useGalleryStore((state) => state.setFailedEmbeddingsOnly);
+  const mediaJobProgress = useGalleryStore((state) => state.mediaJobProgress);
   const zoomPreset = useGalleryStore((state) => state.zoomPreset);
   const setZoomPreset = useGalleryStore((state) => state.setZoomPreset);
 
+  const hasAnyFailedEmbeddings = Object.values(mediaJobProgress).some((p) => p.embedding_failed > 0);
+
   const [searchValue, setSearchValue] = useState(search);
   const debounceRef = useRef<ReturnType<typeof setTimeout> | null>(null);
   const searchInputRef = useRef<HTMLInputElement>(null);
+  // Tracks whether the user has typed in the search box at least once.
+  // Prevents the debounce effect from dispatching setSearch on initial mount
+  // when searchValue === search (which would wipe a loadSimilarImages result).
+  const userHasTyped = useRef(false);
 
   const selectedFolder = folders.find((folder) => folder.id === selectedFolderId);
   const title = collectionTitle ?? (selectedFolder ? selectedFolder.name : "All Media");
@@ -153,6 +168,7 @@ export function Toolbar() {
   }, [mediaFilter, sort, setSort]);
 
   useEffect(() => {
+    if (!userHasTyped.current) return;
     if (debounceRef.current) clearTimeout(debounceRef.current);
     debounceRef.current = setTimeout(() => { setSearch(searchValue); }, 200);
     return () => { if (debounceRef.current) clearTimeout(debounceRef.current); };
@@ -233,7 +249,10 @@ export function Toolbar() {
               ref={searchInputRef}
               type="text"
               value={searchValue}
-              onChange={(event) => setSearchValue(event.target.value)}
+              onChange={(event) => {
+                userHasTyped.current = true;
+                setSearchValue(event.target.value);
+              }}
               placeholder={searchMode === "semantic" ? "Search by meaning..." : "Search filenames..."}
               className="w-64 bg-transparent py-1.5 pl-8 pr-9 text-sm text-white placeholder:text-gray-600 focus:outline-none transition-colors"
             />
@@ -283,10 +302,18 @@ export function Toolbar() {
 
       {/* Filter row */}
       <div className="flex items-center gap-1 px-4 pb-1.5">
-        <FilterPill label="All" active={mediaFilter === "all" && !favoritesOnly} onClick={() => { setMediaFilter("all"); setFavoritesOnly(false); }} />
-        <FilterPill label="Images" active={mediaFilter === "image" && !favoritesOnly} onClick={() => { setMediaFilter("image"); setFavoritesOnly(false); }} />
-        <FilterPill label="Videos" active={mediaFilter === "video" && !favoritesOnly} onClick={() => { setMediaFilter("video"); setFavoritesOnly(false); }} />
-        <FilterPill label="Favorites" active={favoritesOnly} onClick={() => setFavoritesOnly(!favoritesOnly)} />
+        <FilterPill label="All" active={mediaFilter === "all" && !favoritesOnly && !failedEmbeddingsOnly} onClick={() => { setMediaFilter("all"); setFavoritesOnly(false); setFailedEmbeddingsOnly(false); }} />
+        <FilterPill label="Images" active={mediaFilter === "image" && !favoritesOnly && !failedEmbeddingsOnly} onClick={() => { setMediaFilter("image"); setFavoritesOnly(false); setFailedEmbeddingsOnly(false); }} />
+        <FilterPill label="Videos" active={mediaFilter === "video" && !favoritesOnly && !failedEmbeddingsOnly} onClick={() => { setMediaFilter("video"); setFavoritesOnly(false); setFailedEmbeddingsOnly(false); }} />
+        <FilterPill label="Favorites" active={favoritesOnly} onClick={() => { setFavoritesOnly(!favoritesOnly); setFailedEmbeddingsOnly(false); }} />
+        {hasAnyFailedEmbeddings ? (
+          <FilterPill
+            label="Failed Embeddings"
+            active={failedEmbeddingsOnly}
+            variant="amber"
+            onClick={() => setFailedEmbeddingsOnly(!failedEmbeddingsOnly)}
+          />
+        ) : null}
       </div>
     </div>
   );
diff --git a/src/store.ts b/src/store.ts
index 2f18bc7..47ba35d 100644
--- a/src/store.ts
+++ b/src/store.ts
@@ -75,8 +75,9 @@ export interface ThumbnailBatch {
 export type ActiveView = "gallery" | "explore";
 
