diff --git a/src/app/(app)/search/page.test.tsx b/src/app/(app)/search/page.test.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..627a688
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/(app)/search/page.test.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,221 @@
+import { cleanup, fireEvent, render, screen, waitFor } from "@testing-library/react";
+import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
+
+import UniversalSearchPage from "./page";
+
+/**
+ * The page talks to `/api/v1/search`, which is gated by
+ * `assertBrowserSession`. That helper reads a PocketBase token from the
+ * `Authorization` request header — dashboard auth is NOT a cookie.
+ *
+ * This file exists because the first version of this page used a bare
+ * `fetch()`, so every search returned 401 "Not authenticated." while the
+ * service underneath was working perfectly. Green tests and a live
+ * backend, and the feature was still unusable — the failure was only
+ * visible in a real browser.
+ */
+const { fetchMock } = vi.hoisted(() => ({ fetchMock: vi.fn() }));
+
+// Stub the GLOBAL fetch — the page calls it via `authedFetch`, which
+// resolves `fetch` at call time. Assigning to `globalThis.fetch` is what
+// makes the mock observable; without this jsdom/undici tries to parse the
+// relative URL and the test fails for the wrong reason.
+vi.stubGlobal("fetch", fetchMock);
+
+vi.mock("@/lib/pocketbase", () => ({
+  default: () => ({ authStore: { token: "test-pb-token" } }),
+}));
+
+vi.mock("next/link", () => ({
+  default: ({
+    href,
+    children,
+    ...props
+  }: {
+    href: string;
+    children: React.ReactNode;
+  }) => (
+    <a href={href} {...props}>
+      {children}
+    </a>
+  ),
+}));
+
+function jsonResponse(body: unknown, ok = true, status = 200) {
+  return {
+    ok,
+    status,
+    json: async () => body,
+  } as Response;
+}
+
+const EMPTY_RESULT = {
+  query: "",
+  groups: [],
+  totalHits: 0,
+  tookMs: 0,
+  windowDays: 90,
+};
+
+const RESULT = {
+  query: "truco",
+  groups: [
+    {
+      type: "order",
+      label: "Orders",
+      hits: [{ id: "o1", title: "ORD-1", href: "/orders/o1", matchedOn: "supplier" }],
+      total: 1,
+      truncated: false,
+      tookMs: 5,
+      status: "ok",
+    },
+  ],
+  totalHits: 1,
+  tookMs: 12,
+  windowDays: 90,
+};
+
+describe("UniversalSearchPage — auth", () => {
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    fetchMock.mockReset();
+    vi.useFakeTimers({ shouldAdvanceTime: true });
+  });
+
+  afterEach(() => {
+    cleanup();
+    vi.useRealTimers();
+  });
+
+  /** Type into the box and let the debounce fire. */
+  async function type(value: string) {
+    const input = screen.getByPlaceholderText(/Order no, quote no/i);
+    fireEvent.change(input, { target: { value } });
+    await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(400);
+  }
+
+  it("sends the PocketBase token as Authorization on every search", async () => {
+    fetchMock.mockResolvedValue(jsonResponse(RESULT));
+
+    render(<UniversalSearchPage />);
+    await type("truco");
+
+    await waitFor(() => expect(fetchMock).toHaveBeenCalled());
+
+    const searchCalls = fetchMock.mock.calls.filter((c) =>
+      String(c[0]).includes("q=truco"),
+    );
+    expect(searchCalls.length).toBeGreaterThan(0);
+
+    const [, init] = searchCalls[0];
+    expect(init?.headers).toMatchObject({ Authorization: "test-pb-token" });
+  });
+
+  it("authenticates the cache-warm call too", async () => {
+    // An unauthenticated warm is a server no-op, so the first real
+    // search would silently pay the full ~4.5s cold build.
+    fetchMock.mockResolvedValue(jsonResponse(EMPTY_RESULT));
+
+    render(<UniversalSearchPage />);
+
+    await waitFor(() => expect(fetchMock).toHaveBeenCalled());
+
+    const warmCall = fetchMock.mock.calls.find((c) =>
+      String(c[0]).endsWith("q="),
+    );
+    expect(warmCall).toBeDefined();
+    expect(warmCall?.[1]?.headers).toMatchObject({
+      Authorization: "test-pb-token",
+    });
+  });
+});
+
+describe("UniversalSearchPage — the never-hide-a-cap invariant", () => {
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    fetchMock.mockReset();
+    vi.useFakeTimers({ shouldAdvanceTime: true });
+  });
+
+  afterEach(() => {
+    cleanup();
+    vi.useRealTimers();
+  });
+
+  async function type(value: string) {
+    const input = screen.getByPlaceholderText(/Order no, quote no/i);
+    fireEvent.change(input, { target: { value } });
+    await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(400);
+  }
+
+  it("shows 'showing N of TOTAL' when a group is truncated", async () => {
+    // Regression guard for the whole point of the `total` field: a cap
+    // that renders as a plain short list is indistinguishable from a
+    // complete answer, which is how the /orders 500-cap bug hid 110
+    // orders with no error anywhere.
+    fetchMock.mockResolvedValue(
+      jsonResponse({
+        ...RESULT,
+        totalHits: 1240,
+        groups: [
+          {
+            ...RESULT.groups[0],
+            hits: [{ id: "o1", title: "ORD-1", href: "/orders/o1" }],
+            total: 1240,
+            truncated: true,
+          },
+        ],
+      }),
+    );
+
+    render(<UniversalSearchPage />);
+    await type("truco");
+
+    await waitFor(() =>
+      expect(screen.getByText(/showing 1 of 1240/i)).toBeInTheDocument(),
+    );
+    expect(screen.getByText(/refine to see the rest/i)).toBeInTheDocument();
+  });
+
+  it("surfaces a failed source as an explicit row, not an empty group", async () => {
+    fetchMock.mockResolvedValue(
+      jsonResponse({
+        ...RESULT,
+        totalHits: 0,
+        groups: [
+          {
+            type: "quote",
+            label: "Quotes",
+            hits: [],
+            total: 0,
+            truncated: false,
+            tookMs: 6000,
+            status: "timeout",
+            error: "timed out after 6000ms",
+          },
+        ],
+      }),
+    );
+
+    render(<UniversalSearchPage />);
+    await type("truco");
+
+    // "Couldn't search quotes" must never look like "no quotes matched".
+    await waitFor(() =>
+      expect(screen.getByText(/couldn't search quotes/i)).toBeInTheDocument(),
+    );
+    expect(screen.getByText(/other sources are unaffected/i)).toBeInTheDocument();
+  });
+
+  it("reports a session expiry in plain language", async () => {
+    // No token in the store — the helper throws before fetching.
+    fetchMock.mockResolvedValue(jsonResponse(RESULT));
+    const mod = await import("@/lib/pocketbase");
+    vi.spyOn(mod, "default").mockReturnValue({ authStore: { token: "" } } as never);
+
+    render(<UniversalSearchPage />);
+    await type("truco");
+
+    await waitFor(() =>
+      expect(screen.getByText(/session has expired/i)).toBeInTheDocument(),
+    );
+  });
+});
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/app/(app)/search/page.tsx b/src/app/(app)/search/page.tsx
index cd5faf2..84fecbf 100644
--- a/src/app/(app)/search/page.tsx
+++ b/src/app/(app)/search/page.tsx
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import Link from "next/link";
 import { Search as SearchIcon, X, Loader2, AlertTriangle, ArrowUpRight } from "lucide-react";
 import { Input } from "@/components/ui/input";
 import { Badge } from "@/components/ui/badge";
+import getPocketBase from "@/lib/pocketbase";
 
 /**
  * Universal search — one box across orders, quotes, POs, suppliers,
@@ -57,6 +58,27 @@ const MIN_QUERY_CHARS = 2;
 /** Matches the orders page's debounce so the two feel the same. */
 const DEBOUNCE_MS = 300;
 
+/**
+ * Authenticated fetch against `/api/*`.