 export interface TagCloudEntry {
-  label: string;
   count: number;
+  representative_image_id: number;
+  thumbnail_path: string | null;
 }
 
 export type SortOrder =
@@ -101,12 +102,14 @@ interface GalleryState {
   sort: SortOrder;
   mediaFilter: MediaFilter;
   favoritesOnly: boolean;
+  failedEmbeddingsOnly: boolean;
   zoomPreset: ZoomPreset;
   selectedImage: ImageRecord | null;
   collectionTitle: string | null;
   activeView: ActiveView;
   tagCloudEntries: TagCloudEntry[];
   tagCloudLoading: boolean;
+  tagCloudFolderId: number | null | undefined; // undefined = never loaded
   indexingProgress: Record<number, IndexProgress>;
   mediaJobProgress: Record<number, FolderJobProgress>;
   cacheDir: string;
@@ -126,12 +129,13 @@ interface GalleryState {
   setSort: (sort: SortOrder) => void;
   setMediaFilter: (filter: MediaFilter) => void;
   setFavoritesOnly: (favoritesOnly: boolean) => void;
+  setFailedEmbeddingsOnly: (failedEmbeddingsOnly: boolean) => void;
   setZoomPreset: (zoomPreset: ZoomPreset) => void;
   openImage: (image: ImageRecord) => void;
   closeImage: () => void;
   setView: (view: ActiveView) => void;
   loadTagCloud: () => Promise<void>;
-  searchByTag: (tag: string) => void;
+  searchByTag: (imageId: number) => void;
   loadSimilarImages: (imageId: number) => Promise<void>;
   retryFailedEmbeddings: (folderId: number) => Promise<void>;
   updateImageDetails: (imageId: number, updates: { favorite?: boolean; rating?: number }) => Promise<void>;
@@ -161,12 +165,14 @@ function matchesFilters(
   selectedFolderId: number | null,
   mediaFilter: MediaFilter,
   favoritesOnly: boolean,
+  failedEmbeddingsOnly: boolean,
   search: string,
 ): boolean {
   const matchesFolder = selectedFolderId === null || image.folder_id === selectedFolderId;
   const matchesMedia = mediaFilter === "all" || image.media_kind === mediaFilter;
   const matchesFavorite = !favoritesOnly || image.favorite;
-  return matchesFolder && matchesMedia && matchesFavorite && matchesSearch(image, search);
+  const matchesFailedEmbedding = !failedEmbeddingsOnly || image.embedding_status === "failed";
+  return matchesFolder && matchesMedia && matchesFavorite && matchesFailedEmbedding && matchesSearch(image, search);
 }
 
 function compareNullableNumber(a: number | null, b: number | null): number {
@@ -265,12 +271,14 @@ export const useGalleryStore = create<GalleryState>((set, get) => ({
   sort: "date_desc",
   mediaFilter: "all",
   favoritesOnly: false,
+  failedEmbeddingsOnly: false,
   zoomPreset: "comfortable",
   selectedImage: null,
   collectionTitle: null,
   activeView: "gallery",
   tagCloudEntries: [],
   tagCloudLoading: false,
+  tagCloudFolderId: undefined,
   indexingProgress: {},
   mediaJobProgress: {},
   cacheDir: "",
@@ -301,6 +309,8 @@ export const useGalleryStore = create<GalleryState>((set, get) => ({
     const { selectedFolderId, loadFolders, loadImages, loadBackgroundJobProgress } = get();
     await loadFolders();
     await loadBackgroundJobProgress();
+    // Invalidate tag cloud cache since library content changed
+    set({ tagCloudFolderId: undefined, tagCloudEntries: [] });
     if (selectedFolderId === folderId) {
       set({ selectedFolderId: null });
       await loadImages(true);
@@ -311,16 +321,18 @@ export const useGalleryStore = create<GalleryState>((set, get) => ({
     const { loadFolders, loadBackgroundJobProgress } = get();
     await invoke("reindex_folder", { folderId });
     await loadFolders();
+    // Invalidate tag cloud cache since embeddings will be regenerated
+    set({ tagCloudFolderId: undefined, tagCloudEntries: [] });
     await loadBackgroundJobProgress();
   },
 