+ *
+ * Dashboard auth is a PocketBase token held in the client auth store,
+ * NOT a cookie — `assertBrowserSession` reads it from the
+ * `Authorization` header and refreshes it against PB. A bare `fetch()`
+ * sends neither, so the route answers 401 "Not authenticated." and the
+ * page looks broken.
+ *
+ * Note this is NOT the `x-wfdash-auth` header installed by
+ * `installAuditFetch` — that one is attribution for the audit trail,
+ * and the server does not treat it as authentication.
+ */
+async function authedFetch(url: string): Promise<Response> {
+  const token = getPocketBase().authStore.token;
+  if (!token) {
+    throw new Error("Your session has expired. Please sign in again.");
+  }
+  return fetch(url, { headers: { Authorization: token } });
+}
+
 export default function UniversalSearchPage() {
   const [input, setInput] = useState("");
   const [result, setResult] = useState<SearchResult | null>(null);
@@ -81,7 +103,9 @@ export default function UniversalSearchPage() {
     setLoading(true);
     setFailed(null);
     try {
-      const res = await fetch(`/api/v1/search?q=${encodeURIComponent(q)}`);
+      const res = await authedFetch(
+        `/api/v1/search?q=${encodeURIComponent(q)}`,
+      );
       const data = await res.json();
       if (seq !== requestSeq.current) return; // superseded
       if (!res.ok || data.error) {
@@ -133,7 +157,9 @@ export default function UniversalSearchPage() {
   // doesn't pay the ~4.5s cold build. The empty-query request is the
   // documented warm trigger.
   useEffect(() => {
-    fetch("/api/v1/search?q=")
+    // Authenticated like every other call — an unauthenticated warm is
+    // a no-op on the server, which would quietly skip the pre-build.
+    authedFetch("/api/v1/search?q=")
       .then(() => undefined)
       .catch(() => undefined);
   }, []);
diff --git a/src/components/customer-form.test.tsx b/src/components/customer-form.test.tsx
index 92d5ded..eb1eb73 100644
--- a/src/components/customer-form.test.tsx
+++ b/src/components/customer-form.test.tsx
@@ -16,6 +16,9 @@ const {
 vi.mock("@/lib/pocketbase", () => ({
   __esModule: true,
   default: () => ({
+    // The real SDK always exposes `authStore`; the component reads
+    // `authStore.token` to authenticate its `/api/v1/*` calls.
+    authStore: { token: "test-pb-token" },
     collection: () => ({
       create: createMock,
       update: vi.fn(),
diff --git a/src/components/customer-form.tsx b/src/components/customer-form.tsx
index aef7845..bffce5f 100644
--- a/src/components/customer-form.tsx
+++ b/src/components/customer-form.tsx
@@ -147,7 +147,15 @@ export function CustomerForm({ open, onOpenChange, customer, onSaved }: Customer
   useEffect(() => {
     if (!open || siteLocationSuggestions.length > 0) return;
     let cancelled = false;
-    fetch("/api/v1/customers/sites", { cache: "no-store" })
+    fetch("/api/v1/customers/sites", {
+      // `/api/v1/*` browser routes are gated by `assertBrowserSession`,
+      // which reads the PocketBase token from `Authorization` — auth
+      // here is NOT a cookie. Without it the route 401s, the `.catch`
+      // below swallows it, and the autocomplete silently degrades to an
+      // empty list, which looks exactly like "no sites in use yet".
+      headers: { Authorization: getPocketBase().authStore.token },
+      cache: "no-store",
+    })
       .then((r) => (r.ok ? r.json() : Promise.reject(new Error(`HTTP ${r.status}`))))
       .then((data: { items?: { site_location: string; customerCount: number }[] }) => {
         if (!cancelled) setSiteLocationSuggestions(data.items ?? []);