   selectFolder: (folderId) => {
-    set({ selectedFolderId: folderId, images: [], loadedCount: 0, collectionTitle: null, activeView: "gallery" });
+    set({ selectedFolderId: folderId, images: [], loadedCount: 0, collectionTitle: null, activeView: "gallery", failedEmbeddingsOnly: false });
     void get().loadImages(true);
   },
 
   loadImages: async (reset = false) => {
-    const { selectedFolderId, search, searchMode, sort, loadedCount, mediaFilter, favoritesOnly } = get();
+    const { selectedFolderId, search, searchMode, sort, loadedCount, mediaFilter, favoritesOnly, failedEmbeddingsOnly } = get();
     set({ loadingImages: true });
 
     try {
@@ -357,6 +369,7 @@ export const useGalleryStore = create<GalleryState>((set, get) => ({
           search: search || null,
           media_kind: mediaFilter === "all" ? null : mediaFilter,
           favorites_only: favoritesOnly,
+          embedding_failed_only: failedEmbeddingsOnly,
           sort,
           offset,
           limit: PAGE_SIZE,
@@ -417,6 +430,11 @@ export const useGalleryStore = create<GalleryState>((set, get) => ({
     void get().loadImages(true);
   },
 
+  setFailedEmbeddingsOnly: (failedEmbeddingsOnly) => {
+    set({ failedEmbeddingsOnly, images: [], loadedCount: 0, collectionTitle: null });
+    void get().loadImages(true);
+  },
+
   setZoomPreset: (zoomPreset) => set({ zoomPreset }),
 
   openImage: (image) => set({ selectedImage: image }),
@@ -425,8 +443,12 @@ export const useGalleryStore = create<GalleryState>((set, get) => ({
   setView: (activeView) => set({ activeView }),
 
   loadTagCloud: async () => {
-    const { selectedFolderId } = get();
-    set({ tagCloudLoading: true });
+    const { selectedFolderId, tagCloudFolderId, tagCloudLoading } = get();
+    // Skip if already loaded for this folder and not currently loading
+    if (!tagCloudLoading && tagCloudFolderId !== undefined && tagCloudFolderId === selectedFolderId) {
+      return;
+    }
+    set({ tagCloudLoading: true, tagCloudFolderId: selectedFolderId });
     try {
       const entries = await invoke<TagCloudEntry[]>("get_tag_cloud", {
         folderId: selectedFolderId,
@@ -438,19 +460,13 @@ export const useGalleryStore = create<GalleryState>((set, get) => ({
     }
   },
 
-  searchByTag: (tag) => {
-    set({
-      activeView: "gallery",
-      search: tag,
-      searchMode: "semantic",
-      images: [],
-      loadedCount: 0,
-      collectionTitle: `Exploring: ${tag}`,
-    });
-    void get().loadImages(true);
+  searchByTag: (imageId) => {
+    set({ activeView: "gallery", images: [], loadedCount: 0, loadingImages: true, collectionTitle: "Similar Images" });
+    void get().loadSimilarImages(imageId);
   },
 
   loadSimilarImages: async (imageId) => {
+    set({ images: [], loadedCount: 0, loadingImages: true, collectionTitle: "Similar Images" });
     const images = await invoke<ImageRecord[]>("find_similar_images", {
       params: { image_id: imageId, limit: PAGE_SIZE },
     });
@@ -530,6 +546,7 @@ export const useGalleryStore = create<GalleryState>((set, get) => ({
             state.selectedFolderId,
             state.mediaFilter,
             state.favoritesOnly,
+            state.failedEmbeddingsOnly,
             state.search,
           ),
         );
@@ -559,6 +576,7 @@ export const useGalleryStore = create<GalleryState>((set, get) => ({
             state.selectedFolderId,
             state.mediaFilter,
             state.favoritesOnly,
+            state.failedEmbeddingsOnly,
             state.search,
           ),
         );